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Some dogs have a job and love to work, but ancient breeds bred for hunting like the Borzoi are not that type of dog, says longtime breeder Pamela Jo Leichtnam from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “They love the fun of the chase. They love to run, and they need to exercise,” she says. “But, once they are done with their run and their exercise, they can come in and be a couch potato just like other breeds. They don’t have to be active all the time. They don’t run all day; they can go out and have their exercise and then they rest.”

Training sighthounds like the Borzoi

There is a stigma about the temperament of sighthounds that their minds focus solely on the chase, but the Borzoi is biddable and trainable to be successful in just about any sport or arena.

“They are as smart as a fox,” says Pamela Jo. “They’re not hard to train — it’s just the amount of time you want to put into them to get what you want out of it, just as with any other breed.”

Borzois are treat driven when it comes to training, and it’s easy to train a dog that lives to please.

Best families for Borzoi temperament

Borzoi dog breeders have placed their puppies with families with children and with other dogs or with no children. However, Pamela Jo cautions against bringing an adult Borzoi into a home with smaller dogs or cats if the Borzoi is not used to smaller animals due his temperament.

“You must realize they are a hunting breed — they’ll chase a bunny or a squirrel,” she says. “If you have a smaller dog in the house or a cat, the best way to handle that is to buy a puppy and raise the puppy with that. It’s just their instinct.”

Borzois do best in homes with yards so they can run and do not do well in apartments only because of the need to exercise — going for walks is not enough for this dog.

“I think Borzoi are just very sweet, very biddable dogs, and an educated owner will make for a happy, long lasting relationship,” says Pamela Jo.

Interested in getting a Borzoi? Check out the Borzoi Club of America.

Read about other sighthounds in the article Come See About 5 Sighthound Dog Breeds.

Astra, the 6-year-old Cocker Spaniel exhibited several vague clinical signs like not eating every few days and occasional vomiting. Blood tests showed significantly elevated liver enzymes. Many conditions can cause an increase in these values, but one enzyme caught my attention: ALT. ALT stands for alanine transaminase and is usually part of routine screening blood chemistries. Whenever a dog has a high ALT and no other liver enzyme elevations, it indicates chronic hepatitis could be the cause. Because Astra’s other liver tests were normal, it suggested this could be early in the disease course.

Symptoms of chronic hepatitis in dogs

The clinical signs associated with chronic hepatitis vary widely as a result of the multiple functions of the liver. The most common symptoms include:

• A mild-to-marked decrease in appetite, often irregular and intermittent
• Lethargy or being less active
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Increased thirst and urination
• Distended abdomen that may be filled with fluid (ascites)
• Pale yellow (jaundiced) tinge to the skin, eyes, ears and gums

In more severe cases, dogs may act strangely or exhibit neurological signs, such as: unresponsiveness, depression, aggression, blindness or staring into space, standing in corners, pressing their heads into walls or corners, and, rarely, loss of consciousness or seizures.

Chronic hepatitis may be detected on routine blood health panels and can be diagnosed before your dog develops illness. Once clinical signs of liver disease develop, the condition is often in a very advanced or late stage.

Tests for dogs to check for chronic hepatitis

In scenarios when a patient has fuzzy symptoms (ones that could come from a variety of issues) and elevated ALT like in Astra’s case, moving quickly is the patient’s best chance of surviving many forms of hepatitis. But, we needed more information to determine if Astra had chronic hepatitis and why. To do that, I needed to have a look at her liver.

While radiographs are useful in many cases, they’re not good at detecting subtle or minor abnormalities, particularly in organs such as the liver. I suspected this could be early chronic hepatitis, and I needed to confirm it quickly to begin treatment. To do that, I needed to use ultrasound.

Fortunately, a radiologist specialist visited our clinic once a week and would be available the following day. I needed to add Astra to her already busy schedule.

The radiologist performed the hepatic ultrasound and agreed that chronic hepatitis was likely. Based on her findings, I recommended Astra have a liver biopsy. Before that, we ran some blood clotting and additional liver-function tests to ensure Astra could undergo the relatively straightforward laparoscopic biopsy. This procedure is done under brief anesthesia through a small, keyhole-like incision in the skin.

