Tag Archives: dog

06/27/14

“Just stop breeding until the pounds are empty”

A increasingly common rhetoric in the rescue community goes along the lines of, “I’m not against breeding, just breeding when the pounds are full” coming along with the suggestion “just stop breeding for a few years, until the pounds are empty”.

This is a misguided suggestion. While this almost sounds good to the uneducated ear, it seems to imply that the dogs in pounds are exactly the type in demand or that there is a dog in a pound to suit every person. Further, ceasing breeding for 3 years would have an impact on not just breeders, but breeds as a whole, on any organisation with working dogs (guide dogs, custom dogs, farm dogs). Also, placing a ban on breeding is just unenforceable. However, the biggest issue with this suggestion is that it doesn’t target the source of the problem. I’ll look at all these issues in more detail.

 

Pound dogs aren’t for everyone

The dogs available for adoption in pounds is not highly varied. The suggestion that ‘anyone’ can find the dog that is perfect to their household is erroneous. There’s simply not a large variety of dogs in pounds to suit the demand. The reason that breeders (good and bad) are popular is they fulfil a demand that is not met by pounds. Small white fluffies, and indeed small dogs overall, are not well represented in the pound system.

I looked at the first page of dogs available for adoption at Blacktown Pound (NSW). You can see that most dogs are working or bull breed type, and most are medium to large in size. Not a great deal of variety.

I looked at the first page of dogs available for adoption at Blacktown Pound (NSW). You can see that most dogs are working or bull breed type, and most are medium to large in size. Not a great deal of variety.

Some might argue that if someone really needs or wants a particular type of dog, they should just wait for it to end up in rescue. Is it really fair for someone to wait 2 year or more for a dog that may never appear in rescue? Personally, I was waiting 18 months looking for a dog in rescue (with the requirements that the dog be big, with a wire coat, and very good with other dogs). I gave up waiting and went to a breeder. I feel like I was more than patient, but a dog suiting my needs just wasn’t available to me in this period of time.

On the same date, these are the available pets at Broken Hill Pound NSW available on the 26th of June. Again, the dogs are mostly medium-large working or bull breed types.

On the same date, these are the available pets at Broken Hill Pound NSW available on the 26th of June. Again, the dogs are mostly medium-large working or bull breed types

The other alternative is that people may just get the dog that is available instead of the dog right for them. Did you know that at least two studies (see: one / two) found that 22.5% of the dogs relinquished to a shelter came from a shelter to start with? Being from a shelter is a risk factor for relinquishment in itself, and proposals that people should ‘have to’ acquire a dog from a pound actually seems circular to the end goal of clearing shelters of pets.

 

Implications for Working Dogs

Seemingly in Australia, about 700 dogs are bred for customs and guide dog work each year.  These professions have targeted breeding programs to select for characteristics important for that dog’s individual role. They’ve obviously done the maths, and figure that it’s more cost effective for them to breed their own dogs than take dogs out of shelters and pounds. The proposal that breeders should ‘just stop breeding’ until pounds are empty means that either these programs suffer financially, or the community suffers by not having any dogs at all for several years or more (or forever, really).

Another industry that would suffer would be dogs used on properties for herding or as livestock guardians. These agricultural branches have specially bred dogs for their purposes. Many farms find the work of dogs invaluable, and would also be financially impacted by a breeding ban.

 

Enforcement is not going to happen

I’ve blogged at length about all the types of legislation that continually goes unenforced Australia-wide, yet touted as ‘good’. In reality, animal legislation is horrendously unenforced. If microchipping laws get flaunted, breeder licensing flops, and the animal welfare acts regularly are violated nation wide, what hope do we have of ceasing dog breeding for a particular period of time?

 

Dog and Breed Welfare

The idea that breeding should just stop for ‘a few years’ neglects to mention that ‘a few years’ is a long time in a life of a dog.

Let’s say you have a breed that lives until about 12 years old. Three years is a quarter of that dog’s life. That means the dog is middle-aged by the time it is 6 years old.

What I’m getting at is that if you were to ban breeding for a few years, we are going to be breeding older bitches, which we know is riskier. (As bitches age, they have smaller sized litters with bigger individual puppies, which is riskier for the bitch to whelp.)

