Homemade ear cleaners

I used to use expensive ear cleaners, but when I acquired an adult dog who had had chronic ear infections, and came to me with prescription ear medication, my vet told me that it was best to use a simple mixture of white vinegar and water to clean my Cockers ears weekly. I use a small plastic bottle that holds a few ounces and fill it half with the white vinegar and then with water, shake vigorously, and then drop it very carefully into the ear canal--I never "squirt" it into their ears, as my dogs hate that. I then clean out the ears using cotton balls--never going too deeply. I usually do this several times in each ear at each ear cleaning session.

The prescription meds did not clear up my new dog's ear problem, but after about six months of the vinegar/water weekly cleaning, that infection finally went away, and he has never had another ear infection since. I use this simple, and very cheap, mixture to clean all of my Cocker's ears every week, and I NEVER have ear problems.

My vet told me that this simple white vinegar/water solution keeps the ear canal in an "acid" condition, which is not conducive to bacterial or yeast growth. As I currently have nine adult Cockers, this is also helpful financially, as the ear cleaners at PetCo etc. are quite expensive.

[Escrito por Lu do Suwannee Cockers em 5 de fevereiro de 2006 para a lista Petdogs-L do Yahoo Groups]

I've been using vinegar/water mix for cleaning ears for years. I have found it helps if you make sure the solution (either homemade or store bought) is at room temp or a little warmer. If the solution is cold, it makes it more difficult for the dog to tolerate and is one the reasons why the dogs will fight ear cleaning.

[Escrito por Cher McCoy em 6 de fevereiro de 2006 para a lista Petdogs-L do Yahoo Groups]

The vinegar works fine with ear infections. Even to prevent an ear infection and on healthy ears. If you dog has Ear Mites (that's if the ear has a Really DARK and Dry wax), you should use Mineral Oil to clean their ears.

[Escrito por Cgbotero em 7 de fevereiro de 2006 para a lista Petdogs-L do Yahoo Groups]

Devo cruzar meu cão ou minha cadela?

Recebi da querida Fernanda Melonio o link para esse texto publicado no Guia Vegano. Achei o texto excelente, aborda vários aspectos que devem ser considerados antes da decisão de ter uma ninhada. A vida é feita de fatos e não de fantasias. A nossa fantasia de hoje não deve ser o pesadelo dos cachorros de amanhã, né?

“Todo mundo que tem uma fêmea pensa em cruzá-la ao menos uma vez [sinceramente e sem nenhuma hipocrisia, eu nunca quis cruzar as minhas, que foram castradas cedo]. Ter uma ninhada parece coisa legal ­mas cuidar de uma ninhada não é tão legal quanto parece. Criar cães envolve muito mais trabalho e responsabilidade do que as pessoas estão dispostas a ter. Antes de cruzar sua cadela, aqui alguns pontos importantes a considerar:

* Será que todos os filhotes encontrarão lares bons e permanentes? Estatísticas dos Estados Unidos falam que a cada hora nascem cerca de 2500 filhotes e 450 seres humanos. Portanto desde o nascimento, só um em cada quatro filhotes terá chances de encontrar um bom lar. Encontrar um lar permanente é ainda mais difícil, somente um em cada 10 cães permanecem com seus donos originais por toda a sua vida. Cinco trocarão de dono antes de completar um ano de vida. E o saldo terminará em abrigos, abandonados ou indesejados. Mesmo que seu cão seja um cão de raça caro, seus filhotes estão sujeitos às mesmas estatísticas. Milhões de cães serão sacrificados anualmente em instituições ao redor do mundo já que não há lares suficientes para abrigá-los. Há tantos animais abandonados hoje em grandes cidades, que os legisladores já pensam em coibir ou limitar drasticamente a criação de cães.

* Suas responsabilidades como criador/doador: você é pessoalmente responsável por cada filhote pelo resto de suas vidas. Sua responsabilidade não cessa no ato da venda/doação do filhote­ é bem aí que essa responsabilidade começa! Você é que vai ter que saber exatamente onde esses filhotes estarão daqui a seis meses, um ano ou cinco anos, e saber se os mesmos estão recebendo a atenção necessária. Você será responsável por todos os filhotes não vendidos/não doados e receber de volta aqueles que serão devolvidos após terem crescidos e seus donos não mais os quiserem. Como somente um em cada 10 filhotes ficará com seu dono original por toda a sua vida, você terá que estar preparado a receber de volta uma boa parte de sua ninhada. A hora de se preparar para isso é agora, antes de trazer novos filhotes para esse mundo, não depois.

* Você terá espaço para esses cães? Tempo para cuidar deles? Parece que ter uma só ninhada não terá grande efeito sobre a população canina em geral ­mas se sua cadela tiver uma só ninhada de quatro filhotes e cada filhote produzir mais quatro filhotes, em 7 anos teremos 4.000 descendentes! “Somente uma ninhada” tem sérias conseqüências! Você terá que aprender a escrever e exigir cumprimento de um contrato que exige que os donos dos filhotes castrem os mesmos. Você tem a responsabilidade perante seus filhotes e seus donos de criar cães os mais saudáveis, física e mentalmente.

* Todas as raças possuem problemas genéticos e de temperamento específicos que podem ser passados aos seus filhotes. Muitos defeitos hereditários estão “escondidos” apesar de que seu cão possa não apresentá-los, ele poderá estar programado geneticamente a transmiti-los a seus filhotes. Sem exames caros e complexos e um estudo aprofundado de pedigrees, você poderá facilmente estar produzindo filhotes que serão uma dor de cabeça para seus donos e um peso financeiro para você. Criadores sérios avaliam seus padreadores e suas matrizes para encontrar evidências de displasia, doenças oculares, de coração, de tireóide, hormonal, de pele, alergias e problemas de coagulação antes mesmo de pensar em fazer um cruzamento. Como criador você deve estar preparado para dar garantias aos novos donos que os filhotes estão livres das doenças hereditárias típicas da raça quando atingirem idade adulta. Isso pode significar o reembolso de dinheiro daqui a alguns anos ou ter que oferecer um novo filhote sem custo.

* Com a nova legislação, criadores sem experiência poderão estar reembolsando até três vezes o valor recebido hoje daqui a três anos, adicionado de despesas veterinárias, correção monetária e multa. E temperamento também está sujeito a garantias. Você poderá ser processado se o filhote que você vendeu ontem morder alguém amanhã. Você terá que estar presente para dar aos donos conselhos sobre treinamento e comportamento.

* Você é o “suporte on-line”, 24 horas por dia, 365 dias por ano, para os novos donos, e isso pelos próximos 10 a 15 anos! Ter uma ninhada sai caro: Criar uma ninhada exige um considerável investimento de tempo e dinheiro que certamente não voltará sob forma de lucro. Depois virão os exames pré-natais, ultra-som, exames pós-parto, vacinação e vermifugação, remoção de ergot (5ª unha), alimentação adicional para a mãe, equipamento como caixa de parto, cercado, etc. Partos com complicação são mais comuns do que se imagina (especialmente se for o primeiro parto da cadela). E problemas durante o parto poderão custar a vida da cadela! Você pode calcular uma taxa de mortalidade de 25% para os recém-nascidos, mesmo fazendo tudo corretamente. E defeitos de nascimento como palatos abertos são comuns. Depois disso virão custos para anúncios para a venda dos filhotes. Mesmo criadores de cães campeões raramente obtém algum lucro na sua criação.

Antes de continuar a ler, pense bem sobre as razões que fazem você desejar criar uma ninhada. Aqui algumas das mais comuns:

* “A natureza fez com que os animais procriassem”. Não é mais a natureza que controla a carreira reprodutiva dos nossos animais de estimação, as pessoas é que o fazem. A natureza age de maneira bem diferente. No ambiente selvagem a natureza se encarrega que somente os filhotes mais fortes e espertos sobrevivam para criar novos descendentes. E a natureza só permite às cadelas ficarem férteis quando há alimento suficiente e um ambiente seguro, para garantir a sobrevivência da ninhada. Nós humanos permitimos que nossos animais procriem a qualquer tempo, tenham um futuro assegurado ou não.

* “Estamos fazendo isso pelas crianças”. Assistir ao milagre da natureza não é tudo aquilo que se diz. É um acontecimento cheio de sujeira e sangue e quase sempre acontece no meio da noite. É doloroso para a cadela e seu sofrimento pode ser mais do que você deseja que seus filhos assistam. Existem vídeos e livros que mostram às crianças o milagre do nascimento sem os custos e a responsabilidade de criar novos cães.

* “Queremos um outro cão igual a este”. Os filhotes terão 50% de chance de puxar traços do outro cão! Seu cão é único e especial. As leis de hereditariedade impedem que dois seres sejam idênticos. A maioria das qualidades que fazem sua cadela tão especial é adquirida, não herdada [não concordo com isso, mas que a chance de ter um cão igual ao seu é inexistente, isso é verdade].

* “Queremos ficar com um filhote”. É bem mais barato e mais fácil comprar ou adotar um novo filhote do que criá-lo você mesmo!

* “Todos nossos amigos querem um filhote”. Qualquer pessoa que viu sua cadela quando filhote dirá que “um dia” vai querer uma igual. Mas esse dia raramente coincide com a época em que os filhotes estão prontos para ir aos seus novos lares. Você ficará surpreso de quantas pessoas subitamente não tem tempo disponível para um filhote no momento ou não estão dispostas a pagar o preço que você está cobrando. Não conte com promessas vagas! Encontrar lares adequados para os filhotes é mais difícil que parece. Nem todo mundo deve ou pode ter um cão e é quase impossível saber a diferença entre um bom e um mau dono. Você terá que ter uma grande capacidade de julgamento de caráter e estar disposto a investir tempo considerável para conhecer melhor as pessoas às quais você planeja vender/doar um filhote. Será que eles tem a experiência para criar e treinar um filhote?

* “Ela precisa ter uma relação sexual”… Ou …”Ele precisa abaixar o facho”. Não nos dois casos. O sexo dos animais é controlado por hormônios. Não existe amor, emoção ou pensamento envolvido. Uma fêmea somente “pensa” em sexo quando está no cio e ela esquece isso assim que o cio passa. E os machos somente pensam em sexo ao estarem próximos de uma fêmea no cio. Deixar o macho cruzar não vai “abaixar o facho” ­ vai sim fazê-lo ficar pior. Ficará mais territorial e agressivo perante outros cães, poderá voltar a sujar dentro de casa e poderá ficar incontrolável caso haja uma fêmea no cio próximo à sua casa. O macho que nunca cruzou desconhece e não sente falta de cruzar. “Abaixar o facho”, seja de um macho ou de uma fêmea, é questão de maturidade e treinamento e não de cruza. Não existe fundamento na sabedoria popular que cães devem cruzar ao menos uma vez antes de serem castrados. Se algum veterinário der esse conselho, tenha certeza que ele está atrasado no tempo. Pesquisas demonstram que castrar cães ainda filhotes não causa nenhum efeito negativo. Castrar uma fêmea antes do primeiro cio pode prevenir alguns tipos de câncer e infecções urinárias sérias. E castrar um macho não tira sua masculinidade. Muito pelo contrário, esse macho se tornará um animal mais fácil de ser treinado e possibilitará que ele canalize sua energia para atividades mais construtivas.

* “Queremos recuperar o investimento em nosso cão”. Como dito acima, será muito difícil obter algum lucro na criação. Criar uma ninhada certamente resultará em prejuízo. Você provavelmente comprou um cão para ter um companheiro e ter prazer. Mesmo tendo pago R$500,00 isso é um investimento de somente R$50,00 por ano, se o mesmo viver 10 anos, ou seja, menos de R$1,00 por semana. Será que o companheirismo e amor que ele retorna não valem mais do que isso?

Aprendendo a criar com responsabilidade: Se você assim mesmo acha que possui razões excepcionalmente boas para usar seu cão para criação e para toda a responsabilidade que isso envolve, seu trabalho está somente começando.

Procriar cães hoje em dia é assunto sério. Antes de seguir adiante, visite o Centro de Zoonoses mais próximo à sua casa e veja o que acontece com cães que foram criados por pessoas que pensavam que seria “divertido” ter uma ninhada.

