A light Golden Retriever

Origins
The Golden Retriever originates from a highland state in Scotland, named Guisachan, in the late 1860s. These dogs were mainly used as hunting aids (retrieving killed birds from difficult terrain, even water), being excellent and durable for long hunts. The Golden Retriever ancestry comes from a sporting dogs breed, build for work and power.

Appearance
The Golden Retriever belongs to the big breed category. There is a difference in size and weight between the different versions of Golden Retrievers existent nowadays. For British Golden Retrievers, the weight is overall 25-35 kg and the height about 55-60 cm, with a slight difference for females. The American type retrievers weight around 29-39 kg and a height of 58-60 cm at the withers, with variations for female dogs.

The body is well built and powerful, covered by a waterproof, wavy, dense coat. The coat color varies from light or dark golden, although in few occasions you can meet dogs with an excessive light or dark colored coat, not accepted in most dog conformation shows. The coat color variation changes with age.

The head displays round and dark eyes, long ears set aside, a long muzzle that ends in a dark nose. The face mask can have some low white stripes, although rare.

The legs are long but powerful, being covered by fur, sometimes longer, other times clipped. The tail is mostly fluffy and long. The waterproof coat serves as an excellent feature for water retrieving.

Grooming
This process is quite important if you decide to let your dog participate in dog shows and dog agility shows. Because the Golden Retrievers have a lush coat, they need twice a week brushing and additional coat clipping, especially in the leg area, to keep the coat clean in those areas. The Golden Retrievers is a medium shedder, so it needs constant attention during the shedding season.

Health Facts
Golden Retrievers have a lifespan of about 9-12 years. They are easily adaptable to most living environments. They are prone to several health problems:
- bone issues (elbow or hip dysplasia);
- occular diseases (cataracts, glaucoma, entropion, retinal dysplasia, progressive retinal atrophy, corneal dystrophy);
- cardiologic disorders (cardiomyopathy, subvalvular aortic stenosis);
- cancer (osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, mast cell tumor) is one of the highest death cause;
- bloat;
- diabetes;
- epilepsy;

Temperament and Lifestyle
The Golden Retriever is a confident and kind breed, friendly with all people, being able to adapt to every environment and situation. They are gentle creatures, funny, intelligent and calm, pleasing everyone with the aspect and posture. They are patient and behave very well around children, other pets, adults. They love the water alot, they enjoy playing and are really cooperative.

The Golden Retriever was acknowledged as one of the most intelligent dog breeds, being capable of high dog obedience response. They are able to learn and respond to more than 200 dog training commands and tricks and they are elite in most dog shows. They excel in all dog obedience and dog agility shows, proving a high degree of intelligence and performance.

This breed is one of the best choices for your loving family.

The Beardie

Origins
It is said that the Bearded Collie breed was brought in the Scottish regions by a polish sheep merchant named Kazimierz Grabski. The breed was founded when Mrs G. Olive Willison received a Bearded Collie instead of a Shetland Sheepdog. She wanted to start breeding and she found a mate for it, a gray dog named David. Thus, this breed came to existence and flourished through the years. They are also called the Beardie breed, and these dogs were used to herd sheep and cattle. Now they are most exclusively used for dog shows.

Appearance
The Beardie belongs to the small dog breed category, weighting about 19-26 kg, with a height of 52-54 cm. The coat looks and feels shaggy, flat, harsh, sometimes wavy. The coat varies in color, from shades of slate, black to blue and brown. These colors may change after shedding. He has a strong and athletic body, a long and fluffy tail, good bone structure. Their facial coat can take the shake of a mask. They have round black or dark-brown eyes, hidden sometimes by the extra coat that grows on the brows area.

Grooming
This process is quite demanding regarding the Beardie. Since most of the present breed members are actually used in dog shows, there’s a tendency to over groom. Brushing the coat should be done once or twice a week, and trimming the coat around the feet would be an extra precaution, but it depends on the nature of the dog’s activities.

