The Napoleon cat is a relatively new breed, categorized by The International Cat Association (TICA) as a domestic hybrid breed, "A breed developed from a deliberate cross between two existing domestic breeds, incorporating characteristics of both parental breeds into the new breed."The two breeds (or Groups) from which the Napoleon is derived are the Munchkin and the Persian. According to TICA’s official standard for the Napoleon, these breeds represent the only permissible outcrosses one may utilize to create the Napoleon. This includes the combinations Napoleon × Napoleon, Napoleon × Munchkin, and Napoleon × a member of the Persian breeds (including Persians, Himalayans and Exotic Shorthairs. Napoleons come in both long-haired and short-haired varieties.

Health

The Napoleon cat has very few health issues. The cats need only a moderate amount of grooming. Shorthairs should be brushed once a week, while longhairs should be combed about twice a week.

The Neapolitan Mastiff or Italian Mastiff, is a large, ancient breed of dog. This massive breed is often used as a guard dog and defender of family and property due to their protective instincts and their fearsome appearance.

Health

The Neo has some specific health concerns. The most common is Cherry eye.
Others include:

• Hip dysplasia
• Ectropion
• Entropion
• Elbow dysplasia
• Sebaceous adenitis
• Progressive retinal atrophy^{[citation needed]}
• Hypothyroidism
• Cardiomyopathy
• Bloat
• Skin infections between skin folds called Pyoderma
• Anesthetic Sensitivity

Additionally, Neos do not do well in hot weather, and are prone to hyperthermia. Like most giant breeds, the Neapolitan Mastiff is not particularly long-lived, averaging 7 to 9 years, however, with a proper biologically appropriate diet, safe exercise, and proper weight maintenance, there is no reason that the average Neo cannot live beyond that.

In popular culture

• Alan from the film Babe: Pig in the City.
• Fang from the Harry Potter films (in the books, Fang is a boarhound, an old term for a Great Dane, while in the films he is a Neapolitan Mastiff).
• Pansy from the Burke series of novels by Andrew Vachss.
• Sweetie from Robert K. Tanenbaum's Butch Karp novels.
• A Neapolitan was featured in the movie American Gangster as a domestic pet belonging to an Italian Mafia Boss Dominic Cattano.
• A Neapolitan Mastiff appears in a scene in the movie DragonHeart.
• A Neapolitan Mastiff appears in the Movie "Hotel for Dogs"
• A Neapolitan Mastiff appears in a scene in the movie "Belly".
• Julius (Marguerite's dog) from the Argeneau Family novels is a Neapolitan Mastiff.

The Nebelung is a rare breed of the domestic cat. Nebelungs have long bodies, wide-set green eyes, long and dense fur, and mild dispositions. The name Nebelung — apparently a portmanteau of the German word (Nebel) for Mist or Fog and a medieval Germanic saga, Nibelungenlied — is perhaps derived from the cat's distinctive silky blue-grey coat and from the breed's progenitors, who were named after the two major figures in the Nibelungenlied, the German warrior Siegfried and the Icelandic queen Brunhilde.

In popular culture

The Nebelung was featured on the Animal Planet show Cats 101. The character Hairball in the movie Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw was a Nebelung voiced by Frank Welker.

The New Zealand heading dog or New Zealand eye dog is a farm herding dog that uses its eyes and quick movements to control sheep. It was predominantly bred from the Border Collie, and therefore generally black and white, sometimes tan in colour.

The Newfoundland is a large working dog. Newfoundlands can be black, brown, white and black (called Landseer) or gray. However, in Canada, the country of their origin, the only correct colours are black (including black with white markings) and white and black (Landseer). They were originally bred and used as a working dog for fishermen in the Dominion of Newfoundland (which is now part of Canada). They are known for their giant size, intelligence, tremendous strength, calm dispositions, and loyalty. Newfoundland dogs excel at water rescue/lifesaving because of their muscular build, thick double coat, webbed feet, and innate swimming abilities.

Health

There are several health problems associated with Newfoundlands. Newfoundlands are prone to hip dysplasia (a malformed ball and socket in the hip joint). They also get Elbow dysplasia, and cystinuria (a hereditary defect that forms calculi stones in the bladder). Another genetic problem is subvalvular aortic stenosis (SAS). This is a common heart defect in Newfoundlands involving defective heart valves. SAS can cause sudden death at an early age. It is common that "Newfs" live to be 8 to 10 years of age; 10 years is a commonly cited life expectancy.

