Aspen the Yorkie

One of my neighbors has a Chow-Chow, a beautiful fluffy dog that you want to run to and pet because it looks so soft and love-able. However, when my owner attempted to do so, she was warned by the owner that her Chow-Chow was very protective and would attack if we were to get near, so, we have had to enjoy the only Chow-Chow we know from a distance.

This doesn’t mean that all Chow-Chows have bad temperaments, in fact, if we search for information on the temperament of a Chow-Chow, we find results that span from saying they are wonderful with children, to being aggressive, especially when protecting their home and family. I will leave it to the reader to do further research on that, and choose their pet wisely.

We tend to think, and hope that it is true, that a pet will be only as good as the owner that raised it…if you are kind and gentle yet disciplined in raising your dog from a puppy, then your dog will grow up to be the same. If you do not raise your dog from a puppy, but acquire it from a shelter, then you should go to a shelter where they take time to learn the personality of the dog before placing it in a home, or bring it into your home only if there is no risk of harming home or members of the family. These are things that seem obvious, but sometimes one is taken in by the cuteness (just look at the puppy below…so cute!) of the beautiful Chow Chow dog or puppy, and they don’t think about how the dogs personality and habits might affect the home.

If you would like further, more detailed information about this breed, be sure to take a look at wiki Chow-Chow information.  To view the Chow Chow breed standards set by the American Kennel Club, visit this link.

Photo Credit: Used under creative commons license, photo by pwcorgigirl.

I’ve been busy writing about the Scottish Deerhound named Hickory, the dog that won “Best in Show” at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show this year, and a couple of other dogs in the show, and have missed posting to my readers here.

My owner is Scottish, so liked the idea that a dog that had it’s origins in Scotland won the show.  Some who don’t understand how dogs are judged may think that a Scottish Deerhound, part of the Hound group, isn’t the most beautiful dog, but I’ve heard that they are a sight to see running across a field.  Here is a picture of a Scottish Deerhound…it isn’t the coloring that we are accustomed to now, they are bred to look more gray now:

If you’d like to read more about the breed, click “Scottish Deerhound” and learn more about the dog that won the 2011 135th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog show starts tonight on Valentines Day! We are excited and recording the event. It’s a little tricky this year, because they are showing the first hour of opening night on CNBC network (8-9 pm EST), then the rest of the show on USA Network (9-11 pm EST). The next morning from 9 am to noon they will replay the whole show on USA.

Tomorrow night (2/15), when the “Best in Show” is announced, the whole show will be on USA Network, and played again the next morning from 9-11 am EST.

For a lot more information, visit our Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show site on Squidoo.

I am here to whimper and whine today, found out some news that I’m not very happy about.  I found out that Yorkies are not at the top of the list of favored pet dogs put together by the American Kennel Club (AKC).  This was really a shocker for me, here is what we found were the top 5 dogs:

1. Labrador Retriever
2. YORKSHIRE TERRIER (should be #1!!)
3. German Shepherd
4. Golden Retriever
5. Beagle

Let me tell you why I’m better than a Labrador Retriever, maybe the AKC people will read my post and change their minds by next year.

1. Labrador Retrievers are really big and can’t sit on your lap.  If they try to, it’s not as fun as having a cute fuzzy little Yorkie like me on your lap.
2. Labrador Retrievers have really big mouths and tongues and when they give you a doggie kiss, it’s yucky, not a nice little lick on the cheek like I give my owners and friends.
3. Labrador Retrievers  eat a LOT more food than a little Yorkie does, so you won’t have to spend as much money buying food if you have a Yorkie.
4. When you take a Yorkie for a walk, you just have to take a little Zip Lock bag along with you with a napkin or tissue to clean up after, I don’t even want to think about what it’s like for humans who have to clean up after big dogs like Labrador Retrievers.
5. Labrador Retrievers aren’t as cute if they do the things that Yorkie’s do to greet you when you come home…we like to run around in circles and jump all over you, but we can only reach your knees, so it’s cute.  A LR would knock you over if they greeted you that way.
6. Labrador Retrievers shed all over you in the summer, Yorkies don’t shed because we have hair, not fur.
7. When a Lab goes out and plays in the yard and gets mud on his feet, it makes a much bigger mess than a little Yorkie would make.
8. I’m pretty sure LR’s slobber on you a lot more than a Yorkie would, we never slobber.
9. When you take a Yorkie for a walk who isn’t trained, we don’t drag you all over the place because we’re small.
10. Yorkies are just plain cute!!

If you have, or are, a Labrador Retriever, please forgive me, I’m just a little jealous Yorkie who wants to be the top dog on the AKC favorites list.