Cat Breeds: The Manx Cat

Long-haired Cymric



Nearly Tailless Manx




1900 Manx Silverwing cat

The Manx (Kayt Manninagh or Stubbin) is a cat that originated sometime before the 1700's on the Isle of Man. Their exact origin is unknown, but folk lore claims that they got onto a Spanish galleon in the Far East and came ashore when the ship foundered on the cliffs at Spanish Head on the coast of the Isle of Man.

These cats either have no tail, or just a small stub of a tail, and hind legs that are longer than the front legs, which gives it the appearance of always walking down hill. Many stories have been started about this short-tailed or tail less cat including one that suggests that it comes from a cross between a cat and a rabbit. This supposedly explains the long hind legs and the short tail. However, it is just a story, because scientists have determined that the short tail, or lack of a tail comes from a genetic mutation. The longer hind legs compensate for the curvature of the animal's spine and provide better balance to compensate for the lack of a tail.

When my dad was a young boy living on Vancouver Island, he got a Manx kitten from a farmer who brought back a pair of Manx cats when he returned from a visit to the Isle of Man prior to the start of the second world war. Dad's cat was named “Taffy” and she was a magnificent rat hunter. She looked similar in appearance to the Manx cat from the 1900's in the picture above, being a kind of Tortoise-shell colour. She had a stub of a tail and a very aloof looking manner about her, although she was very affectionate to, and protective of, my dad. She liked to play “boats” with my dad. They'd both stand in the creek and push a small homemade wooden boat back and forth to each other. She had one or two litters of kittens a year until the age of 13 years. These kittens were in great demand as the rural area where dad was raised had a rodent problem. “Taffy” died of old age when she was 16 years old.

One of “Taffy's” offspring, a male, belonging to dad's younger brother, liked to spend time hanging around the local pub, where he was given the odd brew. He grew to an enormous size and looked just like a Bobcat.

Apparently, completely white Manx cats are fairly rare and as a result, they can fetch prices of $4000 or more at sales.

As well as having long hind legs, the Manx has small slightly rounded ears, a round head, large round eyes and a small nose. They have two coat lengths. The short-haired Manx has a double coat with longer, coarse outer hair, featuring guard hairs, over a short, thick undercoat. The long-haired Manx, which is often called a Cymric, has a silky textured double coat of medium length hair, with britches, belly and neck ruff, tufts of fur between the toes and lots of hair inside the ears. The Manx cat can come in Tortoise-shell, Tabby, Calico and all solid colours.

So, if you would like to get a Manx cat, be advised that they are rather rare and quite pricey. However, they are even tempered, affectionate and good with children if raised from a kitten in the presence of children.

Until next time,

Teia

PS. For additional information on these great cats, go to http://fanciers.com/breed-faqs/manx-faq.html

Dog Breeds: The Aidi

Originating in Morocco more than 3000 years ago, the Aidi was first introduced to North America during the Twentieth Century. It is still relatively rare here.

Other names that it has been called are “Chien de l'Atlas,” “Atlas Shepherd Dog,” “Berber” and “Kabyle Dog.”

The Aidi has a very keen sense of smell and, as a result, it is used to guard livestock by the Berber nomads. It is sometimes used to track game which is then brought down by a Sloughi, a very revered dog in that region of Africa. Because of its superior tracking capabilities, police in some locales use it as a tracking dog and to find missing and lost persons. It is also being used as a watch dog because it is easily trained to do this and many other tasks.

Because it is quite high strung and has a great deal of energy, the Aidi needs a lot of things to keep it occupied. Although it is sometimes used as a companion dog, it is only now being considered as a household pet, but only if it is given enough exercise, tasks to complete and stimulating diversions to keep it happy.

The Aidi stands 21 to 24 inches tall (53-61 cm) and weighs 50 to 55 pounds (23-24 kg). It is relatively lean and well muscled, with a deep chest. It has a strong 2 inch (5 cm) long coat of varying colours which is well suited for the harsh climate of the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Libya and Algeria, which is hot during the day and extremely cold at night.

