January 2011 Well Bred: A Three-Pronged Approach to Keeping Dogs Out of Shelters.

Transcription

1 January 2011 Well Bred: A Three-Pronged Approach to Keeping Dogs Out of Shelters. By Patricia B. McConnell, PhD From Bark, June-August 2010 while back, a couple I ll call them A John and Maryanne came to see me because their dog had bitten a visitor. He was just fine as a puppy, but now that he s older, he barks and growls at company as though he wants to eat them. The bite was the last straw he hurt a good friend who came over to borrow a book and we still feel guilty about it. Because background information is always helpful, I started by asking them where they got the dog. From a great breeder, John answered, She has lots of champions. When I inquired if they knew much about the behavior of the dam and sire, Mary said, Well, the mom was adorable, but we can t tell you anything about the father because we couldn t get near him. He was barking and showing his teeth, and neither of us wanted to go up and pet him. The breeder said he was just being protective of his puppies. Ah, the acorn doesn t fall far from the tree, does it? The couple s dog was acting exactly like his father. The father whom the breeder continued to use as a stud because long ago he earned a title in the conformation ring. And this was a highly respected breeder, one whom many would call responsible. But no, she wasn t. Breeding a dog with a predisposition to be aggressive to strangers is not responsible breeding. Breeding a dog with an undershot jaw, a potential for long-term health problems or genetically mediated behavioral instabilities is not responsible breeding. And yet it is done relatively often by those who breed show dogs, working dogs and companion dogs, as well as by those who allow dogs to come into the world because nobody was paying attention. Irresponsible breeding is not news, we all know there s far too much of it going on in this country. Breeders who fail their dogs and their clients are well known in dog circles, and are often publicly disparaged. But the flip side breeders who are truly responsible is often ignored, and I would argue that our companion animals suffer for it. What about those who breed their dogs carefully, select the right homes for the puppies and remain accountable throughout each dog s lifetime? Ah, but, one might say, how could anyone be considered responsible when they bring more dogs into a world where so many dogs are in shelters? Before I go further, let me state unequivocally that the current focus on adopting dogs from shelters and rescues is a very, very good thing. We need to do everything we can to get dogs out of shelters and into good homes, and I am a stalwart cheerleader for those efforts. In years past, a long string of needy dogs wound its way through my farm, and when I retire enough to work just one full-time job, I will begin the process again. However bear with me adoptions and spay/neuter programs are only two-thirds of the picture. While rescue efforts have saved many, and spay/neuter programs have done a tremendous job reducing the numbers of dogs going into shelters, still, about two million dogs die in shelters every year. The solution is obvious, right? We should discourage any and all breeding, right? That sounds reasonable, until you look at the 1995 research carried out by Gary Patronek and Andrew Rowan, who investigated the demographics of pet ownership and the numbers of dogs entering shelters. They found that about 7.3 million dogs are acquired annually as companion animals by U.S. households, while an estimated 6.2 million puppies are produced by breeders (both professional and backyard) and puppy mills. Further, Patronek and Rowan estimated that about 4.4 million dogs enter shelters (continued on page 2) Next Meeting January 17th, 7:00pm at Marie Callender s (I-8 & 70th St., 6950 Alvarado Rd.) Dog Daze Deadline: the 3rd of the month. Send Dog Daze contributions to Audrey Austin Send information for the calendar to Bruce Barnett

