tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62922383091427361572024-03-13T10:42:15.264-07:00robertafleckTheresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comBlogger330125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-33919863613997481652015-12-22T01:41:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.556-08:00GSD history buffs - can you solve this mystery?<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U5alUo1g2Pg/VnkWWfrB0LI/AAAAAAAAD28/9UxpY7NY2mQ/s1600/Asta%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U5alUo1g2Pg/VnkWWfrB0LI/AAAAAAAAD28/9UxpY7NY2mQ/s400/Asta%2B2.JPG" width="237" /></a></div><br /><br />My <a href="http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/gsd-winner-among-worst-i-have-ever-seen.html"><b>last post </b></a>on Ch Kysarah's Pot of Gold has become the blog's most viewed post of all time with over 50k views in just 24hrs. So now I have the attention of the GSD community could anyone help solve this mystery?<br /><br />The above photo was sent to me two days ago by an American called Dave Thorpe.<br /><br />"This was my grandfather’s dog named Asta," says Dave. "She was one of the first three dogs to come across the ocean. Notice the horizontal back. Finding the history of Asta has been elusive. All that I know is that she was one of the first three dogs to come to America. I don’t have any info other that this story from my parents. My grandfather was Albert Hergott and all my relatives have passed. I have spent hours searching and have come up empty. I wish I had better pictures but they have been lost. Early 1900s is all I know."<br /><br />A quick Google throws up this:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b>The Complete German Shepherd, Milo G Delinger , 1952 third Edition, page 28</b></span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"The first recorded reference to a GSD in America was when Mira of Dalmore (never registered) Property of Dalmore Kennels of H.A. Dalrymple, of Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania, was Exhibited. She was first Open Class, at Newcastle, and first open, Philadelphia. These awards were probably in the miscellaneous Classes at those shows, for we find the same bitch appearing and winning the miscellaneous Class at New York in 1907. entered as a Belgium ( sic. ) sheepdog.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"The bitch's real name was Mira von Offingen and was imported in 1906 by Otto H. Gross <b>along with two others.</b> How she came to be shown in Dalrymple's name is not known. After finding nobody in America was interested in the breed, Gross took Mira back to Germany. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Mira of Dalmore was never registered in the American Kennel Club Stud Book.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"In 1908 she was again exhibited in the miscellaneous Class at New York in 1908, this time entered as a German Sheepdog. In this Class she had competition, another German Sheepdog known simply as Queen being exhibited by Adolph Vogt, who won first in her class, defeating Mira. This Queen, was in all probability, in fact </span><a href="http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=614046-queen-of-switzerland" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0033aa; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Queen of Switzerland</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">(115006), of Largely Krone blood. The first GSD to be registered in the Studbook of the American Kennel Club."</span></blockquote><br />Anyone?Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-85892244665462303102015-12-20T03:38:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.591-08:00GSD winner "among the worst I have ever seen" says world's leading locomotion expert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7_1vbTAzm5s/VnZ5as6n-sI/AAAAAAAADzQ/kQ0BAwBIUlI/s1600/11988284_10206238072163368_8951367939994469956_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7_1vbTAzm5s/VnZ5as6n-sI/AAAAAAAADzQ/kQ0BAwBIUlI/s400/11988284_10206238072163368_8951367939994469956_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This is Ch Kysarah's Pot of Gold. Despite the fact that his hock is on the floor, he was awarded Best of Breed at the National Dog Show in the US three weeks ago.<br /><br />This winner is "among the worst I have ever seen," says one of the world's leading canine locomotion expert, Professor Dr Martin Fischer, author of <a href="http://www.vdh.de/en/shop/dogs-in-motion/" style="font-weight: bold;">Dogs in Motion</a>, published by the VDH (German Kennel Club).<br /><br />There has been quite a lot of chatter about this dog on social media - some saying the dog is awful; others maintaining that he is an improvement on other American showline GSDs. You can see his pedigree <a href="http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=2127259-kysarahs-pot-of-gold"><b>here.</b></a><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.nbcsports.com/video/2015-herding-group-german-shepherd-dog">Here's</a></b> a video of him in the ring at the NBC-televised National Dog Show.<br /><br />If you don't look too closely at him on the move, he looks OK - and the American show dogs don't have the hinged backs you see in GSD showline dogs in Germany, UK and elsewhere. But they do have paddling-fronts and unstable rear ends which become all too obvious if you freeze the action. Have a look at these frames from this video.*<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-26cINeLu_SA/VnaFmbsQCqI/AAAAAAAAD04/e5AN6qqPMFI/s1600/12274198_1068783619819270_8841269412940318340_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-26cINeLu_SA/VnaFmbsQCqI/AAAAAAAAD04/e5AN6qqPMFI/s400/12274198_1068783619819270_8841269412940318340_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-We5u3q6Be-8/VnaFmU3qt8I/AAAAAAAAD00/DPHXOKrDEG8/s1600/12274284_1068779473153018_3630144340809236995_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-We5u3q6Be-8/VnaFmU3qt8I/AAAAAAAAD00/DPHXOKrDEG8/s400/12274284_1068779473153018_3630144340809236995_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uuAATe8jb3k/VnaFmocCVUI/AAAAAAAAD1M/eNPFiu1LHvE/s1600/12295306_1068782493152716_2144290507890426068_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uuAATe8jb3k/VnaFmocCVUI/AAAAAAAAD1M/eNPFiu1LHvE/s400/12295306_1068782493152716_2144290507890426068_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yl9Hytn3rB0/VnaFmhAgpuI/AAAAAAAAD1A/KJ3QizpTfrE/s1600/12299282_1068776793153286_2552875241600172879_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yl9Hytn3rB0/VnaFmhAgpuI/AAAAAAAAD1A/KJ3QizpTfrE/s400/12299282_1068776793153286_2552875241600172879_n.jpg" width="381" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3J7Yewo0u2Q/VnaFnF22UPI/AAAAAAAAD1I/uC5fMeGR3Fg/s1600/12301678_1068778643153101_7783693009668723509_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3J7Yewo0u2Q/VnaFnF22UPI/AAAAAAAAD1I/uC5fMeGR3Fg/s400/12301678_1068778643153101_7783693009668723509_n.jpg" width="346" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XrladWJtBX8/VnaFnQnllQI/AAAAAAAAD1Q/2QdHrH7Ja7s/s1600/12308678_1068780779819554_6018335415758238492_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XrladWJtBX8/VnaFnQnllQI/AAAAAAAAD1Q/2QdHrH7Ja7s/s400/12308678_1068780779819554_6018335415758238492_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D2AJjYlq78U/VnaFngWpN2I/AAAAAAAAD1g/P6dHlkcXNx4/s1600/12311163_1068779356486363_5155877855150208835_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D2AJjYlq78U/VnaFngWpN2I/AAAAAAAAD1g/P6dHlkcXNx4/s400/12311163_1068779356486363_5155877855150208835_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pg-jpGt3rcU/VnaFnwzyvgI/AAAAAAAAD1Y/4i2Sh04zRZw/s1600/12311184_1068779673152998_6587405957524734405_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pg-jpGt3rcU/VnaFnwzyvgI/AAAAAAAAD1Y/4i2Sh04zRZw/s400/12311184_1068779673152998_6587405957524734405_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pt6LlBvmggM/VnaFoD8YanI/AAAAAAAAD1c/370zM0LdUqY/s1600/12313703_1068783449819287_2062340269761234977_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pt6LlBvmggM/VnaFoD8YanI/AAAAAAAAD1c/370zM0LdUqY/s400/12313703_1068783449819287_2062340269761234977_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lc3hbqreBYQ/VnaFnm_PM0I/AAAAAAAAD1U/uqbeR1g82o8/s1600/12308721_1068780983152867_6939209122955182268_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lc3hbqreBYQ/VnaFnm_PM0I/AAAAAAAAD1U/uqbeR1g82o8/s400/12308721_1068780983152867_6939209122955182268_n.jpg" width="330" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>"His movement hurts almost all biomechanical principles of dog locomotion," says Professor Fischer. "It is not only the almost plantigrade position of the hind foot but - as we know from the hundreds of dogs we have studied - it is also the position of the thigh. The hind foot and femur [thigh bone] move in matched motion, which means that the femur in this dog is placed in a most unfavourable, almost horizontal, position at touchdown.<br /><br />"Moreover, it is almost certain that any kind of storage of elastic energy in the hindlimb is gone with such a plantigrade position. I cannot definitively not understand how such a dog could have been selected Best of Breed."<br /><br />These are strong words from Professor Fischer, who is Director of the Institute of Systematic Zoology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Jena. But I thank him for speaking out because show breeders of the German Shepherd - in the show-ring on <i>both</i> sides of the Atlantic - must reconsider what they are doing to this incredible breed.<br /><br />The saddest thing is that this dog is by no means the worst - although perhaps the worst actually awarded Best of Breed at a flagship show.<br /><br />No other breed of dog walks on its metatarsals. A dog's hock should <i>never </i>hit the deck when it runs in a straight line. Moreover, it has been proven to make the dog mechanically less-efficient - by Professor Fischer and others - even in the less extreme dogs.<br /><br />The problem is, of course, that it is so very difficult to convince GSD show-breeders that the way they're breeding the dogs is wrong, as anyone who has ever tried can testify.<br /><br />What we need is a cohort of experts with real standing, such as Professor Fischer, to lobby kennel clubs and breeders for change.<br /><br />These pictures landed in my inbox this week, btw - the collateral damage to breeding extreme dogs. This is a 7-mth-old show-bred youngster handed into a GSD rescue in Los Angeles last year; presumably because the breeder couldn't find a buyer for him. (Source <a href="http://sheprescue.org/Magnum%20von%20Morrow.html"><b>here.</b></a>)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jX8JTAlLcos/VnaQdnH5cuI/AAAAAAAAD2g/z_zKWBi0ebk/s1600/magnum%2Bvon%2Bmorrow%2B6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jX8JTAlLcos/VnaQdnH5cuI/AAAAAAAAD2g/z_zKWBi0ebk/s400/magnum%2Bvon%2Bmorrow%2B6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mX5bK4Cxrds/VnaQdrYeqUI/AAAAAAAAD2k/2iDAOyH1b5Q/s1600/magnum%2Bvon%2Bmorrow%2B7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mX5bK4Cxrds/VnaQdrYeqUI/AAAAAAAAD2k/2iDAOyH1b5Q/s400/magnum%2Bvon%2Bmorrow%2B7.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BGQ3yUVJnPE/VnaQdjPyobI/AAAAAAAAD2c/nsZwQBCEr30/s1600/magnum%2Bvon%2Bmorrow%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BGQ3yUVJnPE/VnaQdjPyobI/AAAAAAAAD2c/nsZwQBCEr30/s640/magnum%2Bvon%2Bmorrow%2B5.jpg" width="384" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Beautiful dogs, failed by the humans who purport to love them the most. </div><br /><br /><i>* thank you to Ann Cardon for pulling out these freeze frames</i>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-51901440726566304372015-12-17T09:17:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:11:11.632-08:00Let chickens be chickens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EiqK89CPJ-c/VnLsgV_99II/AAAAAAAAAYs/7N0WHGOCNM4/s1600/mother-hen-980806_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EiqK89CPJ-c/VnLsgV_99II/AAAAAAAAAYs/7N0WHGOCNM4/s320/mother-hen-980806_640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>A week or so ago I encountered a <a href="http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letters-editor/2015-12-05/letter-writer-knows-nothing-about-chickens.html">letter to the editor in our local newspaper</a> that made me peevish. Its author opined that chickens have better welfare when they are kept in rather than out of cages, because when not caged they are liable to get parasites and cannibalize each other.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i><a href="http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letters-editor/2015-12-10/better-alternatives-caged-chickens.html">I responded</a>. But the letter to the editor format restricted me to 250 words, and I had more to say. Luckily, I have you guys to rant to! So here is my original piece in full.</i><br /><i><br /></i> <br /><a href="http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letters-editor/2015-12-05/letter-writer-knows-nothing-about-chickens.html">Dan Miner's letter</a>, published Dec. 5, sets up a straw-man argument about the welfare of chickens kept in versus out of cages. I'm responding from my experiences as a veterinarian with a special interest in animal welfare.