Blog > April 2021

Having a high-energy dog can be quite the ordeal! Not just working breeds need a lot of time and effort to keep calm and happy! Both physical and mental stimulation is important for keeping all dogs happy, but this is especially true of small working, high energy dogs like the Mini Australian Shepherd.

In an attempt to help you keep your dog calm, we have hand-picked four of our favorite activities for you to do with your dog. These activities are not only useful for working breeds, but for any dog who is on restricted exercise or for young puppies who cannot go out yet!

The Pekingese is named after its city of origin, Peking, known today as Beijing. Like their cousins, the Shih Tzu and the Pug, the Pekingese (or Peke) breed is descended from royalty and is recognized as one of the oldest companion breeds in existence. These small dogs have been known to exist in China since the eighth century. Surviving for more than thirteen hundred years, the breed was first referenced in the ancient artwork of the Tang Dynasty. Like the Pug and the Shih Tzu, the Peke was believed to be a type of ancient Chinese “Foo Dog,” possessing the power to expel evil spirits. Therefore, the Peke was regarded as sacred and divine. They served as a companion to Chinese royalty only since it was illegal for anyone other than those in the emperor’s court to own a Pekingese. In fact, stealing one of the little dogs was a crime punishable by death. While this law kept the Peke strains pure, it almost resulted in the breed disappearing as well.