Raw Food Diet, Day 323- In Breeding

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Big Pupi is feeling rather pensive:

I enjoy reading the news online - getting my updates and keeping step with the world's current events. Yesterday morning I found myself in my usual routine, skimming and scanning various sites, until I came upon an article on the BBC about dog shows and dog breeding. Well, seeing that this was news I could sink my teeth into, I read on. And on. And on. Man, this was interesting stuff.

What the news told me (translated through interpretive dance by my humans), was that the BBC refused to air the Crufts dog show, thus suspending their 46-year relationship with the organization. These actions were in response to a documentary which aired on BBC in August which dove into the breeding and health practices of dog show canines, and the refusal of Crufts to ban a presently undisclosed list of 12 breeds which the BBC deemed to have felt the worst effects of show breed standards. This documentary, Pedigree Dogs Exposed, showed the ill-effects of improper breeding practices and how these decisions have detrimental effects on the blood lines. Many dog shows reward breeders for these practices, given that their dogs adhere to the strict guidelines of the breed standards. Unfortunately, these breed standards have moved farther and farther away from the qualities that make an animal healthy and useful, as even the working breed dogs find themselves in a weakened, yet "show quality" state.

In an excerpt from Pedigree Dogs Exposed, we meet a Cavalier King Charles spaniel - a show dog that has seen much success in the ring. This particular dog suffers from syringomyelia, a condition which leaves the skull too small for the dog's brain. Despite this devastating condition, this cavalier has been awarded for its ability to meet the stringent breed standards. But how can that be? The BBC and many concerned humans have raised more and more issues about how these breed standards no longer reflect what is best for the dogs.

The documentary also features a boxer with epilepsy, pugs with breathing problems due to their much-desired scrunched faces, and bulldogs that can no longer breed or give birth on their own. No... these are not dogs found in a kennel, in a shelter or as strays on the road. These are show dogs, all them successful, and many of which have been bred for their show characteristics.

My family is no stranger to dogs with poor health and poor breeding. Stanislaw and I suffer from so many food allergies that my people have lost count of the items banned from our food bowls. I suffer from Sebaceous Hyperplasia, and Stanislaw has endured two surgeries to fix his eyes when the gland on the third eyelid prolapsed, a condition more commonly known as cherry eye. Our departed baby brother Wile E. was plagued by puppy staph, an upper respiratory infection and cherry eye all before he made it 14 weeks. It was during this 15th week that he underwent surgery to repair the cherry eye and his little body just couldn't handle the anesthesia.

Too often dogs are bred to be pretty - to have coats that flow long and luscious and glisten in the sun. To have eyes that are perfectly round or faces that are adorably wrinkled. Legs that are long with delicate gaits or legs that short with a muscular strut. Too often these traits are bred into dogs without consideration for their overall health and performance - a dog should be able to do what they were originally bred to do, but these show qualities have gone by the way of deformities in many breeds. As this video discusses, police will not take a German Shepherd that meets show qualifications because their hind quarters are too weak to work. I, Big Pupi, believe that when there is such a dichotomy between a show dog and a working dog of the same breed, that's a red flag and glowing neon sign telling us that we're losing sight of what really matters.

And what matters is our health. Of course, what has been discussed above does not apply to 100% of the cases 100% of the time. We know that there are dogs that are bred to show AND work, and that these dogs are often found doing what they were made to do in between their show grooming and prances about the ring. We know there are responsible breeders out there that maintain a varied blood line and spend a lifetime to breeding health issues out of their dogs. But we also know that not everyone has their dog's best interest at heart, and it's at dog shows when these types of individuals are rewarded and their animal suddenly becomes the Stud Du Jour.

I applaud the BBC for putting its foot down. As regular non-breeding folk, my people watch dog shows and believe that "this is the way that breed is SUPPOSED to look/act/move." Those dogs are put on a pedestal as the ideal, without ever a thought as to the health issues or shrinking genetic pools that this ideal is creating. Too many "regular non-breeding folk" seek pedigrees that meet these standards and the genetics and breeding practices are pushed even further. It's about time that health was put above appearance, and a good place to start is at a internationally televised dog show.