2 Dog Daze is a monthly puublication of All Breed Obedience Club Inc., a nonprofit obedience club serving San Diego County. Articles which appear in this paper do not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the subject matter by ABOCI. Articles may be quoted, provided credit is given to the author and Dog Daze. Subscription rate for non members is $ ABOCI Class Info: (619) Dog Daze Editor Audrey Austin (619) audreyaustin@cox.net ABOCI Officers David Smelser, President (760) Judy Ekdahl, Vice President (619) Audrey Austin, Secretary (619) Sarah Ball, Treasurer (619) Board Members Bruce Barnett (619) bcbarmett@cox.net Cathy Colley (619) Dog Days Publisher Kathy Upton Cell (858) uptonkathy@san.rr.com Well Bred.. (continued from page 1) annually: 400,000 from amateur breeders who don t find homes for their litters, 2.2 million strays (600,000 of whom are reclaimed) and 1.8 million owner-surrenders. Of those, about 1.8 to 2.1 million dogs don t find new homes and die in shelters every year. But, if 7.3 million dogs are brought into homes every year, and only 6.2 million are produced, where do the surplus dogs come from? We know the answer. Most dogs end up in shelters because of what owners describe as behavioral problems. Many of these problems can be easily solved, but the dogs first families either didn t know how to or lacked the desire to deal with them. People who work in shelters know well that many of these behavior problems are things like doesn t come when called (although the dog has never been trained to do so), or chewed on shoe (as seven-month-old pup left alone in the house for eight hours did). The other common reason for surrender is economic. In some cases, people had no idea how much money it would take to raise a dog from puppyhood to maturity, or, through no fault of their own, they lost the financial ability to care for a dog. That is why I would argue, the prevention effort needs a third leg to keep dogs from dying in shelters. That is where responsible breeders come in. Responsible breeders not only decrease the chance that a dog needs to be re-homed, they keep dogs out of shelters in the first place by following them throughout their lives and being willing to provide a home if one becomes necessary. It s not easy to be a responsible breeder, it requires a major commitment of time, energy and knowledge. Good breeders carefully select a mating pair based on genetics and physical and behavioral health: care for the dam and the litter as they should be cared for, provide an enriched environment for the maturing pups, sell only to the best of homes, provide lots of support for humane, effective training, and act as a resource (and possible home) for the rest of each 2 dog s life. That s a huge effort, take it from me I bred Border Collies for several years. My Lassie had two litters, and I still remember crying for days when a few of her puppies died o f an unknown disease. I had her spayed (more tears), even though we had no idea whether or not the problem was genetically based. As all responsible breeders do, I took dogs back at any age (nine years in one case) and worked with the dogs for many months before finding them just the right homes. I followed all the pups for years and, when needed, helped their guardians resolve any behavioral problems that developed. And yet, in some circles, when I mentioned that I bred dogs, I was treated as a social pariah. This is not uncommon ask any good breeder. Truly responsible breeders are rarely reinforced for their efforts. More often, they are lumped in with irresponsible breeders and castigated. Given that the good breeders are the ones who are keeping dogs out of shelter and rescue groups in the first place, it s a sad irony that doesn t do anyone an good. Everyone knows that a tripod is sturdy because it has three legs. That s what we need: a threepronged approach to keep dogs from dying in shelters and to provide relief for overwhelmed rescue clubs. Encourage everyone, except responsible breeders, to spay and neuter their dogs, encourage more adoptions from rescues and shelter, and as importantly, reinforce responsible breeding through public education efforts about what that entails, along with an occasional pat on the back to those who do it well. After all, isn t positive reinforcement effective in all species?

3 Brags Brags Brags...& Cries From Catherine Zinsky Catherine Zinsky has more than enough to brag about. What fabulous dogs she has, what a fabulous trainer she is, and what a fabulous journey they ve had so far. Let s start with her report: My older boy, Kyle (Ch OTCH Trumagik Step Aside, UDX 17, OMG), was again invited to the National Obedience Invitational in Long Beach. We entered, but then decided not to compete because of Kyle s health issues. BUT he was one of the top 10 Border Collies in the nation to be invited. Kyle finished his Obedience Grand Master Title last August. This is all compiled by scores. Ten Master Titles are required before the Obedience Grand Master is earned. To get a Master Title, the dog must amass 200 points based on scores, with 60% in Open and 60% in Utility. To date there are very few Obedience Grand Master Titles. Kyle and I are honored to among them. My young boy, Kellan (Ch. Borderfame Soul Train, UD), began his obedience career in the summer of In nine shows he went from his first Novice leg to Utility Dog. No failures. He also earned a 200 score and 3 High in Trials and 2 High Combines. And lastly, a new Border Collie puppy, Dax, entered our lives. He s unlike my other two entirely, but nonetheless a joy to have in our house. His breeder, Debbie Butt, was nominated Breeder of the Year by AKC for To date, that s his only claim to fame but it s early days. From Geri Zuckerman Super! Geri Zuckerman and her Portuguese Water Dog, Clue finished their CDX in Yuma. Both worked very hard to get here. Hip, hip, hurrah for the team! From Mimi Lorie Mimi Lorié s little Australian Shepherd, Artemis, started her show career at the tender age of 10 months at Bahia Sur by winning the Rally Novice B Class with a score of 98. She was the highest scoring rally dog in ALL rally classes that day. She then finished her Rally Novice title with a score of 95 at the OCSDC trial and another score of 98 at Hidden Valley the following weekend. From Audrey Austin Zazzy s big brag: Audrey Austin s Zazzy, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, passed her Tracking Dog test with an awesome job, finishing her 457 yard track in seven minutes. Nobody passes a TD without lots of other people. I want to say Thank you to Sally Nesbitt, our trainer and one of our judges, to Robin Grunwald our other judge, to Pat Ames our wonderful tracklayer, and everyone who made the test possible. Zazzy has had a spectacular year with earning seven titles in Rally, Obedience, and Agility. 3 Dazzle s Big Brag: Dazzle and I finished her TDX track yesterday to add the TDX letters to her name. She had to drag me through the whole track, leaping in the air from time to time to hurry me up. We finished the 875 yards in 14 minutes. She didn t even slow up for the turns, stopped long enough to retrieve her articles and off she went again. You would think she d slow up at 11 years of age. Maybe she did slow up enough for me to handle her myself. I am so proud of Dazzle. After the test was over, we went back to the car. Dazzle wouldn t get in, not even for liver. So I gave her a toy to carry while I walked her around. She went to the other side of the car where I had tossed my tracking stuff. She dropped her toy and pulled the tracking line from the car. She was ready to do another track while I was still panting from the last one. It was a great day for tracking, overcast and cold. Four dogs passed out of six. What a wonderful tracking event and a wonderful day. I m still on cloud nine From Lonnie Ruskin Lonnie Ruskin cries about her handler error. Molly lost a leg and a blue ribbon because Lonnie slightly moved her hand and it was counted as a double command. Ugh! I wish I had a nickel for all the but for s I ve had. But for that missed jump, but for that broken long down, but for that whatever. We all have been there. Audrey And I can add...for you agility enthusiasts...i can t count how many runs Gamma and I have failed because of only ONE minor error...a hesitation in front of a jump...a knocked bar...missing the first weave pole...or the last weave pole. I have learned to focus on the wonderful almost Q s and awesome pieces of courses and that we are really having fun together! Kathy

