Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Chesapeake Bay Retriever


We just learned about the type of dog the Powderpuff Chinese Crested Dog.

Another type of dog is the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

This type of dog is known for their love of water.
They have been used for hunting, especially for going into very cold water.
Their fur is double thick and has an oily coat to keep them warm, they have a strong chest they can use to break ice to go retrieve ducks when hunting.

This dog is also the official dog of the state of Maryland.


(from: wikipedia - chesapeake bay retriever)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spider Cephalothorax & Abdomen

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Powderpuff Chinese Crested Dog


We just learned about the Hairless Chinese Crested Dog.

Another type of dog is the Powderpuff Chinese Crested Dog.

This is actually the same type of dog as the hairless kind, but it has a whole lot of hair, and even needs to get haircuts sometimes to keep the hair shorter.

The hairless and powderpuff dogs can even be born to the same mother dog, so they can be brothers and sisters but some of them have hair and some don't.

(from: wikipedia - chinese crested dog)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spider Legs

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Hairless Chinese Crested Dog


We just learned about the type of dog the Portuguese Water Dog

Another type of dog is the Hairless Chinese Crested Dog.

This dog only has a little bit of fur on it's head, and the rest is just bare skin like a person.
Because they don't have fur, they can get sunburned and sometimes even need lotion for dry skin.
Their skin can be light or dark.


(from: wikipedia - chinese crested dog)

One of the most famous types of hairless dogs was the dog Sam, who was blind and hairless and was the winner of the ugliest dog competition for 3 years in a row.

(from: wikipedia - sam (ugly dog))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spider bodies

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Portuguese Water Dog


We just learned about the type of dog the beagle.

Another type of dog is the Portuguese Water Dog.
Just like you'd think with a name like that, these dogs love the water.

This type of dog was used long ago to help with ships and with fishmen.
They could herd fish into nets, go out in the water to help get broken nets or fishing tools that fell in the water.
They also were used to carry things from one ship to another, swimming through the water.


(from: wikipedia - portuguese water dog)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hornet Moth

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Beagle


We just learned about the type of dog the Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog.

Another type of dog is the beagle.

Beagles are smaller dogs that are very good at smelling things, and have been used as hunting dogs for a long time.
They are also used sometimes as detectives to find when people are hiding things.

Snoopy is the world's most famous beagle!


(from: wikipedia - beagle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Colossal Squid

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog


We just learned about the type of dog the Rottweiler.

Another type of dog is the Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog.

The Pyrenees is a big white dog who was used as a shepherd in the mountains of France and Spain.
Even though it's a really big dog, this type of dog is really great with small kids because it is a good protector.


(from: wikipedia - great pyrenees)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Blue Tang

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Rottweiler


We just learned about the type of dog the Pomeranian

Another type of dog is the rottweiler.

This type of dog has been around for a long time, and was used to herd livestock, pull carts, and be a guard dog.

Now they are used as search and rescue dogs, guide dogs for blind people, guard dogs and police dogs.

Rottweiler's are always black with brown feet, a brown belly, brown mouth, and little brown dots on their eyebrows.


(from: wikipedia - rottweiler)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Kakapo

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Pomeranian


We just learned about the type of dog the Dalmatian.

Another type of dog is the Pomeranian, also known sometimes as a Pom Pom, or just Pom.

These dogs are very small, can get excited easily and are known to bark a lot, so they can sometimes make good watch dogs.
They are very friendly, and love to be the center of attention.

Queen Victoria of England had a pet Pomeranian dog, which made the dog very popular.

(from: wikipedia - pomeranian (dog))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Clownfish

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Dalmatian


We just learned about the type of dog the Rough Collie.

Another type of dog is the dalmatian.

Dalmatians are white dogs with black spots. Puppy dalmatians are born all white, and the spots show up a few weeks after they are born.
Some dalmatians have brown or grey-blue spots.

They have a long history of being dogs for fire stations, because in the old days fire engines were pulled by horses.
Dalmatians get along very well with horses, so they could run in front of the engine barking for everyone to clear the way without being scared.
Also they are very good guard dogs, so they helped keep the fire station safe.

(from: wikipedia - dalmatian (dog))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Starfish

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Rough Collie


We just learned about the type of dog the cocker spaniel.

Another type of dog is the Rough Collie.
There are about 20 different types of collies, but usually when people just say collie they are talking about the rough collie.
It is sometimes called the Long Haired Collie too.

Collies have been used for a long time as herding dogs, mostly for sheep.

There were old books, movies and TV shows about a loyal family dog named Lassie.
The dog from the movie whose real name was Pal was so famous that they had a star with their name on it put on a famous sidewalk called the Hollywood walk of fame.

(from: wikipedia - rough collie)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Koala

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Cocker Spaniel


We just learned about the type of dog the Boxer.

Another type of dog is the Cocker Spaniel.
They got their name because they were good at hunting a type of bird called the woodcock.