History

The Newfoundland shares many traits with other mastiffs, such as the St. Bernard and English mastiff, including stout legs, massive heads with very broad snouts, a thick bull neck, and a very sturdy bone structure. In fact, many St. Bernard Dogs have Newfoundland Dog ancestry. Newfoundlands were brought and introduced to the St. Bernard breed in the 18th century when the population was threatened by an epidemic of distemper. They share many characteristics of many mountain dog breeds such as the Great Pyrenees.

The Newfoundland breed originated in Newfoundland, and is descended from a breed indigenous to the island known as the lesser Newfoundland, or St. John's dog. The mastiff characteristics of the Newfoundland are likely a result of breeding with Portuguese Mastiffs brought to the island by Portuguese fishermen beginning in the 16th century.

The speculation that Newfoundlands may be partly descended from big black bear dogs introduced by the Vikings in 1001 A.D. is based more in romance than in fact.

By the time colonization was permitted in Newfoundland in 1610, the distinct physical characteristics and mental attributes had been established in the Newfoundland breed. In the early 1880s, fishermen and explorers from Ireland and England traveled to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, where they described two main types of working dog. One was heavily built, large with a longish coat, and the other medium-sized in build – an active, smooth-coated water dog. The heavier breed was known as the Greater Newfoundland, or Newfoundland. The smaller breed was known as the Lesser Newfoundland, or St. John's dog. The St. John's dog became the founding breed of the modern retrievers. Both breeds were used as working dogs to pull fish nets, with the Greater Newfoundland also being used to haul carts and other equipment.

Because of that, they were part of the foundation stock of the Leonberger (which excelled at water rescue and was imported by the Canadian government for that purpose); and the now extinct Moscow Water Dog, a failed attempt at creating a lifesaving dog by the Russian state kennel—the unfortunate outcross with the Caucasian Ovcharka begat a biting and not a rescuing dog.

Many tales have been told of the courage displayed by Newfoundlands in adventuring and lifesaving exploits. Over the last two centuries, this has inspired a number of artists, who have portrayed the dogs in paint, stone, bronze and porcelain. One famous Newfoundland was a dog named Seaman, who accompanied American explorers Lewis and Clark on their expedition.

The breed's working role was varied and another famous all black Newfoundland performed as the star attraction in Van Hare's Magic Circus from 1862 and for many years thereafter in one England's founding circus acts, traveling throughout Europe. The circus dog was known as the "Thousand Guinea Dog Napoleon" or "Napoleon the Wonder Dog". Van Hare trained other Newfoundland dogs to perform a steeplechase routine, with baboons dressed up as jockeys to ride them. Nonetheless, his "wizard dog" Napoleon was his favorite and would compete at jumping against human rivals, leaping over horses from a springboard, and dancing to music.

The breed prospered in the United Kingdom, until 1914 and again in 1939, when its numbers were almost fatally depleted by wartime restrictions. Since the 1950s there has been a steady increase in numbers and popularity, despite the fact that the Newfoundland's great size and fondness for mud and water makes it unsuitable as a pet for many households.

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The Norfolk Spaniel or Shropshire Spaniel is a breed of dog extinct since the early 20th century. It was originally thought to have originated from the work of one of the Duke of Norfolk, but this theory was disproven after being in doubt during the later part of the 19th century. The term was used to designate springer type spaniels that were neither Sussex Spaniel nor Clumber Spaniels, and attempts were made to use it to specify a breed that would later become known as the English Springer Spaniel.With a liver-and-white or black-and-white coat, the Norfolk Spaniel was described as being a large cocker spaniel. The Spaniel Club set out a breed standard (dogs) for Norfolk Spaniels, but specimens of the breed varied greatly across England. Members of the breed were difficult to train, but formed a strong attachment with their owners and were useful for hunting both on land and in water. The breed ceased to exist after 1903, when it was rolled into the new English Springer Spaniel breed created by The Kennel Club to contain all spaniels of this type.

