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Open letter to kennel registries: require permanent identification on every pup

Meet Chloe. Her owner surrendered her to the Animal Care Center of Indio. Her intake number is 12-10-12-503. She has papers issued by the United Kennel Club (UKC).

Someone bred her, then sold her, and eventually she ended up in a shelter — another sad face, forlorn and discarded. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if every breeder took lifelong responsibility for the dogs he or she bred? No UKC, AKC, ADBA, ABKC or other dog registered with any kennel club would die in a shelter because every breeder would instantly pull that dog and place it in a more responsible home (of course the dog would be spayed or neutered before being released from the shelter).

Responsible breeders do take responsibility for their litters and would be horrified to learn one of the dogs they produced ended up in a shelter. However, thousands of dogs die in shelters every year, and this overpopulation leads shelter workers, animal rights advocates, and most rescuers to scream for spay and neuter legislation or, in some cases, breed-specific legislation. Most breeders oppose these legislative efforts. Every dog produced by an irresponsible breeder that ends up in a shelter adversely affects responsible breeders. If responsible breeders want to avoid laws that restrict breeding or ban breeds, they must take united action against irresponsible breeders or end up lumped in with them.

It is time for the kennel registries to act. The kennel registries–not politicians–should step up and require that every breeder give each pup permanent identification–either a microchip or tattoo–that any shelter can look up if the dog ends up in their care. Require that breeders (owners of both the sire and the dam) never allow one of their dogs to remain in a shelter.  Ban any breeder from being able to register additional dogs or enter shows if that breeder, after being notified that a dog he or she produced is in a shelter, fails to retrieve that dog.

It is time for kennel registries to support their responsible breeders by weeding out the irresponsible breeders and, by doing so, save a few thousands lives.

One Lawyer’s Perspective: Dog Owner vs. Dog Guardian

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Recently, the term “dog guardian” has increased in popularity, presumably to encourage a more responsible and loving relationship between humans and the animals they share their homes with. However, there are a variety of issues, both legal and ethical, relating to the use of these terms. As an attorney, I’m going to focus mostly on the legal issues associated with these terms and explain why I favor the term owner over dog guardian. 

HISTORY OF THE TERMINOLOGY 

To understand this issue, it’s important to go over a bit of the history giving rise to “guardian” terminology. The Cat Fancier’s Association gave a decent summary of this history: 

In the late 1970s animal “rights” advocates began to argue that animals should be equal to humans. Peter Singer in his 1977 book, Animal Liberation”, claimed that “to discriminate against beings solely on account of their species is a form of prejudice, immoral and indefensible……” A law student in 1977 proposed the idea of recognizing legal rights for “nonhumans”. She proposed existing guardianship laws, which are for protection of incompetent or human minors, as the model for protection of the rights of dogs and cats. By the early 1980’s animal rights activists started using the term “guardian” instead of “owner” and in the 90’s the meaning of “guardian” became linked with taking away legal property rights of pet owners. 

The American Veterinary Medical Association weighed in on this topic in April 2010, unequivocally stating its preference for the term “owner, as follows: 

The American Veterinary Medical Association promotes the optimal health and welfare of animals. Further, the AVMA recognizes the role of responsible owners in providing for their animals’ care. Any change in terminology describing the relationship between animals and owners, including “guardian,” does not strengthen this relationship and may, in fact, harm it. Such changes in terminology may adversely affect the ability of society to obtain and deliver animal services and, ultimately, result in animal suffering.
AN END TO DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 

Extreme animal rights organizations, such as PETA, promote the term “guardian” over “owner.” On its Website, PETA has an article titled, “What Does It Mean to Be a Good Animal Guardian?” But these extreme animal rights groups generally see pet ownership as akin to slavery. PETA members have even gone so far as to pull dogs from shelters only to kill them instead of adopting them out as pets. 

Extreme animal rights groups would like to end all pet ownership, and advocating a change in terminology can be the first step toward accomplishing such a goal. Words have power and, in some cases, words can directly affect legal rights. 

