back 'atcha!

questions we need to be asking: (I mean about our four-legged unconditional loves but of course, inevitably, how we create these problems for them)

why the exponential growth (huge jack-and-the-beanstalk jump up) in all major canine medical conditions in last half of this century?
-cancer
-diabetes
-immune disorders
-orthopedic malformations
-dermatological problems
-cardiac diseases
-gastrointestinal
-obesity (seriously, we're feeding them!)


why are dogs having shorter lifespans (when modern veterinary medicine is so advanced)?


why do puppy mills not only exist but thrive?


why are neutering and spaying becoming mandated law when severe health risks are involved?


how can we not know how many millions of shelter animals are euthanized yearly in America?

flea me alone and tick off

right, so PESTICIDES

that you have to wear gloves to apply

directly to the skin of a furry creature

that you touch with your bare hands multiple times daily

that are perfectly "safe"

How's that working? Come again?
Right, right, so marketing is this amazing tool that when coupled with the momentous machine of "modern veterinary medicine" (read propaganda machine) combines to sell you a product to harm you and your beloved fluffy ones.

Oh, but wait, it gets better (read sadder and more frustrating) the fleas and ticks are becoming resistant to the chemicals! The chemicals that to begin with don't deter the pests (only claim to kill after biting)! So, said pests can and are more likely to catch a ride into an area where you might become the desirable meal.
These chemicals, not medications like some many people like to say (unless you think the taste of almonds in your coffee is your "medication"), also cost a bloody fortune.

*tidbit: Tick borne diseases are transmitted at a minimum of 24 to 48 hrs after a tick bites. Daily tick checks are the best defense against tick borne diseases for humans and animals.
So a minute puppy massage (tick check) at the end of every day when you're relaxing petting your pup anyway...is safe, healthy (emotionally and physically for you, enjoyable and helpful for the furred ones) and free.

vaccination across the nation, an abomination

first and formost I would like to say I'm not completely opposed to the concept of vaccines.

What I am concerned about is:

-how vaccinations are give:

              frequency

              form (compounds, carrier, adjuvants, etc...)

-factual representation:

              what is mandatory by law 

              recommended by AVMA and others like Dr Jean Dodds

              awareness of potential side effects

-immunity assessment

              checking need of vaccine before blindly giving

              testing an animal's existing immunity with titers

Most people have no knowledge that vaccination is optional and potentially detrimental for our four-legged companions. Without informing the guardian of the animal the choice and understanding are lost.  I'm sure Samuel Clemens will be turning in his grave but for the sake of stating the obvious, that means people have no idea vaccinations could even be the cause of a medical issue and potentially stop the suffering from continuing.  Or, from reporting it for that matter. Then where would the establishment of "modern" veterinary medicine be?

Probably in the same place pesticides have finally gotten to because consumers wouldn't shut up, not that anything will really be done mind you.

Mmmh, fun little fact, anyone that's ever worked in a vet clinic has probably heard this expression, "rabies right, (feline) leukemia left." This refers to the precedent where the Rabies vaccination is administered to the rear right leg of an animal and in felines the FeLV vaccination in the rear left leg.  

Ever wonder why or curious now?

'Cause it's easier to cut off a leg when it gets cancer than to cut part of the neck off (where the rest of vaccinations are usually administered). 

Yeah, so there's a lot your vet isn't telling you is all I'm saying.

             

the answer...'cause I couldn't help myself

raw meat.

eyeballs

bones

tongues

livers

muscles

tendons

hearts

you get the idea, what wolves still eat

Breed Standards

Eugenics. What happened when people started believing in eugenics? The attempted "extermination" (read mass murder) of millions of people including Jews, Gypsies, Intellectuals, Handicapped, and the list goes on.

Where do "modern" breeding practices for dogs come from?
The same movement.

The concept of breeding for desired traits to aid humans in hunting, guarding, herding, and companionship took a nose dive with the creation of kennel clubs and, you got it, breed standards. As noble and logical as they present, to have a basis from which to judge an ideal structure, they actually are causing direct harm to our beloved friends.

If you have time and can handle it watch the BBC video, Purebred Dogs Exposed.

Humans invariably create little stories and quips for why grossly exaggerated physical deformities in dogs are advantages.

The Bulldog's wrinkled smashed bracchy face allowed the blood from biting bulls to drain away from its eyes. Really? 'Cause every brachy-faced dog I've met struggles with breathing, overheating and eating...you know, daily living type activities. And don't forget the usual gross buildup of bacteria in the poorly ventilated folds of skin. The evidence for these historical reasons? Depictions of bull-baiting dogs that looked like Pit Bulls with well-defined (read long) snouts and wide muscled jaws not to mention long athletic legs.

Or how about, a personal favorite, tail docking, especially in sporting breeds. The bloody tail argument of a dog scraping or breaking its tail while working in wooded terrain is ridiculous. My main evidence to the contrary (besides having a tailed spaniel that romps daily in the woods and competes in tracking)? Hmmm, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Flat-Coated Retrievers, Curly-Coated Retrievers, Irish Setters, Gordon Setters, Nova Scotia Dock Tolling Retrievers, Dutch Partridge Dogs, Münsterländers, Stabyhouns...to name a few. They all get to keep their tales in their standards. Plus, for those dog breeds out there where docking is considered a "safety measure", why pray tell are you breeding huge coated dogs with long feathering that catches brambles and burs and requires constant grooming?

Rather than breeding for personality traits and health breed standards and the all mighty holders of breed standards, the kennel clubs, push breeds further from these goals. Even the most dedicated breeders who have genuine desires for maintaining quality temperaments, confirmation (physical soundness), and overall workability are confided by the fact that they are breeding a specific breed. All dogs within that breed are genetically stemming from a small isolated gene pool that created the initial breed and are not "allowed" to bring in new genetic material. (This in no way means that I support designer breeds. On the contrary, they use the world of "pure-breeding" to further manipulate the situation.) Breeders of any particular breed must also deal in some way with the fact that other breeders potentially won't mate their dogs without confirmation show titles. You know, the beauty pageants like Westminster and Crufts? (Mmmh, side note, Jeffrey, the Pekingese, who had to have surgery so he could breath right? Yup, he won Crufts and has no doubt sired and most likely passed on his "unique" deformity, I mean ribbon-winning health.)

All in all, the thing that gets me most, besides all the evidence of why purebred dogs, much as I love mine, have increasing health problems and people continuingly ignoring and disputing the facts, is that there are so many dogs, purebred and otherwise out there, right now, young and old, needing homes besides a gas-chamber and an unmarked grave.

Clicker training

I had an interesting conversation the other day with a man that didn't want to consider clicker training because as he put it, "I don't want to have to have a clicker on me at all times to get my dog to do anything."  That made me realize that some people, maybe a lot of people, don't realize what a clicker does.  If used correctly, it acts as a marker.  It marks a specific behavior.  The same way a person's voice would just with the potential for more accuracy.  So the dog realizes the exact moment they do what the trainer wants.  This does not mean the dog will only do the behavior if a clicker is involved.  It's a training tool, just like a leash or treats, it helps in the training process.

To learn more about training with a clicker research Karen Pryor, she's got a bunch of great books!