The Daily Dog

The Bulldog Wreck

2009-04-18T00:18:00.000-07:00

Today I'm using "reputable breeder" to specifically mean reputable show breeders rather than reputable working breeders.

Show breeders are usually reputable breeders. It costs a lot of money to campaign a dog to its championship. If you aren't serious about producing good representatives of the breed, then you aren't going to spend the money to prove that the dog conforms. But I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself - for the average dog owner, most of what I just said is gibberish.

A breed standard is a written standard that describes how a breed looks and acts. They exist to preserve the breed. Don't understand? A black, prick eared dog with a sharp, aloof temperament cannot rightfully be called a golden retriever. Why? The breed standard! It is the breed standard that says that the golden retriever is a medium-large dog with a silky golden coat, pendant ears and a happy, loving temperament. Without the standard that defines exactly what a golden retriever is, then that black dog could be called a golden retriever.

A golden retriever that conforms to the standard, as proven by his Ch. title.

Every reputable breeder's goal is to create the perfect representative of their breed. Because there is no such thing as the perfect dog, they look to the standard to tell them what this entails. Standards can be and are changed, to make them more specific or to reflect current trends in the breed. The more this happens, the more the breed is exaggerated.

Today's example is a perfect, and horrifying, example of this: the bulldog.

Everyone knows the bulldog! He's the charming, wrinkled dog with a face only a mother could love. Sure, he snorts, wheezes, snorts and is gassy, but that's part of what makes him so damn loveable, right?

For how docile he is today, the bulldog actually has a grisly history. The breed was originally bred for bullbaiting. The dog would bite the bull's nose and hold on, come hell or high water. Many dogs were killed in the sport, and even more were seriously injured. If you can't imagine the portly little bulldog managing such a strenuous activity, it's because they can't. Bulldogs of that time looked vastly different than the modern-day version.

"Crib and Rosa" by Samuel Raven. This painting of two bulldogs was created in 1817.

With the ban of bullbaiting and the rise of dog shows, breeders began to breed away from fuction and focus on form instead. Unfortuantely, the type became exaggerated - and exaggerated - and more exaggerated - until we were left with the trainwreck of a breed that we have today.

The modern bulldog.

I wouldn't have a problem with today's bulldog if the appearance was just the appearance. Unfortunately, the nonexistant muzzle, the pear shape (wide shoulders, narrow hips) and bowed front legs mean serious health problems. All breeds have health problems, but the bulldog's health problems are purposely bred in for the sake of appearance.

The vast majority of bulldogs have elongated soft palates. The soft palate is the flap of tissue that closes off the airway when you eat or drink. When it's elongated, it blocks off the airway, period. The bulldog's wheezing and panting and snorting is not cute - it happens because the dog physically cannot breathe properly. This happens in most brachycephalic (smoosh-faced) breeds, but is particularly prominent in the bulldog due to the extreme type.

Ever wonder why bulldogs are so expensive? It's because they can't give birth naturally, thanks to the combination of huge heads, wide shoulders, and narrow hips. A bulldog puppy cannot fit through the mother's birth canal. C-sections are common practice in the breed and, if the dog is able to give birth naturally, then chances are they don't meet the standard. Hell, bulldogs can barely even mate naturally. Artificial insemination happens a lot, too.

One of the most disturbing things is that practically every bulldog out there has hip dysplasia - but that doesn't stop breeders from breeding them!

"While this disease is mostly associated with large-breed dogs, the Orthopedic Foundation for Animal (OFA) found that 75% of bulldogs were considered dysplastic, and zero percent were rated 'excellent'. In fact, the OFA rates bulldogs as being the breed most likely to have hip dysplasia. Some bulldog breeders dispute this claim, saying that the loose joint is normal for the breed. Very few bulldog breeders actually submit their dogs for hip evaluations, partly because almost all bulldogs are plastic by OFA standards, and partly because the test requires anesthesia, which is dangerous for bulldogs." - The Bulldog, by Diane Morgan and Wayne Hunthausen, D.V.M.

