Choosing Your Dog Breed

When looking for a hypoallergenic dog, you will have to decide on a breed of dog and also how the dog will fit into your lifestyle. Many hypoallergenic dogs are small or medium breed dogs. This means that they are small sized or medium sized dogs that require more attention than larger breeds. Hypoallergenic dogs may cause you to have fewer allergy attacks because their hair does not shed, they don’t have an undercoat, or they do not shed a lot dead skin cells, or dander. The following breeds of hypoallergenic dogs are popular with those who suffer from allergies: Irish Water Spaniel, Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, and Bedlington Terrier.

For those looking for a hypoallergenic dog that is larger than other breeds, the Irish Water Spaniel may be the dog for you. These dogs have very short human-like hair that will prevent shedding and allergens from entering the air. The coats of these dogs must be maintained through grooming every two months. The Irish Water Spaniel is a friendly dog that likes to exercise and swim during the warmer months of the year.

The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier is available in four varieties, the Traditional Irish, Heavy Irish, English, and American. The main difference is the size of the dog. The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier has a short coat that does not shed much during the day. The dogs will need to be groomed as often as other hypoallergenic breeds in order to prevent clumping or rashes on their skin.

The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier is very friendly and will always welcome strangers. They enjoy getting their exercise and want to be around people as much as possible. These dogs should not be kept in an apartment. Having a backyard is a must as this dog loves to run and bark. If you are in need of a hypoallergenic dog that is a little larger than most, then this is a dog worth considering.

Bedlington Terriers are smaller than the Irish Water Spaniel and Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, but they have short coats which need to be brushed a few times a week to prevent tangling. They will also need to be groomed every three or four months in order to maintain a healthy coat. These dogs are energetic and enjoy exercise. For those who are hypoallergenic and who live in apartment buildings or small homes, this dog is perfect.

These breeds of hypoallergenic dog are not the only ones you have to choose from. There are other varieties that may appeal to your lifestyle and allergy issues. Smaller dogs are better for apartment living as they tend to bark less and require less room to move around in. If you own or rent a home, then you may want to consider a larger breed that will be able to run around in the back yard. Hypoallergenic dogs require more grooming than other breeds because they do not shed most of their hair, it just continues to grow. Not grooming regularly will cause matting, which will have to be cut from the coat in order to prevent skin rashes and other problems.

I’m biased as the wife of a Siberian Husky enthusiast and breeder. I admit it. The Siberian Husky breed is unique among the other breeds in that it is the only one we know of that was selected by the Chuckchi tribesmen to do long-distance hauling. Because they had to go long distances, the Siberian was deliberately bred to be small, strong, friendly, and intelligent.

Siberians are not like a lot of other dog breeds. They’re compliant and obedient only when they choose to be. They will not blindly follow a command from you. The command needs to make sense to them. Over the millenia, these dogs were bred to use their brains and to cooperate in a constantly-adjusting pack with a Siberian hierarchy. They just won’t follow your commands unless they like and respect you, and the command makes sense. They have to want to obey you. It is your job to live up to their expectations of you.

Siberians dig, chew, play rough, and couldn’t care less about guarding property. They shed a bushel basket full of fluff twice a year, so if you can’t stand having bits of Siberian fluff on your furniture, clothes, and sometimes in your food, pass on getting a Siberian. They’re fiercely loyal, and have been known to stand down a bear or mountain lion in defense of their human families. When you love a Siberian, that love will return to you 100 fold.

If you want an intelligent family member that does not want to be left alone, choose a Siberian. Once you go Sibe, you won’t go back.

The word insurance is one of those words that just makes you cringe. Next to putting gas in your car it seems like the biggest expense you have and there is just so much that you need. You need to keep insurance on your car (it would have been really nice if somebody would have told how big a financial drain that was going to be), if you own a home you pay homeowners insurance, if you rent an apartment you have renters insurance, you struggle with the ever soaring cost of health care insurance, and if you are a really responsible family member you have life insurance. And now you find you are hearing that you should consider purchasing a health insurance plan for your pet dog.

You love your dog, he’s more then a pet, he’s a valued member of your family and probably your best friend. But health insurance? You can barely afford to put food on your table how are you supposed to be able to afford to insure your pet. Besides he’s just a mutt, dog health care insurance is for fancy purebred show dogs, not your rescue pet.

The shoestring you’re probably living on is the very reason you might want to consider putting pet health insurance on your pet. The average dog owner takes their pet dog to the veterinarian approximately 2.3 times a year and it will cost you approximately two hundred and eleven dollars per year.  My guess is that each time you pay the vet bill your budget is screaming for mercy.

What happens if your dog contracts a disease, or gets hurt? It doesn’t take much to rack up some pretty serious vet bills. What if you have to leave town and can’t take your dog with you? Can you really afford to leave your dog at a boarding kennel? You already know how much you have to pay for your prescriptions, do you really think that a dog prescription is going to be any cheaper.

Your dog is your best friend and a treasured member of your family could you really live with yourself if you had to put him to sleep just because you couldn’t afford his vet bill.

It is possible to get health care insurance for your dog for approximately ten dollars a month. While it might not cover all of your dogs vet care needs it could help. If you shop around and read each plan carefully you should even be able to find a pet healthcare plan that will help pay for your routine vet visits. Some pet insurance plans will even cover some boarding expenses.

Some questions you should ask the pet health insurance company you are considering buying a pet health care policy from is whether or not your vet accepts that particular type of insurance, if there is a cap on treatments, how much is your deductible, and how will they handle any pre-existing conditions your dog might have.