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.

Fonte

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?


Fonte

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

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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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