Breed History – West Highland Terriers, or Westies as they are usually known, are a small breed of dog that originated in Scotland. Used to hunt rats and other vermin, the Westie was originally a tan colour, but after mistaken for a fox and being shot during a hunt, its famous white colour was conceived to prevent any such tragedies happening in the future. The rest, as they say, is history… (more…)
Breed History –
The Chihuahua dog is one of the oldest breeds from America and also one of the smallest breeds in the world. Brought into Europe in the 19th Century it is thought that the Chinese were the first to introduce the dog to native Mexico. The Chihuahua is named after the largest state in Mexico, lieing on the border of New Mexico and Texas.
It is thought that these type of small dogs are descended from the Techichi, a companion dog favoured by the Toltecs and that the modern dog developed through breeding with miniaturised Chinese dogs brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors.
Chihuahuas have recently become popular as an “accessory dog” with celebrities like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Mickey Rourke choosing to take these loveable pooches on their travels.
Breed History -
It is suggested tha the forerunner of the Persian cat we know and love today were first imported from Persia in the 17th Century by European explorers along with jewels, spices and silks. It was introduced into Britain not long after and where seemingly interbred with other longhaired cats from Turkey (Turkish Angoras). Hundreds of years of selective breeding have ended with a cat that has distinctive long hair and a short muzzle. Through the ages the Persian has been regarded as a cat of extreme luxury and was often shown as a symbol of great status.
There is photographic evidence that shows these cats were quite different in appearance to the Persian cats we know today. The Persian Breed Standard set by the Persian Breed Council introduced several rulings to limit the extent of extreme feature breeding with the standard being changed in 2007 to state that the forehead, nose, and chin should be in vertical alignment.
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