O “milagre da morte” pela eutanásia é tão educador quanto o “milagre da vida”. Se você assim mesmo decidir criar cães, esteja ao menos consciente das conseqüências. Valerá a pena? Na maioria dos casos, a resposta é não. A decisão de NÃO cruzar seu animal de estimação é uma das decisões mais inteligentes, educadas e profundas que você pode fazer. Pense nisso e releia todo esse texto. E só depois decida.”

Fonte

Cena de filme

Sabe quando você vê um cachorro ENORME correndo em câmera lenta nos filmes? Pois foi exatamente isso que aconteceu ontem conosco, durante o passeio com os peludos. Um ENORME dogue alemão preto se soltou e veio correndo em nossa direção. Mas o que eu vi foi a cena em câmera lenta, aquele bichão com as pernas maiores do que as minhas, correndo com as orelhas balançando para lá e para cá e a bocona aberta com meio metro de língua do lado de fora. Em câmera lenta. Repito, eu vi em câmera lenta. E tive tempo para falar para o meu marido não se mexer e de dar uma olhada na posição que estavam meus três cães. Segurei a cocker pela coleira e aguardei o impacto. Sim, porque eu tinha certeza que aquele tanque de guerra iria esbarrar com toda a força na gente e derrubar todo mundo no chão!

Mas não foi bem isso que aconteceu, apesar dele ter atravessado a rua com toda a velocidade que aquelas pernonas permitem. Ele veio pra cima da gente com tudo mesmo, mas quando chegou perto ele parou e começou a meter aquele focinho ENORME nos meus cachorros. A cabeça desse dogue alemão era maior que dois dos meus peludos juntos! E esses entraram em pânico com o tamanho daquele cachorro. Imagino que a cabeçada do dogue tentando cheirá-los não deve ter sido muito delicada. Tivemos de colocar os dois pequenos no colo, para eles não serem arrastados pelo filhote de cavalo que estava só tentando fazer amizade. A cocker eu deixei no chão mesmo, mas fiquei segurando pela coleira o tempo todo, porque ela não estava nada feliz com aquele cachorro cheirando ela sem pedir permissão.

E aí a gente seguiu andando assim, meio esquisito, eu abaixada segurando a cocker pela coleira, meu marido com os dois cachorros pequenos no braço, e o dogue cheirando todo mundo sem parar (ele não tinha dificuldade nenhuma em cheirar os pequenos mesmo no braço do meu marido, não precisava nem esticar o pescoço nem nada). A gente foi se distanciando da casa de onde o cachorro tinha saído e ele nada de parar de cheirar a gente. Então eu comecei a ficar preocupada por ele. Percebi que ele não tinha coleira nem medalha de identificação. De alguma forma conseguiu se soltar e estava achando a liberdade muito divertida. Ele voava como uma flecha para lá e para cá, marcando os arbustos com xixi e voltando para cheirar a gente. Mesmo correndo muito rápido, e cruzando nosso caminho a toda velocidade (tão perto que dava para sentir o vento atrás dele), em nenhum momento ele esbarrou nem pulou na gente.

Mas a cada passo ele se distanciava mais e mais da casa dele. Daqui a pouco ele viu outro cão do outro lado da rua, um labrador, e atravessou correndo para conhecer o outro amiguinho. Quando eu digo correndo eu não estou sendo específica o suficiente. Em 3 passadas ele cruzou a rua. Por sorte aqui é uma cidade muito tranquila e durante todo o tempo que eu acompanhei o bichão solto, só passou um único carro. E ainda assim passou devagar. Mas eu tenho pena é do carro se batesse nele, tenho certeza que ia estragar bastante o carro, não o cão. O carro pareceu de brinquedo perto do peludo (exageros à parte, lógico, deus-me-livre que um carro batesse nele!!!). E lá ia aquele lindo dogue alemão (eu adoro essa raça), feliz da vida, pulando e correndo todo serelepe, sem se dar conta de que se afastava mais e mais da segurança da casa dele.

Até que finalmente o dono percebeu, saiu correndo da casa e veio falar com a gente, dizendo que o cachorro era inofensivo (ele já ia loooonge, já tinha cansado de cheirar a gente e o labrador do outro lado da rua, se não fosse inofensivo e a gente dependesse do dono para nos proteger, estávamos fritos). E lá se foi o dono correndo a largas passadas atrás do cachorro. O dono pareceu um playmobil quando chegou perto do bicho e eu queria mesmo ver como ele ia levar aquele dogue de volta, porque como eu falei o peludo estava sem coleira. A cada passo que o dono dava para se aproximar dele, ele dava meio passo e se afastava 2 metros. No final eles saíram da nossa vista e nós não pudemos acompanhar o desfecho da empreitada, o que foi uma pena. Colocamos os pequenos no chão e continuamos o passeio, rindo da nossa aventura!

Mimos que podem estragar a saúde do seu cão

De tanto ver e ler que vida de cachorro hoje inclui moda, estilo, culinária e salões de beleza, procurei um personal dog stylist (é assim mesmo o nome no Brasil) para entender se os cães estão perdendo sua dignidade de animais. E se tornando fashion-victims (é assim em português...). Não é mistério que os cães hoje convivem com tinturas, escovas e hidratação de chocolate, chapinha, cortes Chanel, cílios postiços, piercings, pompons, joias, tatuagens e toda sorte de frescuras e breguices, até mesmo o bindi indiano, a bijuteria no meio da testa popularizada pela novela Caminho das Índias.

Muitos desses mimos divulgados pela mídia podem fazer mal à saúde física de seu animal doméstico, ou melhor, “pet” (é assim que se fala no Brasil). Além disso, esses cachorros travestidos de humanos podem adquirir traumas e desenvolver atitudes anti-sociais. E acabam no divã. Ou melhor, no psicólogo canino. De tanto serem mimados, tornam-se cães malas e neuróticos – que latem para todos, fazem xixi em casa ou na cama do dono, e arrancam os próprios pelos para chamar a atenção.

Minha surpresa foi topar com um jovem dog-stylist extremamente sério, João Alt, de 26 anos, que é contra todos os exageros, e prefere mesmo não ser chamado pela expressão em inglês. Quase tudo, neste mercado, é em inglês. Dog care (cuidados). Dog walk (levar o cão para passear). Baby dog (cercadinho nos shoppings para o dono ir ao cinema descansado). E por aí vai.

João é um tratador particular de cães. Ele zela pela beleza do cachorro, por sua saúde e tranquilidade, enfim, por seu bem-estar. Na foto acima, está um cão tratado por João Alt - sem frescuras nem modismos ou crueldades.

Sua história é de amor genuíno por cachorros. Aos 12 anos, mudou-se com a família de Rondônia para Belém do Pará. O pai lhe deu um cão Yorkshire para ajudá-lo na adaptação em outro estado. O nome era Cawae (cauái – que quer dizer bonito em japonês). João começou a pesquisar e aprender tudo sobre cães. Ia a exposições, virou mascote dos grandes colecionadores, conheceu várias raças e passou a entender sobre estrutura, cor do pelo, e como deixar um cachorro impecável, valorizando o que ele tem de melhor.

Fugiu de casa para o Rio aos 16 anos. Trabalhava com exposições e em pet-shops. Dava banhos, fazia tosas. Mas tinha problemas com os dois tipos de trabalho. Nas exposições, logo descobriu que o QI (quem indica) era muito importante para garantir o primeiro prêmio – juízes também eram criadores, uns eram parentes, outros amigos, havia muito tráfico de influência... Nada muito diferente do Congresso.

Nas pet-shops, faltava tempo para um tratamento personalizado, mais cuidadoso. Em meia hora, diz João, é impossível dar um banho meticuloso. Ele se sentia frustrado, queria mais. Foi para a Argentina, ficou trabalhando em canis durante meses, comprou livros ingleses, fez cursos de educação animal, aprimorou seu conhecimento.

“Cães são muito sensíveis e eu queria dar atenção exclusiva a eles. Por isso, comecei há oito anos a atender a domicílio e ser meu próprio patrão”.

Mora em Ipanema, zona sul e nobre do Rio de Janeiro, tem 30 clientes cachorros fixos, alguns de um dono só. Às vezes, vai de skate até o Leblon, vizinho a Ipanema, onde alguns clientes moram. Um deles é o secretário de Saúde do Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cortes.

“A demanda do mercado só aumenta. Mesmo em crise, não para de crescer porque o amor do cão é o único que você pode comprar mas é verdadeiro. E as pessoas querem retribuir dando conforto”.

Volta e meia aparece algum dono pedindo a João “decorações” no cachorro que lhe parecem nocivas ou estapafúrdias. Ele precisa de toda a diplomacia do mundo para explicar (sem dizer que é ridículo) que não vai pintar um cachorro de azul e rosa.

“Eu amo cachorros, mas na natureza deles. Cães não têm de ser humanizados. Agora colam cílios, colam brinco, furam orelha. Colas quentes podem provocar dermatite. Não passo perfume, porque afeta o faro. Hoje, há uns perfumes doces horrorosos para passar no cachorro e que deixam um cheiro muito ruim no dia seguinte”.

João Alt não usa chapinha no pelo do cachorro e só recorre a um secador profissional. “Há pessoas que usam um soprador, que é um aspirador ao contrário. Seca antes de escovar e quebra o pelo do cachorro, sem deixá-lo viçoso. Com um simples secador profissional, a gente não corre o risco de queimar a pele do cão ou de traumatizá-lo. O banho já pode ser estressante para o cachorro. Por isso, todo o manuseio, o corte dos pelos embaixo das patas para que não deslizem, tudo isso deve ser delicado. Eu os coloco no colo para os cortes de maior detalhe. No fim, todos esses adereços hoje na moda não são uma questão de status, como se diz, mas uma maneira de o dono chamar a atenção”.

Para ver mais absurdos como cílios postiços e piercings, clique aqui.

Fonte 1 e Fonte 2

What the Hell is an American Staffordshire Terrier?

If there was ever a stranger group than young bulldog afficionado's, I have not met them. They are a truely odd bunch of people that lurk at the periphery of the working terrier world.

On the one hand, you have the dog fighters and wanna-be dog fighters. These numbskulls range from preening fakes and short-tooled fools to sick sadists. Any way you cut it, they are a sad case with even sadder dogs.

Then you have a few romantics -- those with rich fantasy lives who imagine their cherry-eyed genetic wrecks with undershot jaws are descended from the iron-tough catch dogs of the 18th Century. They glory in leading around over-large dogs with massive heads, bowed legs, and dysplastic hips. Most of these dogs could not catch a cold, much less a pig running flat out in Texas Hill Country.

And then you have the Kennel Club enthusiasts, and their "American Staffordshire Terriers," "Bull Terriers," "Staffordshire Bull Terriers," and English Bulldogs.

Kennel Club owners of these dogs will tell you they have worked hard to breed all aggression and prey drive out of their charges. And no doubt many have. What a comical thing that is, of course -- a bit like an auto club bragging that their sport cars have no engines.

The only thing is .... it's not always true. "Bad breeding" and "poor socialization" are often blamed when dogs descended from pit and catch dogs attack small children, but ... could it be .... perhaps ... that a small bit of genetic code remains unbraided as well? It is certainly in the realm of possibility, is it not?

In fact, molosser breeds can make fine pets in the right hands, but many of these dogs demand much more time, energy, and commitment than their young owners realize.

A large dog in the hands of a young man with shifting interests and an unstable housing situation (i.e. most young men) is a recipie that too often leads to dead dogs at the County shelter.

There has always been a ready market for intimidating dogs, and it seems a new breed of "ancient bulldog" is created every few years. Pick up any dog magazine and there they are advertised in the back, all of them with massive bully heads: the "Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog" and the "Olde English Bulldogge" and the "American Bulldog," sandwiched between the English, Neopolitan, and Bull Mastiffs, Rottweilers, Dogue de Bordeaux, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileriro and, of course, the English Bulldog. Plocked down in between are other bully-headed prey-driven defensive breeds -- Rottweilers, Akitas, Tosas, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Thai Ridgebacks, and the like.

