Smile for the camera!

Todays post is one I recycled from the vault: Reading facial expressions in dogs.

(We were actually trying to get a photo of this sweeties underbite. It was not a social commentary nor done as a joke. She was a very good girl.)

Wordless Wednesday

A K-9 Corrections update

Check out this cutie pie. His name is Nico and he is an 18 month old akita mix. He is our newest resident in the K-9 Corrections program. He needs to learn not to jump on people when he greets them, not to pull on leash, and not to freak out when he sees other dogs. It turns out he used to go to dog parks when he was young but had a bad experience where he got attacked (and hurt) by another dog. He has since become afraid of them. His response when he sees one now is to get offensively defensive. In simple terms it is: attack first, ask questions later.
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I don't expect to get him to want to be social with other dogs, but we at least need to teach him a different emotional response to seeing them, and impulse control. With people he is super social and everyone there already really likes him. They keep trying to label him a pit mix though which I don't believe he is. You can definitely see the akita though. (Sidenote: Pitbulls aren't allowed on the program at this time. I hope that may change in the future but unfortunately it's not my call.)

Walker went to a new home on Saturday for a trial slumber party. The bad news is that he only lasted about 3 hours. He chewed on the recliner, did some counter surfing and scared the young child in residence when he barked at a visitor. It's ok. We learned some more things about him and we will find a better match next time. He did great at the Fur N Foliage shelter event playing with the other dogs there. He is now staying at the shelter so he can be seen by potential adopters. (and play with other dogs daily)

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I have another dog on deck to start the program on Saturday. I'm going to keep that info under wraps for now in case something changes. I'll just say she is very cute and needs to learn that all people aren't bad.

Working through my anger

I was thinking about a couple of posts I wanted to write today. One is about ear cropping in pugs, and the other was about the changes in the breed over the years. I have a book fetish and one of the things I do besides internet reading is to buy history books on breeds that I am interested in. (usually of the breeds I share my life with) I recently picked up a couple new books on pugs from ebay. (Sidenote: The secret to ebay is to NOT go unless you are looking for something specific. If you go on just to browse it is like a lawn sale on crack and you will go down! Consider yourself warned.)
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The books I found are "The Goodger Guide to the Pug" by Wihelmina Swainston-Goodger (which is really two books in one: "The Pug Dog, It's origin and History" originally published in 1930 and "The pug handbook" published in 1959 both written by Mr's Goodger.) and "The Complete Pug" by Milo G. Denlinger second edition 1953. (copyright 1947)
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So why am I angry you ask? Well if you could see the photos in the old books it would be clear. I tried to scan some of them to share here but couldn't get my scanner to co-operate. (which just irritated me even more) Yes Virgina pugs did have a defined nose once upon a time. And they weren't all round either. And I'm not just talking about old photos of random pugs, but pugs that had their championship titles, pugs that met the standard of the day. Since the standard hasn't really changed since then either, one can see that it is all about interpretation when it comes to breeding.

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I recently subscribed to Pug Talk magazine so I can stay in the loop when it comes to pug stuff. (and submit the occasional article) The difference I can see in the faces of pugs of yesteryear and some today is so drastic it makes me cringe. Now I'm not saying those dogs aren't healthy, one hopes that breeders ARE breeding healthy dogs especially if they are showing, but it makes me wonder how that can be true? Of course I am not a breeder and therefore I assume I don't have all the information. I only know that when I tried to find a breeder of pugs doing health testing I struck out.

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Sometimes in my daydreams I consider becoming a breeder. My dream is to build a better and healthy pug. Of course in reality I can't see it ever happening. For one thing the thought of trusting anyone with a puppy is hard for me to imagine. I see to many asshats at work for that. (my apologies to all the non-asshat owners out there for lumping humanity together like that) The other is the expense. Breeding done the right way isn't cheap. I work at a vet so I get to see all the costs involved. And that's if everything goes right.

