The Basset Hound originated in sixth century France and is thought to be descended from the St. Hubert Hounds. The Basset Hound (bas means ‘low-set’ in French) proved useful to hunters, with its slow movement and long ears to stir up scent, they could drive prey out from dense covering and into open fields. The Basset Hound has stamina to keep up with hunters and to track and prey for long periods of time. Basset Hounds are still used for hunting in some areas of the world. The Basset Hound is described as gentle, sociable and stubborn.

Basset Hounds are loyal to their families and good with children and other animals. They prefer to be lap dogs and do not make good guard dogs, as they will greet any stranger who approaches them as a friend. Basset Hounds tend to be strong-willed and independent, making them difficult to train, but with enough consistency this can be overcome. When out for a walk with a Basset Hound, always keep it on a leash as the hunting tendencies may override any and all training.

Though Basset Hounds have a short stature, standing 12 to 15 inches tall, they are not considered small dogs, and will on average weight 50 to 65 pounds when mature. They have short coats that are tri-colored (black, white and tan) or red and white, and require relatively little maintenance. Regular brushing will keep the coat free of dirt and reduce shedding. Baths are necessary only a few times a year, as their coats tend to repel water. A Basset Hound’s ears need regular cleaning since their long, floppy ears do not allow air to circulate, increasing the risk of infection and they do tend to slobber more than other dogs.

Basset Hounds need to be exercised frequently and often times have to be encouraged to do so as they are prone to taking naps in the sun. The Basset Hound is prone to some genetic disorders. Von Willebrand’s disease is a platelet disorder that results in mild to moderate bleeding and a longer than average bleeding time. Through breeding, the incident of this condition has been reduced in the breed.

Basset Hounds are also prone to glaucoma, gastric torsion and interdigital cysts. Some Basset Hounds are allergic to certain grasses. Without proper exercise, Basset Hounds are prone to obesity, which can cause arthritis, back pains and heart trouble.

There is a website that has great information on Basset Hounds and most other breeds of dogs. It has details that pertain to a dog breeds health, grooming, living conditions, best food choices and more, the website is called: Dog And Cat Facts, and can be found at this url:

http://www.dogandcatfacts.com

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.

Robert W. Benjamin
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/basset-hound-the-facts-every-owner-of-this-dog-breed-should-know-74526.html

Electronic translators that translate from Russian to English and back again are one of the best gift ideas you can come up with. They aren’t as sexy and well received as frilly underwear from Victoria’s Secret or French perfume, but they are probably the most useful and practical gift you can give your intended.

I gave my future wife one when I first visited her. She could barely speak English and in her town there are few people who could speak English well enough to translate for us.

Between sign language, speaking very slowly in English using very simple words, and with the electronic translator , we were able to communicate fairly well.

We lay next to each other on her bed (clothed, on top of the bedspread, with her mother in the next room) gazing into each other’s eyes, trying to communicate with simple words, and handing the electronic translator back and forth as necessary in an effort to try to express our thoughts and feelings.

Indeed, those first four days we spent together were some of the best days of my life.

Two years later, my wife’s English is very good, but there are times still when a word comes up in which it is easier to use the electronic translator than to try and explain the word to her. The most recent word that comes to memory is the word ‘embarrass.’

Yeah, I could try to figure out how to explain the word, but I simply punched the letters into the electronic translator and a few Russian words came up on the screen. My wife read them and said ‘uh huh’ in understanding. She then tried using the word ‘embarrass’ in a sentence to make sure she understood.

Electronic translators run about one hundred dollars to two hundred fifty dollars, depending on the model. Use your best judgment in selecting a model. I shopped around for a dealer on line.

Once I found a dealer I liked, I asked him which model he would recommend. He asked me what I was using it for and I explained that I was going to meet women in Russia and wanted to give them as gifts.

He didn’t recommend the most expensive model. I ended up buying five discontinued models from him for about $ 700.00 total as I recall. I gave them as gifts to each of the women I visited.