History

The Norfolk Spaniel was believed to have come about from a cross of spaniels with the Black and Tan Terrier, which was cultivated by an unspecified Duke of Norfolk. However, later historians disagree with this theory, saying that the Duke of Norfolk's spaniels were of the King Charles Spaniel type and that terrier stock had nothing to do with the origins of the Norfolk Spaniel. The theory of the Duke of Norfolk-based origins of the Norfolk Spaniel was thought disproved by the investigation of James Farrow, a 19th-century spaniel breeder, who wrote to Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk in order to find out the truth about the origins of the breed. The Duke responded, denying any connection to the breed, although he did state that his grandfather, Henry Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk, owned Sussex Spaniels. The letter from the Duke was printed in The Kennel Gazette in 1899. An alternative origin was proposed by Rawdon Briggs Lee in volume two of his 1897 work A History and Description of the Modern Dogs of Great Britain and Ireland. Lee argued that the Norfolk Spaniel was descended from a crossing of a curly-coated English Water Spaniel and a Sussex Spaniel or another strain of land spaniel. By the 1860s, the breed was described as the "commonest breed in England", but with a description that varies so much that the only standard point is that they averaged 40.6cm in height at the withers. By the 1890s, the breed had become common throughout the counties of England, leading dog writers such as Rawdon Briggs Lee to question the authenticity of its origins or that the various liver and white spaniels from around England constituted a single breed; "Personally, I do not consider the liver and white spaniel any particular variety at all, nor do I believe that it has ever been indigenous to Norfolk." He states that similar dogs exist in Devonshire that do not trace ancestry to Norfolk, and that liver and white spaniels pre-date the breeding of the Black and Tan Terrier with an ordinary spaniel. F.H.F. Mercer described the breed in 1890 as being "virtually extinct in its purity", with its liver and white colours running through any numbers of miscellaneous spaniels, and he too discredits the origins involving the Duke of Norfolk. The change in terminology was not smooth or immediate, with James Watson in his 1905 work, The Dog Book, still referring to the Norfolk Spaniel as a breed name. They were described by the Spaniel Club of America as being as good in the water as the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

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The Norfolk Terrier is a British breed of dog. Prior to gaining recognition as an independent breed in 1960, it was a variety of the Norwich Terrier, distinguished from the "prick eared" Norwich by its "drop ears" (or folded ears). Together, the Norfolk and Norwich Terriers are the smallest of the working terriers.

History

In the 1880s, Great Britain sportsmen developed a working terrier of East Anglia in eastern England. The Norwich Terrier and later the drop-eared variety now known as the Norfolk Terrier, were believed to have been developed by crossing local terrier-like dogs, small, short-legged Irish Terrier breeds and the small red terriers used by the Romani people ratters of Norfolk (the county in which Norwich the city exists).They were first called the Cantab Terrier when they became fashionable for students to keep in their rooms at University of Cambridge in England. Later, they were called the Trumpington Terrier, after Trumpington Street where the breed was further developed at a livery stable. Then, just prior to World War I, a prominent Irish horse rider Frank Jones sold quantities of the short-legged terriers to the USA, so there they were called Jones Terriers. It was Jones who designated the terriers were from Norwich.In 1932, the Norwich was granted acceptance into the English The Kennel Club and the first written standard was created. The American Kennel Club registered the first Norwich Terrier in 1936. In 1964, The Kennel Club reclassified the drop-ear variety as it its own breed, the Norfolk Terrier, and the prick-eared variety retained the name Norwich Terrier. The American Kennel Club and Canadian Kennel Club both recognized the division of the Norwich Terrier breed in 1979. The Norfolk Terrier was recognized by the United Kennel Club in 1979. After many generations, these two breeds have developed as two distinct breeds both in physical looks and in temperament. Of note, there is literature that suggests that the Norfolk and Norwich were always two distinct breeds and the original mistake was classifying them as one.

Health

The life expectancy of a Norfolk Terrier is 8–14 years, with some growing as old as 17 years. Norfolks do have incidences of mitral valve disease, luxating patellas, and incorrect bites (where the teeth do not align with the breed standard, i.e. overshot or undershot). Norfolks most often have shallow hip sockets and many breedlines are dysplastic. There has never been a Norfolk Terrier recognized by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) as having "excellent" rated hips. Therefore responsible breeders are testing for Hip dysplasia (canine). Breeders that do not radiograph hips and have them evaluated by either OFA or PennHip, cannot answer questions regarding hip dysplasia in their breeding program.Norfolks generally have medium to small litters. Responsible breeders only breed healthy dogs who are of good temperament, good pedigree lineage and best reflect the breed standard. The demand for Norfolk is far greater than the supply. The environment in which they are raised directly impacts the temperament of the puppy for its lifetime.

