Dog Figurines

Description

The West Highland White Terrier, often simply called the Westie is a small, sturdy dog. The head is in proportion to the body and when viewed from the front gives off a round appearance. The blunt muzzle is slightly shorter than the skull and tapers towards the nose. There is a defined stop. The nose is black. The teeth meet in a scissors bite with teeth that are large in proportion to the dog. The almond-shaped, deep-set, dark brown eyes are set wide apart. The ears are erect set wide apart on top of the head, triangular in shape coming to a point. The legs are somewhat short but not too low to the ground. The undocked tail is relatively short, about 5-6 inches (12.5-15 cm.) long, thicker at the base and tapering to a point. Dewclaws are sometimes removed. The double coat has a straight, hard outer coat that is about 2 inches long (5 cm.) and a soft, dense undercoat. Coat colors come in solid white.

Temperament

West Highland White Terriers are game and hardy little terriers, which are easy to train. They are fairly friendly toward strangers and get along well with children. Easy dog to travel with. They are lively and extremely self-assured toward other dogs, but will not pick fights, if their owners know how to display proper leadership. They may chase a cat for fun, and need to be corrected if they do attempt this. Robust, friendly and spirited. Westies just love companionship. Despite its size, they make a very good watchdog. The Westie likes to dig and bark. If a Westie is allowed to become the pack leader, they may snap when irritated and be combative with other dogs. A lack of leadership on the owners part can cause many behavior problems, such as biting, guarding food and furniture. A Westie who has an owner who knows how to display firm, confident, consistent, leadership will not experience these behavioral problems. These problems can be corrected once the owner becomes the dogs true pack leader. Do not allow the Westie to develop Small Dog Syndrome.

Origin

The West Highland White Terrier originates from Poltalloch, Scotland and was once called the Poltalloch Terrier and later was called the Roseneath Terrier, named after the Duke of Argyll’s estate. The breed came about in the mid 19th century when a Scottish breeder of the Cairn Terrier whelped some white pups in his litters. Those pups were selected and bred to obtain the West Highland White Terrier, which is simply a white Cairn. The West Highland was first shown in the USA in 1906 and first recognized by the AKC in 1908. In 1909 the breeds name was changed from the Roseneath Terrier to the West Highland White Terrier. Like the Cairn, the Westie was originally bred for controlling the population of rats, fox, badger, otter and other vermin.

The Air Bud movies are consider by many critics and scholars to be the greatest movies ever made about a dog that plays sports. There have been five movies in the series so far; two were theatrical releases and three were created specifically for video.

A young boy and a talented stray dog with an amazing basketball playing ability become instant friends. Rebounding from his father’s accidental death, 12-year-old Josh Framm moves with his family to the small town of Fernfield, Washington. The new kid in town, Josh has no friends and is too shy to try out for the school basketball team. Instead he prefers to practice alone on an abandoned court, where he befriends a runaway golden retriever named Buddy. Josh is amazed when he realizes that Buddy loves playing basketball and he is good! Josh eventually makes the school team and Buddy is named the Team Mascot. Josh and Buddy become the stars of halftime. Buddy’s half-time talent draws media attention. Unfortunately, when Buddy’s mean former owner, Norm Snively, comes along with a scheme to cash in on the pup’s celebrity, it looks like they are going to be separated.

Let’s backtrack a bit: Back in the 1990s, Buddy the Wonder Dog was a dog who could actually shoot basketballs into the hoop. He had a tape on how to teach your dog how to play sports and eventually became the subject of a Disney movie, Air Bud, in 1997.

Here was the shocker: Air Bud was actually pretty good, about the best possible dog-playing-basketball movie one could make. Roger Ebert sums it up well: “By the end of the film I was quietly amazed: Not only could Buddy play basketball, but I actually cared how the game turned out.”

Earning $24 million on a $3 million budget, Disney naturally released Air Bud: Golden Receiver in 1998. The original dog had died, so the movie dipped a bit in quality, but it was still a theatrically-released Disney movie. It was passable enough.