Health Facts
Depending on the regions they are in, the Beardie members have a lifespan of 10-13 years. The average litter size is 7 pups. Most health problems will differ upon the nature of activity. If they are herding sheep or cattle, they can experience other environment conditions. They can suffer from various skeletal and muscular problems (arthritis, hip dysplasia), kidney diseases, vascular and cerebral problems, skin problems. They can suffer from the Addison’s disease (this disease is caused by the insufficient production of mineralocorticoid or gluticocorticoid in the adrenal cortex), with symptoms like gastric disturbances, lethargy, leading even to death. A balanced feeding will prevent most gastrointestinal and urologic problems.

Temperament and Lifestyle
The Beardie is an energetic and life-full dog. He is active and friendly and he requires alot of dedication and attention. He likes to bounce around when herding (he was even named “bouncing berdie”). He gets bored fast so he is always curious and interested by new activities that keep him occupied. They respond well to dog obedience and dog agility training. He is reserved when dealing with strangers but quickly learns who they are and changes his attitude. He behaves well with younger children and tends to “herd” and circle them like a guardian.

Appearance
The Australian Terrier belongs to the small to medium dog breeds, with a size of approximately
22-25 cm at the withers and a weight of 6-7 kg. It has a compact and robust lengthy but lowered
body finished in a high-set tail. They display an elongated head with pricked and flexible ears, dark and small eyes, a strong muzzle. They have a straight and harsh coat colored in tan, blue, sandy or red, and the undercoat is rather soft.

Grooming
The Australian Terrier is a rather low shedder. Grooming should be done twice a weak: brushing and trimming the undercoat hair. Keep his feet clean and possibly clip his nails.

Health Facts
The Aussie has a lifespan of approximately 12-14 years. This breed can suffer from diabetes, cancer, skin allergies, muscular and skeletal issues, ear infections, eye problems (cataracts).

Temperament and Lifestyle
The Australian Terrier is an entertaining companion, with a spirited attitude, high spunk, self confidence and affection. They are inteligent and keen, behaving really well in the family. They are considered to be excellent watch dogs, seeing all strangers and other dogs as suspects. Since they are energetic, they require constant exercising, but not excessive. They are excellent candidates for a dog training plan, learning really fast and interacting with the dog training commands really well.

A red Aussie

Origins
The Australian Shepherd, also commonly called Aussie, is not actually originated from Australia, as his name tells it. This breed was developed in the United States, more precisely in the western US ranches. They became really popular after the Word War II. They were mainly used for herding cattle and as stockdogs, but also as rescuers, detection dogs, guides.

Appearance
The Australian Shepherd is a very agile and playful companion. They have a height of about 56-59 cm at the shoulders and the females about 53-56 cm, in other words this is a small to medium breed. The males weight about 27-31 kg and the females 24-27 kg. They display a coat varying in color from a clean black, blue merle (marbled black and gray) to red merle (marbled red and silver, buff). The chest, legs and face area can show different color markings and spots. The white patches on the coat can appear on the collar, chest, underbelly, face but are not excessive and the eyes are surrounded by a mask of color. The eye color varies from brown, blue to green, amber, hazel. They can have bicolored eyes: one eye would be brown, one blue. That doesn’t mean that the eyes aren’t healthy. The tale is long and full for some dogs or docked and short bobbed for other.

Grooming
The Australian Shepherd dogs shed heavily twice per year, but overall it is easily maintained. Grooming depends majorly on the size of the coat but it should be done twice a week and more in the shedding season.

Health Facts
The Aussie has a lifespan of about 11-14 years. These values may differ especially since this breed is always split between working dogs and show dogs. Better care adds better lifespan. They can suffer eye problems, various allergies to drugs and medication (even respiratory problems), heart and skin problems, cancer, hip dysplasia. There is a specific breed problem when dealing with “double merling”: the pup that inherits a dual copy of the dominant merle genes will have hearing and visual issues and will eventually become blind or deaf. This isn’t a 100% fact but they will need special attention and care.