How does a dog get chronic hepatitis

While I expected the diagnosis of chronic hepatitis to be confirmed, it’s never easy to accept. The biopsy showed increased liver copper, indicating Astra had a copper storage disorder. This is often a genetic disorder, but we don’t fully understand it yet. There are many causes of chronic hepatitis, but all require an early diagnosis to achieve successful outcomes. Some potential causes of chronic active hepatitis include:

• certain medications (carprofen, phenobarbital, trimethoprim/sulfa, etc.)
• infections (canine adenovirus type 1, leptospirosis)
• genetics
• autoimmune disorders
• excess dietary copper
• certain liver toxins

Most cases of chronic hepatitis are of unknown etiology, and we still don’t fully understand the condition. Even when we identify chronic hepatitis early, many dogs still succumb to this terrible disease.

Treatment for dogs with chronic hepatitis

In Astra’s case, the first step was to remove the excess copper harming her liver through a medical process called chelation. I started her on d-penicillamine (D-Pen) and a low-copper therapeutic diet. The main side effect of this drug is nausea and vomiting, and it needs to be taken on an empty stomach to facilitate absorption and bioavailability. In dogs that experience upset stomach or decreased appetite, anti-nausea meds or a short course of steroids may help. I also advised offering distilled water if copper plumbing contributed to Astra’s condition.

After six months of treatment, Astra’s ALT liver enzyme returned to normal. I suggested we repeat the liver biopsy, but her owner declined. We chose to continue monitoring Astra’s liver tests every three months.

About a year later, Astra returned with the same symptoms as before. This time I noticed her eyes were yellowish as soon as I entered the exam room. Blood tests confirmed all her liver enzymes were increased, and she’d lost considerable weight. Sadly, it was time to let her go.

Chronic hepatitis is a disease that isn’t talked about enough in dogs. Even if your dog’s symptoms don’t seem specific for a disease, they’re real. It’s essential for you to be their advocate during the exam and insist on finding an answer. For Astra, her human family was able to spend another 18 months with her before she passed away, and those memories are incredibly precious to them.

Beagles are easily identified by their black, tan and white short fur, big brown eyes and floppy ears. Not to mention that howl. They’re also one of the smallest members of the Hound group, broken into two categories: measuring either 13 inches (or less) at the shoulder or between 13 to 15 inches. The Beagle’s cuddly temperament, strong sense of smell and hunter demeanor makes for a great, but often unpredictable, mixer with another dog breed’s amped up drive or feisty personality. Beagle mixes can often be the best of both breeds.

Dogster compiled a list of the most common Beagle mixes and what temperament you can expect from each mixed breed, based on the two parent dog breeds. Of course, as with all mixed breeds, there is no guarantee.

Top Beagle mixes

Pug-Beagle mix (Puggle)

Fun plus snuggles equals the Puggle, or Pug-Beagle mix, who adapts well to smaller living situations. The Pug’s penchant for Brachycephalic syndrome, a breathing condition that affects flat-faced dogs, might not be too severe thanks to the Beagle’s longer nasal genes.

The Pug was bred to be a human companion, so expect extra cuddles and lap time from this mix.

To read more about the Pug dog breed, go to our Pug breed profile.

Beagle-Labrador mix (Beagador)

Think: A Beagle who loves water with an extra shot of energy and affection, and you have this Labrador Retriever-Beagle mix. Based on the sizes of the two parent breeds, this mix will weigh anywhere between 25 and 45 pounds, but has a penchant for becoming overweight, due to a food loving gene combination. Regular exercise is a must.

Read our Labrador Retriever breed profile here.

Beagle-Chihuahua mix (Cheagle)

One of the smallest Beagle mixes, the Cheagle is a very dependent and loyal dog that loves her person, much like the Chihuahua dog breed. Chihuahuas can be oblivious to their tiny size and and act as a watchdog, barking at strangers. The Cheagle measures 8 to 13 inches and weighs up to 20 pounds.

Read our full article on popular Chihuahua mixes.

American Pitbull-Beagle mix (Beaglebull)

Think of this combination as the musclehead Beagle, thanks to the solidly-built American Pit Bull Terrier. The Beaglebull generally measures 18 to 20 inches and weighs 30 to 40 pounds, with a smooth, dense coat, similar to both the Beagle and the Pitbull.

American Pit Bull Terriers are affectionate and loyal if socialized from an early age. Mixed with the loyal Beagle, you may have a muscly cuddlebug on your hands.

Australian Shepherd-Beagle mix (Australian Beagle)

Measuring approximately 13 to 23 inches tall, the Beagle gets a color refresh thanks to the Australian Shepherd’s unique color patterns (Blue merle, black, red merle or red, all with or without white markings and/or tan (copper) points). This Beagle mix is likey to be a hard working and energetic dog, inheritting the intelligence, work ethic, endless energy and knack for dog sports from the Australian Shepherd and the Beagle’s hunting tendencies.

