Page 112 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

96 Tasks for the Veterinary Assistant

Breeds of Animals hair coats because of where they were developed (e.g.,
Australian Cattle Dogs). Old English Sheepdogs have a
double hair coat which means they have a thick, dense
It is important to learn a bit about what a purebred underlayer with long guard hairs protruding through
animal is, who is responsible for the registration of these that to protect them from snow and rain. There are sev-
animals, and how to recognize the breed traits to help eral breeds that have double hair coats of varying lengths
you identify breeds of dogs, cats, and pocket pets. This is and densities. The short legged Corgi was developed to
a synopsis of what you need to know and your instructor move the neighbor’s livestock off their owner’s pastures,
will lead you in how to find out about the different so they didn’t need the extra leg length to move through
breeds or varieties. or climb to Alpine meadows.
A purebred animal is one that breeds true, meaning
All the dogs in the herding group are extremely intel-
when breeding a Poodle to another Poodle you get a ligent and hard working. If they are to be pets, they must
Poodle that meets the breed standard. A breed standard have an activity to keep their minds active like fly ball,
describes the animal from head to toe and is used to agility courses, or getting out for long runs with their
judge if the animal is “of standard” if shown or if deciding humans. Herding dogs are very affectionate to their
to use it for breeding. For dogs, the American Kennel owners, will herd children and keep an watchful eye on
Club (AKC) is a registration organization with each them. As a whole, they are a bit wary of strangers but that
breed having an organization or club. The Cat Fanciers makes them good watch dogs, as part of their behavior to
Association (CFA) and individual breed clubs do the sound off when “danger” is near.
same for cats. Horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs have breed
associations for each species.
Hound Group

Reflection Hounds were developed to hunt different animals in a
variety of terrains. Because of this the group can be
Now that you know what a purebred animal is, divided into sight hounds and scent hounds. Sight
discuss the “breeders” that mix breeds like Labra- hounds were developed to see and chase after fast prey
dors and Poodles and call them Labradoodles like antelope, gazelle, and rabbits. They have very long
and charge thousands of dollars for a “designer” legs, lean bodies with deep chests for speed and endur-
breed. What are people paying for? Are these ance (Figure 6.3). Some have longer hair like the Afghan
breeders hurting the original breeds by doing this Hound and others have extremely short hair like the
cross‐breeding? Will Labradoodles ever become a Greyhound. The tallest of all dogs are Irish and Scottish
purebred dog? Wolfhounds. They are more muscular than their cousins
and were developed to hunt bear, boar, and of course
wolves. The sight hounds tend to be more of a one‐
person dog and a bit aloof and sedate when around a
The AKC has separated all dogs into seven groups:
herding, hounds, non‐sporting, sporting, terriers, stranger. They will tolerate handling but don’t usually
give you that happy, wagging tail.
working, and toys. Each of these groups, except for the The scent hounds were developed to hunt rabbits,
non‐sporting group, have similar characteristics, not fox, badgers, and racoons. Most of them have short hair
only in body shape, but in what they were bred to do for coats, a couple have a wire coat (medium length and
humans. It is beyond the scope of this book to go into harsh to the touch) or long hair. The largest of the scent
all 190 breeds the AKC recognizes, but we will talk hounds are the Bloodhounds and the smallest are the
about each group and point out some traits to use as Miniature Dachshunds. Bloodhounds have a renowned
identifiers.
sense of smell and are credited with being able to pick
up a scent many hours old. They are often trained as
Herding Group search and rescue dogs. Beagles, Foxhounds, and
Harriers are very similar in color, being mostly “hound
The herding group is made up of those dogs that like to colored” which is a combination of tan, white, with hints
herd and or keep other animals in a group. The largest of black short hair. The differences between them are
are the Shepherds, the hairiest are the Old English height. Beagles are 13 or 15 inches at the withers whereas
Sheepdogs, and the smallest are the Corgis (Figure 6.2). Foxhounds and Harriers are 20–25 inches. They were all
When you look at the group as a whole you see similar developed to chase fox or rabbits in a pack. Because of
body types in all but the Corgis. The common body type this these dogs are usually not happy living alone; they
is long legs, deep chests, and thick hair coats to protect need a pack for entertainment. Dachshunds are a breed
them from cold weather and thorns. Some have shorter that has been heavily manipulated by humans. They