BUT FIRST, AN END TO PIT BULLS
PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk even advocates outright Pit Bull bans and supports shelter policies mandating the euthanasia of all Pit Bulls. She has published her opinion in several forums, the most prominent being in 2005 on SFGate, as follows: 

Most people have no idea that at many animal shelters across the country, any pit bull that comes through the front door doesn’t go out the back door alive. From California to New York, many shelters have enacted policies requiring the automatic destruction of the huge and ever-growing number of “pits” they encounter. This news shocks and outrages the compassionate dog-lover. 

Here’s another shocker: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the very organization that is trying to get you to denounce the killing of chickens for the table, foxes for fur or frogs for dissection, supports the shelters’ pit-bull policy, albeit with reluctance. We further encourage a ban on breeding pit bulls. 

The pit bull’s ancestor, the Staffordshire terrier, is a human concoction, bred in my native England,  

I’m ashamed to say, as a weapon.

Newkirk advocates that Pit Bulls be killed and eventually exterminated completely. If you own a Pit Bull or are concerned about the plight of Pit Bulls or other often malinged breeds currently in shelters and rescues, Newkirk’s words should concern you.
ABUSE AND NEGLECT 

Many misguided advocates of the term “guardian” believe using this term promotes more responsible pet ownership and can put law enforcement in a better position to seize dogs that are being abused or neglected. 

However, strong animal cruelty laws are the best tools for saving animals from irresponsible owners. Of course, animal control officers can intervene when a dog is starved, abused, or otherwise neglected, but currently, animal control agencies are understaffed and it’s often hard for them to respond to all reports. That being said, focusing on making animal control more effective without allowing such agencies to trample the rights of responsible, loving dog owners is the best way to help all animals. 

THE POWER OF WORDS 

The primary difference between the term owner and guardian, from a legal standpoint, has to do with the United States Constitution. Nowhere does the U.S. Constitution protect or even recognize rights of “guardians.”       

However, the U.S. Constitution gives several protections to property owners. For example, the Fourth Amendment on search and seizure provides, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” 

While the Fifth Amendment explains that no person can “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” 

Finally, the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that no State shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” 

Together, these amendments provide owners certain protections. Law enforcement can’t simply seize anything you legally own without a solid legal basis. They must obtain a warrant, in most cases, to enter your home or seize your property. 

These Constitutional protections become very important where breed specific legislation arises. These protections help responsible, loving dog owners because animal control must abide by the U.S. Constitution in order to seize and kill an owner’s animal. Furthermore, the animal owner is entitled to due process, which means a Constitutionally mandated hearing and the ability to appeal before the agency is allowed to kill the seized dog. 

When dog owners give up ownership rights, they give much of their ability to protect their dogs. 

Nowhere does the U.S. Constitution say that those who are animal guardians are entitled to such due process. A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to care for the personal and property interests of another. In fact, the very notion of guardianship flies in the face of due process because a guardian, in the traditional legal sense, if overseen by a Court of Law. The Court can decide that someone else would make a better guardian—for example, someone with more money; someone who owns his or her home rather than rents; or someone who stays home rather than works full-time. 

Author with service dog
Then there is the issue of service, therapy, and search dogs. If we own dogs, we can train them and use them to help us if we become disabled. Laws grant disabled persons the right to be accompanied by service dogs. Dogs guide persons with visual impairments, for example, and help pick up dropped items for those confined to wheelchairs. Presumably, if we are mere guardians of our dogs, we cannot force them to perform tasks for our benefit, including search and rescue work. Therefore, we risk seeing the complete extinction of service, therapy, and search and rescue dogs. As guardians, we exist solely to benefit our dogs. In effect, we become their servants.
 While many of us already do feel like servants to our dogs and, even more so, to our cats, there’s a very real difference between being a servant in the legal sense and being a servant in the practical sense. Yes, we provide them with food, shelter, vet care, toys, their own beds, and even throw them birthday parties, but we still own them. We have the right to decide what food to feed them (kibble, raw, or home made, for example) or what type of vaccinations to give them (other than the legally required Rabies vaccination, of course). Since overvaccination is becoming a real topic of discussion in veterinary circles, this alone is an important discretionary issues for dog owners. 