There have always been men with a need to display power. While the world frowns on a man cleaning an unloaded gun in a public square, it's OK for that same man to tow an enormous dog from corner to corner and park to park -- the canine equivalent of a Harley owner with straight pipes blasting through the neighborhood for the sole purpose of intimidation. If asked, the wanna-be-tough man will explain that his breed was designed to (please pick one): kill escaping slaves, hunt jaguars, fight bears and bulls in the pits, fight other dogs, or catch semi-wild pigs and cows so they can be altered or slaughtered. You are supposed to feel fear, and you are supposed to feel respect for a man in control of such a powerful animal with such an ancient history.

In fact, I generally feel a little amused.

The famed English Bulldog, for example, is mostly Chinese pug -- a show ring creation with legs so deformed it can barely walk, a jaw so undershot it cannot grab a frisbee, and with a face so bracycephalic it cannot breathe. Add to these problems a deformed intestinal system (a by-product of achondroplasia or dwarfism) which makes the dog constantly fart, and a pig tail prone to infection, and you have a dog that considers its own death a blessed relief.


Other molosser breeds are not as wrecked as the English Bulldog, to be sure, but they too are largely the product of the show ring and have little or nothing to do with honest catch dogs or hunting dogs.

A little history is useful here. In England, catch dogs began to disappear with the rise of the Enclosure Movement of the 18th Century. As the Enclosure Movement pushed people off the land and into squalid cities and towns, boredom set in and (in the absence of television, movies, video games, and real theatre), spectacles pitting dogs against bulls, pigs, bears and even monkeys were created for entertainment, much as the Romans had done centuries before.


The dogs used for pit work were different than the catch dogs used a century or two earlier. Pit dogs were quite variable in size, and the goal was to match the dog with its opponent (dog or beast) by weight or sense of threat. While catch dogs had to be fast to catch running stock, and tended to weigh 50-80 pounds (large enough to turn a bull or stop it, but not so large as to be slow), pit dogs weighed anywhere from 10 pounds, in the case of a small ratting terrier, to as much as 140 pounds or more in the case of bear-fighting dogs. Encounters were brief, and no nose at all was required.

Other than rat pits and cock fights, animal baiting spectacles were never common, and were banned altogether by 1835. Though secret underground dog fighting and badger baiting contests continued, they were rare, episodic, and genetically maladaptive. When police raided dog fights, the dogs were killed. When participants went to jail for other reasons, dogs disappeared. And in the era prior to antibiotics, "successful" fighting dogs often died from wounds inflicted in the ring.

In 1859, the first dog show was held. Breeds that had lost their original purpose -- catch dogs, cart dogs, pit dogs, and turnspit dogs -- soon found a new rationale for existence -- rosettes.

In the decades that followed, all manner of dogs were created, proclaimed, and endowed with invented romantic histories. That trend continues to this day.

Far from show ring fantasy and hard-dog poseurs, working catch dogs still exist. At a smaller level we have the whippet and the greyhound -- dogs designed to catch a rabbit or hare at speed. At a larger size we have the long-legged fox hounds favored by the French -- dogs that can run well and chop a fox on the fly. Added to their ranks are various sizes of cross-bred lurchers. And of course, you have the border collie -- a dog that will grip, if it has to, in order to impress upon a semi-wild hill sheep that it means business.

The penultimate cach dogs, of course, are those that work wild pig and cattle. Whether these dogs are found in Hawaii or Texas, the Everglades or Australia, the marshes of Spain, or the river banks of Central America, these dogs tend to be cross-bred dogs that, for a variety of reasons, tend to look suspiciously like rangey pit bulls.

Why is this?

The answer is at least partly morphological. While a small terrier or heeler may be able to move domestic cattle or pig, and may even be able to bust them out of brush, it takes a larger and heavier dog to travel great distances and still have the weight and stamina to initimidate, and even hold, large and truely wild animals in place.

Long coated dogs, and dogs with short muzzles are simply ill-equiped to handle long runs in hot weather. Wild pigs (feral, Russian or javelina) and cattle are generally found in locations that are hot most of the year -- Florida, Georgia, Texas, Australia, Southern Spain, and Hawaii.

When a dog is running 20-40 miles a day after an animal that does not want to be caught, and which may bust in several directions at once if in a group, stopping for a drink of water or a bit of rest in the shade is not an option.

Since dogs do not sweat except through the pads on their feet, the only way a dog has of moderating its temperature is to expel heat through its mouth and sinuses. A short snout, therefore, is maladaptive for honest catch work.

A short muzzle not only makes for a dog that overheats quickly, but also for a weaker bite. In the world of predators, where consistent failure means starvation, neither the wolf nor the tiger, the hyena nor the panther, has a short face with an undershot jaw.

A short bracyophalic maxilla is also poorly designed for scent work. Whether looking for wayward cattle and pigs, or hunting jaquar or mountain lion, most catch dogs have a bit of hound crossed into them, such is the desire for nose, which almost always comes attached to a decent muzzle.

The balance point on a good catch dog changes from area to area, depending on the lay of the land, the temperature, the stock being worked, and each individual dog and owner's technique. In some areas, lighter more greyhound-like dogs may be prefered, while in others greater hound influence is the norm. Dogs may be a little smaller in thick brush, and quite a bit larger in more open country.

And yet, again and again, across the planet, the result tends to be a variation on a unifying theme -- the cross-bred pit bull.

The American Pit Bull is descended from the cross-bred stock-working dogs of the 18th and 19th Century. To the extent they have been altered, it is that modern dogs are often heavier than those found working 200 or even 100 years ago -- a direct function of the fact that most pit bulls are now found on a leash. Today the breeding of pit bulls is heavily influenced by the show ring and the picture book. As a consequence heavier, more impressive-looking animals, are favored over the smaller, faster, and more utilitarian working dogs of the past.

From the beginning, the pit bull has had a stormy career in the U.S.

When it was created in 1878, the American Kennel Club refused to register pit bulls, seeing them as dogs kept by people of low breeding. The Kennel Club was interested in dignified dogs, not working dogs, and especially not dogs that acted as the canine equivalent of a barbed-wire and locust-post fence.

In frustration, pit bull owner Chauncey Bennet created his own registry -- the United Kennel Club -- in order to to register his own dog. Today, the UKC is the second largest all-breed registry in the U.S., and it remains a for-profit, privately-held operation.

When the "Little Rascal" movies of the 1930s popularized a pit bull by the name of "Petey," the American Kennel Club decided that the smell of cash money beat out sniffing social theories, and so they changed their de facto position on the pit bull, while maintaining a de jure ban on the dog.

How did they do this? Simple: they renamed the Pit Bull the "Staffordshire Terrier," and admitted it to the Kennel Club as a terrier. In 1972, the Kennel Club changed the name of the dog again, making it the "American Staffordshire Terrier," to distinguish it from the smaller and thicker-bodied dog of the U.K.

In fact the American Staffordshire Terrier is not a terrier in any way, shape or form. It is a Pit Bull, plain and simple.

Pit Bulls masquerading as American Stafforshire Terriers is how things more-or-less rested until the fantastic growth of dog shows and hobby breeders began in the 1960s and 70s. Suddenly a new interest in all manner of dogs was fostered, and many "old" breeds were invented almost over night.

For example, in 1970, John D. Johnson and Allen Scott registered their cross-bred pit bulls with the newly created for-profit "National Kennel Club". The name they invented: "American Bulldogs". Their goal, they said, was to get away from the "pit bull" name, which was already taking on negative connotations.

Johnson's line of dogs quickly grew thicker in the head and heavier too, as he realized that the "manly man" pet market favored intimidating dogs that could be paraded around the neighborhood or chained up in the back of a shop to scare kids away from petty pilfering. Never mind that heavy dogs with short faces could not go the distance with cattle and pigs -- these dogs were designed to sell, and what was selling was intimidation.

Allen Scott's dogs remained lighter and did not deviate too much from their working-class origins. Weighing in at around 80 pounds (often 40 pounds lighter than Johnson's) Scott's dogs also had longer muzzles and better bites. Scott and Johnson's dogs began to deviate from each other markedly, and in the end they ended up as distinct breeds with Scott breeding "Standard American Bulldogs" and Johnson a "bully" breed with huge heads that he evenually advertised as "Johnson Bulldogs".

Other bull breeds have followed suit, and other for-profit dog registries have followed on as well. Today, along with the AKC, the UKC, and the National Kennel Club, we have a host of other for-profit registries including the Continental Kennel Club, the American Canine Association, the American Hybrid Canine Club, the American Dog Breeders Association, the American Canine Registry, the American Purebred Association, American's Pet Registry Inc., the World Kennel Club, the Animal Research Foundation, the Universal Kennel Club International, the North American Purebred Dog Registry, the Dog Registry of America, the American Purebred Registry, the United All Breed Registry, the American Canine Association, the World Wide Kennel Club, the Federation of International Canines, and Animal Registry Unlimited -- to offer up only a partial list.

Among the newly minted molosser breeds are the Old English Bulldog, the Original English Bulldogge, Olde Bulldogge, the Campeiro Bulldog, Leavitt Bulldog, the Catahoula Bulldog, the Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog, the Aussie Bulldog, the Victorian Bulldog, the Valley Bulldog, the Olde Boston Bulldogge, the Dorset Old Tyme Bulldog, the Ca de Bou, the Banter Bulldog, and the Johnson Bulldog, to say nothing of the Alana Espanol, Cane Corso, Bully Kutta, and the recreated "Alaunt."

No doubt there are many others.

Adding to the confusion, in 1972, the AKC recognized the smaller thick-bodied Staffordshire Bull Terrier as a separate breed from the American Staffordshire Terrier, while in 1936 the Bull Terrier (still another breed) was split into two colors (white and non-white), and in 1991 into two sizes (miniature and standard).

None of these machinations have anything to do with working dogs, of course.

In the scrub country of Texas and Australia, the water hummocks of Louisiana, Spain and Florida, and the steep green volcanic mountains of Hawaii, working pig and cattle dogs look pretty much like they always have for the last 250 years. These dogs are fast, have good scissor bites, fully developed muzzles, and straight agile legs.

In the world of honest stock-working catch dogs, no one spends too much time dreaming up fanciful histories and contrived names. Whatever the dog -- pure bred or cross -- the goal is to avoid the heavy-bodied ponderous dogs so popular among the bridge-and-tunnel set, and create a dog capable to going a full day in rough country.

No one who works their terriers to ground, or uses catch dogs to chase semi-wild stock, has any confusion about what kind of dog they need to do their respective jobs, or the differences between them.

By definition, a terrier must be small enough in the chest to go to ground in a natural earth.

By definition, a catch dog has to be fast enough to catch, and large enough to hold an animal that has escape and mayhem on its mind.

Neither dog can do the job if it looks like a "keg on legs" -- an apt description of many of the molosser breeds sold in the back of pet magazines today.

The story then is an old one. In the world of true working dogs, form follows function. In the world of rosettes and puppy peddlers, form always follows fantasy. As ironic as it sounds, the blue-blazer rosette chaser and the young wanna-be bull dog man have that much in common.

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Does the Breed Standard Require a Rape Rack?

Remember when Michael Vick got busted for dog fighting, and they found "rape racks" in his basement?

What's a rape rack?

It's exactly what it sounds like -- a rack to which a female dog is bound while a male dog mounts her from behind.

In the case of Pit Bulls, the rape racks are supposedly necessary because "some females don't want to be mounted by any old male." Imagine!

Of course, a rape rack is not just used on "awkward bitches," is it?

No, it turns out that's it's also used on dogs that are so deformed they cannot even have sex on their own.

Take a look at the picture at top where this breed-blind fellow has come up with his own version of a rape rack for British Bulldogs.

Of course he doesn't call it a "rape rack" does he?

No, the more politically correct term is "mating cradle."

And why do you need such a thing? Simple: because the British Bulldogs is a complete and utter mess. As I noted in an earlier post:

"The famed English Bull Dog ... is mostly Chinese pug -- a show ring creation with legs so deformed it can barely walk, a jaw so undershot it cannot grab a Frisbee, and with a face so bracycephalic it cannot breathe. Add to these problems a deformed intestinal system (a by-product of chondroplasia or dwarfism) which makes the dog constantly fart, and a pig tail prone to infection, and you have a dog that considers its own death a blessed relief."

But wait, there's more.

Did you know that the Bulldog is now a "Top Ten Breed" in the American Kennel Club?