This means that, for the individual bitches involved, this is bad for their health.

On a broader scope, if breeders choose not to breed their bitches because of a breeding ban, this could put the health of entire breeds in jeopardy. If a bitch is especially important (maybe she has hip scores of 0/0 in a breed with a high incidence of hip dysplasia, or maybe the bitch was imported from Sweden and is important for improving genetic diversity within the breed in Australia), then the loss of this bitch’s progeny to the breed is significant.

Basically, a breeding ban is bad for individual bitches, as they will be bred older, to their detriment. And a breeding ban is bad for breeds, as desirable or important bitches will not be able to make substantial positive impacts on their breed.

 

Is this really where we should focus?

My biggest gripe with this is it is, again, taking the focus away from the pound – the place where killing happens.

Pounds have an obligation to promote and market their animals. Let’s ban pounds from killing and so obligate them to make changes to their approach!

The other gripe is that this proposal works on the basis that there is an overpopulation program – there isn’t an overpopulation problem.

And: pounds will never be empty! Pounds have an important community service reuniting pets to their families. If my dogs got lost, they’d probably end up in the pound (if not scanned for a chip prior), and I’d be grateful for that.

 

A ban on breeding, even for a short period, is not a solution to shelter killing.

  • Shelters do not have a wide variety of dogs available for adoption, so limiting the availability of some breeds may mean:
    • People wait a unreasonably long time to acquire a dog, or
    • People acquire a dog unsuitable to their lifestyle (and the dog becomes at greater risk of being relinquished back to the shelter at a later date).
  • Working dog breeds (including customs, guide dogs, farm dogs) and the organisations that breed them will suffer, as will the people that these dogs benefit.
  • Animal legislation is not enforced and this will be another unenforceable law.
  • This proposal is bad for bitches and breed welfare.
  • And most importantly, this proposal fails to acknowledge the fault of pounds in the shelter-deaths.
06/23/14

Scottie Cramp

ResearchBlogging.orgWhile reading up on CECS in border terriers, I happened upon a condition called ‘Scottie Cramp’. I was keen to learn more, and found the article “Hyperkinetic episodes in Scottish Terrier dogs” (and, more importantly, the reproduction of its text on the Scottish Terrier Club of America website).

Scottish terriers. Photo courtesy of Argowan Scottish Terriers. (Photo for illustration purposes - these dogs do NOT have scottie cramp.)

Scottish terriers. Photo courtesy of Argowan Scottish Terriers. (Photo for illustration purposes – these dogs do NOT have scottie cramp.)

 

What is ‘Scottie Cramp?’

‘Scottie Cramp’ is the popular term for hyperkinetic episodes in scottish terriers. This is a central nervous system problem that causes the hindlegs of effected Scottish Terriers to ‘cramp up’ so they kind of ‘skip’ with their hindquarters.

This condition is often brought on by excitement or exercise, and gets worse as exercise progresses. Generally a walk of 90m-600m was enough to bring about symptoms in affected dogs in this study. (However, there was one badly effected dogs who displayed symptoms after 10m.)

Usually a dog will exhibit symptoms before 18 months of age, and this condition does not seem to affect the dog’s lifespan.

 

What does it look like?

The paper does a pretty good job of describing this disorder. So here’s what they say with some added emphasis from me:

During exercise, the onset of a hyperkinetic episode was usually indicated by a slight abduction of the front legs, resulting in an arclike motion of the limbs while extending.  The back then became arched in the lumbar region, and the hind legs were quickly over­flexed and then swiftly returned to the ground.  This motion has been appropriately described as a “stringhalt” gait.

The front legs became increasingly stiff, and while walking were quickly ex­tended then flexed. In rare cases where the back was not arched, the dog walked with a “goose step” gait. Forward movement was usually hindered, and in severe cases was completely absent, resulting in the dog walking in place. Facial muscles did not ap­pear to be affected at this time…

Occasionally, when the younger dogs were running, the hindquarters would suddenly and strongly become elevated, often to such a degree that the dog somersaulted. If the inducing stimulus was continued, the hind legs became increasingly resistant to flexion, which finally resulted in a pillarlike stance, with the dog unable to walk. If the dog fell down, it would curl into a ball with its head, limbs, and tail tucked in; breathing would ap­pear to cease. The severe seizure would last approximately 15 seconds, after which the dog appeared relaxed and panting. During or just preceding a severe episode, the facial muscles were often affected, and the dog was unable to open its jaws.