Description

The Chow Chow is a large, stocky dog. The two most distinctive features of the Chow Chow are its blue-black tongue and its almost straight hind legs, which makes it walk rather stilted. The head is large and broad with a flat skull. The muzzle is broad and deep. There is a huge ruff behind the head, which gives it a lion like appearance. The black nose is large with well open nostrils. The teeth meet in a scissors bite. The small, erect ears are triangular in shape and round at the tip. The almond-shaped eyes are deep-set and dark in color. The chest is broad and deep. The tail is set high carried very close to the back. Dewclaws are sometimes removed. The profuse, dense, furry coat comes in two varieties, smooth coat and rough coat. The most common colors are solid red, black, blue, cinnamon and cream, but it can also come in tan, gray, or a rare white. The coat sometimes has lighter or darker shades, but is never parti-colored.

Temperament

The Chow Chow is a well-mannered dog. Quite good with children. If they get to know cats and other household animals when they are young, they will get along with them when they are adults. Should be thoroughly socialized preferably when they are young. They need firm authority and training starting at puppyhood. Whether you are adopting a puppy or an adult dog, owners need to set the rules in which the dog must follow and stick to them. This is a very dominant breed who requires a dominant owner. The owner of this breed of dog should be a calm person who is naturally firm, confident, and consistent. With such a handler, the Chow Chow can develop well. The problems arise when the dog lives with owners who do not understand how to be, and stay in the alpha position. If you allow this dog to believe they are the boss of your house they will become stubborn, protective and sometimes down right unruly. Unless the dog senses the owners are very strong-minded, they will work hard at keeping their alpha position in your human pack. When this happens they do not consider themselves as being mean, but instinctually telling you in the way dogs communicate with one another that they get to decide when and how things are done. They will be self-willed to the point of obstinacy and may be over-protective. When you have a Chow Chow who believes he is the ruler of humans, and strangers push themselves on this dog, he may become aggressive, telling the humans he would like to have his space. Space means a lot to a dog. It is respect in the dog world. Chow Chows who believe they are boss will often be a one-person dog, very loyal to their master, though he may act reserved, even with them. Alpha Chow Chows like to dominate other dogs. A Chow Chow who is not 100% convinced humans are the boss, will be harder to obedience train. The Chow will feel THEY need to be deciding what and when, to do things, not the human, as humans must listen to THEM. These are NOT Chow Chow traits, they are instinctual behaviors, resulting in meek human authority over the dog. If you would like to own a dog, make sure you, and the rest of your family know how to be alpha. All family members, and other humans around the dog must be higher in the pecking order, than the dog. Chow Chows can be quite a handful with passive owners, but take the very same dog and put him with an owner who has natural authority and he will be polite, patient and well rounded, making an excellent family companion.

Origin

The exact origin of the Chow Chow is unknown, but we do know that it is a very old breed. The oldest known dog fossils, dated back to several million years ago, are very similar in structure to the Chow Chow. Pictures on Chinese pottery which looked like the Chow Chow date back as far back as 206 BC. The Chow Chow may be related to the Chinese Shar-Pei, as both breeds origins point to China and both have the distinctive trait of the black and blue mouth. It may also have contributed to the ancestry of the Keeshond, Samoyed, Norwegian Elkhound, and the Pomeranian. The Chow Chow was used by the Chinese as a working dog doing many different tasks such as a hunter of wolves, sable and pheasant, for herding, cart and sled puller, boat guard, and protection of the home. The dogs served the Chinese much more then just as a working dog. The dog’s fur was used in making human coats and they were and still are also eaten, considered a delicacy. In the late 1800s Chows were first bought to England by merchants. The name “Chow Chow” probably originated from the pidgin English word “chow-chow,” a general term for all of the odds and ends bought back from the far East. Some of the Chow Chow’s talents are watchdog and guarding.