The noise being made about breed standards has begun to make a difference. The Kennel Club has revised its standards for the Pekingese, which states that a slight muzzle is now to be desired. And just watch... suddenly these quirky little flat-faced dogs will be seen with a bit of a schnozzle, and all because of the influence the Kennel Club standards carry. Many breeders follow these standards like they are the undisputed Law. While the BBC can create awareness, the Kennel Club can create the change.

And so can you. Change begins with knowledge, and a little bit of education can go a long way. Take what you see at dog shows with a grain of salt, and be aware of a breed's strengths and weaknesses. It goes without saying that if you breed your animals do it for health. (This of course requires extensive veterinary checks, like hip x-rays and eye exams.) Be a responsible owner, and most importantly love your dog for everything that (s)he is. After all... your dog loves you for all of your perfections and imperfections.

Signing off,

Big Pupi

Raw Food Diet, Day 116- The Place of Tile and Steel

So, I was sitting at home on my favorite dirty stuffed chair, chewing the instruction booklet to my new halti headcollar which I detest, when mommy appeared around the corner with that dreadful thing.  

She also had my harness and I kind of got excited because the harness usually means fun things like Polish celebration parades and running.  She already had Big Pupi all suited up for an afternoon out, so I obliged and let mom dress me for an outing... despite the fact that it meant that the blasted headcollar was going on.  (She says that I have not perfected my Walk Like Good Boy, and I need to stop yanking the bones in her hands to bits with all my manly strength.)

We hit the streets and zig-zagged around herds of strange humans.  Little did I know that she was taking me to the horrible vomit-mobile!  Blech!  She snatched me into the air and seat-belted me into the back seat next to my brother, who oh-so angelically jumped into his spot in the car on command and Sat Like Good Boy.  Show-off.  I hate him sometimes.  We took a quick drive and I whimpered in the back but didn't get too queazy - I guess that extra little crunchy pill thing in my breakfast made me less car sick.  We wound up parked in a new place that was just waiting for me to leave my mark and claim it as my own.  We took another short walk and before I knew it....

...we were at the Place of Tile and Steel and too many dog smells to take in all at once.  Oh.  No.

Mom said something about "forgetting the samples" and I guess Big Pupi knew what she was talking about because he produced a new one right there on the floor for her.  His tummy always goes bad when he gets nervous!  When the nice lady came around to gather my brother's gift for her, I didn't want to look rude so I made an offering of my own and weebled all over the place.  I have no idea where we found all that because we had just emptied our tanks moments before.  I surprise myself sometimes!  I am such a clutch player.

We were ushered into a back room and weighed (I gained another pound!!) and I commenced my screaming so that everyone that works at the Place of Tile and Steel could come and lavish me with their adoring stares and belly rubs.  My call attracted a particular Dr. B who plopped me on the table and began to massage my neck and shoulders.  I got so relaxed that my head bobbled and was entranced by the attention, so I let this Dr. B check my beastly teeth and ears and continue with her exam.  She said I was so calm and in such good shape that my heart rate was incredibly slow for a dog my size - about 70 beats per minute.  I got paper things put into my eyes to check for tears (since I had one gland removed from a cherry eye surgery I need this checked every year) and I produce lots and lots of eye water so Dr. B was very proud of me.  I got a treat for that one!  Then she shoved something crazy yucky up my schnozzle, and mosquito-bit me with a rabies vaccine and a lepto vaccine.  Yup... mom decided to go ahead with the lepto for me because we don't know my vaccination history, and apparently living in a city with rats puts you at high risk.  (This will probably be my last one though.)  Dr. B also found a little yeasty ear infection that my mom had suspected I was brewing and she washed out my ears and gave me some meds.  