If you need a good guard dog, or a tracking dog that can live in harsh climates, then an Aidi would be a good choice. Just remember that it needs plenty of exercise and stimulating tasks to keep it satisfied.

Until next time,

Teia

Dog Breeds: The Afghan Hound

Sometimes called the Tazi or the Baluchi Hound, the Afghan Hound is one of the more glamourous of the large breed of dogs. It stands about 25 to 29 inches tall (63-74 cm), weighs 50 to 60 lbs (23-27 Kg) and has a life expectancy of 12 to 14 years.

It has a beautiful long coat and comes in just about any colour. This long coat has one drawback as the dog tends to develop hairballs from grooming itself. There have been incidents where some of these dogs have choked to death on a large hairball, so owners are encouraged to groom Afghans daily to remove any loose hair.

The dogs originated in Afghanistan, hence the name, but they can now be found nearly everywhere. As well as being used as pets, show dogs and herd dogs, because of their strength and speed, Afghans are frequently used in dog races in many countries. They are also highly regarded as excellent competitors in agility trials.

Afghans have an Oriental expression and their eyes appear to look right through you, presenting a very aloof and dignified temperament. Some owners find this breed's Oriental or Eastern personality hard to handle. As well, with their strength and speed, they require extensive obedience training which can be difficult as they have a reputation of being difficult to train. In spite of this, many people hold these dogs in very high regard. One way to ease the difficulty in training is to utilize this breed's strong pack allegiance. Since a daily walk is required to prevent the dog from developing behaviour problems, the Afghan should be made to heel beside or behind the person holding the leash. This will reinforce the dog's natural instinct that the “pack leader” always goes first. In this way the dog will learn that the human is always first and must be obeyed because they are the “pack leader”. With this in mind, the owner should also teach their Afghan to enter and exit doorways after the human.

Afghans have four very distinctive features. Many have a ring (tight curl) at the end of their tail and a saddle of short course hair from the front shoulders to just in front of the hind quarters. Most also have a long topknot and all have high hip bones.

Afghan owners should be aware that this breed has a very high prey drive and as a result they usually do not get along with other small animals, so they should be tightly controlled when around small pets.

So, if you would like a large regal looking dog, you should consider the Afghan Hound as one of the top contenders.

Until next time,

Teia

Grooming and General Care of Your Dog

Medical Update: I went to the vet last Wednesday and had a thorough examination. My groin has completely healed and the lump beside my nose has disappeared. The area of my chin that was covered with weeping lumps has healed up, and the swelling has nearly all gone away. The vet told dad that he could reduce my “Prednisone” treatment from one half tablet in the morning and one half tablet at night to one half tablet in the morning. Dad must continue to monitor my condition and let the vet know if anything shows up again. Now, on the following Monday, everything is still OK, so hopefully my problems have been solved. Unless something happens again, no further medical reports will be given. Thanks to all who sent get well messages. Now, on with today's post which deals with grooming and general care of your faithful companion.

The amount of grooming your dog will need depends on the breed of the dog and the length and texture of her coat. Generally, dogs with long hair will require more grooming than short haired dogs. Some long haired breeds will require a bath every week or so to keep their coat from matting, with daily brushing in between.

Before commencing to brush your dog, you should examine her for cuts, sores, mats in the area where the legs meet the body and in the hair on her ears. Also check her anus for crusted stool as this could cause a sore to develop. And, check inside her ears to ensure that there is no wax buildup.

Dogs with short hair only need to be bathed occasionally, but they still need weekly brushing to remove dead hair and surface grunge.

Non shedding dogs will require regular baths and hair cuts to keep them looking nice and to prevent matting of their coat. You should purchase a breed specific book so that you can get advice and tips for your dog from specialists.

If you plan to enter your dog into dog shows, then you should consult with a professional groomer to learn what needs to be done to prepare your dog. And, even if your dog is just a family pet, you should take her to a professional groomer at least once to learn how to properly groom her and what tools you will need.

