Genes and Coat Types

There are seven types of coat types found in purebred dogs and the US National Institutes of Health found three variations of genes that control all seven. The University of Utah, where the study took place, found that 95% of the breeds they studied had variations of these genes.

If a dog has variants of all three the dog will have furnishings, such as mustaches, bushy eye brows, and curly hair such as the Bichon Frise and Portuguese Water Dogs. Below Atos, a Belgian Laekenois, has a rough coat.

Dogs with the ancestral forms of the genes will have short hair like the Basset Hound. Satchel (pictured below) is a mixed breed. Her parents passed on the simple forms of the genes giving her a short, smooth coat.

There are only a few breeds, including the Afghan Hound, that don't have coats that are influenced by these genes at all. Roxy, a Yorkshire Terrier, has a smooth, long coat. Her coat is much smoother and finer than that of the Afghan Hound.

The Motor City Winter Classic Dog Shows

This year's Motor City Winter Classic Dog Shows took place this past weekend. This four day event was hosted by the Livonia Kennel Club and the Oakland County Kennel Club in Novi. Conformation, obedience, and rally trials were held all four days. As an added bonus there were Alaskan Malamute Weight Pull Trials, Flyball Tournaments, Border Collie Duck Herding, and Police K-9 Demonstrations.

Best Friends had a few competitors from our classes compete this weekend. Wally, the Borzoi, earned points towards his Championship. George, the Dalmatian, and Ammo, the Labrador Retriever, both took great scores in Rally Obedience. It was a fun weekend with lots of fellow dog enthusiasts and of course great dog related shopping!

Meet Troy the German Shepherd Dog

Troy is a year and a half old German Shepherd Dog belonging to Robin of Clinton Township. It was Troy who picked Robin out when he was only five weeks old. His breeder (Treu Schaferhaus Kennels) had promised him to someone else but when she saw the bond that Troy had with Robin she stuck by Troy's decision. The breeder told Robin the good news on her birthday. "There was no other dog but Troy for me." said Robin.

Troy takes a break during Doggie Day Camp.

Troy lives with two cats and will often play ball with his kitty pal, Zeus. Troy loves balls and stuffed toys that squeak and gets quite disappointed if they stop working. Troy's favorite foods are cherries, watermelon, strawberries, animal crackers, and blueberries. He has been going to Partridge Creek Mall since he was 3 months old, so all the perfume ladies give him cookies. He comes to Best Friends Pet Care for grooming, rally training, and his favorite Doggie Day Camp. His best buddies are Locke and Indie who like to chase balls and play tug-o-war with.

Robin and Troy's favorite thing to do together is go to hospitals as a Therapy Dog Team. He loves children and the staff at Henry Ford Macomb love him so much they give him extra cookies for doing such a good job.

Troy poses in his Halloween best at this year's Doggie Day Camp Halloween Party. He was quite the impressive vampire!

Winter Safety Tips

Winter time is a fun time for dogs! Snow is great fun to run in, play in, catch snow balls, and even roll in the snow. There is nothing funnier than seeing our snow puppies coming inside covered in snow on their faces and bodies. Winter does have it's own sets of hazards that we have to prepare for.

The first winter hazard is well...the cold. Small dogs, dogs with little to no body fat, and dogs with short coats are more susceptible to the cold. Even though a dog may have a thick fur coat if they have not been acclimated to colder temperatures (IE moving to Michigan from Florida in winter time temperatures) they can also be more sensitive. Grooming is a must during the snowy months! A mat-free coat will dry out faster and provides better insulation from the cold than a coat that is in poor condition. Keep walks shorter and check your dog's pads post walks. Ice can form balls between the toes and salt from the street can irritate pads. If irritation occurs there are special wax based products designed to protect pads from the elements.

House training can take a backside with deep snow and colder temperatures. Small dogs can be up to their chest or deeper in snow so finding their bathroom area can be difficult. The simplest thing is to clear a path. Clean up after your pooch even in the cold, young dogs can have an interest in frozen poo. Young puppies may need to be supervised just in case they try to pretend they went to the bathroom so they can go back inside. In deep snow you even have to worry about larger dogs using the snow as a ledge to jump over fences.

The last hazard of winter is the dreaded cabin fever! Dogs just like people need fresh air, sunshine, and to run off excess energy from time to time. Dreary, cold, and wet days make it difficult to let dogs burn off energy. Fetch up and down stairs can be a good way to tire your pal out. Tug-of-war and Find Your Toy are also good exercises. Find your toy gets your dog to use his nose to find the toy you hid, start easy and let your dog see the toy. Eventually you will be able to hide the toy in another room and he happily use his nose to find his toy. Doggie Day Camps, meet-up groups, and training classes here at Best Friends are another way to burn off winter steam. A couple days a week playing with other dog can burn off a lot of energy. Obedience classes may not be strenuous but the positives of mental exercise cannot be underestimated! One of my favorite winter time slum busters is trick training. I only teach tricks in winter time because there are only a few tricks that need to be done outside. Agility classes are great for mental and physical stimulation. Best Friends' agility classes are offered indoors.

Winter time can be so much fun for us and best friends so with a little prevention winter can be safe and fun for all of us. Best Friends can help with grooming, training classes (including three levels of obedience, Rally Obedience, and Agility), Doggie Day Camps, and a monthly free meet-up group. For puppies, under six months of age, we offer a free hour long socialization and play hour from one to two pm every Wednesday. Call 586-792-3000 for details.

Responisble Dog Owners of Michigan Meet Up Group

We will be hosting our Responsible Dog Owners of Michigan Meet-up group on Saturday January 23rd. The meet up will be from 12 to 2 pm and dog-friendly dogs are permitted. Sign up and RSVP at meetup.com.

This is a monthly meet up group that is free to dog owners with dog friendly dogs. If you have any questions please call the event host at 586-792-3000.

Rally Obedience

Rally Obedience is a relatively new sport for dogs combining obedience exercises on a course like agility. It was originally devised by Charles L. "Bud" Kramer from the obedience practice of "doodling" - doing a variety of interesting warm up and freestyle exercises. Rally stresses the importance of team work between the handler and dog over precision. The course is a series of stations with a sign explaining the next exercise to be performed. After the judge gives the forward command the team must briskly navigate the course in the correct sequence.


On the course handlers are allowed unlimited communication including hand signals and the handler's hands do not have to be in any particular position. The handler may not give harsh verbal commands or touch their dog on the course. The dog does not have to be in perfect heel position and scoring is not as rigorous as traditional obedience.


Rally may not burn as much energy as agility but it provides non-impact exercise as well as great mental simulation. Some handlers don't ever plan to compete but use Rally as a way to practice basic obedience in a less formal class setting. There are a four venues that offer Rally obedience in the United States. They are American Kennel Club (AKC), Association of Pet Dog Trainers (ADPT), United Kennel Club (UKC), and the newly formed Canine Work and Games (C-Wags).

Best Friends offers two options for those wishing to take Rally classes. The first option is a six week class for those who have no prior rally experience. The first two weeks we cover the stations for AKC rally including practicing proper performance and introduction to simple courses. The following weeks we will increase the length and difficulty of each course with the final class set up as a mock trial. The second option is for those who have some prior knowledge of rally, even non-AKC venues, and consists of a drop-in class. While AKC obedience is covered the other venues will be added in as some of their stations differ. In order to join either class basic obedience is a minimum and advanced obedience is preferred.

For more information please give us a call at 586-792-3000.