Important decisions about a dog’s care, feeding, and training are best left to dog owners, not courts. For example, people have strong feelings about feeding kibble versus raw. Some people believe kibble is ultimately harmful to dogs, containing low quality ingredients and, in some cases, toxins. Others believe feeding a raw diet exposes dogs to too many dangers from bacteria and bones. 

When we are guardians, those decisions are no longer our own. They are subject to control and oversight by the state or a court. Because I want the United States Constituion behind me when I fight for my dog’s life, should it ever come to that, I prefer the term “owner.”

Managing the Reactive "pit bull"

There are many resources out there about managing the reactive dog. Patricia McConnell’s book Feisty Fido comes to mind as does James O’Heare’s works. However, these resources are general dog behavior books. Patricia McConnell, for example, talks about Weimeraners and Golden Retrievers in her book. After approximately 30 years of working with Pit Bulls, dealing with dogs in shelters, participating in obedience clubs with German Shepherds, Bordie Collies, Australian Shephers, and a variety of breeds, there’s one little secret I’ve discovered that really isn’t much of a secret to a certain group of dog owners.

Terriers are a little different. No, not all terriers, but terriers, as a group, tend to run a little hot toward other dogs, and they tend to focus a bit more intensely (in fact, terrier owners have a word for that intense “I’m oblivious to everything else but that” mentality — “spark”).

The American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and Bull Terrier are terriers. It’s amazing how many people who own or handle “pit bulls” fail to realize this (for those who notice, yes, I’m using the breed phrase in lowercase, with quotes, to refer to the general grouping of bull and terrier dogs). They think of them more as bulldogs. In fact, these are bull and terrier breeds, meaning their ancestry includes bulldog and terrier in roughly a 50-50 ratio.

Before you cry out to me that I’ve just labelled Pit Bulls as vastly different than other dogs, more aggressive, or otherwise inherently dangerous — stop. Let’s realize something. All dogs, of all breeds, have the capacity to be dog aggressive (hence Patricia McConnell’s book, along with books by many other dog behaviorists who don’t specialize in “pit bulls”). And many of these general techniques are fully applicable to the bull and terrier breeds. However, for those of you have dogs that are just a bit more terrier than bulldog in their temperament, you may realize one startling fact.

Your dog doesn’t give a damn about treats or praise, and no matter how far distance wise you start, and try to slowly decrease distance, you find that your dog will probably die of old age before you’re ever able to get within 30 feet of another dog without your dog reacting. That will make walking your dog and vet visits problematic. And, practically, you need to find a way to speed up the process of making your dog not act like a butthead around other dogs.

If this is you, keep reading. If treats and praise and starting at a looong distance, while gradually decreasing the distance and keeping your dog under threshold works for you, you can stop reading. You’re doing great. Keep with what works.

So for those of you still with me, let me first tell you, I sympathize. Been there, done that (a lot!). I’m going to make the bold step of telling you what works for me, and not all of it is popular. (And, no, it doesn’t involve  hitting your dog or jerking your dog around like a maniac).

Your little terrier is stubborn, driven, and very smart. Terriers were bred to chase small animals, and to do so pretty independently of their handlers. If they kept checking back with their humans, they’d lose the prey. That’s not particularly effective for a dog that was bred to chase and kill small animals to keep pests off the homestead. Foxes and rats (hence Fox Terriers and Rat Terriers) are kind of hard to catch. They’re fast, small, and easy to lose sight of. (By the way, sighthound folks, you can probably sympathize a bit, also).