So basically the vast majority of bulldogs are dysplastic, but breeders say that it's okay, because it's natural for the breed! It's built in. They don't bother testing for it because it's pretty much a given that the dog will be rated as dysplastic.

The only reason to breed is to produce healthy, sound dogs that meet the standard. Sure, a show bulldog breeder's dogs might fit the standard - but by fitting the standard, it's pretty much guaranteed that they're unhealthy. Therefore, there even show bulldog breeders are completely and utterly irresponsible. I don't believe that there is such a thing as a reputable bulldog breeder.

There are efforts being made to restore the bulldog's original appearance, as shown in "Crib and Rosa". They go by various terms, but the most common is Olde English Bulldogge, at least in my area. I applaud the effort - but unfortunately, BYBs have latched onto the name and applied it to their crappy bully-type dogs, and so Olde English Bulldogges are a dime a dozen, and very few actually come from reputable breeders.

Let's talk dog food!

2009-04-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

It's unfortunate that even some of the best owners don't know a damn thing about canine nutrition. If it has fancy, elaborate advertising, then it must be good, right? That's what most people assume, and it's absolutely not true.

To understand the basics, you have to go way back to the wolf, the dog's ancient ancestor. Wolves are opportunistic carnivores. If at all possible, they will eat meat. If times are tough and there's no prey, then they'll eat berries and other vegetation to get by, but if there's meat, then that's what they'll eat. (Felines, on the other hand, are obligate carnivores and MUST eat meat to survive - but this isn't a cat blog.)

Dogs are not wolves, despite what some disturbingly uninformed "specialists" claim. Milleniums of domestication and careful breeding have changed their temperaments and appearances from that of a wolf. We have not, however, done anything to change their digestive tract. Fluffy's guts are the same as a wild wolf's.

I don't know anyone outside of my dog obsessed circle of friends that actually looks at the ingredient lists on dog food, but they really should. That's how you determine whether or not the food is actual food, or chunks of sawdust and corn (unfortunately, I'm not being facetious.) Let's look at the ingredients from three popular brands of dog food. The ingredients are listed in order of their pre-processed weight, that is, how much there is of each in the food.

Dog Food #1: Ground yellow corn, chicken-by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, Minerals (tricalcium phosphate, salt, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), sugar, sorbitol, water, animal digest, phosphoric acid, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, Vitamins [Vitamin E, Vitamin A, niacin, Vitamin B-12, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin D-3], added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, glyceryl monostearate, garlic oil.

Dog Food #2: Chicken, brewers rice, whole grain wheat, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), corn bran, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), animal digest, dried egg product, calcium phosphate, salt, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, Vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

Dog Food #3: Chicken, corn meal, ground grain sorghum, ground wheat, chicken by-product meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), natural flavor, vegetable oil, dried egg product, flaxseed, preserved with BHT and BHA, beta-carotene, minerals (iodized salt, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), vitamins (choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid (a source of vitamin C), niacin, thiamine, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement).

Dog Food #1's main ingredient is corn. Corn is a filler ingredient. Dogs get no nutrition from it. It's also one of the top allergens in food - that is, the most likely to cause allergies in your dog and make him sick. It is also thought to cause yeast infections. The second ingredient is chicken by-product meal. The AAFCO defines chicken by-products as “a meal consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.” By-products are basically the parts of an animal that we refuse to eat. Dog food companies use them because they're cheap because otherwise they'd get thrown away. By-products also frequently come from 4-d meat - that is, meat that is dead, dying, diseased or disabled at slaughter. The third ingredient is corn - again. This time it's corn gluten meal, which is basically the parts of corn left after you take away the little nutritious bits it has to begin with. The majority of this dog food is corn, which I would like to reiterate has almost no nutritional value whatsoever. Wheat is the #1 allergen in dogs and is filler. Beef tallow is a low quality-fat and rice flour is also filler. Finally, 7th on the list is beef, but whole beef (rather than beef meal) includes the water content, which makes up about 80% of the ingredient (remember that the ingredient list is based on weight?). This is, of course, removed during processing, so beef is an insignifcant ingredient barely even worth listing. The first 7 ingredients are the ones that make up the bulk of the food, so I won't comment on the rest, but further down the list sugar is listed, which certainly does not belong in dog food.