<br /><br />Are chickens in cages free from walking in their own feces? Yes – because they're standing on wire, which is unhealthy for their feet. Are chickens out of cages walking in their own feces? Only if you keep them crowded too close together. If you keep them with enough space that their surroundings don't fill with poop, then no, they won't be walking in poop. <br /><br />Are chickens in cages able to engage in cannabalism? No – but they're denied healthy social interactions as well. Chickens don't actually want to kill and eat other chickens. They just do it if they're highly stressed. Keep them in a healthy environment where they have some space and the ability to engage in species-appropriate activities, like perching and scratching for bugs, and they'd much rather do those things instead. <br /><br />Does the cage system protect chickens from parasites? Sure – and keeping a human in a glass bubble keeps them physically free of parasites, too, but would anyone with a normal immune system be willing to live like that just to avoid normal diseases? Healthy, unstressed chickens have robust immune systems that can handle normal diseases. But a stresssed, crowded animal isn't a healthy animal. When bird flu swept through commercial chicken farms this summer, resulting in massive numbers of deaths, which populations stayed healthiest? The outdoor birds, who were unstressed because they had the ability to engage in species-appropriate behaviors, and therefore had robust immune systems. The stressed-out, crowded indoor birds had weak immune systems with no ability to fight off the virus, and were so packed together that when it got into those populations, it swept straight through. <br /><br />Chickens are only healthier in cages compared to out of cages if the out-of-cage environment is a crowded, stressful one. Many of those environments are, of course. I encourage those who care about chicken welfare to purchase eggs from chickens who are “pastured” or kept “on grass.” Mr. Miner is correct that “cage free” doesn't mean good welfare. He just doesn't realize that there's a better way to raise these animals – with enough space to move around and the opportunity to scratch around and hunt for bugs. <i>Those </i>are happy chickens. Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-45968510668643156172015-12-16T14:15:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.611-08:00Hip, hip... huh?? (Part One...)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="webkit-fake-url://bd4b2df8-250d-4489-a447-1e764d39fccf/image.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rdPqmJLCkiQ/Vm9l75OF71I/AAAAAAAADyc/oqceoUJg1Lo/s1600/Bilateral_hip_dysplasia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rdPqmJLCkiQ/Vm9l75OF71I/AAAAAAAADyc/oqceoUJg1Lo/s400/Bilateral_hip_dysplasia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Last month, the British Veterinary Association and Kennel Club celebrated the 50th anniversary of the BVA/KC hip dysplasia scheme.<br /><br />From the press release marking the event:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Results from the Hip Dysplasia Scheme showed improvements in the median scores of 20 of the 21 most-scored breeds over the last 15 years, indicating a reduction in the incidence and severity of hip dysplasia in scored dogs."</blockquote><br />Said the KC's Caroline Kisko:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><br />“This data goes to show just how much of a positive effect health testing is having on the health and welfare of dogs. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“The BVA/KC Canine Health Schemes are useful tools to support responsible breeding and, as evidence from the data from the hip and elbow schemes, they are going a long way in protecting the future health of the UK’s dogs.” </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“Breeders who health test their dogs should be tremendously proud that they are having such a sustained positive impact on dog health, and we would encourage any breeder who does not currently use the schemes to do so, to enable the positive results to continue.” </blockquote><br />Well that sounds great, doesn't it? But let's have a look at the actual data for the top 21 breeds.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-03D2cHNsfxI/Vmv8Rhkb4yI/AAAAAAAADtU/HXD0VvfYb_Q/s1600/top%2B21%2Bscored%2Bbreeds%2B1996%2B-%2B2015.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-03D2cHNsfxI/Vmv8Rhkb4yI/AAAAAAAADtU/HXD0VvfYb_Q/s400/top%2B21%2Bscored%2Bbreeds%2B1996%2B-%2B2015.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge</td></tr></tbody></table><br />As you can see, while there has indeed been a reduction in hip scores, it is a very small one for most of these breeds - down just one or two points in almost 20 years (with perhaps only the Newfie and Gordon Setter showing a truly significant reduction).<br /><br />"Such small changes may be statistically significant but it is doubtful they are clinically significant," says Gail Smith, Professor of Orthopaedics at the University of Pennsylvania.<br /><br />And, in fact, if you look at the data provided for the other breeds in this latest report (<a href="http://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/Canine_Health_Schemes/hip-dysplasia-breed-specific-statistics-jul-15.pdf"><b>download link</b></a>), it is hard to share the KC's enthusiasm.<br /><br /><b><i>For the 159 breeds for which comparative data have been provided, 62% per cent have seen no recent improvement in hip scores - and in 25 breeds hip scores have actually increased!</i></b><br /><br /><div>Seriously, it's not much bang for your bucks given that breeders have spent <i>millions </i>hip scoring their dogs over the years.<br /><br />It's no great surprise to Professor Smith who maintains the UK/OFA/FCI hip schemes are fundamentally flawed. It was in response to this that he developed the alternative <a href="http://info.antechimagingservices.com/pennhip/"><b>PennHIP</b></a> scheme which measures hip laxity. PennHIP has been shown to be more effective in identifying which dogs which will go on to suffer degenerative joint disease. (<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23253036"><i><b>Smith GK, Lawler DF, Biery DN, et al. Chronology of hip dysplasia development in a cohort of 48 Labrador retrievers followed for life, Vet Surg 2012; 41: 20-33)</b></i></a><br /><br />"The hip-extended radiograph is simply not a good phenotype on which to make breeding decisions. It should be abandoned in favor of using the PennHIP DI. It’s that simple," insists Smith.<br /><br />That said, not everyone agrees. There has, for instance, been considerable improvement in some breeds in Finland using conventional hip-screening - with the indication being that when there is breed-wide selection against poor hips, it can be effective (Finnish report <b><a href="http://www.kennelliitto.fi/en/news/frequency-of-canine-hip-and-elbow-dysplasia-decreasing-in-finland">here</a>.</b>)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e3QgH6zOLS0/VnJ6-tJcvXI/AAAAAAAADy8/ZmDPqQ7CKf4/s1600/beauceron%2Bfinland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e3QgH6zOLS0/VnJ6-tJcvXI/AAAAAAAADy8/ZmDPqQ7CKf4/s400/beauceron%2Bfinland.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rz6q4E-mm7A/VnJ6KVP6isI/AAAAAAAADyw/WbBzfe6U7-8/s1600/st%2Bbernard%2Bfinland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rz6q4E-mm7A/VnJ6KVP6isI/AAAAAAAADyw/WbBzfe6U7-8/s400/st%2Bbernard%2Bfinland.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Longevity has improved in the St Bernard in Finland, too - it's thought because far fewer dogs are being euthanised because of severe hip dysplasia. In the 1990s, Finnish St Bernard's died on average at 5 years old. In the 2000s, it had increased to 7yrs 1mth - and today, it is 7yrs 6mths - quite an achievement.<br /><br />Finnish geneticist Katariina Maki says: "All you have to do is get reliable results and choose breeding dogs from the better half of the population." In fact, Maki says you don't even have to breed only from animals from the very best hips; just those that are better than the breed average. Progress will be slower, but doing it this way helps maintain genetic diversity.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had a discussion about PennHIP a few years back with Tom Lewis - then at the Animal Health Trust, now a full-time geneticist at the Kennel Club. Lewis acknowledged that PennHIP might be better but was adamant that the BVA/KC scheme was still useful and would become more useful with the introduction of <a href="http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/services/public/mateselect/ebv/Default.aspx"><b>estimated-breeding values</b></a> (EBVs). These launched at Crufts earlier this year and are available for 28 breeds. Lewis also pointed out that it was very hard to justify throwing away 50 years of data collected under the existing scheme.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have some sympathy with that... but it does make you wonder how much better those EBVs would be if they were built on PennHIP data rather than on the current scheme.<br /><br /></div><div>Incidentally, I have gone back to the BVA to ask for more comprehensive historical hip-score data from which to better assess the success of the scheme, and will report further when I get it. Perhaps if it made more grading information available we could see more of an improvement?<br /><br />In the meantime, I've discovered something else interesting about the BVA/KC hip scores - something every breeder should know.<br /><br />Stand by for Part Two...</div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-52925726432913173932015-12-14T09:44:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:11:11.669-08:00Science with a sense of humorI’m writing a peer-reviewed article right now. I can almost guarantee it’s something pretty much none of you will be interested in (it is not about dogs or foxes, but about genomics technology), but when it’s out I’ll do my best to blog about it in a way that makes it seem exciting. We’re at the review stage: reviewers give us a bunch of comments, we make the changes to the article, then we write a letter back to the reviewers. The letter is supposed to say things like “Thank you so much for your insightful comments. We made all the changes you suggested!”<br /><br />One reviewer comment pointed out that at one point in the article, I had referred to humans as a model species. Now, model species are normally species that we use <i>as models for </i>humans. The best examples are laboratory rodents: we study rats in the hopes that what is true for rats is true for humans. The rats are a model species.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UzKZaR1U2Zc/VmczkO4cRRI/AAAAAAAAAYY/CrICqaqw3ng/s1600/vitruvian_man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UzKZaR1U2Zc/VmczkO4cRRI/AAAAAAAAAYY/CrICqaqw3ng/s1600/vitruvian_man.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />The reviewer commented “Are humans really a model species?” At which point my boss basically put her head in her hands and was embarrassed that we hadn’t noticed this stupid gaffe we’d made.<br /><br />In my first draft of the reply letter to the reviewers, I replied to the question about whether humans are a model species: “They are to this veterinarian!” I, of course, love to read human research in the hope that what is true for humans is true for dogs. (But I made the change in the manuscript.)<br /><br />I pointed this out to my boss and said, “Did you like my veterinarian joke?”<br /><br />She: “Yes.”<br /><br />Me: “Is it OK to have jokes in letters to reviewers?”<br /><br />She: “No.”<br /><br />Sigh.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-76976942068052451912015-12-13T02:21:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.658-08:00Jack Russell Terrier Club of GB slams the KC over JRT recognition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AGMeE3waM7U/Vm1FtyYycnI/AAAAAAAADtk/bRebzDGGA2I/s1600/article-2314694-197ABB53000005DC-460_634x766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AGMeE3waM7U/Vm1FtyYycnI/AAAAAAAADtk/bRebzDGGA2I/s400/article-2314694-197ABB53000005DC-460_634x766.jpg" width="330" /></a></div><div class="tr_bq"><br /></div><div class="tr_bq">The decision by the Kennel Club to register the Jack Russell Terrier as a show-dog met with outrage when it was announced in October. (See my blog <b><a href="http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/jack-shit.html">here</a></b>)</div><br />Now the <a href="http://www.jrtcgb.co.uk/jrtcgb-proposed-statement-on-kennel-club-recognition-of-a-small-jack-russell-terriers/"><b>Jack Russell Terrier Club of GB</b></a> has confirmed that the KC went ahead despite its vehement opposition and has issued a swingeing statement in response. It calls the KC move "ridiculous" and accuses the Kennel Club of embarking on a journey into "a minefield of confusion, misery and despair".<br /><br />Chairman Greg Mousley also accuses the KC of ruining rather than preserving the future of the breeds in its care.<br /><br />The statement in full.