True!

And for those know-nothings who claim it's only recent "exaggerations" that have led the British Bulldog to be incapable of having sex, giving birth, or actually running across a field, consider this from Rawdon Lee, an authority on bulldogs writing in 1894:

"It is known that time plays grim jokes on historical monuments.

There has probably never been a dirtier joke, however, than the one played on our national symbol, the English Bulldog.... The lunacy of breeding for extreme exaggeration, for extreme foreheads and huge skulls, for totally exaggerated low-slung front legs, for shoulders pointing outwards at almost a right angle, for Bulldogs with a front wider than that of the opposing bull. None of this used to be the case and only recently came into fashion."

So there you have it: the British Bulldog has been a basket case for more than 115 years!

And what has the Kennel Club (either American or British) done about it?

Nothing!

To which I would only ask one question .... Does the breed standard require a rape rack?


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Pug Specific Food For Your Dog’s Abnormalities

Today, the pet food firm Royal Canin announces it “Continues to Pioneer the Pet Food Industry With an Exclusive Diet Just for Pugs. The firm’s press announcement goes on to explain just why Pugs need and benefit from this ’special diet’. Take a look….

Back in the pre-Christian era, Pugs were considered prized possessions of the Emperors of China and were personally guarded by soldiers. Later, their popularity spread, as they became favored by Monarchs of Europe and discerning people all over the world. This luxurious history and royal advocacy has helped the Pug remain one of the most popular dog breeds today.

Having more than 20,000 American Kennel Club (AKC) registrations per year since 2006, this little pet has commanded a lot of attention from canine enthusiasts, dog fanciers, and pet lovers in general. And now, for the first time ever, an exclusive diet customized specifically to the Pug’s unique nutritional needs is available.

With a special jaw shape, wrinkled skin, and tendency to become overweight, nutrition can play an important role in the health and longevity of a Pug’s life. Royal Canin Pug 25 is specially formulated with a unique kibble shape that is easy for them to grasp and chew, nutrients that help to limit irritation in their loose, folded skin, and a balanced protein and fat content to help them maintain a healthy body weight.

How do we find ourselves in a position where a dog breed is in need of food that it finds ‘easy to grasp and chew’?

Helps to ‘limit‘ the irritation to their loose, folded skin? Is developed to accommodate its ’special’ shaped jaw? Seriously?

This is an incredible state of affairs. But what it is, plain and simple, is a manufacturer openly catering for and marketing the advantages of a product specifically developed for disabled dogs. They call it a ’special’ shaped jaw, wow if that’s not marketing speak!

Under the marketing speak – in an imaginary product – how would this read: “We know you can’t chew, we know you struggle with your weight due to your mobility issues, we know your skin irritates you on an almost daily basis, we know your head structure is such that the simple, basic act of picking up food is different for you and we know that a variety of your physical traits makes life hard for you, so we’ve pre-mushed your food for you and specially developed it so you can perform the basic task of picking it up and chewing the stuff.”

Now, I fully appreciate that there is a degree of marketing angle applied to the wording. I mean, Pugs have survived this far without this particular product, but the reality is Royal Canin HAVE picked up on certain physical traits related to this breed and they are seeking to provide a product designed to accommodate them.

This isn’t an attack on Royal Canin, far from it. They’ve recognised some significant issues and they are seeking to capitalise on them, this is the pet product business, no complaints from me. But what this does is absolutely ring true the words spoken by RSPCA chief vet Mark Evans in Pedigree Dogs Exposed when he stated “we have begun to accept the abnormal as normal”.

It comes to something when a pet food company is developing food that is ‘easier to chew and grasp’, ‘limits the irritation to their loose, folded skin’. This is a DOG we’re talking about. A DOG. This is a marketing angle that acts as a damning indictment on what we’ve allowed to happen to certain dog breeds in the name of……….well, what, exactly?

It signifies just how recipient we are to being slapped over the head with the visible and risible fact that canine abnormalities are something we barely bat an eyelid about, in fact those self same abnormalities are even used in the marketing spiel of our pet food products now. How sad that makes me feel.

Can you imagine the reaction if a firm developed a food product exclusively marketed to the victims of Chernobyl? Think we’d notice something about that not quite sitting right with us? Think a firm as large as Mars (the owner of Royal Canin) would even dare attempt it?

A few weeks ago I wrote about how – visibly – unhealthy dogs will still be exhibited at Crufts 2010. It’s a perception problem. Some people, clearly, don’t see things the way others do. Some people are attracted to the wrinkles. Some people like the exaggerated short muzzle. I’m convinced, surely, that they don’t like the by-product of those man-made traits: overheating, difficulty in breathing, skin problems, respiratory distress and more. The same problems that seem to be the touchstone of Royal Canin’s Pug-specific dog food.

When Danny, the Pekingnese won Crufts ‘Best in Show’ he had to be sat on a bed of ice to avoid overheating. That’s not ‘normal’ – should I come up with a line of Pekignese specific cooling trays? Or what about the problems that Bulldogs have in conceiving – you know, another basic canine trait that, really, they ought to need no artificial assistance with – should I create a product to assist with that process? What should I call it? A ‘rape rack’? Oh, no need – it’s already been done (Oh yes it has).

At what point when we decided to domesticate the dog, did we decide that we’d go beyond simply shaping them to suit our particular needs and lifestyles to actively disabling them? Literally, disabling them – making them less able. If we are happy to simply allow the abnormal to go uncommented, to become ‘the norm’ then we can expect more of the same….and beyond.

It amazes me how many people will – rightly – be up in arms about the (illegal in the UK) practice of de-barking a dog (a medical procedure that takes away a dog’s physical ability to bark, a lifestyle choice for the owner) or de-clawing a cat to avoid scratches on the furniture – but we don’t bat an eyelid about the myriad of other disabilities that have been deliberately inflicted on our canine friends. We get acustomed to seeing these traits and accepting them as being OK; “Oh, that’s just Pugs. Or, that’s just the way Bulldogs/Neopolitan Mastiffs/Pekingnese/Cavalier King Charles/are – those are just their particular traits.”

Correct. They are. But WE made them that way. Not evolution. Us. It didn’t happen ‘naturally’.

Ask yourself this; which of the following two dogs would NOT require a dog food that had been specially prepared to be ‘easier for them to chew and grasp, wouldn’t irritate their loose, folded skin and doesn’t look like it would be prone to obesity by virtue of its human-inflicted physical disabilities’?

Both are Pugs. One modern, one not. Guess which is which?

Before I finish, I must stress how much affection I have for the Pug as a breed.

I’ve met a number of Pugs and have found their character and disposition to be particularly endearing to me. However, I always, always come away feeling sorry for them. Feeling sympathy for what has happened to them, physically, and for what? So they appeal to our sense of humour more? So they connect better with our ‘Disney’ gene (awww, look at the wrinkly dog, how cute!!)? How do we get away with it? Most of the Pug owners I know are PROPER dog lovers. They adore their dogs, immensely. Well, why wouldn’t they. The parents of a disabled child don’t love their offspring any less. The problem is with the traits we seem to be attracted to – if we are going to be attracted to disability and we’re prepared to stimulate the demand for disabled dogs, then disabled dogs is exactly what we’ll get. This isn’t nature at work, this is the economics of supply and demand.

I took away a lot from the BBC documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed but what resonated most with me was Mark Evans’ claim that we HAVE accepted the abnormal as normal.

What more proof do we possibly need to verify his claim than the fact that a pet food company attempts to use the well known disabilities of a dog breed in order to shift their product?

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Not all chew toys are safe for dogs

Bill Rafferty recommends “the basic big, hard toys” made for dogs.

Billy Rafferty is worried about what your dog is chewing on.

The co-author of Happy Dog: Caring for Your Dog's Body, Mind and Spirit (New American Library, $16, available Sept. 1) began his crusade to educate dog owners about safety after the death of Gabriel, a beloved Portuguese water dog who swallowed part of a toy.

When Gabriel became sick in 2005, it wasn't apparent what was wrong. A specialist finally discovered a blockage using ultrasound. After surgery, the veterinarian told Rafferty that a small piece of a toy chew bone had caused the problem. Gabriel never recovered from the procedure and died four days later.

“Dogs don't know that they can hurt themselves. They think they can swallow this, and ‘I'm going to be OK,' ” Rafferty said.

He advises dog owners to give their canine pals only toys made for dogs and not to choose something because it is cute or cheap. It pays to know a dog's personality before buying a toy that could be harmful or ignored.

“You have to take into consideration how much of a chewer you dog is. If your dog loves to chew, then it's not ideal to get the little stuffed toys with the button eyes and little ears that can be chewed and possibly swallowed,” he said.

“When I buy toys now for the two dogs I have, I usually buy really hard rubber balls and the basic big, hard toys.”

Rafferty lives with Zeke, also a Portuguese water dog, and Arthur, a cocker spaniel, who have different needs.

Zeke can't be left in his crate with a towel or blanket because he shreds his bedding. Arthur is not a much of a chewer, but he likes to carry things, Rafferty said. “Arthur likes a rubber ball. He runs around the house with it and wags his tail.”

Rafferty, who acknowledges he is extremely cautious, says owners can make smart observations about their animals. If the dog is chewing something unsafe or too aggressively, take it away.

SOMETHING TO CHEW ON

Many pet experts recommend that dogs have a variety of toys to fetch, chew and cuddle. Choose the toys with care to avoid cuts, choking or intestinal blockages.

• For dogs only: Make sure anything you buy is specifically for dogs. Don't let them chew string, ribbon, rubber bands, children's toys or anything else that could be ingested.

• Size matters: Don't allow your dog to have a toy that it can close its mouth around because it may choke on it.

• Rawhide: Ask your veterinarian about the safety of items such as bones, hooves, pig's ears and rawhides. Hard rubber toys are safer and last longer.

• Squeakers: Some dogs must find and destroy the squeak source, possibly ingesting it.

• Softies: Soft toys are not indestructible, but some are sturdier than others. Soft toys should be machine washable.

• Hand-me-downs: Don't give your dog old shoes or handbags to play with because a chewer can ingest small pieces. Also don't give a dog toys shaped like items that you don't want it to chew because a dog won't differentiate between a toy cell phone and the real thing.

• Cleaning: Inspect for damage and wash the toys at least once a month in hot water and mild dish soap.

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Lançador de bolas canino

O seu amigão é bastante ativo?! É um eterno e incansável brincalhão?! Ou então tá precisando queimar umas banhas?! Este divertido lançador de bolas de tênis é a solução ideal! O GoDogGo® é uma idéia simples, mas que evita o corre-corre, principalmente quando você está cansado, com preguiça ou mesmo para quem não pode se exercitar. Ele foi especialmente desenvolvido para divertir os cães e seus donos. Tem capacidade para lançar 15 bolinhas (6 estão inclusas na compra) e um prático controle remoto que facilita ainda mais a brincadeira. Você pode definir o tempo entre um lançamento e outro (7 ou 15 segundos) e a distância (aproximadamente entre 4,5 e 9 metros). O GoDogGo® funciona com 6 pilhas (duração de 5 horas) ou com um adaptador AC. Custa 149,95 dólares. "Lançadoramente legaus"!

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Dog Put to Sleep is Discovered Dumped in Field

A family from Hucknall, Nottinghamshire are distraught after the body of their recently euthanised dog was discovered dumped in a field.

Local reports in Nottinghamshire claim that James Browns’ Border Collie, Bournville was recently put down after it developed cancerous lumps. The dog’s ashes were returned to the family – but days later Mr Brown was told the body of his pet had actually been found in a field and identified by its microchip.

Three other dogs were also discovered at the same time in nearby Derbyshire, on August 15.

“We’re really, really shocked. We’re very upset. We paid extra money to get him back and it’s not him. He was a lovely dog and he deserved better than that.” said Mr Brown.

The RSPCA have been called and police are now investigating.

Bournville and another dog [are] originated from Ambivet veterinary clinic, in Heanor, which says it is very shocked by the news.

The other two dogs have not been identified.

Usually, dogs are cremated together and their ashes are not returned, although a price can be paid of £120 to have your dog cremated alone and his ashes returned.

The business manager of Ambivet, David Stone, said the dogs’ bodies were sent to a Derbyshire pet crematorium after they were put to sleep.

