Key Facts:

Size: Large
Height: Above 54 cm (21 inches)
Weight: About 30 kg (66 lb)
Life Span: 13 years
Grooming: Very demanding
Exercise: Medium
Feeding: Medium
Temperament: Friendly & outgoing
Country of Origin: England
AKC Group: Herding
Other Names: Bobtail

Physical Characteristics:

General Appearance: Ambling walk, shaggy, strong and compact.
Colour: Grey, grizzle, blue or blue merle, with or without white markings.
Coat: The outer coat is shaggy, hard in texture and harsh. The undercoat is waterproof.
Tail: Commonly docked completely or from the first joint.
Ears: Small and carried flat against the side of the head.
Body: The body is quite short and compact. The loins are strong and slightly arched and the shoulders are sloping. The chest is well developed and the brisket is deep and full.

Temperament:
Trustworthy, bold, agile, active and good-natured. Old English Sheepdogs love being part of a family and are a very adaptable breed. They socialize well with other dogs, children and family pets. They greet strangers warmly and are not particularly alert. They can be boisterous in nature and will join in every possible activity with great enthusiasm. Old English Sheepdogs want to please their handlers and rarely show dominant behaviour, however training can be slow.

Grooming:
Grooming with these dogs is very demanding. They require regular, thorough brushing as least once a week. When the coat is moulting its quite possible that a rubbish bag full of hair can be collected after a brush. If the coat is left ungroomed for a length of time it will quickly become matted to a degree that leaves little alternative but to clip. Old English Sheepdogs that are being shown should have a higher rear than the shoulders, which is achieved when the hair is groomed upwards. It is also important that the ears are kept free of dirt and hair and that the nails are trimmed. The excess hair between the pads of the feet should also be clipped short.

Exercise:
Old English Sheepdogs need a fair amount of exercise, but will not grumble if a day goes by without any. They love playing with a ball or similar activities and are best suited for rural homes with a spacious backyard. This breed can do well in various dog sports.

History:
This breed has not been around as long as many other dog breeds. It is thought that they evolved from the Bearded Collie in the early 19th century and possibly with crosses from the Briard and the Hungarian sheepdog. Farmers commonly docked this breeds tails in the early 19th century to claim exemption from English taxes. This was because the longer haired ‘luxury’ dogs only qualified as working dogs if the tails were docked.

Additional Comments:

The Old English Sheepdogs have been nicknamed the Bobtail, because their tails are customarily docked.
If the coat is not properly cared for and well-groomed, it can cause skin parasites.

About the Author

This article provided courtesy of http://www.dooziedog.com/dog_breeds/old_english_sheepdog/

I was asleep last night, and for some reason when I rolled over in bed, I opened my eyes for just a second. There on the wall, right above my dresser, was an angel, well, not really an angel, but an image of one.

It seemed to float on the wall, green in color, and it you looked long and hard enough, you really could make out the image of an angel!

I reached over to wake Pam up. She sleepily asked what I wanted.

“Look” I told her, “look on the wall!” I turned around to tell her about the image, shaking her some more.

“Pam, look. See what is over there?” But I could not seem to wake her.

Turning back, I just stared at the angel. maybe my luck is changing! Maybe I really go have a guardian angel that looks out for me, maybe I ….

Suddenly I let out a scream!

This giant hand appeared over the angel, claws extended, and ripped the poor thing apart!

I started shaking uncontrollably and I could not get a grip on myself. Of course, this woke up Pam who by now was sitting up in the bed.

“What going on?” she asks. And in the back ground I hear Leo laughing!

“What’s so funny”, I asked him?

“You Jurge, you are! What a moron … angels, ha!”

“Ok little buddy, how do you explain it?”

Then Leo suddenly pointed back to the wall, “Look on the wall Jurge, lookie.”

Turning around, I looked, and there was not a shape of a pumpkin! It was blue! “WOW” I said, What is going on?