<br /><br /><blockquote><i>The Jack Russell Terrier Club of Great Britain, has, for 40 years, stood against Kennel Club recognition for the Jack Russell Terrier and will always do so. </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>We along with our worldwide affiliated Jack Russell Clubs, fought tooth and nail against the recognition of the Parson Jack Russell Terrier but the Kennel Club committee blindly went ahead. Now many years later they have realised their predicted failure and Parson Russells are almost as rare as the breed the Kennel Club started with in 1860, the Fox Terrier. They badly need a small breed to gain income!<br /> <br />The Jack Russell Terrier Club of Great Britain wrote the definitive breed standard for the Jack Russell Terrier 38 years ago and it has been adopted by Jack Russell Clubs worldwide, even copied by the Parson Russell Club! No doubt it will be used once again.<br />Along with our affiliates we have a registration system reaching back to the mid 70s. Our terriers, worldwide, are classy, correct in conformation and possess a tremendous working ability. They are virtually free of both hereditary and congenital defects whilst among the Kennel Club breeds these are rife. </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>Kennel Club recognition will not affect any of us and most importantly it will not affect the Real Jack Russell Terriers that are under our care The Parson Russell came and has almost left. This ridiculous attempt will also fail and pass.<br />The Kennel Club is about to embark on a journey into a minefield of confusion, misery and failure. </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>The JRTCGB along with its affiliated JRT Clubs worldwide have a huge register of quality Jack Russell Terrier dating back to the mid 70s. Our registration system is carefully structured to prevent any Kennel Club pollution.<br />We have a breed standard that is totally work related and practical.<br />The secretary of the Kennel Club, Caroline Kisco, gave the reason for their move: “By recognising the Jack Russell as an official breed we can help cement its heritage and protect its future”. Unreal! </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>Well Caroline, you are 41 years too late. We have been doing just that since 1974!<br />The Kennel Club has NEVER cemented the heritage nor protected the future of ANY of the breeds under their banner! Quite the opposite. Take for example the poor old English Bulldog - they have protected it to the point where natural reproduction is impossible!<br />What kind of protecting and cementing is Caroline talking about exactly!? </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>The true working Jack Russell is quite safe where it always has been, LONG BEFORE THE OLD SPORTING PARSON BOUGHT ONE! Safe, with the working terrier men and women of Great Britain and the rest of the world! </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>Our worldwide aim is: </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>To PROTECT, PRESERVE and WORK the Jack Russell Terrier. We have held firm against the Parson Russell and succeeded. The same resilience will hold firm again.<br /> <br />Greg Mousley<br />Chairman and a founder member of the JRTCGB</i></blockquote>The Jack Russell Terrier was first registered as a showdog in Australia, where it has become very inbred. It was exported from there to be recognised and shown in FCI countries. These Ozzie exports, in fact, are the dogs that the KC will be recognising - not the working-bred/pet-bred native dogs that are popular in the UK with those who couldn't give two hoots about Kennel Club registration.<br /><br />So the newly-registered KC dogs won't be the real deal. Sure, they may descend from the same original stock but they have been primped, pimped and inbred for several generations by those who are only interested in what a dog looks like, not what it it truly is under the bonnet.<br /><br />Inevitably, it will lead to considerable confusion. The danger is that the imposter will start to water down the real Jack Russell as people won't be savvy enough to avoid the KC-registered dogs.<br /><br />If you ever wanted proof that the KC is not about the dogs, this is it. Bottom line? The Jack Russell is not theirs to steal.<br /><br />The <b><a href="https://www.change.org/p/hey-kennel-club-hands-off-our-jack-russells">"Hands off Our Jack Russells!"</a> </b>petition to ask the KC to revoke this decision is still active - with currently over 800 signatures. Please sign if you haven't already!<br /><br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-23103608735351146632015-12-11T03:21:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.673-08:00Arnie the Frenchie: "perfect in every way"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-msCI0Y2ubuk/VmqqzjahnlI/AAAAAAAADsY/0NnJlWhkkx4/s1600/finn%2Band%2Bcrew%2Bfrenchie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-msCI0Y2ubuk/VmqqzjahnlI/AAAAAAAADsY/0NnJlWhkkx4/s400/finn%2Band%2Bcrew%2Bfrenchie.jpg" width="353" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/FinnAndcrew/posts/1688859681325665?pnref=story">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />This is Arnie - a French Bulldog who, according to his UK owner, has sired a litter of puppies due this month.<br /><br />Arnie is, apparently, health-tested and "perfect in every way".<br /><br />Well.. except for the <i>teensy, eensy </i>issue of his nostrils.<br /><br />Annie doesn't actually have any.<br /><br />For the record, here is the visual guide the French Bulldog Club in the UK uses re nostrils. Only Grades 1 + 2 are considered acceptable for breeding.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GYG1fi3ebuY/VmqtXYajxjI/AAAAAAAADsg/aV7AwIDnerQ/s1600/frenchie%2Bnares%2Bclub%2Bbreeding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="108" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GYG1fi3ebuY/VmqtXYajxjI/AAAAAAAADsg/aV7AwIDnerQ/s400/frenchie%2Bnares%2Bclub%2Bbreeding.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Of course, only Grade 1 is <i>really</i> acceptable. But it's very hard indeed to find a Frenchie with nostrils even this open.<br /><br />Although not impossible.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kSVusOH8pd0/Vmqul7UB_qI/AAAAAAAADso/l0s8EfqFoac/s1600/moderate%2Buk%2Bfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kSVusOH8pd0/Vmqul7UB_qI/AAAAAAAADso/l0s8EfqFoac/s400/moderate%2Buk%2Bfront.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qIMYiRnrSXA/Vmqu1Lh2_MI/AAAAAAAADsw/oteEy6yhpTw/s1600/von-imekenthorp%2Bmoderate%2Bfrenchie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qIMYiRnrSXA/Vmqu1Lh2_MI/AAAAAAAADsw/oteEy6yhpTw/s400/von-imekenthorp%2Bmoderate%2Bfrenchie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cQIWZjHMey0/VmqvBIiYE-I/AAAAAAAADs4/eC2pLJyk57I/s1600/6mths%2Bold%2Bvia%2Blisa%2Bkurchur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cQIWZjHMey0/VmqvBIiYE-I/AAAAAAAADs4/eC2pLJyk57I/s640/6mths%2Bold%2Bvia%2Blisa%2Bkurchur.jpg" width="352" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I suspect it is little coincidence that these Frenchies are more moderate in other ways too - finer heads and with longer muzzles. Of course that's not what's fashionable at the moment. Just look at this nostril-free zone gracing a current Tesco advert here in the UK.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9r3NksNz8ns/Vmqwu7BK6pI/AAAAAAAADtE/lAa_BCH8S8g/s1600/12322425_434483343427741_8027999441456477030_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9r3NksNz8ns/Vmqwu7BK6pI/AAAAAAAADtE/lAa_BCH8S8g/s640/12322425_434483343427741_8027999441456477030_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yep every little helps, but we need a lot more when it comes to nostrils.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-55011250847895228302015-12-10T09:00:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:11:11.680-08:00Dog genome ruminationsThe other day I was re-reading the original dog genome paper, as you do. This is the paper published in 2005 to accompany the release of the first full dog genome sequence (of a <a href="http://www.americanboxerclub.org/Gazette/gaz04-1.pdf">boxer named Tasha</a>) and accompanying annotation (a mapbook of what genes are located where in the very long sequence of bases that is the genome).<br /><br />You might think that a genome paper wouldn’t be very interesting, because basically the point of it is to say “here is this genome. We published it. It was a lot of work, and it’s done, and now you can use it.” But most groups try to have something interesting to say in their descriptions of a new genome, and this one actually had a lot of interesting stuff about dog genomics in it.<br /><br />Don’t just take my word for it. It’s open access, so you can read it for yourself.<br /><br />Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin, et al. “<a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7069/full/nature04338.html">Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog</a>.” <i>Nature</i> 438.7069 (2005): 803-819. <br /><br />The dog was one of the earlier mammals to be sequenced, so a lot of this paper consists of comparisons between dog and the other sequences we had at the time, human and mouse. We already knew that humans and mice were more closely related than humans and dogs in one sense: they share a most recent common ancestor. This means that as you follow the branches (and tangles) of the tree of life, first you get a branch that divides the most recent common ancestors of human, mouse, dog, and relatives from species like opossum and chicken; then you get a branch that divides the most recent common ancestors of human and mouse and relatives from dog and relatives; and only then do you get a branch that divides the most recent common ancestors of human and mouse. It looks like this:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CPQ1_5CQX-g/VljRsVEUUlI/AAAAAAAAAX0/EYXd8RNxzE4/s1600/treeoflife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CPQ1_5CQX-g/VljRsVEUUlI/AAAAAAAAAX0/EYXd8RNxzE4/s320/treeoflife.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tirindelli, Roberto, et al. "From pheromones to behavior." <i>Physiological reviews</i> 89.3 (2009): 921-956. Fig 5</td></tr></tbody></table>So we’d expect that human and mouse would share more genomic sequence than dog and human, right? Each of those branches in the tree of life represent a point at which one species becomes two, with resulting divergence in genomic sequence. So if the species divergence between humans and mice happened more recently than the species divergence between humans and dogs, then the genomes of humans and mice should look more similar than the genomes of humans and dogs. But it turns out, as this dog genome introductory paper reports, that dog and human share more genomic sequence, more base pairs, than human and mouse do. So how can that be, if humans and mice are closer together on the branches of the tree?<br /><br />There are several forces contributing to this result, but the one that made me smile was the different rates at which each species reproduces. In the time since humans, mice, and dogs branched off from their shared common ancestor (before humans and mice branched off from <i>their</i> shared common ancestor), mice have had many more <i>generations</i> than humans and dogs. They reproduce so quickly compared to us and dogs that they have more chances to change their genetics from generation to generation. And as a result, while the number of divisions (places where the tree branches) are greater between human and dog than human and mouse, the number of generations of mice between today’s mouse and that last common ancestor of mice and humans and dogs is greater in mice than in dogs or humans. As the paper’s authors put it:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><br />The lineage-specific divergence rates (human < dog < mouse) are probably explained by differences in metabolic rates or generation times, but the relative contributions of these factors remain unclear.</blockquote><br />The other way of looking at it is saying that species age at different rates. So while behaviorally modern humans appeared <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_human_evolution#Homo">around 50,000 years ago</a>, and dogs appeared <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/10/genetic-study-writes-yet-another-origin-story-for-dogs/411196/">arguably 10,000-32,000 years ago</a>, nevertheless the human population is about 4,000 generations old while the dog population is around 9,000 generations old. Because dog generations are shorter.<br /><br />We created them, but they’re now older than us. Just like how my dog was younger than me when I got him, but <a href="http://dogzombie.blogspot.com/2015/11/birthday-ruminations.html">aged right past me</a>. Science!<br /><br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-49195197441266909792015-12-10T06:30:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.719-08:00New campaign targets the use of Pugs, Frenchies + Bulldogs in the media<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/148483346" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>I am getting phenomenally irritated with the bandwagon use of Pugs in advertising in the UK (and elsewhere). They are absolutely everywhere this Christmas and being used to flog everything from supermarkets to laptops.<br /><div><br /></div><div>The one above from Vision Direct has got to be just about the worst, though.