The top five most popular dog breeds in 2006, based on dogs registered with the America Kennel Club, were the Labrador Retriever, Yorkshire Terrier, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever and Beagle. The Labrador Retriever has held the top spot - being most popular dog breed in America - since 1991. The popularity of smaller dog breeds is continuing to grow. For the first time in 70 years a small dog breed, the Yorkshire Terrier, made it into such a high spot on the list.
Why are these breeds so popular? Good-looks, personality and intelligence are the three main reasons these breeds are so popular. Let's take a look at the personalities and intelligence of each of these super popular breeds:
#1- Labrador Retrievers The Labrador Retriever has been the most popular dog breed in America since 1991. Labs are exceptionally friendly and good natured dogs. They are terrific with children, which makes them excellent family dogs. They are also highly intelligent which makes them very easy to train. They love to play and they love to swim.
#2 - Yorkshire Terriers Yorkies are confident, daring, and independent. Yorkies are very intelligent and do well in obedience training but are not as quick to learn as some other breeds. The Yorkie was originally bred for ratting - to find, catch and kill rats and mice. So even though you most Yorkies look like cute little porcelain dolls - all nicely brushed and combed with a bows on their head - underneath all that is a ferocious and adept hunter. He likes to be near his owner, rather than on his lap.
#3 - German Shepherd Dogs The German Sheppard is a highly intelligent dog which learns training commands faster than most all other breeds. They are also loyal, agile, powerful and fearless dogs. The German Sheppard loves to be near his family, and is good with children, but he is cautious of strangers because of his innate desire to guard his property and family.
#4 - Golden Retrievers The Golden Retriever is a highly sociable, good-natured and fun loving dog. They are extremely patient and tolerant which makes them great with children. They are very eager to please which makes training a breeze. They love to retrieve - as the name suggests - so if your looking for a dog to play "fetch" with, he is a good breed to consider. On the downside, he does shed profusely.
#5 - Beagles Beagles are gentle and even tempered and get along exceptionally well with children which is no doubt what contributes to their huge popularity. They make great family dogs. They are wary around strangers initially, but warm up to them fast. Beagles can get distracted easily (what is that wonderful smell?) which makes them more difficult to train then many breeds. They must always be leashed, once they get hold of a scent they will follow their nose and you wont be able to call them back.
Although buying a popular breed, such as one of the ones listed above, don't forget there are hundreds more breeds to choose from and on of the less popular breeds might be a better match for you and your lifestyle. So be sure to do some further investigating into lots of other breeds too. For example, you might really like all the personality and physical characteristics of a Golden Retriever, but if you are allergic to dog hair, the Golden is not a good choice for you - because he sheds heavily. You would be better off with another breed, with a similar temperament, such as a Poodle, which is a low shedder. In any case, research is the key before making a decision on which dog to buy.
The Lowchen Dog is actually pronounced "lerv-chun" and means "little lion". This German name comes from the traditional haircut, in which a ruff is hair is left as a mane on the front part of the dog's body. A large plume of hair is also left on the end of the tail and all four feet from the pasterns to the base of the foot.
Close relatives of the Lowchen are the Maltese, the Bichon, the Bolognese, and the Havanese. The haircut of this breed is said to have developed because this little dog loves to crawl beneath the covers and it is an automatic bed warmer. The clipping of the coat on the back half of the dog's body provided a place where one could warm their feet more easily! And even today, the Lowchen does indeed crawl beneath the covers with readiness, loving nothing more than to curl up at the feet of its master or mistress.
The breed almost reached the point of extinction in the late 1960s. The pedigrees of today are founded upon a very limited genetic pool from only two families. Much inbreeding was done as a matter of necessity. The bloodline has not suffered from this, in fact this is a breed that is relatively free of genetic disease. This may be due to the large amount of inbreeding. Theory has it that very tight inbreeding if combined with judicious culling will produce healthy progeny.
The reason for this is that fatal conditions will of course not be bred, and usually only the fittest offspring will be used for further breeding. These offspring have a higher than normal percentage of "good" genes. In this respect, the father to daughter breedings, and mother to son breedings, which extended the bloodlines of the Lowchen did produce an exceptionally healthy animal. The little dog is also relatively long lived, a lifetime of 17 years or more is not unusual.
The Lowchen is a Toy dog, naturally quite happy and lively. It is even tempered and accepting of strangers. This is a dog which must be with a family, not doing at all well in a kennel situation. The owners of Lowchens have found that it is a constant delight to own one, they are natural clowns and love to perform tricks and delight in playing games. Normally after they are adults they are not destructive, but like all puppies, when young they need to be in a puppy safe environment because they love to investigate.
The Lowchen should be under 13 inches tall. The coat is long and silky, in any combination of colors. If not kept in the lion trim, the coat will grow long and straggly everywhere and is more difficult to keep groomed. Regular brushing is a must because the coat is single in nature and will easily mat, especially when wet. The eyes can be a problem since the hair will grow long and profuse over the eyes. Keeping the hair back with a barrette is desirable for a pet, but not in the show ring. The dog "Freeway" which starred in the American television series "Hart to Hart" is an example of an untrimmed Lowchen.
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