None of the dogs lost consciousness during an episode, nor did they appear to be in pain. A short period of rest would alleviate the hyper­kinetic episode in most dogs, but the signs would quickly reappear if the inducing factors were not eliminated.

Here’s a video showing a scottie with this cramping disorder, and a ‘normal’ scottie:


 

What causes it?

This was a small study of only 10 dogs, but the results seem to indicate: “Excitement and fear facilitated the hyperkinetic episodes, whereas anxiety and apprehension were often inhibitory”. (Personally, I am not sure that fear and anxiety are different enough to form this kind of conclusion.)

They also found that amphetamine sulfate, when injected intramuscularly, caused symptoms within 15 minutes.

There was a lot of variation between dogs and symptoms, but it seemed that frequent exposure to the trigger, the dogs tended to build tolerance. However, no dog ‘recovered’ (i.e. ceased to display symptoms).

 

What fixes it?

As this is a Central Nervous System problem, drugs that target the CNS, naturally, are effective.

Symptoms can be alleviated by some drugs (such as chlorpromazine, acepromazine, and diazepam) injected intramuscularly. In the case of chlorpromazine, injection intramuscularly during a seizure caused cessation of symptoms within 15 minutes.

Diazepam worked to stop dogs seizing, and also to prevent seizures (given twice daily to affected dogs).

While Vitamin E has been anecdotally suggested as a preventative, this study did not find it to be effective.

 

How is Scottie Cramp diagnosed?

3 criteria for scottie cramp:

1) abnormal gait or seizures during excitement,

2) injected amphetamine should induce an episode, and

3) administering diazepam or promazine during a seizure should cause prompt remission.

 

Reference:
Meyers KM, Lund JE, Padgett G, & Dickson WM (1969). Hyperkinetic episodes in Scottish Terrier dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 155 (2), 129-33 PMID: 5816228

05/27/14

Preparing for Earthdog Season

It’s almost the time of the year for earthdog once again! Earthdog is a ‘winter sport’, spanning from approximately May to August, weather permitting.

Earthdog is a fun sport for dogs of ‘earthdog type’ (small terriers, dachshunds, and mixed breeds of), where these little dogs get to test out their natural instincts. The sport involves small tunnels being set up, so these dogs can have the chance to ‘go to ground’ and encounter ‘quarry’ at the end.  In South Australia, our quarry is typically a deceased rabbit, but judges have the discretion to use other quarry (like fluffy toys).  For many terrier and dachshund type dogs, this is the opportunity they’ve been waiting for, to put all their fire and enthusiasm into what they were bred to do!

 

Earthdog den setup at SACA Park, Kilburn, Adelaide, South Australia.

Earthdog den setup at SACA Park, Kilburn, Adelaide, South Australia.

 

There are two key parts of teaching earthdog: Teaching a dog to travel through the small tunnels, and teaching the dog to ‘work’ the quarry.

 

Tunnel Training

In earthdog tests, we use wooden liners to create tunnels. For those wanting to train at home, you can easily make tunnels out of cardboard. Tunnels should be 9 inches by 9 inches square. For the instinct test, the ‘easiest’ level for earthdog, they are expected to go through 3 metres of tunnel with one right angled turn. Lots of dogs have difficulties with corners, so do make sure you design your home made tunnels with a corner! You can make many segments to create 3 metres or more worth of tunnel.

The simplest way to get your dog to go through an earthdog tunnel is to lay a food trail and get your dog to gobble it up piece by piece, going through the tunnel as they do so.  Overtime you can make the food trail more sparse, and use a word to get your dog to go through the tunnel – a command like “Tunnel!” or “Get the bunnies!” are most suitable.

 

Quarry Training

In an earthdog test, once your dog gets to the end of the tunnel, your dog is expected to ‘work’ the quarry’. Working is normally digging or scratching, barking, or biting at the quarry. I would suggest you either invest in your own deceased bunny (most butchers can order one in for you – make sure they keep the fur on) or, if you’re faint hearted, invest in a particularly fluffy and life like toy. See if you can get your dog excited and tugging on the bunny or toy. Having a dog very committed to getting their quarry is an excellent start.