<br /><br />Here, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/www.visiondirect.co.uk/?fref=ts"><b>Vision Direct,</b></a> is why you've got it wrong.</div><div><br /></div><div>• first it's just <i>horrible</i> to be manipulated into thinking the Pug has fallen through the ice and drowned. This doesn't emotionally hook us - every dog lover will just hate you for you putting them through the emotional mill. </div><div><br /></div><div>• Pugs suffer a lot of eye problems - corneal ulcers because they bump into things because their faces are so flat (no muzzle to act as abuffer...). So sticking glasses on a Pug is pretty much taking the piss out of disability.<br /><br />• This Pug has stenotic (pinched) nostrils, which impairs his breathing<br /><br />• This Pug has excessive facial wrinkling and is fat - both welfare concerns.<br /><br />Today, I am announcing the soft-launch of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/cruffa/"><b>CRUFFA</b></a> - The Campaign for the Responsible Use of Flat-Faced Animals (in advertising and the media) - a new lobby group born out of concern over the increasing use of Pugs, Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and other 'brachycephalic' breeds used in advertising and the media.<br /><br />While many people find flat-faced breeds cute, they suffer from health problems as a direct result of having been bred with a very short muzzle. Their current popularity - in part fuelled by the media - has led to a huge surge in the numbers being bred. It adds up to a lot of suffering.<br /><br /><b>CRUFFA</b> does not seek to ban the use of Pugs, Bulldogs and French Bulldogs in the media; rather to educate advertisers, suggest alternatives and to promote the use of a healthier phenotype - e.g Pugs and Bulldogs that are not overweight, have good eyes, less wrinkling and wide-open nostrils.<br /><br />Please join us on our Facebook page <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/cruffa/">here</a>.</b> You can help by posting links to ads which use brachcyephalics -and in lobbying advertisers to use more normal 'cute' dogs next time.<br /><br />To come in the New Year... a website, literature and a press release formally announcing the launch.</div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-48691627236981188832015-12-09T03:04:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.736-08:00All I want is the air that you breathe<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="282" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/148334816" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Such an upsetting video, this - currently attracting a lot of unthinking comments on Facebook <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheMotherish/videos/vb.312184698827259/1027071707338551/?type=2&theater#">here</a> </b>where it has attracted over 700,000 views and over 10,000 likes.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For those that don't know, this Pug would love to lie down but can't because her airways are so compromised - first because of those very narrow nostrils; second because she's been bred with a flat face, squashing not just her external features but the internal ones, too. She is propping herself up to stop her airways blocking completely. As you can hear, she's still struggling. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In effect, what you're seeing here is awake-apnoea. Without surgery, these dogs spend their whole life fighting for air and it gets worse as Pugs age as the effort to suck in air begins to thicken/coarsen internal tissue.<br /><br />The medical term is <a href="http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Orthopnoea"><b>orthopnea</b></a> - laboured breathing (<a href="http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/dyspnea"><b>dyspnea</b></a>) that is relieved by being in an upright position.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Many Pugs, Frenchies and Bulldogs sleep sitting up or with their heads propped up on cushions/sofa arms in an attempt to keep their airways open.<br /><br />As for that tongue... it is sticking out because it doesn't fit in her abnormally-squashed mouth.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Have we done enough here, at least, to educate <i>you</i> that this is not cute? (If, that is, you didn't know already and of course many of you did.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Have we?</i></div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-1123706147023878472015-12-07T15:32:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.779-08:00Should you breed your dog?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SY4-YzgtAZQ/VmYPIaHGM-I/AAAAAAAADrc/QWtBlqrvx8U/s1600/should%2Byou%2Bbreed%2Byour%2Bdog%2Bgraphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SY4-YzgtAZQ/VmYPIaHGM-I/AAAAAAAADrc/QWtBlqrvx8U/s400/should%2Byou%2Bbreed%2Byour%2Bdog%2Bgraphic.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pure races only to breed! Sterilise mixed races!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now... where have I heard that before? Ah yes.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qcwB3qA_0Q4/VmYUB9mtMAI/AAAAAAAADrw/-mcVNWitsq4/s1600/Little_Rock_integration_protest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qcwB3qA_0Q4/VmYUB9mtMAI/AAAAAAAADrw/-mcVNWitsq4/s400/Little_Rock_integration_protest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SnyJW5rxfeA/VmYUBlruvtI/AAAAAAAADro/IgmRZMj2yew/s1600/death-to-all-race-mixers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SnyJW5rxfeA/VmYUBlruvtI/AAAAAAAADro/IgmRZMj2yew/s400/death-to-all-race-mixers.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s8fu8U6ED9k/VmYUBvX4z7I/AAAAAAAADrs/ql3CKB73URI/s1600/original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s8fu8U6ED9k/VmYUBvX4z7I/AAAAAAAADrs/ql3CKB73URI/s400/original.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mp-mYBwf4y0/VmYWkAhfeOI/AAAAAAAADsI/9o2Y7txjmwQ/s1600/d06ltth31arpffrtoebb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mp-mYBwf4y0/VmYWkAhfeOI/AAAAAAAADsI/9o2Y7txjmwQ/s400/d06ltth31arpffrtoebb.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-34274316403919461092015-12-07T01:56:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.796-08:00Please help Hattie!<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-FaXi_eB2Ng?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What a great pitch this is from Hattie Wright who has an offer to do an MPhil in Veterinary Science at the University of Cambridge <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">doing a research project within their BOAS group. </span>It would be a dream come true for Hattie, who adores dogs and is determined to use her education to improve dogs' lives.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To make it happen, though, she needs to raise the money to cover the tuition fees. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hattie's crowdfunding page is <a href="https://hubbub.net/p/helphattiehelpdogs/pitch">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you'd like to help, please don't delay as the deadline is this Thursday.</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote></blockquote>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-39205590119181565952015-12-06T03:15:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.839-08:00Kitchener: cooking up the enemy?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3usuwi376mE/VmQPHBOKMqI/AAAAAAAADq8/Gilrts6zhqQ/s1600/jay%2Bkitchener%2Bscreen%2Bgrab.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3usuwi376mE/VmQPHBOKMqI/AAAAAAAADq8/Gilrts6zhqQ/s400/jay%2Bkitchener%2Bscreen%2Bgrab.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Best in Show Daily last month ran a piece by Jay Kitchener arguing that unless the fancy stepped up to the mark politically, the AKC and the purebred dog were doomed - the victims of a clever and organised campaign by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).<br /><br />Kitchener writes:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: #f7f7f3; font-family: "helveticaneueregular";">"It’s a political agenda for social change that seeks a world without purebred dogs and eventually no dogs at all.</span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="background-color: #f7f7f3; font-family: "helveticaneueregular";">If you think that’s an exaggeration, then you’re not paying attention to the very real and dangerous changes to dog ownership that are sweeping the nation.</span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="background-color: #f7f7f3; font-family: "helveticaneueregular";">If you think this professional political agenda for social change could never happen, you’re mistaken.</span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="background-color: #f7f7f3; font-family: "helveticaneueregular";">Twenty-five years ago not many of us truly believed gay marriage and legal marijuana would ever become a reality."</span></blockquote><div><i><br /></i></div><div>He goes on to bemoan that the purebred lobby has not seen fit to campaign against "the wave of anti-pet shop legislation sweeping the nation" and in particular he states clearly:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: #f7f7f3; font-family: "helveticaneueregular";">"All dog breeders have a right to breed dogs in the manner they choose to breed them." </span></blockquote>Have a read of the whole thing <b><a href="http://www.bestinshowdaily.com/a-world-without-the-akc/">here</a> </b>then come back and tell me what you think. <br /><br />• The view from here is that the AKC is auguring into the ground because it has failed to embrace reform - in both the way it views dogs and in the way its breeders produce and value them.<br /><br />• The view from here is that breeders do <i>not </i>have the right to breed dogs in the manner they choose to breed them when it causes them harm.<br /><br />• The view from here is that while HSUS is clever and sneaky in its efforts to secure local ordinances that impact negatively on some good dog breeders, it is not the bogeyman the purebred fancy thinks it is and it does not want "all dogs gone".<br /><br />• The view from here is that the best way to tackle the perceived threat is for the AKC and breeders to embrace better science and breed dogs in such a way that there is no question about their worth or welfare.<br /><br />• The view from here is that gay marriage is a <i>good thing. </i>Oh, and that the legal recreational use of cannabis does considerably less harm than breeding a Bulldog or a Pug or a crippled German Shepherd.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XkpqeMWovo4/VmQX0BsGA9I/AAAAAAAADrM/R0h4KMX-9to/s1600/Kitchener-w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XkpqeMWovo4/VmQX0BsGA9I/AAAAAAAADrM/R0h4KMX-9to/s400/Kitchener-w.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hoping the Kitchener reference<br />works for you Yanks...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-30244467796993628702015-12-06T02:20:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.856-08:00The Bizarre Truth about Purebred Dogs... Take 2<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aCv10_WvGxo?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><br />I confess I've featured this before... and some of you will have seen it already. Over 4 million people now have.<br /><br />A big thank you to the brilliant Adam Conover for doing this - it is extremely funny - and also for crediting Pedigree Dogs Exposed.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-69483334377463441892015-12-06T01:53:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.898-08:00Fit to buy? <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g-8pmQFAi30/VmQDtZ4rRqI/AAAAAAAADqs/OeLcbCjQTic/s1600/epileptic%2Bpug%2B%25C2%25A3250.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g-8pmQFAi30/VmQDtZ4rRqI/AAAAAAAADqs/OeLcbCjQTic/s640/epileptic%2Bpug%2B%25C2%25A3250.png" width="337" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of course, the real story is not the cheek of the advert - but that someone will likely be stupid enough to pay for a non-registered, fat, epileptic Pug with separation anxiety. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And just a little PS. I know of no epilepsy meds that cost this little. "Chubby due to medication" sounds like steroids to me... very likely not an appropriate treatment long-term.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-36021146207977376912015-12-05T13:50:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:11:11.722-08:00Teaching geneticsSummer before last, I taught my first online classes, in introductory and behavioral genetics. It was a ton of fun and I learned a <i>lot</i> about how to teach genetics online to students with a variety of backgrounds and interests. I have since been itching to try again after redesigning the courses to take what I learned into account. In addition to my own experiences, I’m drawing on advice from <a href="https://twitter.com/RosieRedfield">Rosie Redfield</a>’s excellent and very approachable paper on <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001356">how to design a modern genetics class</a>. She teaches <a href="https://www.edx.org/course/useful-genetics-part-1-how-genes-shape-ubcx-usegen-1x">Useful Genetics for EdX</a> based on these principles, so check that out, too!