So, the terriers were bred to spot vermin, focus on it intensely, and seek to destroy it at the exclusion of all else. I know, I’m making these dogs out to be some kind of horrific monster. Actually, they aren’t monsters. They’re very useful animals, even today! On the farms or in your yard, they’re making sure those pesky rats don’t bring disease into your home (and, yes, they also keep the neighborhood cats out of your yard).

But, they’re animals, and like all animals, they have drives and instincts that you need to understand in order to effectively manage them.

So if your dog is one of those types, how do you deal with dog reactivity? I’ll give you a few pointers, but really, it’s hard to discuss this in detail, properly in a blog. That why Chako offers dog reactivity workshops.

First things first. Before you work your dog around other dogs (and, yes, you need to set up training sessions on a frequent and regular basis), make sure your dog is properly tired via exercise, hungry from having skipped one or two meals, and understands all the basic commands such as “sit,” and “watch me.”

If your dog doesn’t know “watch me” (also known as a focus command) just do a search on how to teach your dog a “watch me” on youtube (or, alternatively, how to teach your dog to focus) .

Once your dog has these basics down solid, and you’ve tired out your dog, and he or she is hungry, put your dog on secure equipment. Whatever equipment works best for you and your dog is fine. It can be a martingale collar backed up with a harness or slip collar. A head halter backed up with a martingale or flat collar. Whatever you use, your dog should have two different pieces of equipment on him. I also recommend getting a European Training Leash (also known as a six-way leash) so that you have two separate snaps on your leash–one for each piece of equipment on your dog. See our FB note on equipment.

The reason you want to back up your dog’s equipment is because if your dog does decide to lunch, spin around, or put up any kind of a fuss, it’s easy enough for him to slip out of certain collars or harnesses. Even if he doesn’t, often the snap on the leash may come open, inadvertently releasing your dog. Incidentally, if you choose to use a prong collar, head halter, or flat collar, backing up your dog’s equipment is doubly important. Prong collars, for example, pop open often. Head halters and most flat collars are easy for dogs to back out of.

Start walking in your neighborhood or an area where you know the places most of the dogs are (and where there aren’t a lot of loose or stray dogs). Carry a safety deterrent like spray shield just in case you encounter a loose dog. Spray shield is a citronella and water spray that smells bad to most dogs but is otherwise completely harmless. If a loose dog approaches you and your dog reactive dog, spray the oncoming dog (the range on this spray is up to 10 feet away when the canister is full). Spray shield won’t deter really determined, aggressive dogs, but it will deter 95% of loose dogs that try to approach, and it won’t harm the dog or, if there’s a backwind, you or your dog.

Also carry really awesome treats on you — not kibble or dog biscuits. Go buy steak or chicken, bake it, and cut it up into dime-sized pieces. Bring about six handfuls on your first outing, which should last about 15 to 20 minutes.

On this outting, you will work the first five minutes on warming up your dog by practicing “watch me” and the basic obedience commands such as “sit” and “down.” After this warm up, you’re off. If you know there’s always a dog behind the tall chain link fence at the corner, go across the street from that house and walk your dog passed the fence. You will be using the treats as bait to keep your dog focused on you.

If, by the way, your dog is way more toy motivated than food motivated, you can use your dog’s toy instead of food. If you use a toy, make it an extra special toy that you only bring out once in a great while. Play with your dog and the toy for about two minutes right before you leave on the walk, so your dog is super excited about the toy.

The idea is that your dog is getting the toy or the food for focusing on you instead of the other dog. Check out some segments from Chako’s dog reactivity workshops for what this might look like.

By giving your dog really good things when your dog is behaving around other dogs, you teach your dog that the presence of other dogs isn’t so bad, and good things happen. If you are constantly correcting your dog, yelling at your dog, or jerking your dog when there are other dogs around, your dog learns to be even more reactive to other dogs because bad things always happen when other dogs are around.

But remember, you have to start these sessions with a tired and hungry dog! And keep your leash loose (you should have worked on loose leash walking as part of the basic obedience your dog knows before you start this training). A tight leash leads to increased reactivity.