Leo: “I am just trying to brighten up Miss Pam’s holiday! That’s not a pumpkin, that’s … look you moron, look at the wall!”

There is was again! The big claw reaching out, getting nearer to the pumpkin until it reached it and destroyed it!

I started shaking and Leo started laughing!

Leo: “Lookie Jurge, you seem to have some common sense about you. If you want to find out what is happening, look at the bedroom window!”

I did, and what did I see?

Miss Kitty, hanging upside down by her two back feet, with a piece of cellophane in her claw!

She was trying to stick it onto the window! When she finally made it, the light shining through from the street lamp projected an red glow onto the wall.

Leo: “What is that Jurge, a giant hooter? A dog? An image of ‘The Donald”, naked?

“What are you doing, Miss Kitty” I asked as I opened the window and pulled her inside from the cold.

Miss K: “Leo told me that you were too cheap to buy Christmas decorations. He told me that Miss Pam sit silently outside every day, waiting at the mailbox for the Christmas cards that never come, so she can tape them up to the door in the shape of a tree. Leo says that Miss Pam can have her own Christmas lights on the wall that change colors if I take the colored cellophane and place it onto the window for 15 minutes, then remove it and replace it with a different color cellophane.”

Leo: “Yea Jurge, you cheap moron, treating Miss Pam that way, not spending any money this Christmas, not caring for her feelings, snoring at night, leaving dirty socks in the bathroom, not putting the toilet seat down … you, you ,yoo.. grrrrrrrrrr.”

At this point, Pam was just sitting up in bed, snickering, trying to hold back a laugh! As for me, I just kept my mouth shut and took it. I could not tell my little buddy that he had spent all of my Christmas money while charging his United Airlines vacation, so I just took it. His heart was in the right place, it’s just that his mind is muddled! Anyway … Happy Holidays To All From Leo, Jurge, Miss Pam and Miss Kitty!

You can find more Leo at http://www.lifewithleo.com where all of the adventires of Leo come to life!

The first thing a cat owner should know about home décor is to keep it simple. Cats are completely convinced that they are in charge, that the house and its possessions belong to them, and that they have every right to break rip or shred anything they like. Even a well trained cat (a possible oxymoron) will occasionally get overzealous, and with an inadvertent sweep of their tail will knock your favorite decoration from its place to a pile on the floor.

This disregard for your possessions, overt or otherwise, requires that you use some strategy when deciding on the placement of various decorative pieces. This is going to amount basically to common sense. Any surface that a cat can reach, they will walk on. Therefore low shelves or dressers should not contain any objects that are fragile. Items should be moved towards the middle of a surface, or back against the wall, to prevent them being knocked onto the floor. Items that have a broad or sturdy base should replace other more top heavy objects. Decorative accents that can shatter, such as ceramics or stone statues, may have to be replaced by steal or wood.

One way to display fragile items is to move them up. High shelves that are isolated from cat “stepping stones” will be out of dangers way. The same may be true of tall dressers, although unfortunately some cats will take a tall isolated dresser as a personal challenge, which they simply have to climb. Your décor will have to be matched to the personality of your cat.

Mirrors can also provide a problem, as some cats tend to attack their own reflection. If your cat has a problem with this, buying velvet or satin cloth and draping it over the mirror can be a decorative way to solve this.

Plants can be one of the biggest décor problems a cat owner will face. Your pet can chew on leaves, dig in the soil, or urinate in them. Luckily, there are ways both to decorate around these problems as well as to train your cat out of them. For biting and chewing of leaves, a natural spray repellent applied to the plant will cause most cats to avoid it. To stop a cat from rooting in or excreting in your plant you have to realize that the dirt in the pot is reminiscent of the cats litter box. In order to change this, use stones or gravel to fill over the top of the dirt. This will remove the cat’s fascination with the soil, and can be a lovely decorative accent to your plant