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ha0_SlBfHkY/VmNa-J1vg6I/AAAAAAAAAYM/A-d5PRZxHSw/s1600/DNA_Repair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ha0_SlBfHkY/VmNa-J1vg6I/AAAAAAAAAYM/A-d5PRZxHSw/s320/DNA_Repair.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DNA being repaired by an enzyme</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />So I’m hugely looking forward to teaching a series of genetics courses for the <a href="http://iaabc.org/">International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants</a> (IAABC). The plan is to cover all the material that a college-level genetics course would cover, but to do it in a way that makes the material accessible to students who aren’t in college and can’t commit to a massive course all at once. So I’m planning to teach four separate courses. They will be completely modular: you can take them in any order, or take some but not all of them. If they prove popular, I hope to continue to offer them in coming years, so that students can enter and leave the flow of classes without worrying that there won’t be another chance to take a particular class.<br /><br />Anyways, the first class in this series is starting January 11, 2016, <a href="https://iaabc.org/courses/dna-basic-blueprint">online at IAABC</a>. It’s a course in molecular genetics — what is DNA, what are genes, how in the world do these tiny little molecules deep inside your cells code for processes that make you who you are? (And your dog who he is, and your horse who he is, and...) The topic list for the class is:<br /><br /><ul type="disc"><li>the molecular structure of DNA</li><li>DNA replication and mutations</li><li>transcription of DNA to RNA</li><li>translation of RNA to proteins</li><li>protein structure and function</li><li>genome sequencing</li><li>variation between individual genomes</li><li>genetic testing for disease (how it works, how reliable it is)</li><li>new advances in gene editing</li></ul>Future classes will cover heritability (how do your parents pass genetic information on to you?), population genetics (focusing on breeds, what it means to be a purebred, and the consequences of inbreeding), and oh yes, everyone’s favorite, behavoral genetics (which you’ll be able to take without taking the others — but you’ll get more out of it if you take the others first).<br /><br />More info? Sign up? <a href="https://iaabc.org/courses/dna-basic-blueprint">At IAABC</a>. <br /><br />Questions? Comments? Requests? Bring ’em on.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-89806562944270492652015-12-04T05:44:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.915-08:00Our Dogs covers the PDE v Deppen row<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kb_bbCiVCJ0/VmGWZ3872JI/AAAAAAAADqM/Eby7umdc6E0/s1600/our%2Bdogs%2Bdeppen%2Brow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kb_bbCiVCJ0/VmGWZ3872JI/AAAAAAAADqM/Eby7umdc6E0/s640/our%2Bdogs%2Bdeppen%2Brow.png" width="464" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I blogged this story <a href="http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/the-real-turkey.html"><b>here</b></a> 10 days ago. the As you can see, Mr Deppen is not terribly pleased with me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here, for the record, is my full reply to his email.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">---------------------------</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "gillsans"; font-size: 14px;">Dear Mr Deppen</span></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">I believe I have accurately reported the case which is a matter of public record. You were charged with cruelty; you denied the charges but were found guilty on three counts; you later had your criminal record expunged in a first-offender rehab initiative. </div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">You are, however, very welcome to send me a statement which I am happy to add to the piece.</div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">Clearly you like Neapolitan Mastiffs. “I like things that look like they hit by a car” you said in an interview in 2005. No doubt, like most breeders of dogs with extreme phenotypes, you believe your dogs don’t suffer for the form breeders have inflicted on them. You also clearly believe that exposed haw is a breed feature, not a fault. I would ask that you pull down your own lower lid and take a few steps outside. That’s what it feels like for the dogs, too.</div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">Poppy’s nostrils are clearly stenotic, too. These are a risk factor for heat-intolerance/compromised airways and breeders need to take these into account when breeding. The old Mastini - who incidentally never looked like they had been hit by a car - had open nostrils and would have coped with heat better as a result.</div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">Here’s a 1960s dog against your Poppy. Please ask yourself… which dog would you rather be? If you can’t see it, show your friends outside of the show-ring and ask them.<br /><br /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mBbIJ_EKFw0/VmGtETpqT2I/AAAAAAAADqc/WcMYzkcXfo0/s1600/deppen%2Bcompare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mBbIJ_EKFw0/VmGtETpqT2I/AAAAAAAADqc/WcMYzkcXfo0/s400/deppen%2Bcompare.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">Dogs are very stoical; they put up with a lot and they still love you. My view is that the suffering we impose on Neapolitan Mastiffs is not acceptable. The ectropion. The cherry eye. The pyoderma. The cancer. The very short lifespan. The sheer grinding weight of that body and sagging flesh as they age. You don’t see this because you are immersed in a world where it is acceptable. </div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">And yet you surely know that the modern dogs are not historically correct - because it is impossible to find a single archive picture that looks like any of the dogs today. </div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">I am passionate about purebred dogs and have campaigned on Mastino health for some years now. There have been some improvements in the UK as a result of this; certainly dogs as “hypertype” as Poppy would no longer win in the big rings here.</div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">I would say that I think Poppy moves well compared to the UK dogs though. I watched the Westminster 2013 footage and could see that he moved fluidly and freely and has much better angulation than the UK dogs. If you could combine this with with a more moderate head and skin, you could indeed have a magnificent dog.</div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">I am sure that nothing I say will change your mind. But how I wish you could look at your dog afresh and see him for what he is - a no doubt-gorgeous boy trapped in a body that fails him.</div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">You have - or certainly had - some great looking Pointers. You do know what a functional dog is. </div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">Best</div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /></div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;">Jemima</div><div class="" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 14px;"><br class="" /><div apple-content-edited="true" class=""><div class="" style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #dad3ce;">Jemima Harrison<br class="" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a5a899;">Pedigree Dogs Exposed - The Blog</span><br class="" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e44a27;"><a class="" href="http://www.pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com/">www.pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com</a></span></span></div></div></div><br />-----------------------------<br /><br />No reply yet from Mr Deppen.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-1824949355697626132015-11-27T14:11:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.957-08:00How much do I love this? Let me count the ways.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zNzgZrIKPWU/VljUu1-A6AI/AAAAAAAADp8/tKSPOLvDL7I/s1600/intelligent%2Bdesign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zNzgZrIKPWU/VljUu1-A6AI/AAAAAAAADp8/tKSPOLvDL7I/s640/intelligent%2Bdesign.jpg" width="449" /></a></div><br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-78568389242327925012015-11-24T15:20:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:26.972-08:00The real turkey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bHBBjZ61qQA/VlTI5411zLI/AAAAAAAADl8/I_lKTj1INxQ/s1600/12250179_1036492503048022_1017302200332421657_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bHBBjZ61qQA/VlTI5411zLI/AAAAAAAADl8/I_lKTj1INxQ/s400/12250179_1036492503048022_1017302200332421657_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This pic has been posted on the pro-show <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BestInShowDaily/photos/a.289618534402093.74631.278919872138626/1036492503048022/?type=3"><b>Best in Show Daily Facebook page</b></a> today promoting the television coverage of the Philadelphia National Dog show - which airs on NBC in two days' time. The rather random reference is to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqt8Z1k0oWQ"><b>The Weekend's big hit</b></a> of that name this summer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This Neapolitan Mastiff male is Ch Ironwood's Paparazzi - call name "Poppy" - co-owned by a chap called Jim Deppen. He sounds thrilled.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BXLRsgiNoCA/VlTM6JnkN4I/AAAAAAAADmQ/BWucXQQfZBM/s1600/jim%2Bdeppen%2Bcomment%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BXLRsgiNoCA/VlTM6JnkN4I/AAAAAAAADmQ/BWucXQQfZBM/s400/jim%2Bdeppen%2Bcomment%2B1.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's another picture of this dog - butchered ears set upon a gross head of excess skin, entropion and stenotic nostrils. But no matter. He went Best of Breed at the National last weekend - and was also the Westminster BOB in 2013</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IxnTatyTbHs/VlTM6F9GpeI/AAAAAAAADmc/Y2VCawdFu9k/s1600/jim%2Bdeppen%2Bneapolitan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IxnTatyTbHs/VlTM6F9GpeI/AAAAAAAADmc/Y2VCawdFu9k/s320/jim%2Bdeppen%2Bneapolitan.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's what Mr Deppen feels about owning a Neapolitan Mastiff.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Lq49o28vj-8/VlTM6C2PwJI/AAAAAAAADmU/cYTwOW_bA9Q/s1600/jim%2Bdeppen%2Bcomment.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Lq49o28vj-8/VlTM6C2PwJI/AAAAAAAADmU/cYTwOW_bA9Q/s400/jim%2Bdeppen%2Bcomment.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nope; nothing to do with God. This is one of <b>man's </b>best examples of <i>qualzucht </i>(torture breeding) as they call it in Austria. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And of course's the breed history stuff is just all so much bollocks anyway. The breed is a 20th century recreation - and a terrible one at that - as documented succinctly on the Terrierman blog <a href="http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/italian-job.html"><b>here</b></a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then there's the fact that this breed looked <i>nothing</i> like this historically. <i>Nothing. </i>The wrinkling, the acres of excess flesh.. all a totally modern conceit.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qEKokZV_GGU/VlTcLqQIaGI/AAAAAAAADmw/2mqj7N8KU5c/s1600/Ashurbanipal-Nineveh-mastiff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qEKokZV_GGU/VlTcLqQIaGI/AAAAAAAADmw/2mqj7N8KU5c/s320/Ashurbanipal-Nineveh-mastiff.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In fact, Neapolitan Mastiffs remained fairly moderate - and certainly physically very able - right up until the 1970s.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-690CQg42yEc/VlTcq1-R8yI/AAAAAAAADm4/0Yi7D0eUYF4/s1600/1970_NeapolitanMastiff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-690CQg42yEc/VlTcq1-R8yI/AAAAAAAADm4/0Yi7D0eUYF4/s400/1970_NeapolitanMastiff.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zjZwyjFxK1k/VlTcqx2xQtI/AAAAAAAADm8/ZOTgga43g3Y/s1600/1970s_NeapolitanMastiff2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zjZwyjFxK1k/VlTcqx2xQtI/AAAAAAAADm8/ZOTgga43g3Y/s400/1970s_NeapolitanMastiff2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1bImljoCjn0/VlTcq76k7pI/AAAAAAAADnA/KmpKrYJju28/s1600/1970s_NeapolitanMastiff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1bImljoCjn0/VlTcq76k7pI/AAAAAAAADnA/KmpKrYJju28/s400/1970s_NeapolitanMastiff.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And now this - Deppen's dog winning Best of Breed at Westminster in 2013. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7W3SfmBwI3g/VlToUJSmyCI/AAAAAAAADng/4kn_QJJIKDo/s1600/poppy%2Bwestminster%2B2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7W3SfmBwI3g/VlToUJSmyCI/AAAAAAAADng/4kn_QJJIKDo/s400/poppy%2Bwestminster%2B2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Like all Neapolitan Mastiffs, the sagging increases with age. This is the same dog this week winning Best of Breed at the National. It almost looks like lymphedema on those hocks - something that blights Shar-pei.