Let me repeat that — a tight leash leads to increased reactivity. Keep your leash loose!

As soon as you have some decent success here — meaning your dog has focused on you for about ten seconds without being concerned about the other dog, walk on and be super happy! Praise your dog, play with the ball or toy, give lots of treats. Make it seem like you both just won the lottery. Act like an idiot. Yes, your neighbors will lock their doors and close their drapes, but that’s okay because you’ll eventually have a dog that can behave him or herself around other dogs.

Don’t go home right away after your success (and always end on success!). Continue your walk, make it a fun one. If you can find a second encounter, go far it. Same guidelines apply. Start at a distance, get your dog focused on you, etc.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, this sounds an awful lot like that whole “working under threshhold stuff” that I promised I’d give you an alternative to if it’s not working for you and your dog. You are absolutely right. It does sound a lot like that (except that you may not have been told to start with a very tired dog). A tired dog has all that pent up energy released and is less likely and willing to put up a fuss. Of course, that’s no guarantee. A tired dog may often get her “second wind” back as soon as she sees another dog, but at least you’re not starting with a dog that is bouncing off the walls because she hasn’t been exercised properly.

So what do you do if you just can’t get your dog to focus at all, your dog is lunging, barking on sight when another dog is visible, even in the distance, and there is no “under threshold” to work with?

This is where you are going to need to break through that terrier brain of your dog’s. You might consider using a head halter backed up for these dogs just because you have more control over your dog’s head. You can also try a prong collar (and, if you do, get one with smaller links — just buy more of them — and rounded, bevelled tips), backed up, of course. Be aware, though, that prong collars can rile up certain dogs even more. Another piece of equipment you can try is a “dominant dog collar.” The name is unfortunate, but really all it is is a slip lead that snaps around your dog’s neck and is fitted to your dog’s neck size, right behind his or her ears. It doesn’t slip over your dog’s head because slip collars that go over your dog’s head are automatically too big to be effective. Just don’t let your dog pull on a slip collar. You will choke your dog, and that’s not the point of these collars. These collars are used to give you control by riding up high on your dog’s head instead of down low by their chest –which happens to be the source of your dog’s pulling strength and doesn’t give you great control.

If, and only if, you cannot get your dog’s attention any other way, this is where you use correction. Start with a very solid, quick, one-time leash jerk and say, in a very, very low, firm, and intimidating voice, “NO!” or “Eh-eh!” The very second your dog stops acting like a butthead and looks at you, perhaps a bit surprised, praise and treat up the wazzu! Or bring out the toy! Hey, dude! You stopped acting like a butthead for half a second, you just won the lottery!

Here, you are trying to get your dog out of “the zone” and find opportunities to reward your dog. When you use corrections to deal with dog reactivity, it is important that you find opportunities to praise or reward at least twice as often as you correct.

Let me say that again — praise or reward your dog at least twice as often as you correct.

Only when you are correcting should your leash really tighten up (and if it was tight to begin with, you can’t give that correction — so a loose leash also allows you to give this single, fast correction). One note of caution: do not jerk a dog on a head halter at all. Use the flat collar or martingale side of your leash for this. You can damage your dog’s neck by any jerk on a head halter.

What if that correction does nothing and your dog is still barking, growling, focused on the other dog to the exclusion of all else and the only way to stop him is to get out of sight of the other dog — and this is how it is all the time? The second your dog sees another dog, even from 70 feet away, he goes ballistic and you can’t get through to him?

Now it’s time to try something else. Take your spray shield, or even a water bottle filled with something that has a strong smell like vinegar or lemon, and qive one quick shot to your dog’s nose. Just one quick shot. Don’t drench your dog in it. Ninety-percent of the time, that will break your dog out of that zone just because, all of a sudden, something squirted them in the nose and it smells pretty strong. Use your voice the second you do squirt and say “NO!” or “Eh-eh” in that low, intimidating and firm voice.