Boxer-Beagle mix (Boggle)

Looking for the fun and sometimes silly personality of the Boxer, but with slightly less energy? The Boggle takes the never-ending energy burst from the Boxer and tones it down with the Beagle’s laidback persona. The Boggle loves learning new tricks and thrives with an active family.

Learn more about the Boxer dog breed.

As with any breeding, do your research by going to the parent dog breeds’ club pages or Dogster’s breed profile pages and speak with the breeders to understand the positives and negatives when mixing two breeds. But most of all, enjoy your pup!

Marking in the house is a smelly and frustrating issue that’s challenging for dog owners to address. The key to stopping a dog’s marking is to understand your dog’s motivations for peeing inside. Then, consistently utilize positive reinforcement training methodologies and management to prevent the marking behavior. 

Let’s start with the first step: Figuring out the why behind the behavior.

Why is my dog marking in the house?

Although your dog lifting a leg on your couch, wall or in the corner of the living room isn’t ideal, urine marking is a very natural behavior for dogs, who experience the world through their noses and leave their scent behind as a form of communication: I’ve been there, or this is my territory.

Many people assume that only male dogs, and specifically intact males, urine mark their territory, but this isn’t the case. Male and female dogs urine mark, regardless if they are spayed or neutered. Some female dogs even lift their legs to mark.

The main reasons your dog marks in the house are:

• Your dog is trying to tell other dogs or animals the house is part of his territory.
• To communicate and manage his feelings about changes or stressors in the home. Rearranging furniture, moving to a new space, new schedules or family members moving in or out.
• Medical issue, such as a urinary tract infection
• Smell trigger from urine on the carpet

How to stop your dog marking in the house 

Step 1: Rule out a medical issue. Take a trip to the vet, who will rule out any health conditions that’s causing your dog to have the urge to pee. Once this is ruled out, you know the marking is likely behavioral and it’s time to start working with your dog.

Step 2: Understand triggers.  Pay attention to when and where your dog starts to mark — somewhere new, when another dog or animal has been in the home, new furniture or returning to the same location again and again. Once you can anticipate the behavior, you can prevent and interrupt the behavior.

Step 3: Supervise. Keep your dog in sight as often as possible, especially if he hang outs in an area of the house where he tends to mark, to intervene before he acts. Redirect him before he lifts a leg or squats. If you can’t fully supervise, keep him confined to a crate or dog-proofed room with an easy-to-wash floor in case an accident happens. 

Step 4: Redirect. If you notice your dog sniffing the wall or furniture, use treats and toys to redirect him away from that area and bring him outside to potty. Redirecting your dog before marking is far more effective than trying to interrupt your dog once he starts and it reduces the frequency of future marking attempts. When your dog moves away from the area he was sniffing/about to mark, praise and encourage with treats and toy play.

Step 5: Manage your environment. Baby gates or tethering your dog to you with a leash around the house, keep your dog near you and in sight. Daily routine management is also important. When your dog wakes up from a nap or seems restless, direct him outside to potty. Back inside, continue supervising and redirect your dog away from the area he wants to mark.

Step 6: Prevention. For determined markers, wearing a diaper or belly band is a preventative measure. Dogs don’t like the sensation of being wet, so most won’t try to mark with the diaper on. Only use the diaper or belly band when you are nearby and able to intervene if your dog becomes stressed, distressed or entangled and regularly check that it’s not wet. When damp, change it right away to prevent irritation and discomfort. To protect your carpet, small, easy-to-wash area rugs and towels protect regularly marked areas.

Here are more cleaning tips for dog parents.

Other tips to stop dogs marking in the house: 

Additional tips to help as you work with your dog, include:

Encourage outdoor marking: Provide an outlet for this natural marking behavior by giving your dog plenty of space and opportunity to urine mark in appropriate locations outside. Don’t rush your dog while walking; give him a chance to stop to pee. 

Clean thoroughly: Clean up any accidents that do happen. If your dog smells pee, he’s more likely to continue trying to urinate in that location. The better you can clean and neutralize the urine smell, not just cover it up, the less likely your dog will continue to smell urine in that location and return to continue marking.

Don’t punish: As frustrating as marking in the house is, we don’t want to punish our dogs for peeing/marking. Instead, take him directly outside and then thoroughly clean the area. Think through what might have triggered the marking behavior and keep a closer eye on your dog.