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wQshVjveAew/VlTc_fe8ErI/AAAAAAAADnQ/LgBGElcMpdk/s1600/jim%2Bdeppen%2Bneo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wQshVjveAew/VlTc_fe8ErI/AAAAAAAADnQ/LgBGElcMpdk/s400/jim%2Bdeppen%2Bneo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On Deppen's Facebook, someone has commented on this pic: "Magnificent, such an expressive face."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1VZhyfju2Ig/VlTsnCX90AI/AAAAAAAADns/j9bW0qASCkQ/s1600/CU%2Bface.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="391" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1VZhyfju2Ig/VlTsnCX90AI/AAAAAAAADns/j9bW0qASCkQ/s400/CU%2Bface.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As for Deppen's claims that this breed has "fought in battles against man and beast" and "been starved" - now might be a good time to mention that, in 2010, Deppen and co-breeder Mimi Winkler were charged with<b> </b>60 counts of cruelty, kennel violations and operating an unlicensed kennel. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They denied the charges of cruelty detailed in <a href="http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2010/06/lehigh_county_kennel_operators.html"><b>this report</b></a>:</div><blockquote style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Benton Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.20800000429153442px;"><i>The visit turned up 18 bichon frise dogs that were <strong>"living in unsanitary conditions and had heavily matted coats, long nails and open tumors on some of the dogs that were untreated," </strong>police said.</i></blockquote><blockquote style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Benton Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.20800000429153442px;"><i>On April 28, Aguirre returned to the kennel, where Winkler relinquished <strong>"an emaciated and sickly border collie," </strong>police said.</i></blockquote><blockquote style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Benton Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.20800000429153442px;"><i>The three dog wardens then returned June 4 to the kennel and discovered three Neapolitan Mastiff dogs <strong>"in health conditions that indicate that necessary vet care had not been provided."</strong></i></blockquote><blockquote style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Benton Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.20800000429153442px;"><i>The wardens returned June 7 to find <strong>"two of the Neapolitan mastiffs were deceased, one of which was disposed of outside of the kennel in a wheelbarrow," </strong>police said.</i></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">According to <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pets/Overbreeding-and-abuse-the-dark-side-of-dog-shows.html#yhiYaBrIIDwyikY0.99">another report</a>, Deppen's criminal record was subsequently wiped clean:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>A district judge found Deppen and Winkler guilty of four counts of animal cruelty and a count of running an unlicensed kennel, and acquitted them of the rest. The pair appealed the verdicts to Common Pleas Court, and were allowed to enter Accelerative Rehabilitative Disposition, a program for first-time offenders that includes expunging any criminal record. According to Deppen, the outcome only required him to admit running an unlicensed kennel and pay a fine. Court documents on the case have since been destroyed.</i></span></blockquote>Deppen and Winkler's breeding license was revoked by the Department of Agriculture, but the AKC appears to have take no action. Deppen is <a href="https://www.apps.akc.org/apps/judges_directory/index.cfm?action=results&judge_id=%2037569"><b>still listed</b></a> as an AKC judge.<br /><br />Perhaps it all was a case of falsified evidence - as claimed by Deppen's attorney who said his clients were being punished for their dogs simply "having a bad hair day". The court also heard from the defence that there was nothing wrong with the Neapolitan Mastiffs' eyes, as claimed, because "exposed haw" is entirely normal for the breed.<br /><br />But simply breeding modern show-bred Neapolitan Mastiffs (typically dead by five years old such is the effort to stay alive in that body) is an act of cruelty.<br /><br />"I like things that look like they were hit by a car," said Deppen in 2005 (source <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-02-10/features/0502100075_1_mastiff-american-kennel-club-neo">here</a>).<br /><br />For dog show people to make a <i>joke </i>about those welfare-limiting folds is just disgusting.<br /><br />It's like showing a picture of a gasping pug with the tagline: "<i>All I need is the air that I breathe".</i><br /><br />Or a Basset with his penis dragging on the ground with the line: <i>"No scraping the barrel here!"</i><br /><br />Has Purina seen this, I wonder?<br /><br />You can let Purina know what you think by leaving a comment on their Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PurinaProPlanforProfessionals/?fref=ts" style="font-weight: bold;">here.</a><b> </b><br /><br />Please chip in on the thread on the Best in Show's page<b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BestInShowDaily/photos/a.289618534402093.74631.278919872138626/1036492503048022/?type=3&theater">here</a>.</b><br /><br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-46320864173725029212015-11-19T14:20:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:27.015-08:00BRACHY WEEK (extended): Swedish judging row rumbles on<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xYBOH7fR8b4/Vk5Ld_QR6QI/AAAAAAAADlU/nOM9WXgFNrw/s1600/cronander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xYBOH7fR8b4/Vk5Ld_QR6QI/AAAAAAAADlU/nOM9WXgFNrw/s320/cronander.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><br />Swedish judge Ake Cronander is standing firm. Despite being criticised by his own Kennel Club for awarding "Excellent" to a Pug in clear respiratory distress at a show in the summer (see video <a href="https://vimeo.com/144294227"><b>here</b></a>), Cronander continues to insist that the Pug was fine and that he has done nothing wrong.<br /><br />In today's <a href="http://www.dogworld.co.uk/product.php/148771/Internet%20film%20leads%20to%20Pug%20judge%20enquiry"><b>DogWorld</b></a> he says:<br /><blockquote><br /><i>“It was the dog’s first show and she very strongly protested about being put on the table and having a hands-on examination. The most interesting thing is that her tail was up all the time, and that would not have happened in a Pug with breathing problems. When she was given a treat she made no sound as she was eating it, which means she was breathing through her nose with no noise. It’s quite simple; she is a healthy dog who was just upset at that point.</i></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>“The breed that the biggest problem in the heat that day was the Irish Wolfhound,” he said. “There were greater sounds of breathing coming from their ring than the Pug’s.”</i></blockquote>Dog World also reports that Mr Cronander estimates that temperatures that day were about 28 degrees in the shade and "between 32 and 35 degrees in the sun".<br /><br />The dog show was in Backamo in Sweden on August 22-23 of this year. <br /><br />Here are the recorded temperatures in Backamo for those two days.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0GvZQUBfo1A/Vk5QXZTm8aI/AAAAAAAADlo/MkiojVzo_jg/s1600/weather%2B22%2Baug.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0GvZQUBfo1A/Vk5QXZTm8aI/AAAAAAAADlo/MkiojVzo_jg/s400/weather%2B22%2Baug.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J2njU4nB3hU/Vk5QXM8WiXI/AAAAAAAADlk/-wpY_Va3sgY/s1600/weather%2B23%2Baug.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J2njU4nB3hU/Vk5QXM8WiXI/AAAAAAAADlk/-wpY_Va3sgY/s400/weather%2B23%2Baug.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6c-vi16TmjA/Vk5K4N2nE_I/AAAAAAAADlM/HFMLPL_vsQc/s1600/stop%2Btalking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6c-vi16TmjA/Vk5K4N2nE_I/AAAAAAAADlM/HFMLPL_vsQc/s320/stop%2Btalking.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-2257204884228833772015-11-18T03:59:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:27.032-08:00BRACHY WEEK (extended): "She ran into a door"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dhdnV97bTrw/VkxYepB4JaI/AAAAAAAADj8/vPRQaktzQN0/s1600/1982087_1638693653052564_5160674453881240906_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dhdnV97bTrw/VkxYepB4JaI/AAAAAAAADj8/vPRQaktzQN0/s400/1982087_1638693653052564_5160674453881240906_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CoDNBu0Fh0w/VkxYjdKcGDI/AAAAAAAADko/LrTA6hOxrHo/s1600/zoe%2527s%2Bpet%2Bchance.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CoDNBu0Fh0w/VkxYjdKcGDI/AAAAAAAADko/LrTA6hOxrHo/s400/zoe%2527s%2Bpet%2Bchance.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Poor Zoe. Bashing your eye is always an occupational hazard when you're a Pug - even when you haven't been born blind. And, boy, how painful must that have been?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Given that Zoe was born blind (micropthalmia in one eye; not sure about the other) removing both eyes isn't going to effect her quality of life one way or the other. Micropthalmia is not, as far as I'm aware, a common issue in Pugs (as it is in some other breeds, e.g. Great Danes). Indeed, in Pugs and other brachycephalic breeds, the problem is almost invariably the opposite - eyes that are too big for their sockets.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Actually, they have normal-sized eyes - it's very shallow eye sockets caused by the brachycephaly that is the problem. With no muzzle to protect them, they are very vulnerable to injury and can prolapse easily.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5JiqUz4S6RQ/VkxlojfUtEI/AAAAAAAADk4/DpbQqGUb7-Q/s1600/pug%2Bprolapse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5JiqUz4S6RQ/VkxlojfUtEI/AAAAAAAADk4/DpbQqGUb7-Q/s320/pug%2Bprolapse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Quite often they have to be removed - called enucleation.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R9nVemHt24g/VkxlogJeaxI/AAAAAAAADk8/TLnDoES4Pmk/s1600/eye%2Benucleation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R9nVemHt24g/VkxlogJeaxI/AAAAAAAADk8/TLnDoES4Pmk/s320/eye%2Benucleation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It would not be fair to beat up Banfields for refusing to the op without the money up-front. Vets are not here to subsidise poor breeding. (And that IV line would have been in, I think, to give poor Zoe some pain relief while they were waiting for the family to return.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As for Town and Country Vets who took on the case on the basis that the family would find the funds eventually... they charged this family $4854 for the removal of two eyes. Yes, it was an emergency, but that's a heck of a lot of money given that eye-removal is usually about £400/$700 per eye. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">None of this, of course, is Zoe's fault.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Zoe's fund-raiser can be found <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/pk2rknew">here.</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On the other hand.. <i>meh</i>.. surgery is done. And that bill is extortionate.</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T6qz6_jmibo/VkxYi4ALOhI/AAAAAAAADkc/A0TqGADfQuQ/s1600/12243455_1639657669622829_4312268079733409741_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T6qz6_jmibo/VkxYi4ALOhI/AAAAAAAADkc/A0TqGADfQuQ/s400/12243455_1639657669622829_4312268079733409741_n.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zoe post-surgery</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-52475412229356445872015-11-17T17:06:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:27.074-08:00BREAKING NEWS: Swedish KC "deeply regrets" decision to reward Pug with breathing difficulties<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kvX6Ycih57I/VkvL1YgU0sI/AAAAAAAADjs/JPMfCb0I6Dw/s1600/pug%2Bwell%2Bdone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kvX6Ycih57I/VkvL1YgU0sI/AAAAAAAADjs/JPMfCb0I6Dw/s1600/pug%2Bwell%2Bdone.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Last week, I posted a <a href="http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/brachy-week-none-so-blind-and-deaf.html"><b>video</b></a> of Swedish judge Åke Cronander awarding Excellent to a Pug in clear respiratory distress.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The video is on Facebook, too, and has been seen by thousands of people in the dog world. Almost everyone who has seen it has expressed dismay - but there has been a small minority that has sought to defend Mr Cronander. They maintain that the sounds the Pug was making were "anxiety sounds", not evidence of breathing difficulty. Last weekend, a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gunilla.johnsson.52/videos/970348279691539/?pnref=story"><b>video</b></a> was posted on social media showing the same Pug going for a long walk and clearly managing perfectly well. Never mind that it was a good 10 degrees cooler this week than it was on the day the video was shot (11ºC as opposed to 23º on the day of the show). