Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Altering your dog

While working at Petco yesterday, a small family came in with two pit bulls looking for collars and leashes. The intact male pit was massive. He was a grey and brown brindle with a large head and looked like he was possibly mixed with a bull mastiff. On his choke chain he sputtered and dragged a tall man in his 30's dressed like a teenage rapper towards where I directed him. The man's wife, a red headed woman that looked haggard with worn clothes, followed close behind with a white and brown female pit bull on a flimsy collar with rope tied to it. Behind the parents, a 4 year old girl bopped along repeating everything her parents said (for better or worse) pertaining to the dogs, "He is outta control!" "Don't worry, he don't bite!" "We need something to walk Angel better!" "Cognac knocks me down and I don't like it!"

Seeing as there was no one for me to attend to at the register and walked over to the family to assist them. I stayed just out of range of the dogs as I normally do with hyper dogs to avoid being jumped on. The man noticed and said, "Why you standing there like that? They ain't mean." I replied, "I am sure they are friendly dogs sir, I just didn't want to get jumped on." Well I did get jumped on, hard, as I had to fit the female for a better collar. I convinced them to purchase a martingale collar instead of a chain and a nice 4 foot leash with traffic handle for better control. While talking to them I found out that these dogs weren't theirs, they simply belonged to a "buddy" that was unable to exercise them or train them and he was helping him out. Suddenly I felt a little bad for having judged them for having Angel on a rope and Cognac intact. They weren't his and he was spending his own money getting her a better collar and leash. He even bought them some treats and got the male's nails trimmed by the groomer.

When he reached the register I asked how old the dogs were: Angel 6 months, and Cognac 2 years. I asked if Angel had been spayed because if not, he should be careful with them together since she might come into season soon. Now I usually don't give people lectures on spaying/neutering their pets at work. After all, I do have an intact dog myself. However if you were to walk into any pound or humane society in California, 80% of the dogs are pits. Adults and puppies alike for very low adoption fees. The paper and craigslist here is also swimming with pit bulls for sale.

I didn't like the answer I received: "No, she ain't spayed. We want them to have pups. Then I get the pick of the litter! I had to get rid of my dog a few years ago that was aggressive when I had my son. Well, she was protective and it was cute for a while, but then scary for people to come over, so we took her to the pound."

I shut my mouth, rang them up and politely bid them a good day. I was mentally face-palming though.

Many people I encounter don't know that Lex is intact. He doesn't act like a "typical" intact dog. He doesn't mark in my house, hump anything that moves and isn't a big bully at the park. I can take him to work with me and he happily plays with most dogs. I will say he does pee a lot on walks, but then again so does altered Lucy. He also isn't a big fan of other intact males, but I just don't let him play with them.

Recently a co-worker found out Lex was intact and asked me why. I launched into what I tell most people. "Lex is purebred, papered with ABCA, is a titled sporting dog, CGC and I have entertained the idea of breeding him someday to a like papered and titled bitch (I actually have a friend's dog in mind, BC Rose, when she gets to that level)." With Lucy spayed, I don't worry about an unplanned litter and I don't allow Lex to roam the neighborhood. If he were to ever display inappropriate mounting behavior or aggression towards Lucy or the family, I would alter him in an instant. I like to think I have a good "checklist" and am responsible about this.

It seems though in California that there are only two extremes: ALTER YOUR PETS OR ELSE! and I BREED MY DOG TO ANY BREATHING DOG! I have yet to personally meet a responsible breeder here or even hear about one from where my dog training clients got their dog.

My clients have gotten their dogs from the shelter, SPCA, the paper (back yard breeders), craigslist re-homes, the flea market, finding a dog in their neighborhood, a friend having a "whoops" litter or someone giving them a dog.

I'm not sure why people that don't want a rescue don't go to a responsible breeder. Maybe they don't want to pay a higher price than what they see in the paper and don't understand the difference. Well, there is a difference.

Responsible breeders don't over-breed their dogs. Most of the time a bitch only gets bred a handful of times in her life. If they have multiple females, they probably have maybe two litters per year. Responsible breeders get the puppies their first shots on time, they de-worm the puppies, do any dew-claw removal if necessary or tail docking (if applicable to the breed). Good breeders will give you a puppy care pack and tell you what food the dogs have been eating. I know Lex's breeder used to wheel the pups around in wheel barrow to prevent motion sickness. He also had those pups chasing a lure toy to encourage their herding drive and Lex could lie-down and sit the day I brought him home! My mom's wheaton terrier pup came with a crate, scent cloth, list of vaccines he received, and the breeder was always available to her for any questions. Good breeders breed dogs to better the breed. Most don't do it for money (they actually lose money or end up breaking even most times). A great breeder won't use a dog that has undesired physical or character traits. They don't want aggression in their line, or genetic diseases or things like hip dysplasia.

So next time you are in the market for a dog or puppy, go see a RESPONSIBLE breeder (not the paper, not craigslist, not a friend of a friend) or rescue a dog from the shelter or rescue organization. Purchasing a dog from a "backyard breeder" only enables those people like yesterday's customer, to create more puppies in a nation where we already have a surplus of pits, mixed breeds and even purebred, unwanted dogs. While the initial price may be higher, your new pup will have already had vaccines started and not be as susceptible to popular diseases within a breed. In the end, you will spend more money if you get a sickly puppy that you are "saving" from a backyard breeder.

If you have a dog that is not purebred, doesn't have papers, isn't getting titled in any sport or conformation and you think you can make money breeding, then ALTER your pet!

Note: for those that have experience with rescue dogs and the joy of giving a shelter dog a home, I commend you! Rescuing a dog is a whole new post since there is a lot to that!

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