Considerations in Choosing a Pet

Considerations in Choosing a Pet
Or how to choose with your heart AND your head
The “Head” Part of Choosing Your Pet
The Costs of Choosing a Pet
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Obtaining a Pet
Veterinary Care
Food
Toys/Bedding
Miscellaneous
Obtaining a Pet
 Breeder
 Petstore
 Free pet from
neighbor/friend
 Humane
Society/Shelter
 Stray in Neighborhood
Veterinary Care
 Vaccines
 Spaying/Neutering
 Pre-breeding testing
 Illness
Food
 Quality of Diet
 Quantity of Diet
 Special Diets due to
Illness/Parturition/
Activity Level
Toys/Bedding/Accessories
 Toys
 Bedding
 Accessories
Miscellaneous
 Grooming
 Boarding
 Training
 Showing
The “Heart” Part of Choosing a Pet:
Choosing a Pet that Fits Your Lifestyle
 Size of pet
 Activity Level of Pet
 “Mess” Associated
with Pet
 Appeal of Pet
Differences Between Dogs and Cats, and
Their Breeds
 Reasons to CHOOSE a Cat
 Reasons NOT to CHOOSE a
Cat
 Reasons to CHOOSE a Dog
 Reasons NOT to CHOOSE a
Dog
Size of Pet
 Large
 Medium
 Small
Large Dogs
 Positives: usually laidback, calm temperament,
size alone makes good
guardian, lower
metabolism - doesn’t need
tons of exercise
 Negatives: eat more food,
leave bigger messes,
larger vet bills, shorter
life-span
Medium Dogs
 Positives: Come from
all groups; wide
variety: coat type,
personality
 Negatives: Tend to be
working/sporting
breeds with high
exercise requirements
Small Dogs
 Positives: small size
allows them to fit in many
places; less mess; eat
small amounts; less costly
vet bills; long life-span;
exercised in small spaces
 Negatives: sometimes
tend to be frail; tend to be
hard to house train; can be
clingy
Cats: Large and Small
 Some breeds tend to be larger
than others, such as Maine
Coon, American Bobtail,
Norwegian Forest Cat
 Persians and Persian crosses,
such as Himalayans, as well as
British shorthair tend to be midsize
 Oriental breeds tend to be
smaller - Siamese, Javanese,
etc.
Activity Level of Pet
 High Activity
 Medium Activity
 Low Activity
Dog Breeds that Tend to Have a High
Activity Level
 A High Activity Level
Can Occur in Breeds of all
Sizes and Groups
 These Dogs Generally
Require a Large Amount
of Exercise to Stay Sane
 These Dogs are Generally
Highly Trainable
 Most Herding, Working,
Sporting and some
Hunting Breeds Fall into
this Category
Dog Breeds That tend to Have a Medium
Activity Level
 These Breeds Tend to Be
Somewhat Mellower,
Have More Moderate
Exercise Requirements
 Occur in All Sizes and
Groups of Dogs
 Often Considered “Good
with Kids” due to Low
Reactivity
Dog Breeds with a Tendency Toward
Low Activity Level
 These Breeds Tend
Toward Low
Reactivity
 These Breeds are
Often Considered
“Low Intelligence” or
Stubborn
There is Even a Variance in Activity
Level in Breeds of Cats
 Oriental Type Breeds
Tend to Come with a
more Active
Temperament.
 Persian Type Breeds
tend to be Quieter,
Less Active
“Mess” Associated with Pet
 Shedding
 Drooling
 Litterboxes
 Cleaning up Backyard
or on Walks
How Much Hair and Grooming are You
Prepared to Deal With?
 Different Breeds of
Both Cats and Dogs
shed different
Amounts of Hair
 Not Always Related to
Length of Hair -More related to type of
Coat: Double-Coated
or Single-Coated
Are you Prepared to Deal with Drool?
 Some Breeds of Dogs
have Loose Lips,
which can Lead to
Excessive Drooling
 All Dogs Must Pant to
Release Heat -- also
Causes Drooling
With Every Pet There is the Necessary,
Unavoidable Clean-up
 With cats you have to clean the litterbox. If you have multiple cats,
you should have multiple boxes. We recommend the number of boxes
in the house equal the number of cats + 1. We also recommend daily
removal of excrement.

For city dwellers today, there are many laws requiring that you
“scoop” after your dog in public places. Even if this isn’t a law in your
area, it is a basic tenet of Responsible Pet Ownership. People who do
not own pets should NOT have to deal with your pet’s wastes. It is
also good to clean up after your pet at home, as this prevents the spread
of, and re-infection of your pet with, intestinal parasites.
Appeal of Pet
You Have to Choose Something You can Live
with!
 Looks
 Personality
Cats and Dogs Come in a Huge Variety
of Shapes, Sizes, and Colors
 You can get a dog from the size
of a rodent, to the size of a
small pony.
 Cats come in an infinite variety
of colors -- some can weigh as
much as 20 lbs., others as little
as 4 lbs.
Because We’ve Bred Them to Perform a Variety of
Functions, They Have a Wide Range of
Temperaments
 Some are aloof, some are
fawning, some are highly
trainable, others retain
strong instinctual drives.
Search yourself for the
True Reasons you are
acquiring a Pet and you’ll
most likely find a pet to
meet that requirement….
From the Unusual to the
mundane.
Choosing a Pet with you “Head”
and your “Heart”
By using Both your “head” and your
“heart” you increase the likelyhood of
ending up with a lifelong companion.
Let’s Take A Look at a Few
Breeds Available to Own……
CAT BREEDS
Abyssinian
American Curl
American Shorthair
American Wirehair
Balinese
Bengal
Birman
Bombay
British Shorthair
Burmese
Chartreux
Colorpoint Shorthair
Cornish Rex
Devon Rex
European Burmese
Exotic Shorthair or Exotic
Havana Brown
Japanese Bobtail
Javanese
Korat
LaPerm
Maine Coon Cat
Manx
Norwegian Forest Cat
Ocicat
Oriental
Persian
Ragamuffin
Ragdoll
Russian Blue
Scottish Fold
Selkirk Rex
Siamese
Siberian
Singapura
Somali
Sphynx
Tonkinese
Turkish Angora
Turkish Van
Dog Breeds
Dog Breeds Are Divided Into Groups
 These Groups are
based upon the
original purpose of
the breed.
 Can you name the
eight groups
currently used to
classify dog breeds
in the AKC?
The Eight Groups Are:

Sporting Group – 26

Hound Group – 22

Working Group – 24

Terrier Group – 27

Toy Group – 21

Non-Sporting Group – 17

Herding Group – 18

Miscellaneous Class - 5
These Eight Groups (including the
Miscellaneous Class) are Comprised of 160
Different Breeds
 In 2004 there were
958,641 individual
dogs registered with
the American Kennel
Club alone
 In 2005 there were
920,804 individual
dogs registered with
the American Kennel
Club
Australian Shepherd
Afghan Hound
Australian Cattle Dog
Basset Hound
Bernese Mountain Dog
Standard Poodle
Borzoi
Bouvier
Briard
Bullmastiff
Boxer
Border Terrier
Bull Terrier
Cardigan Welsh Corgi
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Chihuahua
Chinese Crested
Labrador Retriever
Collie
Curly-Coated Retriever
Dalmatian
Dandie Dinmont Terrier
Great Dane
Scottish Deerhound
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French Bulldog
German Pinscher
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Golden Retriever
Gordon Setter
German Shepherd
Ibizan Hound
Ir
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S
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Irish Wolfhound
Parson Russell Terrier
Komondor
Boston Terrier
Dachshund
Mastiff or English Mastiff
Pekingese
Polish Lowland Sheepdog
Pharaoh Hound
Yorkshire Terrier
Great Pyrenees
Pug
Puli
Rottweiler
Saluki
Samoyed
Chinese Shar-pei
Shiba Inu
Shih Tzu
Silky Terrier
Skye Terrier
Smooth Coated Fox Terrier
Soft-Coated Wheaton Terrier
Italian Spinone Hound
Sussex Spaniel
Tibetan Spaniel
Viszla
Welsh Springer Spaniel
Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
Cairn Terrier
Airedale
Akita
American
Cocker
Spaniel
English Cocker Spaniel
Basenji
Beagle
Bedlington Terrier
English Setter
English Springer Spaniel
Greyhound
German Short-haired Pointer
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Greater Swiss
Mountain Dog
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Italian Greyhound
Keeshond
Newfoundland
Alaskan Malamute
Siberian Husky
Miniature Schnauzer
Papillion
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Rhodesian Ridgeback
West Highland White Terrier
Registration Statistics
Can you name the top ten breeds (by
individuals registered) in the
American Kennel Club?
The 10th Most Popular Breed
 The Miniature Schnauzer
 A member of the Terrier
group
 24,144 individual
Miniature Schnauzers were
registered in 2005.
The 9th Most Popular Breed
 Shih Tzu
 A member of the Toy
Group
 28,807
individual Shih Tzus
were registered with the AKC in
2005.
The 8th Most Popular Breed
 Poodles (all varieties including Standard,
Miniature and Toy)
 The Poodle is a member
of two groups -- the
Standard is shown as a
Non-Sporting breed, and
the Miniature and the Toy
varieties are shown in the
Toy Group
 31,638
poodles were
registered with the AKC in
2005.
The 7th Most Popular Breed
 Boxer
 A member of the
Working Group

37,268 boxers were registered
with the AKC in 2005.
The 6th Most Popular Breed
 Dachshund, all
varieties, (long-haired,
smooth-coated, and
wire-coated) and both
sizes, standards and
miniatures
 A member of the
Hound Group
 38,566 individual dachshunds
were registered with the AKC in
2005.
The 5th Most Popular Breed
 Beagles, both
varieties, the under 13
inch variety, and the
over 13 inch and under
15 inch variety
 A member of the
Hound Group
 42,592 individual beagles were
registered with the AKC in 2005.
The 4th Most Popular Breed
 German Shepherd Dog
 A member of the
Herding Group
 45,014 individual German
Shepherd dogs were registered with
the AKC in 2005.
The 3rd Most Popular Breed
 Yorkshire Terriers
 A Member of the
Toy Group
 47,238 individual Yorkies
were registered with the AKC in
2005.
The 2nd Most Popular Breed
 Golden Retriever
 A member of the
Sporting Group
 48,509 individual Golden
Retrievers were registered with the
AKC in 2005.
The #1 Most Popular Breed
 Labrador Retriever
 A member of the
Sporting Group
 137,867 individual Labrador
Retrievers were registered with the
AKC in 2005.
To put it in perspective, almost 100,000 more Labrador
Retrievers were registered last year than the second closest
breed, Golden Retrievers, and more than 5 times as many
Labrador Retrievers were registered as Miniature Schnauzers,
the 10th most popular breed. Can this type of popularity be
good for a breed?
 I hope this has given you a new perspective on
breeds, and why they were created, and how you
can use their purpose to help you choose a breed
that best suits you and your lifestyle. It is always
important to research any breed you plan to
adopt/buy thoroughly. Feel free to contact your
veterinarian for advice about what would be best
for you and your lifestyle.
The End
The End