What is a "Good Breeder"?

In the local news yesterday was another story about a hoarder who was a chihuahua "breeder". Something like 100 chis of all ages were pulled out of this house in rural Washington County that looked more like a dump or a bad nightmare than a house. Garbage spilled all around the house; the dogs were in tiny cages piled up on one another with sometimes 2 or 3 to a cage; small filthy dark rooms were crammed with exercise pens that were filled with feces and food scattered all over the floor.
Someone who had gone to the house hoping to buy a puppy reported the conditions to the County police, and subsequently there was a raid on the house. Children cats, birds, chickens were also stockpiled there.
Apparently the "breeder" has an online "business." Caveat Emptor indeed.

Everyone with half an ear open has heard about puppy mills by now, but I'm not so sure "puppy mill" has been well defined. A single person with a website or an innocent ad in the newspaper can be a puppy miller, or a bad backyard breeder. So how do you know how to identify a good breeder from a factory?
On the television news the reporter claimed that this chihuahua person was not "licenced as a business" as if that were a telling fact. But truth be told, more puppy mills are licenced as businesses than good breeders are.
Good breeders work for the love and betterment of a breed of dog. They study pedigrees, genetics and health records and breed for themselves, hoping to produce a great show or working dog, and those puppies who will not become part of their plan will be placed in the best pet homes the breeder can find.
One of the most telling ways to identify a good breeder is that you will be grilled; nobody gets a puppy of theirs who does not meet a certain standard. Not only do they NOT take credit cards, but roughly half the people inquiring about a puppy or dog might be turned away. One breeder I know will not sell a puppy to anyone whose house she has not personally visited.
There are other things to look for as well..and despite the temptation to buy a cute puppy on line, I wouldn't suggest buying any animal from someone I was not able to experience and check out first hand. Nor would a good breeder sell to just anyone with cash in hand.
Here are some other guidelines:

Primary Characteristics of a Reputable Breeder

1. Provides a written contract of sale with a health guarantee and written instructions on feeding, training, grooming and care
2. Provides access to the mother (dam) who should be on site and exhibit a healthy, happy temperament
3. Does not sell puppies until they are at least 8 weeks old or in some cases older (12 weeks in the case of toy breeds)
4. Shows you where the puppies are kept. This area should be very clean
5. Provides you with a record of the dates and types of vaccinations and de-worming done, feeding instructions, a pedigree, and a registration certificate to apply for registration of the puppy in your own name with the AKC.
6. Is able to prove he has performed pre-breeding health checks on the parents
7. Provides references of people who have purchased puppies in the past, the names of other breeders, and the veterinarian who provides care for the breeder's dogs.
8. Offers a return-buy back policy and make it clear that his/her responsibility continues as long as the dog is alive. They should be available for advice whenever needed, and help you over many rough spots.
9. Abides by code of ethics, typically by belonging to a breed club or association
10. Is very knowledgeable about the breed he or she is selling
11. Requires or encourages the neutering of all pet-quality dogs
12. Sells puppies only to approved buyers and never sells to brokers or puppy mills
13. Has mindfully socialized and can discuss socialization of the puppies and can make recommendations for their continued socialization and training
14. Usually breeds no more than two breeds.

People who show their dogs are often the most conscientious and ethical breeders and it doesn't matter a whit if YOU want to show or not...they are the breeders to seek out. And surprise surprise, you will usually pay LESS than you would at a pet store that gets their "stock" from mills. Maybe a little more than from a backyard breeder who advertises in the classifieds, but the extra money is well worth the investment for the sound mind and body of a purebred puppy.

The Original Rescue

I'd call the baby Moses....It being Passover. But why is "rescue" in quotes?

Dogs "rescue" girl abandoned by mother
Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:11am EDT

PATNA, India (Reuters) - Hundreds of villagers have flocked to a remote Indian village to see a baby girl who was saved by stray dogs after she was abandoned in a mound of mud by her mother, officials said on Tuesday.

Villagers in the eastern state of Bihar saved the newborn on the weekend after they saw three dogs barking near a baby covered with mud.

"The dogs removed the soil around and began to bark and the baby started crying which drew attention of the local villagers," Ram Narayan Sahani, a senior government official, said on Tuesday from Bihar's Samastipur district.

"The girl is crying but is safe in the lap of a childless couple who have adopted her."

Police said they were looking for the girl's mother, who they think had left the girl to die.

Female foeticide, though illegal in India, is widespread as boys are traditionally preferred to girls as breadwinners, and families have to pay huge dowries to marry off their daughters.

The United Nations says an estimated 2,000 unborn girls are illegally aborted every day in India.

