Dog Health Insurance

Country of Origin: England
Weight: 36–46 kilograms
Height: 61 cm +
Coat: Very long, shaggy hair with water resistant undercoat.
Colour: Grey and white.
Life Span: 6 – 12 years.

Made famous in an advert for Dulux Paint, the Old English Sheepdog is a unique-looking breed of dog with long, shaggy grey and white hair all over their body, head and face.  Their tails are also docked (in areas where such practise is still legal), giving them a rounded rear end that earned them the nickname Bobtails.  The puppies are exceptionally cute and born with black and white that belies the incredible mass of thick grey hair that will require between one and three hours of brushing at least once per week.

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Country of Origin: England
Weight: 5-8 kg
Height: 30-33 cm
Coat: Moderate length and silky
Colour: Blenheim, Tricolour, Black and Tan or Ruby
Life Span: 7- 12 years

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are small enough to class in the “toy dog” category and, like most toy dogs; they are susceptible to a range of severe health problems. What is especially worrying with Cavaliers, however, is that two particularly severe genetic conditions are very common in the breed – mitral valve disease (MVD) and syringomyelia (SM). Around 43% of all Cavalier deaths are cardiac-related and most of these are due to mitral valve disease. In fact, more than half of all Cavaliers have congestive heart failure by the age of 5 and it is rare to find a 10-year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that doesn’t have MVD! In this condition, the mitrol value in the heart loosens and deteriorates with time, causing heart-murmurs as blood to continue to seep through the value during heartbeats.

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Country of Origin: Canada
Weight: 27–36 kg
Height: 56–63 cm
Coat: Smooth, short and dense
Colour: Yellow, black and chocolate
Life Span: 12–13 years

The most popular breed of dog in the world; Labrador Retrievers are an incredibly good-natured, gentle and intelligent breed of dog that are both wonderful companions and working dogs.  Medium-large, but company and energetic, Labradors were originally bred to be retrievers – as shows in the flat tail and webbed toes – but are now widely regarded as one of the most well-rounded and multi-talented of breeds in the world.

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Country of Origin: England
Weight: 24 -25 kgs
Height: 31 -41 cms
Coat: Short, smooth and fine
Colour: Various – brindle, red, white and pied
Life Span: 7 – 10 years

The British Bulldog is a broad, stocky breed with wide shoulders and a wide head covered in thick folds of skin – giving the appearance of a perpetually furrowed brow. The dark, round eyes are set far apart above a short, squashed-looked muzzle and powerful underbite jaw.

Although famously bred for tackling bulls and used in blood-sports in the 17th Century, modern Bulldogs are docile and friendly animals that make good family pets. Despite being sometimes stubborn, Bulldogs are quite easily trained, rarely bark and almost never feel the urge to run off!

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Country of Origin: Germany
Weight: 61 – 77 kg
Height: 83 – 91 cm
Coat: Short
Colour: Various.
Life Span: 8 – 10 years.

Strangely, only half the name “Great Dane” is actually accurate; the size of this breed of dog is definitely great, but origins can be traced back to Germany – the word Dane was used to describe big, strong dogs that weren’t of a certain breed.  Nevertheless, the Great Dane is the true gentle giant of the dog world; despite often weighing as much as their owners, they are good-natured and friendly towards call other animals and humans, though should be monitored when around children for obvious reasons!  Despite their gentle nature, they are very energetic and need lots of exercise.  They also make good guard dogs for the simple fact that they look terrifying!

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Country of Origin: Disputed; possibly Scotland or Ireland
Weight: 27 – 40 kg.
Height: 71 – 67 cm.
Coat: Fine and smooth.
Colour: Various.
Life Span: 10 – 15 years.

The fastest dogs in the world, Greyhounds’ long legs, flexible spine and deep chest, combined with a muscular build, huge heart and high amount of fast-twitch muscle fibre help it reach speeds of over 40 miles per hour!  However, despite being bred to course game and race, Greyhounds are actually quite low-energy and intelligent dogs that do not require much exercise.  They also make good family pets due to their tendency to get attached to their owners.  Despite their name, they come in a massive variety of colours, with over 30 accepted in show.

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Country of Origin: Scotland
Weight:
Height: 56 – 61 cm
Coat: Dense, waterproof and medium length.
Colour: Gold or cream
Life Span: 10 – 12 years

Despite being called Golden Retrievers, this breed or dog can come in any shade of blonde, gold or cream – as well as red and “redheaded” mahogany, although these are not acceptable in shows.  Although their coats change to get lighter or darker as they grow older, Golden Retrievers have much lighter coats as puppies than as adults; dark tips of a puppy’s ears may indicate a dark adult coat.

Bred to retrieve waterfowl and game during hunting, Golden Retrievers have a natural love for water, medium length hair sand soft mouths designed to leave game undamaged.  Their intelligence, patience and friendliness also makes them ideal family dogs, guide dogs and hearing dogs for the deaf, as they are capable of learning around 240 different commands, words and phrases and are equally amiable to strangers and familiar people alike.

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Country of Origin: England
Weight: 13–15 kg
Height: 38–43 cm
Coat: Short to medium length
Colour: Various
Life Span: 9 – 13 years

Happy, loyal and affectionate, Cocker Spaniels make good family pets – evidenced by the fact that they were the second most popular breed of dog in the UK in 2006!  They are also known for their intelligence, especially in working and obedience intelligent; traits that make them ideal in their common role as gun dogs.

Despite their popularity, various studies have concluded that English Cocker Spaniels are the most aggressive of all dog breeds!  There have also been suggestions that there is a link between the breed’s coat colour and their levels of aggression, with Cambridge University concluding that red/golden Cocker Spaniels are the most aggressive and solid-colour Cockers are more likely to be aggressive that particoloured Spaniels in 12 out of every 13 situations!

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Country of Origin: Croatia
Weight: 23 – 35 kg.
Height: 54 – 62 cm
Coat: Short and fine
Colour:  White with black or liver-coloured spots
Life Span: 12-14 years

Dalmatia is a region of Croatia with which this medium-sized, spotted and muscular dog has long been associated, although the exact origins of the breed remain unknown.  Their coats are made of short, barded hairs that easily stick to all kinds of fabric, which is particularly frustrating as Dalmatians shed a huge amount of hair all year round.  Most Dalmatians are white with black or liver-coloured spots, though blue, orange, brindle and tri-coloureds spots are also possible – though not permitted at showings.  Patches are often common from birth and can appear on any part of the body, though they are most common on the head and/or ears.   Liver-spotted dogs have brown noses and lighter-coloured eyes than black-spotted dogs.

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Country of Origin: Germany
Weight: 30 – 40 kg
Height: 60 – 65 cm
Coat: Medium length double coat of thick hair.
Colour: Black and tan is most common.
Life Span: 7 – 10 years

German Shepherd Dogs, otherwise known as Alsatians, are large, powerful and intelligent dogs that originated in Germany in 1899 and are often used by the police and military, due to their obedient, loyal and protective nature.  Their thick doubled coat of typically medium-length hair comes in a variety of colours; the most common being a combination of black and tan or red and black, though all-black, all-white and even blue varieties have been know.

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