For those who object to squirting your dog, remember a few things — this is for dogs that don’t really have an “under threshold” setting, that are in a zone that makes them oblivious to treats, praise, toys or anything other than the dog 75 feet away, and who, because they are in that little zone that I call “sparking” need a way to be able to get to a point where they see another dog and don’t act like a butthead. That actually requires, that, at some point, they see another dog.

The very second your dog is out of the zone, get him focused on you with the treat or the toy and be very happy! You won the lottery, dude! You won the lottery! This is awesome! You’re such a good boy! Here’s some chicken! Here’s your toy!

Then keep moving immediately and keep up the treats one right after the other while the other dog is still visible. End on success.

Our therapy dog workshop

On Saturday, nine Pit Bulls and their owners participated in Chako Pit Bull Rescue’s therapy dog workshop in Sacramento. What an awesome group of dogs and handlers. Chako’s very own Ozzie was one of the participants. We’re so excited to see one of our rescued Pit Bulls taking the step toward becoming a certified therapy dog. Take a look at our photo album for more photos of our therapy dog workshops, and if you are interested in finding out about more Chako events, sign up for our Meetup!



Pit Bull Friendly Toys

We’re often asked what kind of toys are good for enthusiastic chewers like most Pit Bulls, and we’re including a list and brief review of some of the best toys out there for Pit Bulls. Keep in mind, of course, each dog is an individual, and some dogs might be more merciful to their toys than others, so not all Pit Bulls need the strongest, toughest chew toys out there.

But if you have one that does, here’s a list! Remember, always supervise dogs with chew toys, and inspect the toy frequently. If you have a multi-dog household, make sure dogs are given their toys separately, away from each other, to avoid a fight.

Plush Toys

  1. Tuffie Toys are strong, reinforced plush toys. They are not indestructible, but they do come with toughness ratings that indicate their durability. We’ve found even those rated 8-10 usually only last an hour or so if left as a chew toy, but the more grabbable ones do make decent tug toys.
  2. Stuffingless toys make a great present for dogs that like to disembowl stuffies. While dogs still need to be properly supervised (as with any chew toy), the lack of stuffing yields a smaller mess and less chances of intestinal blockage (though of course dogs can still rip and swallow the fabric itself, which could lead to an expensive vet bill).
  3. Sherpa Toys with Chew Guard Technology last about fifteen minutes for determined chewers, but a bit longer for less serious plushie slayers.

Non-Plushie Toys

  1. Nylabone Galileo Bones come in different sizes. The Wolf size seems to work nicely for the average sized Pit Bull (40-60 pounds), but many dogs also like the Souper size. These last a few days to a few weeks for most dogs, and the edges wear down, allowing you to see when it’s ready to be thrown out.
  2. GoughNuts are fantastic toys that even the most serious chewers usually can’t put a dent in, and if they do, there’s a color coded interior lining that lets you see when the rubber is compromised. These are expensive, but worth the price since you probably won’t have to replace it for a while. Be careful, though. These are generally heavy toys, so you shouldn’t throw one at your dog.
  3. Hurleys are another rubber-like toy that stand up fairly well to heavy chewers, though they aren’t as durable as the GoughNuts and Galileo Bones. They last a few days to a few weeks for most Pit Bulls, but they are a staple around here. Dogs like the soft toys, they are easy to throw (and much lighter than the GoughNuts), and the company will replace one if your dog destroys it (but you have to pay shipping).
  4. Black or Blue Kongs are generally decent options for chewers, but many dogs can tear through a black kong (especially if they find the “trick,” which is to start at the big hole and work the rubber until pieces break off). However, black kongs are stronger than red kongs, and they are easy to stuff with natural peanut butter or other goodies to keep your dog occupied. Blue kongs have the advantage of being radio opaque, meaning if your dog swallows a piece, it’ll show up on an X-Ray. Kongs come in different sizes — Large or X-Large generally works best for most Pit Bulls.

Want more great tips and information geared specifically for Pit Bull owners? Check out our Pit Bull Owner Guide.