Cat grass is a special kind of plant you can grow in your home that is specifically formulated to be safe for felines, and to provide them with certain vitamins they may be lacking. Purchasing this can give your cat an acceptable alternative to messing with your plants. When you see your cat eating the cat grass, reward them lavishly. When you see them going near other plants, pick them up and place them in front of the cat grass. If they eat the offered vegetation, then reward them. In this way you can use positive reinforcement to turn one behavior into another

Cats will scratch anything which is made of cloth, including couches, drapes, and pillows. Because of this, you may want to start by spraying natural cat repellent on your more attractive pieces. A plastic couch cover may have to be used for a short time while the cat learns to behave itself. Buying your pet a scratching post and praising it for scratching that instead of your couch is a good way to positively reinforce the negative behavior out of the cat. You will have to carefully monitor their progress, and only remove protective coverings from your furniture when you are sure they are safe.

While cats are a hazard to most décor, planning ahead can minimize these problems. Cats are so difficult to train that it is often easier to simply decorate around them. Using common sense, and paying attention, should allow you to develop a setting that compliments your pet owning experience.

Joey Lewitin is one of the authors that adds home decorating and design advice to the resource section of http://pebblez.com

Your cute little pooch is the joy of your life, you love to be around him…. Until you get too close!

Bad breath in dogs can be a common problem and while easily taken care of, it can be detrimental to their health if left unattended.

Bad breath can be blamed on a number of culprits. A couple of the most common are dental or periodontal disease. This can all be associated to your dog not properly chewing his food (i.e. not allowing saliva to do its job), having a broken tooth or dental plaque and tartar. Also, your dog could be suffering an internal problem that is causing his bad breath. He could be having problems with kidney or liver function. The best thing to do in extreme cases is to consult with your vet.

The first tool in battling bad breath in dogs is a toothbrush and some enzymatic toothpaste. Yep, that’s right, fido needs his teeth brushed regularly. Almost 80% of dogs over 3 years old have periodontal disease. This is very serious and is causes a buildup on the teeth and gums that results in deterioration of the gums, teeth and bones. Not only does it cause bad breath, but the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and threaten the health of your dogs vital organs. In fact, proper dental care may help your dog live up to 5 years longer!

You should brush your dogs teeth every day. At first this may really be a struggle, but after a while it will become routine and eventually you and your dog may even enjoy this time together. There are two types of brushes - one looks pretty much like a regular toothbrush and one is a rubber “finger” with little rubber bristles that you place over your finger. You may need to experiment to see which one is best for your dog.

Never use human toothpaste on your dog - it can hurt him! You should use special enzymatic toothpaste that will help kill the bacteria. Plus it comes in flavors dogs like like chicken (I know my dog loved that taste of it).

Anther way to insure your dogs breath smells sweet as well as his overall health is to make sure that you are meeting your dog’s nutritional needs. Do not feed your dog table scrapsever. And, never feed your puppy or dog candy or especially chocolate. Give your dog the best food designed for his body type and breed.

Finally, you’ll want to be sure to have your dog’s teeth brushed and professionally treated by a veterinarian every six to twenty-four months. After your first consultation, ask your vet what schedule he believes is best. It can vary dependent upon breed and lifestyle. You dog will have to undergo a general anesthesia in the vet’s office before the brushing. For older dogs, talk to your vet, especially if it’s been awhile (up to a few years) since your dog’s last cleaning. Some vets will not put older dogs under anesthesia for regular cleanings.

If you haven’t tended to your pets dental needs in a while, you may find he needs a dental cleaning and scaling right away. He may even need to have some teeth removed. Once you have this taken car of, however you can start on a routine of daily brushing and he may never need to get a dental from the vet again.

Once you take care of any buildup and start on your brushing routine, your dogs breath should be sweet in no time!