He said: “Our relationship with this company was severed immediately on Tuesday afternoon and alternative arrangements were made with another operator. We feel very distressed by the whole thing. We’ve visited both the owners concerned. It’s in the hands of the local authority and we’re co-operating fully with them over this.”

Mr Brown said the discovery of 12-year-old’s Bournville’s body had been distressing for the whole family.

“My mum and step-dad went to pick up the ashes and they got them in a bag with a card stuck in saying Bournville. So, as far as they were concerned, Bournville was back with us.”

The family have two other dogs called Hamish and Elliott and they wanted to go and identify their pet’s body for peace of mind.

“It wasn’t the prettiest of sights, it was quite upsetting. His fur was all wet and matted down, and he had maggots all over him. We’re wanting to bury the dog ourselves now so we’ve got him with us. He just didn’t deserve that, he was a member of the family,” said Mr Brown.

Derbyshire Police are investigating the incident and a spokesperson from Amber Valley Borough Council said: “Staff from the council’s environmental services directorate, along with the Environment Agency are currently looking into the matter, but cannot comment until all of the facts have been established.”

The dogs are now being kept at Ambivet veterinary clinic while the matter is investigated.

A Derbyshire police spokeswoman said: “Police are investigating allegations of fraud after dogs that were thought to have been cremated were found dead in a field. The police have liaised with the RSPCA, Amber Valley Environmental Health and the Environment Agency during the investigation. Enquiries are continuing into the allegations. Officers can confirm that no reports of burglaries at any local pet crematoria have been received by police.”

Jennifer Buxton, the owner of Peak Pet Cremations said the company has been closed down since.

“All I know is there was a theft from our premises which obviously included some bagged scrap metal and some deceased pets were taken at the same time.”

When further questioned by a local newspaper, she said the theft was not reported to the police because at the time they did not know any animals had been taken.

She said she had been away at the time and could not explain why Mr Brown’s family had been sent ashes that could not have been their dog.

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Os grandes mitos caninos

Ah, agosto, mês do folclore, que é uma das coisas mais injustiçadas que existem. Muita gente boa entende "folclore" não como sinônimo de sabedoria & tradição popular e sim de besteirol & boataria. Mas é fato que não faltam mitos, noções erradas e até lendas urbanas sobre tudo que é assunto - inclusive cães. Vamos lembrar aqui alguns dos mitos sobre a cinofilia mais, digamos, acreditáveis e por isso muito comuns, do tipo "eu acredito porque foi minha avó quem me contou" ou "sei que é verdade porque vi na televisão ou na Internet".

É verdade que quem mora num mundo como este e vê o que se vê tende a acreditar em tudo mesmo. Mas nem comentaremos aqui histórias realmente inacreditáveis, como aquela de que os Dobermans são potencialmente perigosos porque seus cérebros não param de crescer ou a outra segundo a qual um cão que morder algum outro bicho e engolir sangue poderá se tornar violento. O que lembraremos aqui são mitos até que acreditáveis, meias-verdades e quase-fatos, separados por assuntos, para organizar ainda mais a bagunça: a saúde do cão, sua alimentação, sua socialização e seu adestramento & treinamento.

Saúde

"Focinho quente é sinal de doença."

A temperatura dos focinhos costuma subir durante o sono do cão, daí ele acordar de nariz quente, o que é normal. Só haverá problema se, além de quente, o focinho do bicho estiver seco e o cão mostrar grandes alterações de comportamento.

"Cães não precisam ser vermifugados quando não saem à rua."

Como se vermes tocassem campainha ou pagassem pedágio... Mesmo no recesso do lar os caninos podem contrair micróbios trazidos por mosquitos. Prudência, canja de galinha (cuidado com os ossinhos! Mais sobre isso daqui a pouco) e vermifugação não fazem mal ao canino são ou doente.

"Cães avisam quando estão doentes."

Na verdade, eles conseguem esconder as doenças, para não se mostrarem vulneráveis ao "inimigo", e os sintomas só costumam aparecer quando a doença ou incômodo estiverem bem avançados, dando então a impressão de que o bicho está chamando a atenção para o problema.

"Cães só enxergam em preto e branco."

Eles apenas vêem menos cores que o ser humano, pois seus olhos têm menor quantidade de celulas cônicas, que permitem distinguir as cores.

"Cadelas devem ter ninhada antes de serem esterilizadas."

Do ponto de vista de saúde e bem-estar do bicho, castração (para machos) e esterilização (para fêmeas) são benéficas, diminuindo o risco de tumores em mama, testículos e próstata e de infecções urinárias.

"Vira-latas são mais saudáveis que cães de raças puras."

Não é bem isso. Vira-latas costumam estar menos sujeitos a enfermidades ou problemas comuns a certas raças, mas nem por isso são invulneráveis ou mais imunes a doenças que outros cães.

Alimentação

"Cães comem pedras, papéis e colchões atrás de nutrientes para complemento alimentar."

Na verdade, cães gostam de mordiscar tudo o que aparece para se divertirem, ter o que fazer e chamar atenção, embora possam se beneficiar da eventual presença de proteínas e outros nutrientes do que comerem.

"Ossos são sempre bons para o cão."

Não faltam histórias em quadrinhos e desenhos animados em que o melhor tesouro do cão é seu osso. Na vida real, tudo bem o bicho roer ossões grandes, de preferência com tutano, já que muitos cães gostam de ficar mordiscando coisas e todos precisam se alimentar. Mas nada de ossos pequenos - basta lembrar da atenção que devemos dar a crianças humanas que não devem ser deixadas com "partes pequenas que podem ser engolidas". Ossos cozidos também são problema, pois podem se romper e formar rebarbas perigosas. (Vai ver que foi esta a inspiração daquela marchinha aparentemente nonsense gravada por Silvio Santos nos anos 1970, que dizia "Socorro, socorro/Ai, ai, eu morro/Chegou a vez do osso morder cachorro".) Sem falar que o cão tem tanta necessidadade de higiene bucal quanto o ser humano. Para o cão se divertir sem riscos, ossos de borracha e náilon são ideais.

"Se você mexer na comida do cão enquanto ele estiver comendo, ele te morde."

Se o cão ataca quem mexe, acidentalmente ou não, na comida dele, inclusive os donos, sejam adultos ou crianças pequenas, o problema está na socialização - ou falta dela [na verdade o problema é dominância, falta de limites e falta de treinamento]. Sempre comparo cães a crianças pequenas, e me lembrei daqueles pais sempre ocupados e pouco presentes, que "têm uma ligeira ideia de umas pessoas pequenininhas que andam pela casa". Do mesmo modo, não basta encher a gamela de comida, dizer "oi" e "tchau" e pronto. O cão tem que entender que, mais que donos, você e seus filhos são amigos dele [o cão tem de entender que os humanos são os líderes isso sim], não inimigos que querem roubar-lhe a comida [o líder humano tem sim o direito de "roubar" a comida quando bem quiser e entender]. Ele precisa até ficar contente quando os donos, sejam de que idade forem, vêm mexer em seu prato, porque sabe que vai ganhar carinho ou um petisco. O ideal é começar a alimentar o peludo dando-lhe comida na palma da mão, e depois, a cada vez que lhe servir comida (servir mesmo, não simplesmente jogá-la como aqueles restaurantes que fazem por merecer que tanta gente reclame nos jornais), mexa na gamela, começando por uma mexidinha e, com o tempo, enfiando a mão na comida mesmo. Daí que, se alguém chutar sem querer o prato ou uma criança bulir na comida, ele não se sentirá ameaçado.

Socialização

"Cães e gatos são inimigos."

Isso virou até símile, "brigar como cão e gato". Na verdade, depende do temperamento de cada cão e gato; o que não falta são gatos que não se dão bem nem com outros gatos e cães que vivem às turras até com outros cães. Depende também da socialização: também não faltam caninos e felinos que só faltam se dar as patas e sair pelo mundo cantando "Amigos Para Siempre". Um bom exemplo é o do jornalista e produtor cultural André "Pomba" Cagni, "pai" de duas cadelas e uma gata, respectivamente a Cocker Penélope Demônio (nascida em 2003), a Schnauser Tetéia Mocréia (já uma senhora de dez anos) e uma Siamesa que, embora chegada mais tarde (nasceu em 2007), tem o nome mais longo, Pitbull Triplex 666 From Hell. (Sim, falaremos em outra oportunidade sobre os nomes dados a nossos animais de estimação.) "Quando a gata chegou, ela tinha acabado de desmamar e já foi mamando na Penélope", lembra Cagni. "Apesar de castrada, Penélope estava com gravidez psicológica e ainda tinha leite. E hoje as três interagem e brincam o dia todo."

"Cães precisam de quintal."

É claro que ninguém gosta de viver sufocado e confinado em "apertamento". Mas pode reparar: dê a seus cães um quintal do tamanho de um campo de futebol, e a maior parte do tempo eles vão ficar à porta esperando a hora de entrar em casa. No fundo, muita gente quer um quintal não para o cão ter seu próprio espaço e se divertir, mas sim para ele ficar lá fora e deixar o dono em paz. Como não dizia aquela canção: cachorro não quer só comida, cachorro quer comida, diversão e fazer arte, cachorro quer saída para qualquer parte (desde que com saquinho e coleira, claro) - e diversão é solução pro cão. Mais que ficarem confinados em casa e quintal, cães querem brincar, correr, se exercitar e se divertir na companhia dos donos. Afinal de contas, seres caninos são como humanos: ambos são bichos de matilha e, embora nem sempre pareça, gostam de vida social, inclusive com "cães" esquisitos que andam em duas patas e falam uma língua complicada e incompreensível.

"Cães só abanam a cauda quando estão felizes."

Tem até a piada do cara que manda cortar bem rente a cauda de seu cão porque "minha sogra vem nos visitar e não quero nenhuma manifestação de alegria nesta casa" [isso é piada em parte, pois é possível que algumas raças como os rotts tinham seus rabos cortados bem curtos exatamente para não demonstrar alegria]. Mas o cão abana a cauda devido a diversos estados de excitação, ansiedade ou mesmo agressividade. De modo geral, cauda abanando erguida a 90 graus significa que o bicho está agressivo; a cauda baixa mostra que o cão está agressivo porém desconfiado e na defensiva [pode ser também submissão]; e a cauda praticamente na horizontal é convite para brincar. Convém lembrar que a linguagem corporal dos cães, embora mais simples que nossa linguagem falada, não é tão simples quanto parece; o cão pode querer dizer uma porção de coisas não só pela cauda, mas também pelas orelhas, olhar, posição da cabeça e outros detalhes. Na dúvida, antes de se aproximar de um cão estranho, converse com o dono! [Muitos donos dizem que seus cães são anjos sem serem, então é mais confiável deixar o cachorro se aproximar de você e não o contrário]

"A mandíbula de um Pitbull se prende quando ele morde."

No máximo, a mordida de um Pitbull é mais forte que a maioria dos outros cães, mas esta história de mandíbula com "fechadura" é mais um produto da injusta má reputação do Pitbull como besta-fera das piores (bem que os produtores do filme Flashdance fizeram o que podiam para desmenti-la quando alçaram o famoso Grunt ao estrelato).

Adestramento e treinamento

"Cães farejadores de drogas são viciados nelas para as detectarem."

O treinamento de caninos policiais para reconhecimento de determinadas substâncias é essencialmente o mesmo dado a seres humanos, policiais ou não, que aprendem a detectar a presença ou consumo de drogas por indícios como cheiros ou mudanças de comportamento; ninguém precisa se transformar em ávido consumidor. (Por sinal, os melhores traficantes costumam ser caretões.) O treinamento do cão para rastrear drogas é fazê-lo associar o aroma delas a alguma coisa boa, como um brinquedo, afago ou petisco, premiando-o quando tem êxito na busca.

"Cão macho é melhor para ser guarda que a fêmea."