**See below for a great new way to put meds/ear wash in a dog's ear!**

Then I was put on the ground and screamed in protest while Big Pupi got his time with this fabulous, massaging Dr. B.  He was not nearly as relaxed as I was and kept flying through the air onto mommy's chest and she would have to catch him to keep him from falling to the ground.  He shook like a leaf and passed some terrible gas and the whole exam had to take place with him in mom's arms.  He shrieked like his legs were being cut off when he got the yucky stuff up his schnozzle, but he didn't have to get any shots.  Not fair!  Dr. B was surprised that his ears are in amazing shape and that he's only had 1 ear infection ever years ago.  Our humans never do any maintenance on him and think it's better to leave well enough alone.  Not fair again!

Mom said that she was super happy with Dr. B.  This doctor likes to look at the whole pup and addresses the entire animal (or in my case - beast) and not solely focus on issues or ailments.  She is not located at a holistic practice, but she's very up to date on lots of holistic-type stuff.  She is also a big believer in the raw diet, and quizzed our mom on what she's feeding and said that it looked like we had some pretty good feasting planned for us and that she wouldn't even recommend a multivitamin because our meals are so complete.  However... she did say that Big Pupi was way too skinny and needs to put on almost 2 pounds!!  Mom has been working hard to fatten my brother and me up but we just don't put on weight very easily because we are calorie infernos.  But, any doctor that prescribes more feasting is a friend of mine!

I screamed while we were checking out and Dr. B gave my mom card for something called an Animal Behaviorist that's supposed help figure out my howling habit.  Um... no thanks.  We then got back into the puke-wagen, drove back to the parking garage and walked home.  Big Pupi was so exhausted from his stressful day that he passed out on the dirty stuffed chair.  However, I had just learned of the appropriate thing to do with one of these chairs from my friend Petra, and I can't wait until he's off of it so I can practice my shredding techniques.

Oh well.  I guess I'll have to wait until next time.

Feast hard (the vet says you should!),

Stanislaw

***A New way to clean dog's ears***

Take 2 cotton balls and soak them in a cleaning solution.  Place one cotton ball in each ear and press it down into the canal so it's level with the ear's opening (don't stick it all the way down!).  Massage the base of the ear for 45 seconds, and make sure you hear that good squishy sound from the medication getting inside.  Then let the dog shake its head and the cotton balls will come whizzing out.  This is a much more comfortable way to get meds in there, as there is no squirting and splashing liquids into the ear.  I didn't mind it at all!  Thanks Dr. B!

Raw Food Diet, Day 73- Thinking Back to the Day I was Adopted

Last night I was at my spot on the couch resting and watching some Animal Planet.  I had a full belly of raw turkey necks and I started thinking back to summer 2007 when my humans adopted me.  I had just been arrested by the dog catcher for peeing on private property.  At first I was kicking myself for letting "the man" catch me, but once I was taken to the shelter I was happy to get some kibble.  At the time, I'd been staying alive by licking Mexican take-out containers I found in the garbage.  Soon the Cocker Spaniel Rescue Group came and got me from the shelter.  Good thing because I heard that dogs don't get to stay in the shelter too long, if you know what I mean.  So, I went to the rescue and they gave me some more kibble and a shave.  Once all my fur came off, I soon realized that I was one dangerously skinny, starving boy.   

A few days of feasting later, I went to the local pet store with a bunch of the other rescue dogs.  It was adoption day.  I immediately went on the lookout for some humans that might take me home.  I saw these two humans (kind of skinny like me) with a black and white cocker that they already owned.  They were there to meet this other black dog from the rescue and he was really excited and playing with them.  This was my big chance.  I went right over to those humans with all the energy I had (keep in mind I was a weak boy) and had an accident on the floor right in front of them.  After this display, I met the black and white dog and we immediately hit it off.  This really worked to my advantage as I soon learned that this dog was in the market for a brother.

Needless to say, my ridiculously handsome looks won over the boy human, who remarked that I would be "one good-looking boy" once I ate a little more.  He really sold me on the eating thing, so I decided that this was my new dad.  I got a toy and some wet puppy food and then went for a long drive listening to Polka.  That's when I knew I had made the right choice.