If you just try to do it all yourself, without expert advice, you could end up spending a lot of unnecessary money on items that either don't work, break or become unserviceable quickly, or just don't do what you want them to do. For example, if you plan on cutting your dogs hair yourself, make sure you get good quality dog clippers. Hair clippers for humans will not stand up to regular clipping of your dog's hair. Some types of hair require special types of brushes. Dog nail clippers must be used to cut your dog's nails. Human nail clippers either will not cut the nails, or they will splinter the nail when cutting.

When dad was younger he cut the hair of the family dogs, and both mom and dad groomed and bathed them. Now that they are older, they take us to a professional groomer for baths and haircuts. They brush us and clean our eyes, ears and bums between visits to the groomer, and give us emergency baths when we get really grubby. Our groomer, as well as giving us a bath and haircut, also trims our nails and thoroughly cleans our ears and removes excess hair from the inside of our ears so wax doesn't build up.

For further information on grooming view:

“Drying the Dog” posted Wednesday August 26, 2009.
“Tips, Techniques and Equipment for Brushing Your Dog” posted Wednesday July 1, 2009.
“Improve Your Dog's Health with Proper Grooming” posted Sunday April 26, 2009.
“Bathing Your Dog” posted Wednesday March 25, 2009.

Until next time,

Teia

Dog Obesity and Overfeeding

Medical Update – The vet phoned dad and said that there was no indication of deep infection and to start the steroid prescription. Since then my groin has healed and the lumps on my chin and beside my nose have started to shrink in size. Unfortunately I'm still losing weight. Dad will be taking me back to see the vet tomorrow, so hopefully he can come up with a solution to the weight loss. (This is the exact opposite of today's blog topic, which as the title says is obesity.)

An alarmingly high proportion of dogs, these days, suffer from obesity. The primary cause of this is due to over eating and lack of exercise.

Most dog owners, now-a-days, have very busy lives with many work related and social responsibilities. As a result, their dogs don't get taken for as many walks as the should. Many days their food is either left down all day, like mine, or care is not taken in measuring out the proportions recommended for the size or breed of their dog.

Some breeds are more prone to becoming obese than others. Cocker Spaniels and Labrador Retrievers are two breeds which are very susceptible to obesity. On the other hand, Terrier breeds are the least susceptible breeds to becoming obese.

If your dog shows a tendency to having a weight problem, ensure that she only eats what you give her. Do not allow other family members or well meaning neighbours to give her treats or special tidbits. Please have your dog examined by a veterinarian (vet) before considering putting her on a diet as there may be an underlying medical problem that is responsible for your pet's weight gain. As mentioned last time, in multiple dog families, you have to be vigilant that food guarding or food gorging is not taking place. This is a jealousy or psychological type problem that needs to be discussed with your vet so that you can find a safe and satisfactory solution.

The one downside to having your female dog spayed, or your male dog castrated, is that hormonal changes take place which alter their weight regulating mechanism. This means that the same amount of food after the operation may result in weight gain. If this occurs, discuss it with your vet to arrive at a sensible solution. It may be necessary to reduce the number of calories in the food provided. This may involve switching to calorie reduced food, or adding more bulk to your dog's current food to make it seem more substantial.

One method that has proved fairly successful with a number of dogs is providing them with uncooked carrots as treats instead of dog biscuits. Uncooked carrots can also be chopped up and added to your dog's regular food to provide extra bulk when the amount of food is reduced to lessen the calories consumed. As well as reducing calorie intake, these vegetables are good for aiding the teeth cleaning process. Some dogs are satisfied with the carrots just being washed and the tops and tips being removed, while others prefer to have their carrots with the tops, tips and skin removed.

Since cold winter weather increases a dog's appetite, adding bulk without increasing calories is necessary at this time of year. Where I live in northern Canada, winter is long and cold – temperatures in the minus 30 to minus 50 degree Centigrade* range, often accompanied by a wind, makes outdoor exercise impractical much of the time. As a result, reduction of calories is essential or weight gain at this time of year is inevitable.

Until next time,

Teia

* Centigrade or Celsius temperatures are scales where water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees – in the Fahrenheit scale, water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees. At minus 40 degrees, all three scales are in synchronization.