Muitos pensam assim devido ao macho ser mais agressivo [isso está errado, depende da raça]. Mas o que define um bom guarda, canino ou humano, não é a agressividade e sim a verdadeira coragem; não confundir com aquela "coragem" que nasce do susto e do medo - ou, como cantava o arretado Gordurinha, "estupidez não é valentia". E valentia muitas fêmeas têm de sobra. Obviamente, alguns caninos, machos ou fêmeas, têm temperamento mais adequado à guarda que outros. Outro detalhe: muitos cães machos de guarda podem ser tapeados se o terreno vigiado for "invadido" por uma Mata Hari peluda no cio ou mesmo um pedaço de tecido com o mesmo aroma; a tendência será o instinto de reprodução uivar mais alto e o bonitão abandonar a guarda, indo atrás da fêmea ou de seu cheiro [por isso é útil castrar o cão de guarda para ele não se distrair com o sexo oposto]. E a adestradora Maíce Costa Carvalho lembra um detalhe interessante: "As fêmeas costumam guardar as pessoas; os machos guardam o território. Tal diferença provavelmente se dá devido à sua vida selvagem, onde os machos cuidam do território, e as fêmeas dos filhotes e membros mais fracos da matilha."

"Os melhores cães de guarda são os mais agressivos."

Acabamos de ver que agressividade só não é nada suficiente [e nem eficiente]; o canino precisa ser socializado [MUITO] e adestrado [em obediência] para distinguir amigos de inimigos e não sair atacando e mordendo quem não deve.

"Gatos são mais espertos que cães."

Depende do que se considera "esperteza". O gato pode ser mais auto-suficiente, mas o cão é muito melhor (ou pelo menos demonstra mais disposição) para aprender comandos.

"Cão deve ser treinado por um profissional."

Equivale a dizer que crianças devem ser criadas por babás e não por pai e mãe. Não falamos há pouco em pais e mães presentes? Pois bem, se você deixar outra pessoa educar seu cão, é a ela que ele vai acabar obedecendo! [Por isso o treinamento pode ser orientado por um profissional, mas o dono é quem deve trabalhar o cão desde o princípio]

"Se o cão fizer cocô onde não deve, esfregar seu focinho nas fezes o ensinará a não fazer isso nesse local."

O resultado será que o canino adquirirá a habilidade de fazer cocô no local proibido logo que você virar as costas.

"Não se pode ensinar truques novos a cão velho."

Não bastassem preconceitos como o sexismo e o racismo, temos o "idadismo", desta vez aplicado aos cães com a desculpa de esta noção ter se tornado um provérbio "aplicável" a todos. Bem, uma característica interessante do folclore - folclore no melhor sentido, o de sabedoria popular - é de que quase todo provérbio tem seu oposto. No caso, trata-se do velho (no bom sentido) e bom "nunca é tarde para aprender". Bastam exercícios físicos e mentais e boa alimentação para se manter a boa forma em qualquer idade, inclusive para assimilar coisas novas. (Apenas dois exemplos são o ator, dançarino e cantor Fred Astaire, ainda disposto a aprender a andar e dançar de skate aos 78 anos de idade, e a fotógrafa alemã Leni Riefenstahl, que começou a tirar fotos subaquáticas aos 72 anos.) É claro que, tal como os humanos, o cão mais idoso pode apresentar uma ranhetice ou outra e já ser bastante metódico e sistemático, mas nem por isso vai deixar de aprender novidades com um pouco de esforço e paciência do dono e/ou treinador - sem falar que muitas vezes o canino muda de dono já com certa idade precisa conciliar o que já sabia com o que precisa assimilar.

E aí está uma boa coletânea comentada de noções que um dia se tornarão tão folclóricas - no sentido de curiosas - e obsoletas quanto as de que manga com leite faz mal, dormir sobre o lado esquerdo faz mal ao coração e uma meia velha enrolada no pescoço cura soluços. Realmente, é preciso ouvir tudo e acreditar em metade... inclusive quando são nossos amigos caninos que dizem.

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How to raise a balanced pit bull

Hi Cesar,

I adopted a male pit bull when he was between 8 and 10 weeks old. This is my first pit bull. I have two labs at home, 7 and 10, both males.

I want to know what I need to do to make sure my pit bull never attacks my labs. Can I have any advice on how to do this? My pit is about 5 months old and is getting neutered in a few weeks. I just want to be aware of anything I can do to make sure that he does not become dog or human aggressive.

Thanks!
Ashley Gerenser from PA

Ashley,

First of all, I think it is wonderful that you have decided to neuter your dog. And five or six months is a great age to do it.

How do we keep a powerful breed humble, surrendering, submissive, and peaceful? We never reward excitement. We don't favor any one dog over another. Once you have a pack, you can't favor any particular dog. You need to favor the calm-submissive state of mind. That's what keeps a pack healthy.

When you're feeding three dogs, always choose the dog that is the most calm and submissive to receive the food first. If that happens to be the pit bull, then feed him first. But if he's too exited, he should eat last. Wait until he's achieved the state of mind that you want. That way, he understand that it's the calm-submissive state that makes him part of the group.

If you have a high energy pit bull and lower energy labradors, then make sure that you challenge the pit bull more than the other dogs. Always keep the powerful breed very, very tired. And when you're taking them on a walk together, who gets the leash first? The most calm and submissive. When you open the door, who goes out first? Obviously, the human and then the most calm and submissive. If all three of them are in a calm-submissive state, which is ideal, then you can take everyone at the same time!

If you have problems walking all three dogs together, then take them one at a time. Master the walk that way. Then add a second dog to the walk. Then once you have that down, bring the third along. Your goal is to make them a calm-submissive unit, working together.

Stay calm and assertive,

Cesar Millan

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[Essa dica é parcialmente diferente da que eu daria e é exatamente por isso que treinar cães é tão interessante. Não é uma ciência exata, cada cachorro é um indivíduo único (e portanto um desafio único) que reaje melhor a uma determinada técnica e não a outra. Gosto muuuuito do método de Cesar e acho incrivelmente interessante como todo o trabalho dele se baseia em controlar a energia do cão.]

Puppy or Dog: The Debate Continues

As a dog enthusiast and trainer, I have often been asked by people to give them some guidance in regards to breed when looking for a new canine addition to the family. Time and time again, however, when being asked for advice I am asked about puppies. Why? Simply because the vast majority of people picture bringing home a cute little puppy to snuggle with and take care of, not a mature dog. So my question is: why is that? Why do people go in search of a puppy instead of the best overall addition to their family and lifestyle?

I will be the first to admit puppies have a unique draw. They are cute, playful, rambunctious, and lovable. They generally like to snuggle, and there are few things better in this world than puppy kisses or a puppy that has passed out in your lap after a long play session. The problem with puppies, though, is just that. Granted, a lot of people do actually go looking for a puppy, but that cute face and slight tilt of the head has lead to far more impulse buys than not. (Guilty as charged!) I am convinced that poorly thought out purchases are the number one reason dogs end up in shelters. Most people don’t think of the long nights that come with taking care of a small puppy, the numerous feedings, the bad habits that must be curtailed, or the expense involved in bringing a puppy home. They look at the cute face, and it’s over. Then, when the puppy gets too big, too rowdy, or just plain grown up and doesn’t have that same cute fuzziness than brought it into the home to begin with and made you look past all the annoying or destructive behaviors, it is ignored, sequestered to the back yard, re-homed on Craigslist, or taken to a shelter. But let’s even look past that. Let’s look past the impulse buys and cuteness and talk about the real issue that worries those I have had this same discussion with: Bonding.

If you were to pull the average Joe off the street and ask the simple question, “If you were to get an older dog and a puppy, feed them, water them, shelter them, play with and train them for 2 years, which do you think would be more bonded to you?”, I guarantee you the answer you would get is the puppy [which is a false assumption]. This myth is probably the number one reason there aren’t more dogs adopted out of shelters at the same rate as puppies. Think about it. [Adult] dogs are less work. You don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to take them out because they are mature enough to wait an entire night. Most dogs are also at least somewhat house broken, are usually calmer depending on the age, and less destructive because they have matured through the puppy chewing stage that comes with teething. You can also do more with the dog right away: go for runs, play fetch, go swimming. They are almost instant companions. But the misplaced fear that a dog will not bond as quickly or as strongly as a puppy has steered people away from the more mature crowd time and time again, and the loss that results for both the dog and the individual saddens me.

From personal experience alone, I can attest to adult dogs not only bonding more strongly to me than the puppies I’ve had but being an almost instant enjoyment. Of the 6 dogs I own, three were puppies when I brought them home, two were adults, and the remaining dog was already a part of my husband’s household when we met. Of these dogs, which is the most strongly bonded to me? Well, from day to day my opinion changes, but what I can tell you is the dogs I brought home as adults and the one my husband had prior to us meeting lead the pack. In fact, sometimes I think that my first dog, the one I brought home as a puppy and spent the most time with making sure that we “bonded”, is the one that could care the least about whether or not I’m around.

Take the time one day to ask anyone with a true working dog about the dog they’ve had that has bonded the strongest to them. I can tell you that more often than not, it will be a dog that was acquired later in life. It may not have been fully matured, but it will usually be one with at least several months of life if not a few years under its belt. I will say this is also true of most of the trainers I know. Why this is, I’m not exactly sure. There’s a part of me that likes to think a dog that is a bit older is grateful for the good home and attention provided to them, especially when taken from a shelter, because they have not always had the same experience whereas a puppy knows no different. But truth be told, there is no magic answer. All I know is that I have seen firsthand that a dog can and will become as bonded or more to their masters than a puppy. The true variable in the equation is the individual dog and breed, not age.

So, the next time you or a friend start looking for a new canine addition, all I ask is that you don’t disregard the older dogs that could spare you a lot of the work and bring you just as much joy. Although it may not be perfect or have the fuzziness of a puppy, it may just end up being the best dog you’ll ever have.

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Common Foods That Can Be Toxic to Pets

We all love our pets. For many of us, one way we show that love is through special treats such as human food. As long as we don’t overindulge our loved ones into obesity, these little treats can be fun for both pet and parent. However, it is important to realize that dogs and cats are very different from humans in some very important ways, which can result in tragedies for the uninformed parent.

One of the newest and easily available human foods toxic to dogs, is xylitol. Xylitol is present in products from gums to sugar free cookies. When ingested in relatively small amounts, this sweetener can result in low blood sugar, seizures, liver failure and death. These symptoms can show up as quickly as 30 minutes or as long as 12 hours after ingestion, and treatment must be quick and aggressive or they can be fatal.

Grapes and raisins have been found recently to induce kidney failure in some animals. This failure can be permanent and life threatening. It does not seem to relate to the volume ingested, and not all animals seem to be equally susceptible. Although some dogs have been eating grapes for years, the safe course is to avoid grapes and raisins completely.

Due to articles such as this, many people are now aware of chocolate’s toxicity in dogs and cats. With the recent popularity of chocolates that are 60 and 70 percent cocoa, this risk has become much more serious. Dark chocolates have always been more toxic than milk chocolates, and these newer chocolates are even more so. Toxic doses of chocolate can cause abnormal heartbeats, kidney failure and death. The toxic dose is dependant on weight, so little dogs are at higher risk, but with the higher levels of cocoa in chocolate products now even bigger dogs are at risk.

Onions are tasty for our pets as well as us, but too many onions can be dangerous. High levels of onion ingestion in dogs and cats can cause life-threatening anemia.

With any toxic exposure, minutes count so knowing what to do can save a life. Most importantly, you should have the phone number of poison control, your regular veterinary and an after-hours hospital posted in your home. It is best to wait until you reach poison control before you do anything but usually you will be told to make your pet vomit to get rid of some of the toxic substance. Vomiting can be induced with a teaspoon of peroxide if you don’t have ipecac. Give the peroxide by mouth every few minutes, giving your pet a chance to relax between since many dogs and cats will refuse to vomit when held. Once vomiting occurs, or if you are unsuccessful within a few minutes, you should then seek professional help from a qualified veterinarian. Be sure to have an idea of how much of the substance your pet ingested and how long ago it happened.

For a more complete list of possible toxins in your home, visit www.townelakevets.com.

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
National Hotline: 888-426-4435
Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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Potty training outside during the winter

[The dog] (and possibly his owners) needs to learn that he won't freeze solid if left out in the cold a "wee" (yep, pun intended) bit longer...