Temperament and Lifestyle
Being energetic dogs, the Aussie requires mentally involving exercises and activities. The Australian Shepherd makes an excellent family dog, because they are loyal to their owners and behave greatly with children. But this attitude should be taught from early stages and they should always be accompanied by a “shepherd leader” presence. They are very interactive when competing in dog agility training and shows, they love practicing and doing tricks. They are intelligent and learn commands and tricks really fast. They are adaptable to most situation and if they become bored they can be inventive.

The Australian Cattle Dog

Origins
The Australian Cattle Dog (named also Red Heeler, Hall’s Heeler, Queensland Heeler or Blue Heeler) has his origins in the regions of Australia, and was mainly used to control and herding cattle. This breed becomes obvious in the late 1890.

Appearance and Grooming
This breed displays an athletic and muscular body, well shaped and agile. It has a very symmetrical bone structure, a balanced build with hard muscles. The size varies from 49-50 cm at the withers for males (45-48 cm for females) and the weight is about 20-22 kg for males and 18-20 kg for females. The coat is displayed in unsolid colors of red or blue and possibly some near solid patches of color and even a mask around the eyes. The Australian Cattle dog could display ginger markings and spots on the feet, some on the face and in the underparts. Their tale should be undocked, long and natural. The most distinctive feature for this breed is the face mask. It is rather evident. Some marks presend on the face can separate the pure breed from other related breeds. An example would be the Bentley Mark, a spot or stripe of white hair in the center of the forehead that links the Australian Cattle dog with the purebred dog owned by Thomas Bentley. Grooming is rather low but it’s demanded seasonally when the dog sheds heavily. In general brushing his coat should be done once or twice a week.

Health and Lifestyle
The Australian Cattle Dog has a lifespan of about 11-13 years. They can suffer from various muscular problems, deafness, cancer, cerebral vascular stroke, even blindness.

Temperament
The Australian Cattle Dog is a very powerful and demanding breed. They are well organized and expert frisbee catchers. When it comes to physical activities, they have a high potential. They require a lot of exercise and activity. Being a herding dog breed, they were used to long and extensive running. They are interesting subjects for a proper dog training plan, and short sessions are considered to be way more effective. Many dog owners consider this breed as a good trainee for dog agility. Bringing new experimentation and various exercises maintain the dog alert and interested.

The Amstaff

Origins
Also named Amstaff, this breed has its origins in America, but it is a result of crossing the early terrier buldog breeds that were brought in US by the Irish and British settlers. Used especially as fighting dogs, they were also good at hunting, guarding the farms.

Appearance and Grooming
The Amstaff is medium in size (withers: about 49 to 52 cm), with a weight of about 30-40 kg. He has a strong and slightly arched neck, his body is stocky, robust, athletic and compact square build, but displays alertness, agility and strength. His head displays round and dark eyes, a medium length muzzle, well defined jaws, and his ears should be uncropped. His coat varies in color, from brindle, blue, fawn, or any colored patches on white. The Amstaff has a short and glossy coat but he isn’t a heavy shedder: his coat needs occasional grooming and brushing and a random bathing.

Health and Lifestyle
The Amstaff has a lifespan of 10-17 years. The lifespan can be greatly maintained with a proper alimentation and exercise. It can be affected by numerous ligament problems, eye problems, cancer, cataracts, thyroid disorder. It can also show temperament problems but this can be tested in advance to prove if their behavior stability is optimal.

Temperament
The Amstaff is unfairly considered as a very aggressive dog breed. This opinion came from the special attention given to the dog fights, where the Amstaff was showing a huge appetite for aggression and destruction. Don’t be fouled by this. The Amstaff is friendly and courageous, protective and somewhat stubborn but extraordinarily devoted, in other words, a natural family dog. A proper socialization is required from the puppy stage, in order to accommodate them to the strangers and small children later on. This breed is an excellent candidate for a proper dog training, showing intelligence and fast learning during the training process.  The dog training process must be used in conjuction with a proper exercising schedule, with lots of weight pulling and agility training and a considerable amount of dedication.