(Writing by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Fickle Sky

It better start snowing, raining or spitting hail here soon, or I’ll be mad as hell. Today there is a tracking seminar that the PNWCollie Club is holding on a farm where the collies they breed are gorgeous. I don’t know much about them otherwise…but they have a lovely look. I saw a male once at the ROSE CITY cluster who really knocked me out….

I trained one of my corgis to track. It was actually kind of romantic; getting up early in the morning when the air was cool, packing hot coffee, wearing wool socks and getting out in a field off a rutted road. Laying track was a thoughtful process and involved colored flags. I enjoyed it.

Maudie loves to use her nose, so she might be quite good.

I was all excited to go with her, but the weather report was for unseasonably cold and seasonably wet weather. Because I had that awful virus for much of the winter, I figured I best beg off…a day spent outside in bad weather might not be the wisest choice.

Of course, now, it is 11am and the sun is bouncing off the wall. The seminar started at 10. Now it COULD be raining in the valley south of here…. but all I know is that it isn’t here and I’m gravely disappointed. If it wasn’t over an hour away, I’d go now…. and probably get there just in time for a windstorm….

ah….air…..

sky photo from: http://www.stormeffects.com

How to Photograph Your Dogs

First make sure they are all looking in the same direction, and preferably at the camera....

Maudie's New Jewelery

I don't spend a lot of money on clothes or even books anymore. Between Powell's and Amazon I get most of my books used. And I love libraries.

I DO have a weakness though, for 3 things. Good shoes. Good bags. And dog equipment. Whenever Jane (PDX Contemporary Art) sells a piece of mine, I put the money a.) back into the studio in the form of supplies or (and because i have created a very nicely stocked studio) b) in support of my 3 weaknesses, with dog equipment topping the list.

I just got the package I've been waiting for...Maudie's new martingale and lead made of kangaroo leather. I designed it to match the quilt I made for her as her "go to" spot when we are working. I wanted to use colors that "sing" with HER colors. Mahogany sables have a grey cast to their undercoat; (I think it's a function of the tri color gene that makes a sable into a mahogany sable, sable with lots of black in the coat), There are infinite varieties of brown in her fur,and of course, the inside of her ears and her tongue...are pink. So,the key colors are grey, pink and hazel brown.

The photo of the "jewelery" was taken by the woman who made it. Her name is Shannon and her website is Leashes by Design. Her craftsmanship is superb.



Kangaroo leather is incredibly strong and softens like butter.



Maudie's quilt:










Maudie's grandfather, Ch Twin Oaks High Plains Drifter, is a mahogany sable, as is Maudie.











et voila!

Another DLAATE Conference

Sunday was the 08 DLAATE conference, my second. I went last year, sans Maudie, sans certification in fact, and had a really nice time. I was impressed with the organization, the discussions, and the snacks. And, most of all, the people.

On the whole they were incredibly savvy, friendly, down to earth and possessed of what I thought was a really clean energy. In some ways, they were more dog smart than many people I observe (and am at times) in obedience and certainly agility.

I think it’s because there is more on the line when you go out as a team to do this work. You are highly visible in public; your dog is required to deal with an onslaught of emotional and sometimes physical energy from strangers and MUST have self-control. Its not like an NQ in a trial…you don’t even get to go out until quite a few people think you are ready and steady.

You are in charge of the health and well being first and foremost of your dog. This means you need to develop certain acumen for reading your dog closely. You need to know when she is ALMOST at the threshold of being tired, physically, emotionally. You need to know what to do to help keep her on an even keel; do you need to go home, or just go outside for a break? Is she stressed? excited? happy? thirsty?

It is a whole other way of working with dogs. I have done obedience for years, tracking, herding, agility, even conformation showing. This is more rigorous and yet less rigid, more complex and yet less formal. There’s no penalty for multiple commands or sloppy sits. And whereas in obedience you want your dog’s attention riveted on you, here you reel her out, let her work her own way in developing relationships. It’s probably most like tracking—you have to listen to your dog and know what she’s saying.

At both conferences I’ve attended, there was a lot of intelligent and humane discussion about training and communication.

And there are flowers on all the tables and doughnuts and barrels of bottled water. There are gifts from the community to the dogs and the dogs themselves are there, sprawled next to their handlers on blankets and mats (which gave me an opportunity to make a quilt for Maude). There is a noticeable lack of competition, and a willingness to share information.

The 07 conference was in a large hotel meeting room and I thought it was a classy affair. By that I mean: well organized, inclusive, on time, with plenty of refreshments available throughout the day.

But this one, the 08 one, was at Oaks Park in an old dance pavilion and it was just as well managed; only the venue was absolutely magical.