Lee Dobbins is an avid dog lover and writes for many pet related sites. Find out more about dog care at the webs Pet Center or learn about the loveable pug at The Pug Pages

Today we hear all the Whole-Health buzzwords like functional foods, nutraceutical, organic, natural and holistic ingredients. Every natural, holistic, and organic ingredient we use has been researched for safety and efficacy. Natural, Whole-Health Holistic ingredients in our formulas use meat as the first ingredient because cats and dogs are primarily carnevors. All meats have different grades depending on the source, look for the best sources for your pets.

Regular meat meals are cooked to almost burning temperatures at many manufacturers, which greatly reduces nutrient values. They do this to increase the production speed, and then add back nutrients near the end of their process. We use moderate temperatures to insure that the natural nutrients aren’t destroyed in the manufacturing process.

THE VERY BEST CHICKEN, PORK, LAMB, FISH AND DUCK

Our Chicken Meal originates in facilities handling chicken for our dinner table. Our Chicken Meal is antibiotic free and has no added hormones. It is an excellent source of Omega 6 fatty acids, a natural coat and skin conditioner.

Pork is the most consumed meat in the world. Pork Meal digestibility is second only to Fish Meal and far more digestible than beef. Fat levels are about the same as our fish meal. Our Pork Meal comes from facilities preparing meat for your dinner table, and is shipped fresh. Parasites are non-existent in the U.S. hog industry today. Pork Meal, unlike bacon, is very low in nitrates. Pork Meal is an expensive ingredient so you seldom see it in other pet food brands. It is a hypoallergenic ingredient. It has an excellent amino acid and Omega fatty acid profile.

Lamb Meal is imported. The sheep are free range and grass fed. Lamb Meal is a hypoallergenic ingredient and is used in several of our hypoallergenic formulas. Lamb is also a very lean meat.

Anchovy and Sardine Meals used in our formulas are harvested from pure, cold, Antarctic Ocean waters and put on ice. We buy a special premium grade that is cooked at moderate temperatures. Our darker fleshed fish are high in Omega 3 fatty acids, so beneficial to coat and skin health. “Whitefish” (not used in our formulas), is a generic name for a number of species of white fish used in some brands. The species will vary bag-to-bag, formula-to-formula. They have minimal Omega 3 fatty acid levels. Most fish meals are preserved with ethoxyquin; our meal is preserved naturally.

Duck Meal is a protein rich, hypoallergenic meal, imported from Europe. If you appreciate the natural, holistic approach to nutrition, you will appreciate how these ducks are raised. Use of medications of any kind are highly unusual. No hormones are added.

WHY THREE DIFFERENT MEAT SOURCES?

The benefit of three animal protein sources is that there is less protein from any one source and therefore less chance of an allergic reaction, or at least a less severe reaction, to any specific protein in the diet. Allergies are caused primarily by the protein content of an ingredient. Fats have no protein content. Thus, a pet could be allergic to chicken, but not chicken fat. Beef is not used in any of our dry formulas because it has been found that along with wheat, pets have developed allergies.

WE DON’T DILUTE OUR MEAT INGREDIENTS WITH WATER.

We use a very concentrated form of meats known as meals, which are 11 times more protein-concentrated than “meat”. Foods that list “real chicken/beef” or chicken/beef first include the water weight in this ingredient. Chicken/beef in this form consists of 70% water. Other manufacturers count the weight of the water, and lists chicken first. With the water removed, your pet is getting 70% less “chicken” than you were led to believe, and it is probably the fourth or fifth ingredient.

NO GENERIC WHITEFISH.

Used in some brands, “Whitefish” is not a specific fish species. Merriam-Webster dictionary and the human and pet food industry define Whitefish as “any of various market fishes with white flesh that is not oily”. Brands using this less expensive, generic fish will not be consistent, bag-to-bag. Whitefish is usually preserved with ethoxyquin. The meat filleted from the carcass goes into the human food chain…the head and carcass go into other brands of pet food.

About The Author

Fred Ege provides All Natural and Holistic Dog and Cat Food, the very best for your best friend. To learn more about our All Natural and Holistic Dog and Cat Food, go to: http://www.foxvalleypetfoods.com.