4 January 2011 Eulogies Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love and loyalty, They come to teach us about loss. We try to replace them, but never quite succeed, A new dog never replaces the old dog, It merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big. Erica Jong (Submitted by Cathy Colley) Betty Fisher remembers: White Fang, Frankly Franklin RN (Franklin), Newfoundland. Franklin passed away very unexpectedly in March. He was a rescue from the shelter. They gave him to me seven years ago. He was a lovely friend and very dear person. Frank really loved living in the country and running in the fields. White Fang Prize Package CD, NAP,RE,CS,CI (Prize) Bulldog. June 18, 1998 June 7, Most of you knew my precious Prize with her issues but in spite of them she earned titles in numerous venues. She was my very special friend, we shared a chair at the shows, shared our lunches and even shared a birthday. They are both very missed. Lydia and Boaz Clark remember: UCD,FO,UACH Darla CD,RE,OA,NAJ We obtained Darla from Alice Via s Boxer Rescue when she was 2 ½ years old in Sept Kalani helped us choose Darla! We were her 5th & forever home. We were told her issues were counter surfing, trash stealing and she could pull in a plastic crate s door to escape. All this we considered manageable. And were we glad we did. Boaz and Lydia had to send Darla, Boxer, over the Rainbow Bridge Thursday evening, Oct. 14, Her titles tell of her willingness and accomplishments. She was so much fun to work with and was only held back by our lack of experience and time! She did everything with gusto and enthusiasm. Darla loved people most of all and enjoyed petting and attention. She also loved digging for moles, gophers, and squirrels, sometimes digging a hole so big she would disappear into it. In her last year, Darla gradually aged with good cheer and Boxer gusto. Thank goodness the back arthritis caused numbness rather than pain, so that her hind end moved like a drunken sailer, all while her front end kept going strong. Darla would be head high with her Boxer smile, stub tail still wagging! Her crazy hind end going any which way gave another aspect to the happy Boxer pretzeling. She is buried under her favorite apple tree that she and Boaz used to race to in the mornings when the apples ripened. She loved to pick her own ripe apple from a low branch and eat it! 4

5 Somewhere over the rainbow - - In Memoriam Lyric Dec. 19, 1999 Nov. 15, 2010 SpCh Sweetbay s Lyric RE, CD, TDX, OAP, OJP, OFP, VCD1, WRD, UAG-I, EGC-V, OAC-V, OJC-V, TN-E, TG-O, WV-O, CSL3-F, CSL3-R, CSL3-H, CSL3-S NewfWaves Lyric was at her best when she was busy. She loved the water. So much so that she would verbally protest all the while she was made to stay on the boat. She had spectacular jumps off the boat and loved to swim. She had her own way of doing things, and at one water test managed to beach the boat stern first, much to the disbelieve of the judge. And Lyric loved to track, getting her TD and TDX but always seeming to just manage to miss an article or find a different article on her track for her VST. But the journey was the most fun. Lyric loved agility. She took great pride in telling off her handler if the handler made a mistake or ran too slow. Lyric was well known for her singing before an agility trial, basically saying Let s get going! I m ready to run! Lyric had a ball at the Incredible Dog Challenge and did the 60 pole weavepole challenge. She never missed a pole. Lyric was a real crowd pleaser in competition events. But all the titles and alphabet soup after her name were only tributes to the fun she had with life and the love she showed me as her handler. She was there for me through some pretty heavy times with my chemo, and she would usually be found somewhere by my side or under my feet. She will be missed. Lois Apfel 5