Oaks Park is an old time amusement park along the Willamette River. It has whirling rides and carney booths and cotton candy. It is small and colorful and quaint and trees run along the paths above the river.

The dance pavilion was large and gently lit; strings of playing cards hung from the ceiling and plastic garlands flowered along the windows. The floor was narrow worn boards stained a golden brown and marked with age, but clean and well kept.

During the day, it rained and then the sun came out and the pattern repeated itself. And at noon the rides cranked on and an old salt and peppershaker flashed in and out above the roofs outside the windows.

There were round table discussions on the different aspects of the work: READ, Crisis Response, Hospital work, Training & Behavior and others. There were 2 keynote speakers; one was from the Uof O and was studying the physical and emotional impact of therapy work on the dogs. When you consider what is asked of the dogs: a high degree of self-control and compliance, coupled with the inability to control their own choices, you realize how stressful some scenarios and can be. And yet we expect them to be perfectly well behaved, empathic and tireless. The underlying message was a reiteration of the need for handlers to be keenly aware of the needs of their dogs, and see to their fulfillment.

The other speaker was a positive reinforcement trainer. I always learn something listening to them, although in the end, I like E’s (our competition obedience teacher) way of teaching better: In +R the word “No” is verboten…you redirect behavior or wait for the correct answer to be offered. But I like being able to say “nope, that’s not it, try this…” and I think my dogs really like having that range of info. E has taught me never to underestimate a) their ability to understand what is being communicated and b) the need to communicate clearly and fairly.

I feel like I’m getting a truly rich and varied education in training and communicating…probably the most concentrated and exciting one of my life in dogs.

A Maudie Story

(This is Ch Tartanside Heir Apparent ROM, Maudie's great x 4 grandfather. I think he's one of the most smashing collies ever...I can see him in her face)




This happened when we went to the vet. I'd put it in the category of an everyday miracle, or the synchronicity of need.

We were standing at the counter to pay our bill having just come out of the exam room. I was trying to absorb the idea that Maudie could have another seizure, trying to juggle the odds in my mind.

Just inside the lobby a well dressed woman with worry drawing her eyebrows together was standing, waiting for word (I learned) about her sick kitty. She saw Maudie and her eyes widened.
Can I meet her?" she asked.
Yes, please, we said.
And so she cried "ooohhhhh" and slipped to her knees whispering you are so beautiful you are so wonderful" and she was choked up and wet eyed.

The whole time I was talking to the tech, paying the bill, this woman was on the floor, in her beautiful wool coat and high heels absorbed utterly in Maude, talking intently to her, who leaned the top of her long head into her chest, wagging her slow tail and sat and offered her paw.

By the time the woman stood up--(she looked like a Julie or a Sally)--her beautiful coat and black trousers were covered in long hair, her hair was mussed, her eyes soft and shining.

Maudie got to come out and do what she loves to do, which is share greetings of a good universe; the woman was comforted, and I got to see my girl in her glory.

It was a lucky moment. Or is this what people call "grace?"

sigh....

Chaos reigned yesterday. I took Maudie to see Dr Mc. about her seizure. The sun was out, I was late getting out of school and we CRAWLED over the bridge thick with traffic. Practically in tears, I called the office 20 minutes after our app’t should have started and told them I was 2 miles away and stuck.

Luckily Dr Mc worked us back in, and in fact spent quite a bit of time with us. Not so lucky: he doesn’t think it very likely that the Interceptor caused the seizure. Nor does Dr Mealey, the vet at WSU who developed the test for the MDR1 gene and linked it to ivermectin sensitivity. Both think it more likely to be idiopathic epilepsy, which tends to appear between 5 months and 3 years of age.

I have put out a call for anecdotes about collies who have suffered seizures while on Interceptor, and ceased having them when taken off that drug. I have gotten word about 2.

So she still MIGHT have sensitivity to the drug. The old packaging listed seizures as a possible side effect; the new package says convulsions. It may have little to do with the gene mutation.

We have taken her off the drug and will see from here. It was that or give her another dose and see if she had another seizure. We both voted for the first option.

Diethylcarbamazine, sold as Filaribits, the daily HW pill that was used before these monthly doses blew them out of the water was much safer. Many collie breeders will ONLY use it. Unfortunately, it is no longer available in the US, but it is available in Australia and Canada as Dimmitrol.

So…the search for information begins. I have found some good resources for epilepsy info like Guardian Angels and the Canine Epilepsy Network and just realized that my friend, Caroline Levin, wrote a book about it, which is certain to have good information. I even have a copy somewhere in the house.

Still my fervent wish is that I will not have to use any of them…