YAZRO

THE ROMANIAN CARPATHIAN SHEPHERD GENERALITIES The Carpathian is a massive, large dog, derived from the   “MOLOSSUS” group, used by the Romanian shepherds from the Carpathian   Mountains, for many centuries for guarding the herds and their personal protec-   tion against large predatory and villains. It is a calm and balanced nature but irre-   sistible to attack and protect. It has a robust physique and resistant to the most   harsh conditions. The general impression is of a vigorous, imposing and towering   dog, very aggressive when needed. The sexual disposition is well expressed, in the somatic way. THE HEAD   is massive, with wide forehead but very little cambered, the stop is   smooth, the muzzle is strong, a little shorter or at most equal in length with the   forehead, does not thin out too much toward the big, wide and black snout. The   lips are thick, well closed on the strong jaws with extremely well develope...

The Characteristics of a Borzoi Dog The Borzoi dog originated centuries ago in Czarist Russia. The Borzoi breed was   developed when crossed between an Arabian Greyhound and other longer haired   Russian sheepdogs. The Borzoi used to be known as Russian Wolfhounds until   1936 until they changed the name to Borzoi in 1936. Borzoi comes from the word   “Borzii” in Russian, which means swift. Borzoi dogs are sight hounds, they were   used to hunt wolves, hares, and foxes. This breed was recognized by the American   Kennel Club in 1891. The first Borzoi known to be imported to the United States   was named Elsie. Borzois have long, silky hair which is easy to maintain. To ensure that their coat   stays healthy, be sure to brush it regularly and dry shampoo them whenever they   need it. Bathing tall dogs can be difficult. Clip the hair between the toes so their   feet aren't in discomfort. They are seasonal shedders, so be sure...

The Benefits of Feeding Raw Feeling nervous yet? That’s normal. Most people have such reflexive reactions to   changing or rethinking their dog food—“He’ll get sick if I switch.” “How will I   know if I’m feeding him correctly?”—that the dog food companies are to be com-   mended for all but signing us up as customers for life.   Most everyone who has switched a dog from a commercial dog food to a raw   food diet has had twinges of panic. It’s understandable, and it’s transitory. Once   you actually see your dog eating and thriving on a raw diet, once weeks and   months go by and nothing horrible happens, you will begin to relax. And soon,   feeding this way will feel natural—which is exactly what it is, on a bunch of dif-   ferent levels.   Although it sounds far afield, there is a parallel between the pressure some vets   put on dog owners to feed kibble instead of home-prepared meals and the insis-   tence ...

Is Your Dog Eating McFood? The canine corollary to talking about religion and politics is discussing dog food.  At first glance, it might seem silly to get emotional about what you feed your dog.  You feed kibble, I feed canned, the guy down the street gives his dog leftovers—  what’s the big deal? But on a deeper level, food is about love and nurturing. For someone to sug-  gest that we are not giving our dog the best possible nutrition is to suggest that we  are not the best possible dog owner. And as the options for feeding our dogs in-  crease, so does the defensiveness of many people about the decisions they ulti-  mately make. So before you go any further in this chapter, it’s important to know that there is  no universally “best” way to feed a dog. There is only the best way to feed your dog.  The decision you ultimately make about what and how you feed depends not only  on the food itself, but other factors, incl...

Dogs and Philosophers The Greek philosopher Plato had a very high opinion of the dog’s intellect. He de-   scribed the “noble dog” as a “lover of learning” and a “beast worthy of wonder.” In   one of his dialogues he presents a discussion between Socrates and Glaucon in   which Socrates, after much analysis, eventually convinces his disciple that his dog “is a true philosopher.” Plato’s contemporary Diogenes, another significant Greek philosopher, al-   though more eccentric than most, became known for wandering the world with a   lamp claiming to be “looking for an honest man.” While he had his doubts about   humans, Diogenes thought dogs were extremely moral and intelligent and even   adopted the nickname “Cyon,” which means “Dog.” He would go on to found one   of the great ancient schools of philosophy, and he and his followers would become   known by his nickname as “Cynics” or “Dog Thinkers.” Diogenes’ own intelligence ...

Do Dogs Need Glasses? Just how good is a dog’s visual acuity? First of all, let’s see how we measure visual   acuity. If we use a typical eye chart (the kind that you see in the office of an   optometrist, with a big E on the top row), the smallest letters that you can read   accurately determine your visual acuity. If you are tested at a distance of 20 feet   and can read the same line of letters that a person with normal vision can read at   20 feet, then the Snellen measure of your vision is 20/20 (or 6/6 if you are mea-   suring the distance in meters). If your vision is not that good, then you will need   the letters printed much larger to read them at that distance. Thus, if the letters that   you can just barely read correctly at 20 feet are large enough that a person with nor-   mal vision can read them at 40 feet, then your vision is 20/40 (or 6/12). Since we can’t get a dog to read for us, we use another technique to det...

Grainy Sight and Clear Sight In addition to the focusing ability of the eye, a second factor affects visual acuity in   dogs: the type and arrangement of photoreceptors in the eye produce certain ef-   fects similar to those seen in photographic film. The film in a camera is covered   with an emulsion containing certain photosensitive silver-based salts that react   chemically when they are hit by light. Film that is more sensitive in dim light has   larger grains of these salts to increase the likelihood that any one grain will capture   enough light to produce a chemical reaction. Unfortunately, the resulting image   also looks “grainy” (much like a poor-quality digital photo in which the pixels or   patches of color are larger), which means some of the smaller details may not be   clear. If the light levels are higher, one can use a less sensitive film, in which the   grains are tiny and tightly packed, so that even small deta...

Focusing on the World In a camera the image is brought into focus by moving the lens forward and back   so that the distance between the lens and the film is modified. In human beings   the image is focused by muscles that actually change the shape of the lens, making   it flatter when objects are far away and round and fat when objects are close. The   dog can’t change the shape of its lens as much as humans can, but there is some   suggestion that, like cats, dogs have a set of muscles that can make the eye slightly   longer or shorter to help focus the image. How efficiently the lens changes focus   has a direct effect on the visual acuity of dogs. If the eye can focus the image exactly at the level of the retina, you will get the   best visual acuity that the eye’s optics allows (this most desirable state is   technically called “emmetropia”). If the image comes to a focus too soon (that is,   before it reaches the retina...