6 Our Holiday Potluck Photo Album 6

7 Calendar of Dog Events EVENT TYPE DATE(S) Addl. Day? CLUB LOCATION AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 1/7/2011 Kennel Club of Palm Springs Indio Closing date (blank=n/a): 12/22/2010 Info: Janis McManigal, 5946 Copperfield Ave., Riverside, CA AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 1/8/2011 1/9/2011 Kennel Club of Palm Springs Indio Closing date (blank=n/a): 12/22/2010 Info: Bradshaw: 4 UKC Obed. & Rally Trials 1/15/2011 1/16/2011 San Diego Dog Fanciers HVOC training grounds, Escondido Closing date (blank=n/a): 12/31/2010 Info: Premium at: General Meeting 1/17/2011 All Breed Obedience Club Marie Callender's Rest., La Mesa Closing date (blank=n/a): Info: Meeting starts at 7 p.m. AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 1/20/2011 Channel City Kennel Club Seaside Park, Ventura Closing date (blank=n/a): 1/5/2011 Info: Bradshaw: AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 1/21/2011 Simi Valley Kennel Club Seaside Park, Ventura Closing date (blank=n/a): 1/5/2011 Info: Bradshaw: Obedience & Rally Show & Go 1/22/2011 Hidden Valley Obedience Club HVOC training grounds, Escondido Closing date (blank=n/a): Info: 9 a.m. to noon AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 1/22/2011 San Fernando Kennel Club Seaside Park, Ventura Closing date (blank=n/a): 1/5/2011 Info: Bradshaw: AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 1/23/2011 Ventura Co. Dog Fanciers Seaside Park, Ventura Closing date (blank=n/a): 1/5/2011 Info: Bradshaw: AKC Agility Trials 1/22/2011 1/23/2011 Golden Ret. Club of SD Co. Rohr Park, Chula Vista Closing date (blank=n/a): 1/5/2011 Info: Lynda Tjarks, W Cameron Dr., AZ NADAC Agility Trials 1/29/2011 1/30/2011 Ups 'N Downs Agility Club Valley Center Closing date (blank=n/a): 1/21/2011 Info: Premium at: Obedience & Rally Show & Go 2/12/2011 All Breed Obedience Club Allied Gardens Community Park Closing date (blank=n/a): Info: 8:30 to noon General Meeting 2/21/2011 All Breed Obedience Club Location to be determined Closing date (blank=n/a): Info: Meeting starts at 7 p.m. AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 2/25/2011 Obed. Club of San Diego Co. Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar Closing date (blank=n/a): 2/9/2011 Info: Lynn K Spears, 1799 South Point Drive, Bonita, CA AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 2/26/2011 2/27/2011 Silver Bay Kennel Club Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar Closing date (blank=n/a): 2/9/2011 Info: Bradshaw: AKC Agility Trials 2/26/2011 2/27/2011 Silver Bay Kennel Club Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar Closing date (blank=n/a): 2/11/2011 Info: Brenda Farrington, W Cameron Dr., AZ AKC Agility Trials 3/12/2011 3/13/2011 Keeshond Club of So. Cal. Walnut Grove Park, San Marcos Closing date (blank=n/a): 2/23/2011 Info: Lynda Tjarks, W Cameron Dr., AZ AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 3/18/2011 3/19 & 3/20 Del Sur Kennel Club Bates Nut Farm, Valley Center Closing date (blank=n/a): 3/2/2011 Info: Bradshaw: Information to come AKC Agility Trials 3/26/2011 3/27/2011 SD Rhodesian Ridgeback Club HVOC training grounds, Escondido Closing date (blank=n/a): 3/9/2011 Info: Lynda Tjarks, W Cameron Dr., AZ Canine Nosework Seminar Coming in February A sport nearly any dog or human can do! Saturday February 5th, 2011 from 9:00AM to 4:00PM, Location: Santee, CA Instructors: Jill Marie O Brien and Amy Herot, Founders of K9 Nose Work Host: Coaching Creative Canines If Interested, Contact: Christy Hill: care4k9@hotmail.com or (805) If you know of events we should have in our calendar...be sure to send them to Bruce Barnett. His is on page 2. 7

8 ABOCI Membership Renewal Form Member Name Additional Family Members: Address (if different from mailing label): City, State, Zip: Address: Best Phone Number to reach you: If you wish to renew your membership, our current membership fees are: o $5.00 Junior o $25.00 Individual o $35.00 Family o $15.00 Dog Daze Subscription only Please mail your renewal check and this form to: Eleni Stevens 9105 Emerald Grove Ave. Lakeside, CA Have YOU renewed? If so, your mailing label will say 6/30/11!. To renew please use the form on this page! Also, contact Kathy if you d like to receive your Dog Daze in full color instead of a boring black and white copy!...via a web link or delivery! All Breed Obedience Club, Inc. Care of Kathy Upton 3365 Ogalala Avenue San Diego, CA 92117