Raccoon Dog

History of origin

The dog appeared in the first half of the XNUMXth century in the Soviet Union in order to enrich the hunting grounds. In Asia, the dogs did not take root, but in the European part of the country they felt great and began to breed. Later spread to Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Poland.

In the forests, in the wild, such dogs live in pairs, finding a female / male closer to autumn. From danger they are saved only by flight, and sometimes they even pretend to be dead.

In the 80s and 90s in Europe, they began to be domesticated because of their quick wits. This is practiced to this day. But still, not all individuals are able to become tame and domestic, many of them are very aggressive and poorly tamed.

Breed description

A raccoon is an animal the size of a small dog. He has very short legs, a stocky and long body. The body length reaches 80 cm, and the raccoon dog weighs from four to 10 kg.

In color, the raccoon is very similar to the striped raccoon. The fur of the dog is long and thick, very coarse. The eyes are deep set, dark brown or black. The ears are erect and triangular in shape.

The color is mostly dark brown, but there are also individuals of a red color, in the area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe abdomen, the fur is lighter.

A dark stripe runs along the ridge, the sideburns on the cheeks are ash-gray.

The tail is fluffy and short, without stripes, but on the muzzle a dark “raccoon” pattern in the form of a mask is clearly visible.

Photos

Character

These dogs can be affectionate. They are slightly playful and, unlike the raccoon, not mischievous and neat. In their behavior they are cautious and even cowardly. Raccoon dogs are wayward and have their own opinion on everything.

Since this is a wild animal, its character and degree of domestication largely depends on the owner and the puppy itself. If you took a dog as a baby and fed him, this does not mean that he will become an absolutely domestic and obedient animal. But with the right upbringing, you can grow an obedient and good guard and family member out of him.

Do not forget that raccoon dogs are very angry and wild. The raccoon dog is not suitable for people who already have animals, as they do not tolerate others in the same territory. They can still get along with dogs, and cats, birds and other small ones will be regarded as prey. Such dogs do not like children and strangers.

Care and maintenance

An ideal place to keep such a dog is an aviary on the street. The aviary is the same as for small dogs.

If you decide to keep it in an apartment, this means that the animal will suffer, then you need to provide it with frequent walks – from two or more hours. Walking is only on a leash and with a muzzle.

It is worth remembering that both females and males mark their territory. Only early sterilization and castration will help to cope with this.

Living with a person at home, representatives of the raccoon dog do not hibernate.

The coat of the dog during the molting period should be combed with a brush with rare teeth. This is necessary in order for the coat to be healthy and to speed up the change of hair. Bathe them not often – only as needed.

It is better to feed a dog with raw meat, fish, offal. To reduce the cost of food for meat, you can add cereals (buckwheat, rice, oatmeal), vegetables and fruits. Also, a raccoon dog can be fed dry food for medium breed dogs. You need to make sure that the dog gets all the necessary vitamins. Fatty, spicy and sweet dishes are contraindicated for an exotic animal.

Education and training

The training of predatory animals has its own characteristics. First of all, they need to be taught not to be afraid of people, so that they let themselves be stroked and picked up.

The training of a raccoon dog is advised to be carried out before feeding in a closed room – an aviary or a room.

Here, as with other dogs, the rule works: “I did everything right – I got a treat.” Classes with a manual animal should be conducted in such a way that it does not get tired. Everything should be in the form of a game. No need to teach the same thing more than three times a day. They will get bored with it, and they will completely stop executing commands.

Once he has done everything right, you need to give him a treat and pat on the head. You can’t give goodies just like that – only for the right actions. For the success of training, it is better to read a lot of literature and ask dog handlers for advice. Ideally, give the dog to a trainer, but not all specialists are ready to work with wild animals.

Raccoon dogs are smart and can learn the following skills: understand who is the owner, respond to the nickname, must know such simple commands as “Come”, “Sit”, “Give me a paw”, “Fu!”. The dog needs to be taught to calmly and positively treat the collar and leash, the muzzle.

In all classes, the dog must be muzzled. When training, you need to carefully monitor the behavior in order to have time to prevent unwanted actions if something happens.

Health and disease

In the wild, raccoon dogs live up to 5 years. In home maintenance, observing proper nutrition, their age can reach 15 years. Epizootics of piroplasmosis lead to mass mortality in nature.

A domestic dog at the age of one must be vaccinated against rabies, and ordinary dog ​​complexes are also suitable. With proper maintenance and care, they do not get sick. But still, if you decide to get such a dog, you should make sure that there is an experienced veterinarian in your city who will provide assistance if necessary to an exotic beast.

How is it different from a raccoon

A raccoon dog differs from a raccoon in many ways: firstly, they have a different, albeit similar, appearance. Secondly, they live in different conditions. The dog prefers to live on the banks of rivers and lakes, in wet places – meadows with swamps, and also feels quite comfortable in dense forests and shrubs. The raccoon will choose life in a hole, hollows of old trees and even in rock crevices at a height of 25-30 meters.

Because of its clumsiness, the raccoon dog prefers lower places and is not afraid of people. And the raccoon will choose to live away from people and higher. Both animals can swim, but the dog will go for fish on a long voyage, because he, since he is a representative of canines, is a good swimmer, and the raccoon will prefer to swim closer to the shore.

The result is the same – these animals are completely different. The dog got its name only because it is very similar to a raccoon. As far as appearance is concerned, raccoons have well developed toes, whereas in dogs they are collected like dogs. Raccoon fur is shorter and not as thick. Also, there can be up to 10 stripes on its tail, when a raccoon dog does not have them at all, besides, it is shorter and fluffier.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about keeping raccoon dogs at home with zoo engineer, veterinarian Anastasia Kalinina.