The following features ought to be considered in the model you select:

First, you want translation both from English to Russian and Russian to English. You want to be able to translate English words for her to understand and you want her to be able to enter Russian words so you understand what she is trying to say.

Such a translator requires a keyboard for Latin characters as well as Cyrillic letters.

Secondly, a translator that pronounces the words in English is helpful in addition to providing translation in that it helps your intended to learn how to pronounce English as well as how a word is spelled.

Consider words like bow of a ship versus bough in a tree, which are pronounced the same way, yet are spelled differently. Bow of a ship and a bow in a girl’s hair are spelled the same way, yet they are pronounced differently.

There are many such examples in English. The Russian language is a little more practical in that they generally spell words the way they are pronounced.

Get One With A 100,000 Word Vocabulary!

A third thing to consider is the number of vocabulary words. Usually the better the quality of the electronic translator, the more vocabulary words they have.

You don’t want an electronic translator with the vocabulary of an early Arnold Schwartsnegger movie character like Conan the Barbarian. The last thing you want is to continually look up words and not find them in the translator.

Don’t go so cheap you regret it. If the electronic translator is extremely limited in what it can do to make it virtually worthless, you might as well leave it at home.

Look it as a tool to leverage your ability to communicate. You are spending a lot of money to travel over there. Make the most of your trip.

On the other hand, you don’t need the ability to translate a complete medical or technical vocabulary unless you are planning on performing a medical operation on the women you are visiting, or teaching them nuclear physics.

For a good reasonably priced electronic translator click any link with the highlighted underlined electronic translator .

The English language has more nouns than any other language. The Russian language has more verbs than any other language. For example, in English you would say ‘I’m going to the store.’

In Russian, you would use a different verb for ‘go’ depending on whether you are walking, driving a car, or taking a bus to the store.

I like to joke with my Russian relatives that the English verb ‘to go’ is translated into one hundred different verbs in Russian depending on where you are going, when you are going, how you are going, and whether or not you are accompanied by a person or animal, or carrying anything with you.

It’s a slight exaggeration, but they laugh because it has an element of truth to it.

A 200,000-word vocabulary sounds like a lot, but consider the differences from one language to the other, and the practical size of the vocabulary shrinks substantially.

John Kunkle
http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/russian-english-electronic-translators-59138.html

When you’re going to France, wouldn’t it be nice to speak and talk to people in straight French? It would be a lot nicer and less stressing as well to be able to tell the French people what you really want to say, want to buy, want to eat and want to go. You need to have a basic French learning to be able to understand what the French man is telling you in response to your question.

Paris is a tourist destination all year round. What would it be like if you didn’t shop around the streets of Paris because you didn’t know how to communicate or at least tell the vendor your preferences? It would be a total waste of time. You don’t need to master the French language just because you want to buy a pair of jeans and a shirt from a Paris boutique. All you need to know are basic questions when shopping, questions in asking for the price and your change as well.

When you want to ask for things from the vendor, you always start with the words ‘I’d like…’ which applies the same with how you should ask in French.

I’d like… = Je voudrais

or

I’ll take… = Je vais prendre

You can also ask if they have something that you want which goes like:

Have you… = Vous avez

When you’re done shopping, you will usually hear ‘Ce’st tout?’ (Is that all?) or Avec ceci/cela (Anything else?). What you just need to remember is these words particularly when you go shopping. When you’re asked ‘Vouz payez comment?’, it means that you’re being asked how you will be paying.

Remembering these words means you need to sharpen your memory ability. Take the example below:

In the middle of the wedding ceremony, the 70 year olds usherettes went downtown to buy their own bouquet because they were not allowed to participate for the throwing of the bridal bouquet.

The words usherettes and to buy is linked to the French word acheter. The word usherettes were just used to represent the French word of ‘to buy’. The link between the words makes it easier to memorize by utilizing a strange yet silly example such as the one above.

Shareen Aguilar
http://www.articlesbase.com/advertising-articles/dont-forget-to-shop-in-france-80072.html