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The Swedish KC (SKK) has taken its time to respond. I have no doubt that its first instinct would be to back one of its judges. However, the SKK's considerable commitment to health has prevailed. Today, it issued a strong statement expressing its disappointment that one of its judges could have made such an error of judgement and committed to ensuring it would never happen again. Judge Cronander's actions are now the subject of an SKC review.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The SKKhas also confirmed its commitment to working with vets and national authorities to ensure a better deal for brachycephalics. New measures being discussed include a puppy-health certificate to focus more on "constitutional aspects of health" and new breeding rules that require an assessment of dam and sire's breathing ability. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Well done the Swedish Kennel Club!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The SKK's statement in full:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Swedish Kennel Club (SKK) has worked intensively on the education of show judges on how to handle exaggerated anatomical features in their duties. Breathing has been in focus both in general and specific texts within the Nordic Breed Specific Instructions (</span><span lang="SV"><a href="http://www.skk.se/Global/Dokument/Utstallning/special-breed-specific-instructions-A8.pdf"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.skk.se/Global/Dokument/Utstallning/special-breed-specific-instructions-A8.pdf</span></a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">). There is also a video production specifically focused on breathing difficulties available on YouTube (</span><span lang="SV"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ_3f4bLkME&feature=youtu.be"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ_3f4bLkME&feature=youtu.be</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">).</span></span></i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The SKK board therefore deeply regrets the scenario depictured on YouTube regarding the examination and rewarding a Pug with clinical signs of distress related to breathing at a dog show in Sweden this summer.</span></i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The judge on duty has been asked to explain and motivate his actions according to procedures to be followed when situations like this are brought to our attention. That process is not yet completed.</span></i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SKK expects that such scenarios shown in the film clip are not going to happen again. SKK’s ambition is to make sure that every judge at shows in Sweden will fully comply with BSI and the importance of the health aspects in the evaluation of exaggerated anatomical features. This incident very clearly shows the continuous need for attention towards exaggerations in anatomical features and the importance to continue the work with the Breed Specific Instructions, BSI.</span></i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To make sure that potential breeding stock in brachycephalic breeds meets expected criteria regarding breathing SKK have developed collaborative efforts in Sweden with, the veterinary profession and national authorities. Within this collaborative framework there are six focus areas:</span></i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a)<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">An update on nationally and internationally available data on the prevalence of unhealthy related to a brachycephalic constitution.</span></i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <o:p></o:p></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b)<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Investigate the possibilities to centrally register diagnoses and surgical procedures related to exaggerated anatomical features.</span></i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <o:p></o:p></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c)<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Revision of the puppy health certificate, mandatory to all puppies sold by members of SKK, to include more focus on constitutional aspect on health.</span></i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">d)<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Develop a protocol and veterinary certificate for potential breeding stock on breathing capacity intended as a merit and if necessary be made compulsory before breeding.</span></i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">e)<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Further training of judges, veterinarians and breeders related to exaggerated anatomical features.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">f)<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Consumer education on health risks related to a brachycephalic constitution.</span></i> </blockquote>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-53677690545502393592015-11-15T12:49:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:27.089-08:00BRACHY WEEK: the price of Pugs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2FbuEA7l9Eg/VkjieeeuqTI/AAAAAAAADjQ/LbYfhwDTGcQ/s1600/Pug%2Brescue%2Bvet%2Bbill%2Bappeal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2FbuEA7l9Eg/VkjieeeuqTI/AAAAAAAADjQ/LbYfhwDTGcQ/s400/Pug%2Brescue%2Bvet%2Bbill%2Bappeal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />That's a whopping £480 per dog.<br /><br />Now, I run a rescue. I rehome black retriever crosses and other gundog types. Our "vet-prep" cost over the past 7 years (excluding the extra costs we incur because of bringing in some dogs from overseas) works out at about £100 per dog (about 500 dogs in total). It is almost always simply the routine costs of vaccination, neutering, chipping, worming and flea-treating. If £100 per dog sounds quite cheap, that's because many surrendered dogs are already neutered/vaccinated.<br /><br />As it is for all rescues, there is the occasional money-pit - a dog that needs expensive surgery; an elderly dog that is rehomed with the commitment to pay for ongoing meds. But these are the exceptions, not the rule - and that's not because we avoid them. (Every rescue knows that hero-cases are good fund-raisers.)<br /><br />A clue as to why it costs Pug Dog Welfare & Rescue UK almost <i>five times</i> what it costs me per dog features in the Telegraph today.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AQ4DYTAlCXQ/VkjmJjztiQI/AAAAAAAADjc/DqYH0ZWbnAE/s1600/telegraph%2Bpug%2Bhand-ins.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="395" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AQ4DYTAlCXQ/VkjmJjztiQI/AAAAAAAADjc/DqYH0ZWbnAE/s400/telegraph%2Bpug%2Bhand-ins.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Telegraph reports that Pug hand-ins to Battersea Dogs' Home have soared - and that many need surgery. Battersea vets have had to do 20 airway surgeries on Pugs so far this year. (Read the whole thing <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/pets-health/11996595/Pedigree-dog-owners-abandoning-their-pets-in-alarming-numbers.html"><b>here.</b></a>)<br /><br />A short clip of Peanut the Pug's breathing pre-surgery can be viewed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZprz7xtYoQ&feature=youtu.be"><b>here</b></a>.<br /><br />It isn't just airway surgery, though - it is very common for Pugs to come into rescue requiring dental work and/or with ulcerated eyes that need treatment (and quite often removal).<br /><br />It adds up to a whole heap of suffering - not just for the dogs, but often for owners too who end up giving up a Pug because they can't afford the surgery.<br /><br />As for Pug Dog Welfare + Rescue - they do a do a good job in very difficult circumstances.<br /><br />If you would like to contribute towards their eye-watering vet bill, you can do so <a href="http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=PDWRAFUNDRAISING&faId=648525&isTeam=false"><b>here</b></a>.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-20973187530868032482015-11-15T06:50:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:27.132-08:00BRACHY WEEK: "I'll get another one when the time comes"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1J8QIXIuSOU/VkiWxC3jgmI/AAAAAAAADjA/coDJHXGoKjw/s1600/vet%2Btimes%2Blola.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1J8QIXIuSOU/VkiWxC3jgmI/AAAAAAAADjA/coDJHXGoKjw/s400/vet%2Btimes%2Blola.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />A recent <b><a href="http://www.vettimes.co.uk/article/lola-is-a-typical-excitable-and-happy-pug-she-just-loves-life/">Veterinary Time</a>s</b> carries the tale of vet nurse Lucy Gunn's experience with her Pug, Lola.<br /><br />It begins:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>"Lola was a healthy little thing when I got her, having had her vaccinations. But at about six months of age, she started snoring more and her breathing became louder. She would go for a little walk, then struggle for breath and collapse. I knew something wasn’t right, so took her to see the vet where I worked."</i></blockquote><br />It was the start of a health nightmare. Lola had a soft-palate resection. It helped for a few weeks, but then her breathing got worse again. She had another soft-palate resection. Again, it helped her for a while - but then she deteriorated again. Finally, she had a tracheotomy. It was either that or euthanasia, Lucy was told by the referral vet.<br /><br /><b><i>Lola was still only 10 months old.</i></b><br /><b><i><br /></i></b>Ms Gunn continues:<br /><i><br /></i><br /><blockquote><i>"Lola did very well for at least 18 months post-surgery. She was almost back to “normal” and was exercising well with no dyspnoeic episodes. However, following this great spell, the BAOS symptoms slowly started to appear again and it was not long before she became dyspnoeic during and after exercise and was also turning cyanotic during these episodes. So, I decided to return to the referral vets to see what they advised.</i> </blockquote><blockquote><i>"The vet decided because Lola was growing and a pug, the extra skin folds around her neck were causing an issue with her stoma, which is relatively small – about the size of a thumbnail. It was decided the best way to correct this was to have a skin lift – effectively, a nip and tuck.</i> </blockquote><blockquote><i>"Lola ended up having surgery in which a 16cm length of skin was excised from the back of her neck, allowing the excess skin to be removed and hopefully solving the issue. She has a rather impressive scar to show for it – I say it is one of her many war wounds. Postoperatively, all went well and Lola recovered as well as was to be expected.<br />In a separate condition, she developed bilateral eye ulcers. Fortunately, it was caught early and I treated her successfully with ophthalmic drops.</i> </blockquote><blockquote><i>"Following this, she started showing symptoms of hip and spinal pain. This meant another anaesthetic and further investigation. Radiographs indicated hemivertebrae and it was decided to try long-term NSAID medication. Initially, due to her other health issues, we decided not to do anything surgically, but to treat medically and reassess symptoms regularly.</i> </blockquote><blockquote><i>"This treatment continued for 12 months, at which point Lola developed a gastric ulcer from the use of long-term NSAID medication. This meant another visit to a referral specialist and a two-week stay on medication to treat her symptoms.<br />Lola has recently had another surgery – a mast cell tumour removed on her stifle. Again, she recovered well and is now back to normal."</i></blockquote><div><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "tipperary" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.40000057220459px;"><br /></span></div>Lola' s treatment was covered by pet insurance but if Ms Gunn had had to pay it herself, it would have cost her £20,000.<br /><br />And at the end of that, what does Ms Gunn conclude?<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>"Lola has not discouraged me from owning pugs and I’ll doubtless get another when the time comes. Pugs as a breed have a great determination and true spirit. Lola has had many issues, but has taken it all in her stride and being a pug she’s got great comedy value. She’s so silly at times – especially when racing around the garden doing the “pug run”. I would not be without her – she’s a huge part of the family and we adore her."</i></blockquote>Ms Gunn... let me put this as nicely as I can.<br /><br /><i>You are not a hero. You are a stupid, unthinking, cruelty-promoting idiot. </i><br /><i><br /></i>Seriously, I know that's rude but can't you <i>see</i>?<br /><br />Dogs shouldn't have to have "great determination" or "true spirit" in order to endure what we have forced on them. That Lola and other Pugs cope with this awfulness isn't a tribute to <i>her </i>or <i>them. </i>It's a terrible, <i>terrible</i> indictment on <i>you</i> and <i>us</i>.