A recent study has come to the conclusion that the domestication of the wolf reduced the brain size of dogs which is understandable because domestic dogs nearly always have everything done for them. They don’t need to face the challenges that wolves have to face. These challenges stimulate the mind and within the evolutionary process …
A man rescues dachshunds who’ve lost the use of their hind legs and takes them to the park for a doggy wheel walk. This is a special bloke who appears to have committed himself to rescuing and adopting dachshunds who’ve lost the use of their hind legs because of intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) to which …
I’ve been digging around looking at the breed standards for the French Bulldog both in the UK and the USA. In the UK it is The Kennel Club which sets the breed standard and, in the USA, the American Kennel Club also sets a breed standard. Both have got themselves into a mess with regard …
French Bulldog breed standard in America and the UK is a mess and abused by breeders Read More »
There is an interesting report in the journal Science concerning a study on the origin of the donkey and how it was selectively bred by the Romans later on. They researched the relationship between geographic regions and donkey genes (phylogeography). Donkeys are social animals. You will see some wonderful, loving relationships between donkeys and people …
NEWS AND COMMENT: under pressure from PETA, Moonpig has withdrawn cards featuring pugs and French Bulldog from sale. In truth, there has been pressure for a long time against manufacturers exploiting the popular but unhealthy faces of pugs and French bulldogs and other similar dog breeds with brachycephalic heads and abnormally flat faces. It is …
PETA successfully compels Moonpig to pull pug cards from sale Read More »
Ben the TikTok vet, makes it clear, quite rightly, at the outset that he is providing his personal viewpoint on these five dog breeds. He is playing safe which is fair enough. But when a veterinarian spells out the truth about five dog breeds – and they are popular dog breeds – you have to …
British veterinarian tells the truth about 5 popular dog breeds Read More »
The dog population is made up of purebred and random bred dogs and hybrids. I don’t know the exact breakdown as it is unclear but there are far more purebred dogs than there are purebred cats as a percentage of the whole. And research indicates that amongst a group of 68 purebred dogs some of …
Wolves howl, dogs howl less and some dog breeds hardly howl at all Read More »
According to a study by the Royal Veterinary College, pugs are 3.1 times more likely than crossbred dogs to be overweight due to overeating. And The Times reports that they have the most insatiable appetite relative to their ability to burn off energy. In short, they are the most manic eaters of all the dogs. …
Pugs have the most insatiable appetite of all dog breeds Read More »
This cute German Shepherd puppy has strange ears. They have been pushed together on the top of his head. It almost looks as if they are held together by an invisible cord. So, what has happened? The only thing that can have happen is that the breeder of this longhaired or long-coated German Shepherd is …
Some people think that French bulldogs are always in pain. Some experts believe that there should be a ban on breeding French Bulldog and pugs in Australia because they say they live a life of pain. Many of them face breathing and walking problems. It is unethical, they say to breed dogs to suffer. One …
21 genetic diseases inherited by the French bulldog. Are they always in pain? Read More »
Unlike domestic cats, domestic dogs have a face-full of fast twitch muscles which enable them to have expressive faces and rapid barks. Their bark is entirely different to that of their wild ancestor the wolf. Wolf bark compared to the domestic dog bark And it is postulated that this evolution of facial muscles has been …
Dogs’ facial fast twitch muscles provides them with expressions which entice us Read More »
You may think that the title is ridiculous and fictional but it isn’t. And it happened because the Chihuahua has holes in its skull and a baby-like soft spot at the top. This is due to selective breeding over many years. The skull does not form properly. In fact, some breeders consider it a badge …
Chihuahua died when a tennis ball dropped on its head Read More »
It seems that the refinement of the racehorse through selective breeding has reached a ceiling because they are not getting any quicker. In fact, many of today’s records are 50 years old. For example, the great Classic race, the Derby, was run in record time in 1926. The horse, Coronach, who set the record managed …
Mediaeval horses were small by today’s standards partly because people were considerably smaller. They were no bigger than modern-day ponies. Researchers from a number of British universities analysed the bones of 1,964 horses dating from A.D. 300 to A.D. 1650. They found that the average height of a warhorse, known as a destrier, was 14.2 …
Mediaeval horses were small by today’s standards Read More »
The first reason why some dog breeds have such short legs is because of a genetic mutation which is believed to have occurred early on in the evolution of domestic dogs and sometime after the ancestor of modern dog breeds diverged from wolves. This mutation resulted in a form of dwarfism called chondrodysplasia. I believe …
4 reasons why some dog breeds have such short legs Read More »