The next step is to get the dog to work even when they cannot get the quarry. Set your dog up behind a wooden or cardboard grill (again, you can make this out of cardboard boxes).  As you wave your quarry in front of the grill, your dog needs to work (bark, dig, scratch, or bite) at the grill from the opposite side.  Reward your dog by giving him his quarry for small inclinations to work at the start, but over time, build up what you expect from him.  At the most advanced level of earthdog, the dog needs to work for 60 seconds – so if you can get 60 seconds of continual work from him, you’ve got what you need!

 

Put it all together

If you have a dog that is going through tunnels, and is working quarry through a barrier, you then need to put the pieces together by putting that barrier at the end of the tunnel.

 

If you need help, the Earthdog Advisory Committee is running a training day on the 14th June 2014 at SACA Park (Kilburn, South Australia).  It is $2 per dog for you to come try, and get some training and help from members of our committee.  Only dogs of ‘earthdog type’ (small terriers, dachshunds, and crossbreeds of) are eligible to train.  RSVP is not necessary, but if you require more details contact Tegan Whalan on 0421 506 482 or email teganwhalan@gmail.com

05/4/14

How to choose a rescue or shelter to adopt from

Purchasing a dog or puppy: What to look for in a rescue or shelter

 

Congratulations on choosing to add a new dog or puppy to your family.

It is great that you are considering adopting a pet from a rescue or shelter. However, not all rescues/shelters are created equal – indeed, some facilities are merely posing as rescues and are more like an animal-broker than an animal-rescue.

It’s not a ‘black and white’ matter, but here are some suggestions that will hopefully help you when you’re looking at adopting a pet.

 

Green traffic lightNecessities

Do not purchase a dog from a shelter unless the facility:

  • Shows concern and regard to the physical health of their dogs and puppies
     
  • Shows concern and regard to the psychological well being of their dogs and puppies – either in providing enrichment on site, by frequently taking their dogs ‘out and about’, by using Dunbar’s methods of raising puppies (with toilet area, kongs, socialisation), and by providing training to dogs with behavioural problems
     
  • Is willing to provide life-long support to you as a purchaser, and is willing to take their dog or puppy back if things don’t work out. (There should be a trial period of anywhere from 1-12 weeks where a refund is provided.)
     
  • You feel comfortable approaching the rescue or shelter for advice, and feel they would be supportive and give you clear advise you can understand.
     
  • Sells all dogs and puppies microchipped, vaccinated and sterilised (or on contracts to have these procedures performed at a latter date, or with a medical certificate exempting them from these procedures)
     
  • Gives you some time to ‘think about’ adding the dog/puppy to your household
     

 

Niceities

It’s ‘nice’ if a shelter/rescue does these following things, but not a deal breaker.

  • The rescue/shelter asks you lots of questions about your household and what you’re looking for
     
  • There is a sales contract
     
  • The rescue/shelter seems to have a great deal of knowledge about dogs
     
  • The rescue/shelter uses foster carers so they know what the dog is like in a house (instead of just living in a kennel)
     
  • The rescue/shelter has had the dog in care for at least 10 days, to serve as a quarantine period
     
  • Friends, family, or other shelters and rescues have heard of this rescue and have positive things to say
     
  • Identifies as ‘no kill’ or ‘out the front door’ or as ‘saving 90%’
     

 

Red Flags

Have some concern about the shelter or rescue if any of these events take place.

  • The rescue/shelter seems overly concerned about the purchase price
     
  • The rescue/shelter puts the hard sell on – “I might sell her next week if you don’t take her today”, or “I’ll give you 10% off if you buy her now.”
     
  • The rescue/shelter sells puppies together to the same pet family
     
  • The rescue/shetler is willing to sell a puppy/dog to you without you even meeting the dog/puppy to assess it for yourself
     

 

Do Not Buys

If the shelter or rescue does any of the following things, then walk away and source a dog from an alternative source.