When [the dog] goes outdoors, whatever the weather, so should one of [the owners] (preferably wearing normal indoor weather-appropriate clothes, but no coats, hats, gloves, scarves, umbrellas, etc.). As long as they (the human) can tolerate being outdoors, so can [the dog] (and the fact is that [the dog] can tolerate inclement weather and unpleasant temperatures at least half again as long as his "uncoated" humans ever could). They may want to try a "tag team" approach, where [the dog] is put out one door where one human is standing by inside, and the other human goes out the opposite door (so that [the dog] still goes out "by himself" and is therefore not distracted from doing his duties). When the other human comes back in from the door where [the dog] cannot see that human, that human shouts to the one nearest to [the dog] and [he] is then allowed to come back indoors if he is ready to do so.

It [is also a mistake to put the dog] out for pottying too often. [He] may not [catch] on to the primary purpose of the outings because they are so frequent -- in other words, it is a sure bet that he is being put outdoors when he does not have to potty as often or even more often than when he does have to potty. If [the owners] are literally putting [the dog] out [let's say] every 45 minutes, that could be as many as 21 outings per average day -- he really needs less than half that many outings to take care of his potty needs. He should go out first thing every morning, last thing before bedtime, a few minutes after he finishes eating each meal, right after he wakes up from any nap, and right after any time that he has been playing or running around vigorously for more than a few minutes. And, the more routinely scheduled [the dogs]'s outings are, the faster and more easily his body will adapt his waste elimination needs to that regular outing schedule.

Perhaps this goes without needing to be said, but, anytime they can catch [the dog] in the act of pooping indoors, [the owners] should immediately shout a harsh, deep, voice-of-doom "NO!" at [the dog] and then pick [him] up and hurry him outdoors (mid-poop, if at all possible, so that he might finish outside). Conversely, anytime [the dog] does what he is supposed to do outdoors, he should be praised (and preferably, given a reward treat).

[Escrito por Melody Joyce em 28 de janeiro de 2006 para a lista Petdogs-L do Yahoo Groups]

Housebreaking and puppy stuff

Housebreaking is probably the biggest obstacle that you will have with your new pup and the length of time it takes really varies by the dog. First, get yourself a set of bells to hang on your "go outside" door. You will train the pup to ring the bells by luring him with a treat - when he hits the bells with his nose cheer and say "go outside" and immediately throw the door open - most dogs only take a couple days to get the point of the bells - and this will speed up the housebreaking process by giving your pup a set way of telling you he needs to go out. Here's a link to a vendor that carries the bells that I like really cheap - they're easy to hear and last forever... http://www.chicksaddlery.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SLB102

The next thing you must do is crate train. This will help with house breaking, make it easier to travel with your pup, and make him more comfortable if you must ever leave him at the vet's or a kennel. The crate should be just large enough for the pup to stand up and turn around, any larger and he may use one end for potty and the other for sleeping. There are crates available now that have "transition" panels in them, allowing you to buy a full-sized crate and use the panels to section them off as the pup grows.

Potty time needs to happen after every meal, nap and play session, and usually about every 2 hours or so in between - get on a schedule (and adjust as necessary) and this will speed things up. A pup as young as [9 weeks] can't be expected to hold it for more than 3-4 hours at this stage - so that also means getting up in the middle of the night for a few weeks. If you're lucky, you'll get one like my female, who slept through the night from the age of 10 weeks, if unlucky, you'll have one like my male who had to get up even at 5 mos old. It's important that you take the pup out for potty when he needs to go, the last thing you want is a pup that learns to potty in his crate because he had no other choice - trust me, it's a very difficult habit to break. If you're pup makes a mistake, you're not paying enough attention to his needs - and need to potty him more often.

When you do potty your pup, please use a leash - there's nothing worse than a dog that is leash shy and won't potty on leash. Take lots of yummy treats and give the pup a treat every time he goes - throw him a little party. Give a command, like "go pee", too - this will eventually let your pup know that he is out there for potty time, not play and look at the sky time. This will also come in handy as your dog grows - trust me, when you're at a hotel and it's pouring down rain, it's a very handy tool to have - when I travel with my two, I can point them at a spot, say "go pee" and get a potty within seconds usually (if they really do have to go).

Do yourself a favor and buy a gallon of a really good enzymatic cleaner - I like Nature's Miracle. If you're pup makes a mistake and you don't catch him in the act, simply take him, put him in his crate and clean up - don't let him see you cleaning up. If you catch him in the act, often a sharp "no" will stop it in mid stream, you can then scoop him up and take him outside, be sure to praise lavishly when he finishes up outside.

If you take him out and he doesn't go, put him back in his crate for about 20 mins and then try again - repeat as necessary. He doesn't get play time until after he's gone outside.

Keep playtime indoors for now - until he is mostly housebroken. You want him to associate outside with potty time, not play time, or play in a different part of the yard. Also, always potty him in the same area of the yard, the smells will remind him why he's out there.

Get yourselves enrolled in a puppy class - the best time to socialize your pup is now. The safest way to do that is in a class where you know all the pups have been inoculated and it is a controlled environment.

DO NOT allow your pup to interact or talk to strange adult dogs. Do not be fooled by what some people call "puppy license" that states that pups in a pack are allowed certain liberties that older dogs would not have. Although this theory is true, it only applies to the pup's own pack. In the "real" world, pups from other packs are considered a threat to the survival of another pack - and in most cases, adults would kill pups not from their own pack. Although our dogs are not wolves, those instincts are still ingrained in them - it is not at all unusual for an adult dog to attack or kill a puppy (especially in-tact males). So unless you know the dog, please keep your puppy away and safe. DO NOT take this pup to places that are frequented by large amounts of dogs until he has received his final shots - taking a pup to dog parks and public parks endangers his life until full immunity to diseases has been reached, and this is not until after 16 weeks.

If you go to places like PetSmart or PetCo - they are great places to socialize your dog with people, but please, leave the pup in the cart, do NOT allow him on the floor in these places, it's WAY too dangerous to your pup's health.

FYI - pups go through what are called fear imprint stages. Things that frighten a pup during these stages will most certainly always frighten your pup. For example, if the pup is bitten by another dog during one of these stages, you pup will most likely either be dog aggressive or dog fearful for the rest of his life. It is critical that all experiences be positive until about the age of 6mos - by then, most dogs have gone through all their fear imprint stages and traumas are usually then better dealt with.

I want you to imagine yourself alone, in a strange country, where they don't speak your language and you don't know the laws and customs. Then imagine how stressed and uncomfortable you would be. Well, this is what it's like to be a puppy in a human world. In order to make your pup comfortable in this new world, you must think (and speak) like another pack member. It is very important that you be consistent with this pup, decide on what rules you want this pup to adhere to, and then always enforce these rules. It will help your pup adjust and be comfortable in his environment. For example, you can't say - yes you can get on the furniture, unless you're muddy. Or yes, you can have this table scrap today, but not when there's company in the house. Either they can get on the furniture or they can't, they can sit by the table or they can't - decide on how you want things (keeping in mind that the adorable pup you now have will grow to an 80lb+ fuzzball in just a short year), and then stick to those rules - enforce your rules fairly and consistently and you will never have a problem with your pup.

Practice "nothing is off limits" and "nothing is free". In other words, you are allowed to touch or hold any parts of your dog, teeth, ears, privates, etc. It is very important that you desensitize your pup to touch of all types, at any time (including feeding time). You never know when an uneducated person may come up and try to pet your dog either the wrong way or at the wrong time. Just this past weekend, my female was gnawing on a particularly yummy knuckle bone in a public venue - I watched a small child walk by and pet her as he passed - many dogs would react aggressively to someone touching them while they were eating, but I knew it was safe because I have conditioned my dogs to accept touch at any time. I had another stranger that was interested in my breed of dog ask what would happen if she took the bone from my dog (she had kids at home and wanted to know if they were safe around kids). I told her to take the bone - my female gave this stranger the bone without even a second thought and waited patiently until the stranger gave it back to her. Again, I knew there was no danger in this because I've conditioned my dogs to accept this. Toes are a particularly tough area on many dogs - you will never have a problem with toenails if you massage then daily now, while the pup is young. "Nothing is Free" has to do with resources. You establish yourself as pack leader by controlling resources - make your pup work for everything, outside, play, food - and work can be as simple as asking the pup to sit or wait for that resource.

Your pup will never chew anything if you never give him the opportunity. If it's within reach assume the pup will try it out. The pup must not ever be out of your sight, he either needs to be with you or confined to a crate. Set your pup up for success, by giving him a safe environment to play in - don't leave your shoes around, put them in a closet and close the door. The only thing in pup's reach should be his own things. The worse chewing stage happens between 5 and 7 mos, so don't be lulled into a false confidence when your pup is a perfect angel for the first few months. If your pup gets into something, learn from YOUR mistake - a dog that gets into trouble has too much freedom.

When teaching commands such as "come" again, set your pup up for success - do not use the command until the pup is already coming to you - you can use other things to get his attention, like clapping hands, a squeaky toy, etc. and when the pup does come, praise lavishly and treat liberally. Don't repeat your commands - trust me, a dog will learn to tune you out, or they will count how many times you say it before you actually do something about it. When teaching a recall, it's very important that the pup never has the opportunity to disobey - use a drag line (a piece of clothesline tied to the pup) and if he ignores you, step on the leash and draw him towards you, rewarding when he gets to you. NEVER call your dog to you and then correct him - that is the fastest way to create fear in a dog and create a dog that won't come to you. If for some reason you need to correct a dog - always go to them, not the other way around.

Feeding is another important thing. Pick a good quality food (don't be drawn in by "designer" foods either - read the label and make an educated decision). Once you've picked a food - stick with the food. Changes in food will create picky eaters and cause digestive upset. Put the food down for 20 mins, if it's not eaten, pick it back up and wait until the next scheduled feeding time. Males are notoriously bad eaters - don't worry, they won't starve themselves. If your pup is distracted at feeding times, you may want to feed in his crate. Do not add things to the food (like canned food or gravy) - this too will cause a picky eater.

Unfortunately, pups don't come pre-programmed to understand us, they also don't come with instruction manuals. The very best thing you can do for you and your pup is getting involved in an obedience program, and stick to it at least for the first year, my two are 2 and 3 and still attend classes weekly.

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy - it's a lot of work, but that work will really pay off down the road when you have the unconditional love and companionship of a well adjusted dog.

[Escrito por Denise Parsons em 27 de janeiro de 2006 para a lista Petdogs-L do Yahoo Groups]

The seconds stage of housetraining is teaching your puppy to tell you when he has to go outside to potty. Bells are one way to do it but it's not my favorite method. I've had a lot of students who did not like the constant ringing that some dogs do when they just want to go outside to bark at the wind...or they just like to hear the bells ring. It can turn into a game. So, although it works well for some, for many it does not. It's a personal choice.

Denise wrote: "Keep playtime indoors for now - until he is mostly housebroken. You want him to associate outside with potty time, not play time, or play in a different part of the yard. Also, always potty him in the same area of the yard, the smells will remind him why he's out there."

I don't agree with this. I do teach that they have to potty before playing but to say that one isn't going to let their puppy play outside until they have mostly (or close to) being housetrained would be quite awhile for the average puppy. Some puppies take up to a year before they are 100%. Lots of good games and training can and should be happening outside. The puppies need to explore the world around them. As long as you don't allow play before they potty, they will make the association. I do tell them outside-hurry-up (or whatever word you choose to use for potty) all the way outside so that the association is made to going potty and that they can learn that outside is for other things but I would not deny play time outside for a young puppy just b/c they are nowhere near housetrained yet.

Denise wrote: "DO NOT allow your pup to interact or talk to strange adult dogs. Do not be fooled by what some people call "puppy license" that states that pups in a pack are allowed certain liberties that older dogs would not have. Although this theory is true, it only applies to the pup's own pack. In the "real" world, pups from other packs are considered a threat to the survival of another pack - and in most cases, adults would kill pups not from their own pack. Although our dogs are not wolves, those instincts are still ingrained in them - it is not at all unusual for an adult dog to attack or kill a puppy (especially in-tact males). So unless you know the dog, please keep your puppy away and safe."