The Norrbottenspets is a dog breed of the spitz type. It is an ancient breed whose original purpose was a farm and hunting dog but has recently became more popular as a companion dog. The Norrbottenspets is used to hunt wood grouse, black grouse, capercaillie and hazel grouse, but also fox, marten and raccoon. Some individuals are also effective with mammals as large as moose and grizzly bear. Norrbottenspets was formerly used in hunting squirrels, when squirrel fur was valuable in the beginning of 20th century and earlier.

History

The breed originated in Norrbotten, Sweden and Lappland/Kainuuland, Finland, and have been documented as early as the 17th century. Sweden and Finland argue about the true home of the Norrbottenspets, but clearly the dog has spent much time in both countries. The dogs were mainly used as hunting companions. By the end of World War I, the Norbottenspets came close to extinction. Due to the very small number of norrbottens, Sweden closed its studbook in 1948. Although some dogs were preserved, they were in a non-Swedish speaking area and in the far north as a farm dog and companion. Enthusiasts sought out the few remaining dogs and started a successful breeding program between the 1950s and early 1960s. FCI confirmed a new breed standard in 1966 and the official name was confirmed as Norrbottenspets. In 1967 the Swedish Kennel Club accepted the breed for registration and a new standard was written. Finland accepted the standard and began registering dogs in 1973. In Finland these dogs are called Pohjanpystykorva. Immigrant farmers have given the dog an even longer name, Norbottens-skollandehund. There is a great effort in Finland to ensure the health of these fox-like hunting dogs and breeding is highly controlled. Healthy animals, that are only distantly related, are being bred with careful consideration of breeding consultants to create a strong background. Sweden has also had a dramatic impact on the preservation of this breed through strict breeding practices.

The North Country Beagle, Northern Hound or Northern Beagle was a breed of dog that existed in Britain probably until early in the 19th century. The exact date of its extinction is not known; it is likely that it was gradually interbred with other breeds, particularly the modern Beagle, until the genuine North Country Beagle bloodline ceased to exist.The origins of the North Country Beagle are equally unclear. Most writers suggest that it was developed from the Talbot, whose origins are also uncertain, but which some have claimed originated in Normandy. The Talbot was a predominantly white, slow, deep-throated, scent hound. At some point the Talbots were crossed with Greyhounds to give them an extra turn of speed, but they remained comparatively slow dogs that relied more on their nose than speed in the chase. The North Country Beagle was a large, bony hound with a square head, and long trailing ears. Chiefly bred in Yorkshire, it was common in the north of England, but below the River Trent the similar Southern Hound was more abundant. The North Country Beagle was a faster dog; in The British Encyclopedia of 1809, William Nicholson says that the North Country Beagle was kept by the "dashing class of sportsman" because it could "run down a brace [of hare] before dinner", but although a good scent hound, was probably lacking in this ability when compared to the delicate nose of the Southern Hound. The writer and poet Gervase Markham, who wrote a number of books on animal husbandry in the early 17th century described the North Country Beagle as having:In his The Dog, in Health and Disease in 1859, "Stonehenge" (the pen name of John Henry Walsh, later editor of The Field (magazine)) says the two breeds could be differentiated by the large dewlap possessed by the Southern Hound. The Southern Hound seems to have also had a deeper more melodious voice; Markham says the North Country Beagle had "only a little shrill sweetness" and lacked depth of tone. How far the Talbot, Northern Hound and Southern Hound were intermixed by the 19th century is impossible to ascertain: while acknowledging that they had once existed as separate breeds, Stonehenge had never seen pure-bred varieties and classified the three breeds together.Both the North Country Beagle and Southern Hound seem to have fallen out of favour during the 18th century as the fashion for less time consuming hunts led to the development of the faster Foxhound. The North Country Beagle may have formed part of the packs kept by southern farmers for rabbit-hunting that would eventually became the nucleus for the modern Beagle breed. Stonehenge says that packs of hounds that resembled the description of the North Country Beagle still existed in Wales, Devon, Yorkshire and Sussex during the 19th century, but he was doubtful as to how far any of these packs truly represented any of the three early hound breeds.Aside from the Beagle other modern hound breeds are believed to have North Country Beagle blood: Harrier and Foxhounds among others. Coonhounds and Bloodhounds are likely to have had more influence from the Southern Hound and Talbot lines, as they are excellent trackers but not as swift as other hound breeds.