Home is where the feasting is,

Stanley

***

brother has a serious chat:

Let me tell you a little story about a puppy named Wile E.  My humans came home with him one day when he was only 7 weeks old, and boy was he annoying!  Always stealing my toys!  Anyway, my puppy brother was the result of backyard breeding, where a woman had 2 boy and 2 girl cocker spaniels and she let them have puppies that she would sell.  As circumstance would have it, this lady could no longer care for her dogs, so all four of them wound up at the same rescue group that I came from.  The 2 females were just about ready to have puppies, and when the second litter came long, so did Wile E.  

Wile E. was a super-smart, super-naughty little guy that my humans called the "rug-gator."  He was also super-cute and he would get us so much attention from other humans whenever we were out and about... I liked that about him.  I'm really into getting attention.  He played rough like a wrecking ball and jumped and dove and gained weight like a monster.  I miss him.

At 14 weeks we were wrestling when he got a cherry eye.   This is a prolapsed gland of the third eyelid, and most of the time this problem must be corrected with surgery.  His cherry eye became very swollen and he figured out how to rub it on chair corners despite his e-collar, and so his surgery was moved up to try and save the gland from being too damaged.  My baby brother went into surgery just a few days before he turned 4 months old, and he never came home.  He would have been 1 in February.

We're not entirely sure what happened to Wile E. while in surgery.  It could have been the anesthesia.  There was some talk about a possible clotting disorder.  His 6 sisters were tested for a laundry list of ailments and all came out clean.  All survived their spaying (and cherry eye surgeries) just fine.  And thank goodness for that. 

It wasn't so much as a week after we adopted Stanislaw that the same happened to him.  He had originally arrived at the rescue group with one cherry eye that was so damaged the gland had to be removed, and now the second came out.  My humans panicked, rushed him to the vet, and made an appointment with an opthamologist.  Stanislaw's eye become very swollen just like Wile E.'s, and as the gland sat outside of his eye it began to get dry and damaged.  The very kind opthamologist decided to perform surgery on Stanley right away, and fortunately all went well and Stan came home that night very tired but healing.  

Generally, if at all possible it is a good idea to save the gland.  Some doctors will try to remove it, but this particular gland is responsible for over 30% of tear production in the eye, and if it is gone the likelihood of a dog developing dry eye increases dramatically.  The wonderful doctor decided that because Stanislaw was young and liked to roughhouse, he would not do a basic tacking procedure (where the gland is tucked back into place and held with a stitch), but he would actually stitch the gland to the orbital rim.  Boy oh boy has Stanislaw thrashed, jumped and played since then, and that gland hasn't budged.  Stan has a happy ending.

This morning, while napping on my favorite chair, my mom noticed that my gland was visible in my left eye.  Her heart stopped.  Unlike my brothers, my gland was very small and almost disappeared when I held my head different ways.  While I was napping she saw it start to recede back into my eyelid, and with a very gentle push on the top of my outer lid, she moved it back into place.  I am lucky.  This does not mean that it will not come out again, but in the mean time, I'm saved from surgery.

There are many morals to these stories.  The first and perhaps more important is -- don't breed your dog unless you really truly know what you're doing and have the means to do so properly.  Everyone thinks that they have the best dog out there, and there should be more of him or her.  My humans would take 10 of me if they could.  But most of these dogs, like us, wind up in shelters or rescues.  Most of these dogs wind up with chronic and congenital health problems (cherry eye is genetic).  There is a ton of work, money and responsibility that must go into breeding an animal, and it is unfair to the babies if you do not ensure their health with the proper genetic testing of the parents, and the necessary expanse of breeding know-how in your human's head.  My brother didn't deserve the cards he was dealt.

The second message: if you do need eye surgery for a cherry eye, try your best to keep the gland.  Tacking surgeries are not 100% fail-proof and there is a risk that the gland might emerge again.  But there is a far greater chance of you developing dry eye down the road if the gland is removed, and this can lead to blindness and necessitates the daily administration of eye drops that can be quite expensive.  Surgery is never cheap, but the extras you put out to get the best procedure done will come back to your human ten-fold in future years.  And you're worth it, right?

Please keep your paws crossed for me that my eye stays as healthy as its ever been.  I'll be taking it easy for a while just to make sure the gland is staying in its place (and my paw still needs to heal!).  So, until next time...

Take care, feast hard.