In the movie Lady and the Tramp, the dog Lady is a cocker spaniel.


(from: wikipedia - cocker spaniel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Firefly

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Boxer


We just learned about the type of dog the Scottish Terrier

Another type of dog is the boxer.

This dog is very smart, hard working and friendly, and is also very protective of it's family.

No one really knows for sure why the dog is called a boxer.
Some people think it's because the dog stands up and boxes using it's feet,
some think it's from the old German name Baxer, or the German word Boxl which means underpants.

(from: wikipedia - boxer (dog))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Butterfly - Imago

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Scottish Terrier


We just learned about the type of dog the German Shepherd.

Another type of dog is the Scottish Terrier, sometimes just called the Scottie.

The Scottie is a small dog with lots of energy and makes a great guard dog for homes.
It has perky ears and a pointy tail, and has long hair.

A bunch of US Presidents have owned Scottie dogs, and president FDR's dog Fala was always with him, so they even made a statue of Fala with a statue of the president.

In the board game monopoly, the playing piece that is a dog is a Scottie.


(from: wikipedia - scottish terrier)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Butterfly Pupa

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

German Shepherd


We just learned about the type of dog the Bulldog.

Another type of dog is a German Shepherd.

This type of dog is used a lot as a working dog, because it is very smart, very hard working, and really wants to have a job so that it feels like it is doing something good.

German Shepherds have been used by the police to fight criminals, to use their sense of smell to find things that people are trying to hide, and even to sniff out hidden bombs.
They work for the military to deliver messages, to be a guard dog, to scout for danger and even jump from parachutes.
They work to rescue people in trouble, and they are also sometimes leader dogs for blind people.


(from: wikipedia - german shepherd)

A dog that is working as a police officer is called a K-9 unit, because the word canine means dog.


(from: wikipedia - police dog)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Butterfly Larvae

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Bulldog


We just learned about the type of dog the poodle

Another type of dog is the bulldog.

The bulldog is a short dog with a large head and shoulders, and crazy teeth.
They have folded skin on their head and lots of extra skin around the face and head.

The dog got the bull part in it's name because people used to put a bull and a dog together and make them fight and sometimes the dog would win even against a huge bull!

The dogs don't fight the bulls anymore because it wasn't nice for the dogs or the bulls.

(from: wikipedia - bulldog)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Butterfly Eggs

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Poodle


We just learned about the type of dog the golden retriever.

Another type of dog is the poodle.

There are three sizes of poodles, the standard, miniature and toy.
The standard large poodles were first used as hunting dogs for birds, and are very smart.
The smaller miniature and toy poodles were used to hunt truffles which are a type of mushroom.

Later on the smaller poodles were owned by rich people and royalty, and because they wanted them to look fancy they gave them different types of haircuts to show them off.

Their long curly hair can be twisted into braids like hair in dreadlocks, this is called a corded coat.
There are many types of other haircuts where the face, belly legs or tail are clipped to look fancy.

(from: wikipedia - poodle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mosquito Larvae

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Golden Retriever


We just learned about the type of dog, the St. Bernard.

Another type of dog is the Golden Retriever.

These dogs have been used for many years as hunting dogs, because they are very smart and can sit quietly with their owners who are hunting, they love going in the water, and they really want to make their owners happy so they love to go fetch whatever duck or bird or animal the hunter shot.

Because these dogs are so friendly and smart, they have also become one of the most popular dogs to help lead blind people.

They are not great guard dogs, because they are too nice!

(from: wikipedia - golden retriever)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Osprey

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

St. Bernard


We just learned about the type of dog the Old English Sheepdog.

Another type of dog is the St. Bernard.
It is a very big dog, and can get as big as 260 lbs, heavier than a grown person!
They can get as tall as 3 feet tall, about waist height on a person.

Long ago in a mountain area that has a lot of snow, some people used these dogs to go out in the snow and rescue people that were stuck from avalanches or just out in the cold too long.
One dog named Barry saved the lives of 100 people!
He was so famous that they made a statue of him.

These days there are safer ways to get through the mountains so people don't use St. Bernhards for rescuing anymore, but they are still great dogs.

(from: wikipedia - st. bernard (dog))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Loon

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Old English Sheepdog


We just learned about the type of dog the chihuahua.

Another type of dog is the Old English Sheepdog.

These sheepdogs have shaggy long hair that even covers their eyes.
Some people brush their fur to keep it clean, and others give their dogs a hair cut.

Sometimes people even tie up their dogs hair in front of their face with a hair clip!


(from: wikipedia - old english sheepdog)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sea Anemone

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Chihuahua


We just learned about the type of dog the pug.

Another type of dog is a chihuahua

Chihuahuas are the smallest type of dog in the world.
They come from Mexico, and they can have long hair or short hair.
Some are known as apple head chihuahuas and others are deer head.
The apple head means they have a round shaped head, and the deer head means they have a longer nose and thinner face.


(from: wikipedia - chihuahua (dog))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rosy Maple Moth