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To be clear breeders have a tough job. They, the good ones, are trying to breed healthy dogs to continue keeping the breed they love strong. I'm not picking on them. I am just disgusted by those that have taken advantage of the uneducated people out there. There are to many people who breed them to make a quick buck preying on the people who fall in love with them simply because they are cute. (Which I think they are. More on that in a future post.) I know an adorable pug owned by a friend that is a rescue. You can tell that she was bred multiple times. To say she is not put together well is an understatement. Tack on to that she is allergic to everything. As an owner of an allergy dog I can attest that continual itching is torture to dogs. Why would anyone want to pass that on? I can answer that, it's because they didn't give a shit.
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There are just to many dogs out there suffering because of those irresponsible asshats. (I'd say breeders but that is to nice of a word for them.) This is why the term back yard breeders is one used with such disdain by people. To the people who truly love dogs, and only want good things for them, BYB's are not helpful. Not to mention the fact rescue and shelters end up picking up their slack. Cuz the typical BYB certainly doesn't take back dogs of their breeding if the home doesn't work out. They got their money. Game over.

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I am angry because when I see so many pugs struggling to breathe, itching themselves raw, and destroyed in so many ways over time it gets to me. But I am aware you can say the same for many other breeds as well. I am sure I am not alone.

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OK so this was a venting post for me. If anything I hope it illuminates the need to support a reputable breeder if you feel the need to buy a puppy. If you can't find one then breed rescue or your local shelter is always another great option. Just be patient for pete sake! I think many people jump for the first dog they see when they are looking because they get impatient. Remember it's a living being, not a paperweight. You will be living with all the consequences of your choice for many years after all. Be secure in those choices.

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Hello, my name is Marie and I support responsible rescue groups AND reputable breeders. Please consider doing the same.

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(As I finish this Jenny is curled up on the couch napping. Her tail is wagging.)

Your mixed breed dog is..........

So we did a genetic test on a dog at our clinic because the owners were curious to see what their dog was made up of. She is a medium sized brindle colored dog that has the body type of a border collie. She has a feathered coat. They were told she was a golden lab mix.

Her results came back as follows: 25% Golden Retriever, 25% Alaskan Malamute, 25% Finish Spitz, and 25% Yorkshire Terrier. So what I want to know is, where does the brindle come from? Which one of these dogs has a breed in its' ancestral history that might have had that color gene in it?

My only guess is the spitz because Pomeranians are also a spitz and they have brindle in the gene pool.

http://www.americanpomeranianclub.org/colors/brindle.htm

But that may be a simplistic view. I admit I know nothing about colors when it comes to genetics. One wonders a little about the validity of the test. It's just hard to imagine that specific combination running around breeding.

Any other ideas or thoughts? I wish I had a photo to share.

Wordless Wednesday

Can you see me now?

Introducing......Drum roll please

Prones that's my girl RL1 (AOE)!!

So Jenny earned her Rally Novice title yesterday at Finish Forward Dogs in Saco. (Who hosted a fabulously fun trial!) We even got a first place in that class. It was close though. We had 3 trials and in the first one our score was to low to get a qualifying ribbon. (missed by 1 point!) The second trial got us a 191 and our 3rd leg. (And the now infamous "Title" wave from the group. To funny!) The last trial we NQ'd on the halt sit exercise. I screwed so much stuff up it was ridiculous. BUT I have to say I learned a ton from it so it was worth every second. We also got a couple lovely comments about her fabulous heeling. It's always nice to get a compliment!
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John Woolley Photography was there so there will be photos of the trial posted soon. Keep an eye out because there is a super fun photo of a boxer doing his own thing in the ring. It is adorable! I didn't bother taking many pics this time. After getting up at 4:30am to get there I had moments where I was just lucky to be awake! I am so not a morning person!!

The day was not without a moment of worry. Jenny jumped out of the crate and landed badly on the pavement giving herself some road rash. (This was after her first turn in the ring.) Fortunately that was all that she hurt. No limping or soreness meant she could continue the day. It didn't seem to phase her at all.

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Now I am going to go for her Rally Novice Excellent title. We'll also start training for level 2. With food bowl distractions, lord help us! Our next trial is the end of October at Wag It in Lincolnville.

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Not only did she earn some ribbons she won a cute squeeky stuffed toy. I'm sure her favorite part of the day was the trip through Wendy's drive thru and the chicken patty for dinner. As you can see from her photo above, dogs just aren't that into ribbons. It was a great day filled with lots of really nice dogs. Nothing beats that in my book.

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(Side note: The dog on the ribbons is Brina. I am her official dog stalker so this makes our title just that much more exciting for me. :-)

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(Edited 9/24/10. Thanks to Kathi for letting me know it is RL1 in APDT and not RN, which is an AKC title, as I had it listed. The AOE means she got it with scores above 190 on each of the 3 legs. I'll get it right eventually! VBG)