The Giant Schnauzer is also known as the Russian Bear Schnauzer, the Munich Schnauzer and the Riesenschnauzer. It comes from a cross between the Standard Schnauzer, Bouvier des Flandres and the Great Dane. The Giant Schnauzer was first used to drive livestock in Bavaria, but later was used as a guard dog for the police … Read more
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is probably the oldest Swiss dog and has made a contribution in the development of the St-Bernard and the Rottweiler breeds. There are a few theories about the origins of the Swiss Sennenhund breeds, the most popular one states that they are descendant from the Mollasian, a dog that invaded … Read more
The Golden Retriever was first developed in the British Islands. The breed comes from crosses between the Flat-Coated Retriever, Spaniel breeds, Setters, the Newfoundland and possibly the Bloodhound. This breed was first shown as the Golden Flat-Coat. Highly obedient, the Golden Retriever as been used for many tasks like hunting and tracking, but also for … Read more
The English Cocker Spaniel or Cocker Spaniel gets its name from the woodcock, a bird that hides in dense thickets and for whom this spaniel was originally bred to hunt. The different types of English Cocker Spaniels were separated into seven breeds; the Clumber, the Sussex, the Field, the English Springer, the Welsh Springer, the … Read more
The English Springer Spaniel is the first of all the English hunting spaniels. During the Renaissance, it was considered as the ideal companion for the European hunter, but it?s only in the 1700?s that the breed began to be popular in America. This breed hunts on land and water and makes a fine retriever. It … Read more
The Dachshund is a long bodied dog with undersized limbs. Originally bred in Germany, this breed's name translates to 'badger dog'. Despite their small size, the Dachshund is a tough little fighter! Their body is the perfect size to chase their prey into small underground burrows. This breed comes in 3 varieties which are standard, … Read more
It was in the 1870?s in Germany, that Louis Doberman, a tax collector who needed an alert and intelligent bodyguard dog, bred the Doberman Pinscher, to protect him on his rounds from bandits. It was developed presumably by crossing several different breeds of dogs, to find the characteristics that Doberman was looking for. This included … Read more
Back to 2200 B.C., drawings of a dog similar to the Canaan Dog were found on graves, but this dog was first bred in the 1930's in Israel from wild dogs. The Canaan dog is well-adapted to the rough conditions of the deserts. This breed is still used by Bedouins to guard and herd sheep, … Read more
There are three different varieties of Collie based primarily on coat appearance: Collie (Smooth and Rough), Border Collie and Bearded Collie. The Smooth and Rough Collie are considered by the AKC as varieties of the same breed and therefore are judged by the same standard with the exception of the coat. Considered to be one … Read more
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel originated in England and was bred for human companionship. They were thought to have been a mixture of the King Charles Spaniel and other Spaniel types that resembled this breed in paintings from the 16th century. They are descendants of the King Charles Spaniel and were given the name 'Cavalier' … Read more