I have to totally disagree with this. In my 20+ years of teaching dog training, it's been my experience that most puppies do have a 'puppy license' with most adults. Of course, that's not a guarantee but it happens more often than not. If the adult strange dog is a bully, reactive, aggressive or has bad social skills, I wouldn't let any of my dogs interact with them, much less my puppies. That's a given. But a rock solid adult, from any pack, will tolerate a lot from a puppy, thus giving the pup a 'puppy license'. One has to make safe choices but to say this rule only applies to the pup's own pack is just not true (ime). For one thing, the new puppy coming in came from another pack. If this were true, more of our new puppies coming into our home with an existing pack would be killed. It takes the existing pack awhile (some longer than others) to figure out that this new addition is not a guest but is becoming part of their pack.

If your own pack does not have a rock solid adult dog with good social skills, then I say not only let your puppy be around strange adults, I recommend it. The puppy needs to continue to learn these lessons that were started at the breeders or they will lose them. I prefer a bitch to a dog, in most cases, but either is better than none. This is the age they need this.

Denise [wrote]: "...DO NOT take this pup to places that are frequented by large amounts of dogs until he has received his final shots - taking a pup to dog parks and public parks endangers his life until full immunity to diseases has been reached, and this is not until after 16 weeks."

I also disagree with the above. At 16 weeks, the window of opportunity has passed for proper socialization. This is a controversial subject as it does become a catch 22 and a personal choice. Although I am very careful with where I bring my puppies, I do not wait until after all shots (16 weeks +) before taking my puppy out into the world. I'll take my chances on the diseases (as many can be treated when caught early enough and I know the symptoms) vs the potential of serious behavior problems as a result of lack of socialization. I prefer to follow the vacinnation protocol of Dr. Jean Dodds who recommends holding out as long as possible for the rabies shot, which I do after 16 weeks. Actually, the waiting room at the vet's office can be one of the most dangerous (disease wise). I always carry my puppies in and I bring my own towel or blanket to put on the exam table and scale. It won't help with airbone stuff and I know they clean in between appts but it's the extra I do for my puppies. After all, there are many sick, contageous animals at the vets, not all of which have been vaccinated. The floors, of course, are the worse.

Denise [wrote]: "FYI - pups go through what are called fear imprint stages. Things that frighten a pup during these stages will most certainly always frighten your pup. For example, if the pup is bitten by another dog during one of these stages, you pup will most likely either be dog aggressive or dog fearful for the rest of his life. It is critical that all experiences be positive until about the age of 6mos - by then, most dogs have gone through all their fear imprint stages and traumas are usually then better dealt with."

While it is true that dogs imprint at early ages (good and bad) and there is sufficient evidence to believe fear periods actually exist, however, not a lot of hard data is around on the subject. It's often said that GSDs have one more fear period than most other breeds. I do not know if this is true, last one being at 18 months. In most dogs, the last one is 7 months but can vary a lot. Most owners don't even know when their puppies are going through a fear period. In this phase where the fear period is believed to be happening, if something does happen to the pup, it can be difficult, but not impossible to correct. During this period, one can usually see signs if they look for them. One day the pup is afraid of something they were not afraid of the day before. They can just be spooked by the wind. Special care during this time is advised but to say that one should protect to the point of not socializing or introducing the dog to it's environment by keeping the pup home until after 6 months (one month earlier than most go through their last fear period) is not something I would recommend. I've seen countless dogs get bit at 1 or 2 + yrs old and it stays with them for the rest of their life. It doesn't have to be during a fear period. Those that it stayed for life probably had owners [which] did not know that the problem could be worked on and the chances are that it can be corrected or improved. Dogs don't 'unlearn' but with proper training and positive reinforcement, dogs can learn to offer alternative behaviors that are acceptable behaviors, but they will always 'know' what was learned. It's up to us to make them see that acceptable behaviors are more rewarding for them than previously learned unacceptable behaviors.

Denise [wrote]: "I want you to imagine yourself alone, in a strange country, where they don't speak your language and you don't know the laws and customs. Then imagine how stressed and uncomfortable you would be. Well, this is what it's like to be a puppy in a human world. In order to make your pup comfortable in this new world, you must think (and speak) like another pack member. It is very important that you be consistent with this pup, decide on what rules you want this pup to adhere to, and then always enforce these rules. It will help your pup adjust and be comfortable in his environment. For example, you can't say - yes you can get on the furniture, unless you're muddy. Or yes, you can have this table scrap today, but not when there's company in the house. Either they can get on the furniture or they can't, they can sit by the table or they can't - decide on how you want things (keeping in mind that the adorable pup you now have will grow to an 80lb+ fuzzball in just a short year), and then stick to those rules - enforce your rules fairly and consistently and you will never have a problem with your pup."

I disagree with this as well (sorry Denise) to a point. I understand what Denise is saying and yes they have to learn our (human) rules. But, dogs can be taught many things. First of all, English (or French, German, etc.) is not their first language. We do have to teach them that first. They understand tone of voice and body language much easier.....in the beginning. Once the dog has a handle on our language (and they can learn 200+ words), you can teach them almost anything, providing they can physically do it. All my dogs have learned a very large vocabulary. Granted, some of it is advanced work, but a dog can learn that they cannot go on furniture when they are wet or muddy. It's not that hard to teach......one word at a time. You can teach dogs that they cannot get on the bed UNTIL you have put on THEIR sheet (for dirty paws). You can teach them that they can have food from your plate when you say YES!.....and still not beg at the dinner table. I don't recommend you confuse your young 8 wo puppy but I did want to make it clear that when the puppy is ready....and you want to....they can be taught these things and some are taught at a very young age.

Denise [wrote]: "Feeding is another important thing. Pick a good quality food (don't be drawn in by "designer" foods either - read the label and make an educated decision). Once you've picked a food - stick with the food. Changes in food will create picky eaters and cause digestive upset. Put the food down for 20 mins, if it's not eaten, pick it back up and wait until the next scheduled feeding time. Males are notoriously bad eaters - don't worry, they won't starve themselves. If your pup is distracted at feeding times, you may want to feed in his crate. Do not add things to the food (like canned food or gravy) - this too will cause a picky eater."

I agree with Denise, feeding is important and I recommend a quality food (not junk food from the grocery store). I also agree that one should put it down and pick it up rather than self-feed (leaving it down all day for them to eat at their leisure). However, I think 20 minutes is too long. I give my guys a lot less time to eat. If, in fact, they take their mouths out of the dish for more than 2 seconds, the dish gets picked up. They are not allowed to leave the dish and come back even if it's within 2 minutes. They leave it and it's history. I do add 'stuff' to my dogs' food and none of them are pickey eaters. However, I will say that some dogs can be. It's not that hard to fix if one becomes picky as most dogs will not starve themselves and you (the owner) control the food. So, I do give other things with my dog's meals. I change enough that they just don't know what they might get added and look forward to the 'surprises'. They love eating and I believe it's b/c of what I add that makes their meals more enjoyable. I wouldn't want to eat the same ole thing, day in, day out. I do stick to the same brand dog food but the 'fixin's (as my DH calls 'em) changes from day to day. They get one meal without anything and one meal with other stuff and that's so if they have to be fed by someone else, they will eat their meals plain. So, this does help with not becoming picky eaters as well.

[Escrito por Cher McCoy em 29 de janeiro de 2006 para a lista Petdogs-L do Yahoo Groups]

We have here two trainers with two different approaches to nearly everything. As far as I know, both of them are highly qualified people with a lot of years and experience and success behind them. So who's right? What do you do?

There is no absolutely correct, totally accepted method for training or socializing dogs. Trainers and breeders don't always agree. Sometimes one is right, sometimes another is right, sometimes none of them has the right answer. You'll find the same is true if you buy any two books on the subject.

Don't get frustrated because you can't get an all-purpose, always-works answer. Weigh the opinions, talk to other people, and do what makes sense to you and your dog. If it doesn't work within a reasonable amount of time, try something else.

For example: I've taken training classes with Cher and enjoyed them immensely. I'm not always in total agreement with her, but while I'm in her class, I do what she suggests -- that's what I pay her for! It doesn't mean I'll always use what she suggests in any situation, but it does mean that her suggestions have worked well in many situations. Just because I find other things sometimes work better for my dogs doesn't mean she's wrong, it just means that...well, sometimes other things work better for my dogs!

I deal with the differences in opinions from the trainers on this list and others by looking at each problem in light of what I know about my dogs.

For instance: The bell method for housebreaking doesn't work for us. We have too many dogs...someone would *always* be ringing it! So ours are mostly on a schedule, but if someone needs to go out in between, we know each dog's language well enough to understand the problem. And boy does it vary. Ivy comes and stares at me till I get up, then leads me to the door. Sam whines. Dallas whines, sits on his haunches and puts his feet on your lap -- however, he also does that just for attention, so we're working on that one. Fannie goes to the door and stares. Whisper barks a particularly shrill little "I reallyreallyreally gotta go!!!" Judy runs back and forth from the door to me, the door to me, the door to me. So on that one, I'm with Cher.

As far as interacting with adult dogs, I'm with Denise. Some adults may give "puppy license" but not all do so with all puppies. As witness Dallas' vet bill when he pushed Ivy too far -- he was four months old. Ivy puts up with amazing stuff from whippet puppies. I've never seen her do anything more than correct them fairly gently for even major transgressions. A German Shepherd pup in her face was more than she was ready to grant a license for and she grabbed his paw, ground in, and didn't let go. Fortunately there was no permanent damage, but it wasn't a good experience for either one. And Ivy wasn't even a *strange* adult dog. He knew her well and vice versa. I've also seen several adult dogs at Petsmart snap at puppies. We're more careful about puppies interacting with adults now, at home as well as away.

And I agree with Denise about not taking puppies to dog parks or public places where many dogs are until they've had all their shots. We do take them out, but not to doggy-intensive places. Walks downtown are great -- not too many people take dogs downtown. We also go to Lowes (did you know most Lowes let you bring dogs in?) and local feed stores. For doggie socialization, arrange play dates at home with friends who have dogs you know are healthy. Plenty of time for dog parks after the shots are done. It is apparently true that the period before 16 weeks is extremely important to socialization -- some believe that after that age, the personality as far as reactions to other dogs and people is immutably set. So don't isolate your puppy, but you don't need to expose him to dogs of unknown health.

As for the problem with vets having sick dogs through, ask the receptionist if you can arrange to bring your puppy in during a well-pet period. Ours are usually scheduled between cat appointments. And Cher's right -- don't put the pup on the floor while you're at the vet.

I don't know what I think about the "fear imprint" stages. I've read a lot on the subject but my experience doesn't always support the theory. We've had puppies that were bold as brass from day one and we've had some that did seem to go through spells in which they were less confident, then came back. I've never been able to affix it to an age though. We just try to keep experiences positive for the most part and don't worry about *when* things happen so much as *what* happens. For example, Dallas' traumatic experience with Ivy didn't ruin his temperament at all -- but it sure made him cautious about *her*. He still won't come upstairs until he knows she's confined, but he's just as puppy-obnoxious as ever with the other dogs.

I definitely don't agree that grocery store brands are all "junk food". I've raised too many healthy dogs on Purina ONE to buy into the designer food craze. I've tried many, many different foods over the past 30 or so years and have never been able to tell the first bit of difference in adult dogs who were being fed an ultra-expensive food and a grocery store brand. On cheap foods, their poops were bigger. That's the difference. On all brands their eyes were bright, coats good, energy levels normal, and most of our dogs have lived to the far side of the breed's lifespan.

One of our whippet owners whose dogs are in tiptop, lean and mean condition feeds Tractor Supply brands. His older whippet is 15 and getting around great. I'm not going to tell that man he should be spending four times the amount for a "human grade" food or whatever, and I'm not going to spend it myself. For people who want to and believe in it, that's great, but it is NOT necessary to buy designer foods to have a healthy dog. If your dog does better on one particular food, then feed it. But don't think you're a bad owner because you can't afford $50 a bag for food.

SO...the bottom line is, you're never going to find two dog people who agree on everything. Raising puppies is not a hard science. There are basics that are known (cruel training methods are not necessary, puppies should be fed regularly on a schedule, housetraining only works if you can get the pup outside on a regular basis, etc). But underneath those maxims is a vast grey area and we all do what works best for our own dogs.

[Escrito por Sharyn Hutchens em 30 de janeiro de 2006 para a lista Petdogs-L do Yahoo Groups]