<br /><br /><br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6292238309142736157.post-87970927505706737732015-11-13T12:58:00.000-08:002015-12-30T06:37:27.149-08:00BRACHY WEEK: frite bite<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QLZc_fZEKT4/VkXmOydH4II/AAAAAAAADgY/6zKesl16SF8/s1600/good%2Bmouth%2Baussie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QLZc_fZEKT4/VkXmOydH4II/AAAAAAAADgY/6zKesl16SF8/s400/good%2Bmouth%2Baussie.jpg" width="280" /></a></div><br />This is what a healthy dog mouth looks like (well, other than the chip to one canine tooth): clean, no decay, even colouring. Note in particular the spacing - between both the teeth and the ridges in the hard palate (what are called the palatal folds).<br /><br />Now look at this mouth. Note the rotation of the teeth, the over-crowding, the red-raw infection evident in the puffiness of the soft tissue around the base of the teeth.This mouth belongs to a three-year-old Pug. After surgery, this dog was sent home by veterinary dentist <a href="http://www.toothvet.ca/"><b>Fraser Hale</b></a> without any instructions to brush. His reasoning: "I think this would cause undue respiratory distress (she can hardly breathe without someone poking around in her mouth)."<br /><div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"></div></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--g8KcVyTTHY/VkXm1ekzRaI/AAAAAAAADgg/nMQJmfh_R60/s1600/sally.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--g8KcVyTTHY/VkXm1ekzRaI/AAAAAAAADgg/nMQJmfh_R60/s400/sally.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>And how about this one - a 4-yr-old Bulldog? In this case, fur and debris has got caught between the teeth and caused a purulent discharge. This dog's breath would have flattened a warrior.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qAMOv-16oDA/VkXn88t1F_I/AAAAAAAADgo/2fx7242ZxHY/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qAMOv-16oDA/VkXn88t1F_I/AAAAAAAADgo/2fx7242ZxHY/s400/Untitled.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Even in the more moderate brachycephalics, the palatal folds can trap fur and debris. These pictures are of a 5yr-old Boxer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvvfrJee7G8/VkX0xmemSVI/AAAAAAAADho/LMZ7n5I3mYc/s1600/boxer%2Bhair%2Bfolds.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvvfrJee7G8/VkX0xmemSVI/AAAAAAAADho/LMZ7n5I3mYc/s400/boxer%2Bhair%2Bfolds.png" width="293" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nBHo-2lV4pI/VkX0w3huUtI/AAAAAAAADhk/fR2mew2QtMk/s1600/boxer%2Bhair%2Bfolds%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nBHo-2lV4pI/VkX0w3huUtI/AAAAAAAADhk/fR2mew2QtMk/s400/boxer%2Bhair%2Bfolds%2B1.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This dog also had a problem with his lower incisors - essentially subsumed by infected puffy tissue that had to be drained.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--kPpAS7tedY/VkX59DCIvGI/AAAAAAAADh8/H95bZE38JdU/s1600/boxer%2B5.5yrs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--kPpAS7tedY/VkX59DCIvGI/AAAAAAAADh8/H95bZE38JdU/s400/boxer%2B5.5yrs.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">This radiograph shows what a healthy canine jaw looks like.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A6r1nut5S-Y/VkXtzM_752I/AAAAAAAADg8/z4TCMhjiVho/s1600/health%2Bmouth%2Bright%2Blower%2Bjaw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A6r1nut5S-Y/VkXtzM_752I/AAAAAAAADg8/z4TCMhjiVho/s400/health%2Bmouth%2Bright%2Blower%2Bjaw.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For comparison, a Boston Terrier jaw. Note the crowding/overlapping.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uLFL5e8olgI/VkX6sfERS-I/AAAAAAAADiE/GndLr7de5tQ/s1600/boston%2Bjaw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uLFL5e8olgI/VkX6sfERS-I/AAAAAAAADiE/GndLr7de5tQ/s400/boston%2Bjaw.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The inside of this Boston's mouth looked like this.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ueKZn0zZogk/VkX66SWiSKI/AAAAAAAADiM/JgE7kQhnOXU/s1600/boston%2Bmouth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ueKZn0zZogk/VkX66SWiSKI/AAAAAAAADiM/JgE7kQhnOXU/s400/boston%2Bmouth.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is what happens in later life for some - this is a 8yr-old Shih Tzu that ended up having to have 26 teeth extracted.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JT7StpybBkI/VkXxhvoND9I/AAAAAAAADhI/i6YWXhCXDRY/s1600/shih-tzu%2B8yrs%2Bold.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JT7StpybBkI/VkXxhvoND9I/AAAAAAAADhI/i6YWXhCXDRY/s400/shih-tzu%2B8yrs%2Bold.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And another.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UmvYXCFUxgU/VkX0Spj0zDI/AAAAAAAADhc/aaaAerAwAfQ/s1600/shih-tzu%2Bcorby%2B8yrs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UmvYXCFUxgU/VkX0Spj0zDI/AAAAAAAADhc/aaaAerAwAfQ/s400/shih-tzu%2Bcorby%2B8yrs.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dr Hale says some brachycephalic dogs will escape the worst of this; also that good dental care can help mitigate some of the problems. But he also says that he has <i>never </i>in his whole 30-year career seen a <i>single </i>normal brachycephalic mouth. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's sobering, isn't it?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Brachy mouths are, says Hale, "accordioned". Not entirely sure that's a word - but it's very descriptive. We have all spent (me included) so much time concentrating on the more obvious repercussions of shortening the muzzle (the breathing, the overheating, the danger to eyes), that we have neglected an area that must surely be a source of chronic, grinding pain for many brachycephalic dogs. After all, don't we all know how head-bangingly awful it can be to have just <i>one</i> infected tooth?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">"It is a myth that dogs don't feel pain the same way we do," says Dr Hale. "They have the same pain thresholds and tolerances as humans. They react and withdraw/defend at the same level of stimulation and have the same physiologic reactions to pain as humans. Research shows that this is true across all categories of pain, including dental pain."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Dr Hale says he frequently gets reports from owners saying that their dogs are much happier and more energetic after rehabilitation of "a sewer mouth". </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">"The owners are unaware of how much their animals are suffering until we remove the problem and the improvement is there for them to see. And they smell much better so are more pleasant to be around.</div><div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><div style="background-color: white;"><br /></div>"There is also a growing body of information in both human and veterinary medicine that a chronic source of inflammation anywhere in the body can have negative impacts on many body systems."</div><div class="column"><br /></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I hope people will be shocked by these pictures. We simply cannot continue inflicting this kind of pathology on dogs simply because we think it's cute. It isn't just the brachcephalics in this case either - many toy breeds (and of course crosses) have terrible teeth, too - awry, infected, impacted or missing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I blogged about Fraser Hale two years ago (see <a href="http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/stop-brachycephalism-now.html"><b>here</b></a>), after he had spoken out very strongly about brachycephalics in an article in the Canadian Veterinary Journal. If you haven't read that piece, you can check it out <b><a href="http://www.toothvet.ca/PDFfiles/Stop_Brachy.pdf">here</a>.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Earlier this year, Dr Hale followed it up with another opinion piece in the Canadian Veterinary Journal - this time addressing the dilemma vets face when dealing with owners of breeds that are fundamentally physiologically flawed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here it is in full.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Popularity Paradox</span></div><h3><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-size: x-large;">by Dr Fraser Hale</span></span></h3><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">We are told that clients do not care how much we know, they want to know how much we care. In other words, being clinically competent and medically honest with our clients it far less important to them than us lavishing praise and affection and treats on their beloved pet. And this puts us all into a serious conflict of interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Private practice (even institutional practice) is a popularity contest. Pet owners have a lot of choices and are free to go where they please. If they find a visit to ABC Animal Hospital a cheery and happy experience, they come back. If they find the experience unpleasant in some way, they may just go somewhere else. So imagine this scenario:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Jane and John Doe have been married a year and have just purchased their very first pet, an 8 week old (let’s just pick one) English bulldog. They have had it for a week and are completely in love. They chose this breed because they saw pictures on the internet of some bully pups and videos of bulldogs riding skate boards and bouncing on trampolines. Now they are coming to you, bubbling with pride and enthusiasm, for post-purchase examination and vaccines. They chose your practice because your website features stock images including some of bulldogs, so obviously you love the breed too.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Now, you know that a bulldog is a money pit and will be prone to a host of physical and metabolic maladies, from brachycephalic upper air way issues, to horrible dental/oral anatomy/heath to orthopedic issues, skin-fold dermatitis and gale-force flatulence. Hot weather and exercise could be fatal. As the owner’s source of medical information, you have a moral and professional obligation to inform them of these issues so that they can be prepared to manage them, will know what to look for, will know what to avoid and so forth.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">At ABC Animal Hospital, as soon as the Doe’s walk in with Princess Snuffles (PS), the staff start gushing about how adorable she is. During the examination, the DVM similarly expresses shared joy over the puppy and how much she is going to add to the Doe’s life together. Treats and cuddles are lavished on PS. The owners leave feeling thrilled that everyone at ABC also loves PS. But down the road as the problems start to express themselves and the visits become more frequent and expensive, the Doe’s question why you did not warn them of all these problems. Had they known, they would have returned the dog and selected a dog with a healthier build and constitution. Now it is way too late. They are deeply bonded to their fur-lemon.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">In another scenario, the Doe’s go to XYZ Veterinary Clinic. After a reserved exchange of pleasantries and “Welcome to our practice” chat, the professional staff starts to evaluate PS. In so doing, they find a number of architectural concerns that are already evident and these are pointed out to the Doe’s. Then follows a list of anticipated problems, including reproductive concerns (did I mention that the Does plan on breeding PS because she is from such good lines and they are looking to make a few dollars besides?). Do you tell this naïve young couple that their precious prized (and expensive) new family member is seriously deformed in ways that are going to have a serious negative impact on its quality of life and longevity? If you spend their first visit going over all of the problems the dog has now, is going to have in the future and what they can expect this will all mean, they might leave your office feeling foolish for making this breed selection choice or angry with you for expressing your obvious disdain for their fur-child. The tone of the visit is negative and they leave feeling badly and thinking that they will not be back to see you because you obviously do not love Princess Snuffles the way they do.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:RelyOnVML/> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> 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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <!--EndFragment--></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Here is the conflict then. We have a moral and ethical obligation to provide our clients with accurate and valid clinical information and recommendations, including what problems to expect and how to avoid them (preventative medicine). But if we are truly honest about many of the deformed and unthrifty breeds that are so popular these days, we run the risk of alienating our clients and driving them away (to other clinics, Dr. Google or their breeder). So we may be inclined to hold our tongues and sugar-coat our interactions with our clients.<o:p></o:p></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-we9S7GCmcM8/VkZgFuj-dlI/AAAAAAAADis/X6w6FvWR7fk/s1600/TD--119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-we9S7GCmcM8/VkZgFuj-dlI/AAAAAAAADis/X6w6FvWR7fk/s400/TD--119.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fraser Hale</td></tr></tbody></table>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277611137478686745noreply@blogger.com