  • You cannot meet the dog or puppy before sale
     
  • Dogs/puppies are not microchipped – in most states of Australia, this is a legal requirement
     
  • The dogs or puppies seem unhealthy or in poor condition (dirty, matted, skinny, fat)
     
  • There seems to be no plan to improve the socialability/behaviour of dogs that have problematic temperaments
     
  • The rescue/shelter is not willing to show you all the dogs in their care
     

 

Is there anything you would add to the list?

 

Further reading: See How to Find a Good Dog Breeder

04/6/14

How to find a good dog breeder

Purchasing a Dog or Puppy: What to look for in a breeder

 

So you have made a decision to add a dog or puppy to your family. Congratulations!

But how do you make sure you’re getting a puppy from an ethical source?

It’s not a ‘black or white’ matter. There is no definitive issue that makes a breeder ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Instead, here’s a guide which talks about necessities, niceties, and red flags.

 

Necessities

If your breeder doesn’t do this then walk away…

  • Breeder shows concern and regard to the health of dogs and puppies – either in health testing or in the studs used (e.g. choosing old studs that show they’re healthy, using DNA testing, using x-rays, and other relvant tests)
     
  • Breeder shows concern and regard to the psychological well being of their dogs and puppies – either in providing enrichment on site, by frequently taking their dogs ‘out and about’, by using Dunbar’s methods of raising puppies (with toilet area, kongs, socialisation), and preferably a combination of these methods.
     
  • The breeder has a clear purpose in their breeding program that goes beyond ‘breeding pet puppies’ – they may enter their dogs in dog shows, participate in agility or obedience with their dogs, or have dogs that compete in working dog trials
     
  • The breeder’s dogs approach you in a friendly and sociable way. You are able to interact with and handle all dogs on the property. The mother should be available and should show exceptionable sociable behaviour.
     
  • The breeder is willing to provide life-long support to you as a puppy buyer – including taking back the dog at any point things ‘don’t work out’
     
  • The breeder happily shows you all the dogs in their care
     

 

Niceties

It’s nice for the breeder to do any of these things, but don’t be concerned if it doesn’t happen.

  • The stud dog is on site
     
  • The breeder asks you lots of questions about your household and what you’re looking for
     
  • There is a sales contract that goes beyond simple money exchange
     
  • The breeder can show registration or affiliation to an organisation with a code of conduct/ethics
     
  • The breeder can recite pedigrees and seems to be oozing with knowledge about the breed
     

 

Red Flags

If any of these items take place, you may want to reconsider purchasing an animal from this breeder.

  • The puppies are not vaccinated
     
  • The breeder seems overly concerned about the purchase price
     
  • Not all adult dogs are sociable and friendly
     
  • Part of the breeder’s sales pitch is ‘lots of colours available’ or ‘will grow up big’ or ‘will stay tiny’ or ‘rare!’
     
  • The breeder asks for deposits before a bitch is mated
     
  • The breeder sells puppies together to the same pet family
     
  • The puppies are crossbreeds which seem to have no real purpose (ask, how do they fit into the clear purpose of their breeding program?)
     
  • The puppies are crossbreeds and are given a fancy name like ‘labradoodle’ or ‘spanador’.
     
  • The breeder does seem to be putting the hard sell on you – they’re saying “if you put a deposit down today, I’ll take $100 off the asking price” or “If you don’t buy him now, I have someone coming at 2 o’clock who will buy him”.
     
  • The breeder breeds more than 3 different breeds of dogs
     

stop sign

 

Do Not Buys!

If a breeder performs any of the following points, then do not purchase a puppy and look elsewhere.

  • You cannot meet the mother or father in any circumstances (e.g. ethical breeders, even if the stud dog owner is interstate that should be able to say ‘you can meet them if you really want to go interstate’)
     
  • Puppies are not microchipped – in most states of Australia, this is a legal requirement
     
  • The dogs or puppies seem unhealthy or in poor condition (dirty, matted, skinny, fat)
     
  • The adult dogs are not sociable and friendly, especially if many of the adult dogs are not friendly
     
  • The breeder is unwilling to show you all the dogs at their home
     

 

Is there anything you would add to this list?

 

Further reading:

Red Flags: Warning signs when dealing with a breeder

How to tell if your dog breeder is responsible

A puppy ‘with papers’ from a ‘registered breeder’

Select, select, select

Dog Breeders: Don’t produce lemon puppies