Dog Food #2 is better - but barely. Chicken is the first ingredient, which is nice, but again that includes the water content, so it actually ranks as a secondary ingredient rather than primary. Brewers rice is "the dried extracted residue of rice", according to AAFCO, which means the non-nutritious bits, making it filler. Again, wheat is a major cause of allergies. Poultry by-product meal is the undesirable parts of the animal, but this time they haven't even specified a specific meat (like chicken, beef, etc), so there's no way to be sure what kind of poultry it even is. Then we get corn and more corn. The 7th ingredient is the generic "animal fat". What animal, you ask? Who knows? Animal fat is also usually from 4-d animals, including horses.

Dog Food #3 is much like #2 except that it includes something called sorghum. Sorghum is a filler grain. Dogs have absolutely no use for grain, as has been pointed out. It's all filler.

These aren't grocery store brands. They're all well-known, typically well-respected brands. Dog Food #1 is Beneful, Dog Food #2 is Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice, and Dog Food #3 is Science Diet Adult Maintenance.

Let's look at the ingredients in some good brands.

Good Food #1: Deboned Turkey, Deboned Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Dried Ground Potato, Tomato Pomace, Natural Chicken Flavor, Canola Oil, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Vitamins & Minerals, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Products, Rosemary Extract.

Good Food #2: Ocean Fish Meal | Beef | Potatoes | Potato Protein | Canola Oil | Tomato Pomace | Natural Flavoring | Salmon Oil (source of DHA) | Choline Chloride | Taurine | Dried Chicory Root | Parsley Flakes | Pumpkin Meal | Almond Oil | Sesame Oil | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Thyme | Blueberries | Cranberries | Carrots | Broccoli | Vitamin E Supplement | Iron Proteinate | Zinc Proteinate | Ferrous Sulfate | Zinc Sulfate | Copper Sulfate | Potassium Iodide | Thiamine Mononitrate | Manganese Proteinate | Manganous Oxide | Ascorbic Acid | Vitamin A Supplement | Biotin | Calcium Panthothenate | Manganese Sulfate | Sodium Selenite | Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) | Riboflavin | Vitamin D Supplement | Folic Acid |

Good Food #1 has a TON of meat. That's what you want to see! The first two ingredients are whole, meaning that it includes water content, but the next two are meals so it really doesn't matter. Potatoes provide carbohydrates and starch. Tomato pomace is a filler - but with the first 6 ingredients being so high quality, that doesn't really matter.

Good Food #2's main ingredient is ocean fish meal, which again, is excellent - meat needs to be the main ingredient. It's supported by beef, although not much as it's whole rather than meal. I already mentioned potatoes and tomato pomace. Canola oil is not the best oil, but salmon oil is not far down the list, which provides omega 3.

Good Food #1 is Wellness Core, and Good Food #2 is Solid Gold Barking at the Moon. If you buy dog food at the grocery store, then you've probably never heard of these brands. Both are available at Petco, and you can usually find them at independent pet stores as well. I admit that I'm biased against grain - one of my dogs is allergic to all forms, and so I don't feed grainy food. It's possible to have grain in a good and still be super premium. Some good brands that include grain are Canidae, Merrick, and Blue Buffalo. I'm not sure if Petco carries any of these, but I know that Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo. (Incidentally, Blue Buffalo is the ONLY quality food that Petsmart carries. Petco carries much better food.)

Premium food costs more, but that shouldn't be a dealbreaker. Because it's more nutritious, your dog will eat less of a premium food than it does a crappy food. You may pay more for one bag - but that bag will last longer! It balances itself out.

An alternative to kibble is a natural/raw diet, sometimes referred to as BARF (Bones and Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food). BARF includes vegetables and fruit; a prey model raw diet does not, that is, it only includes animal products like meat and eggs. I may make a future post about this, but it's certainly worth looking in to. You really have to do your research before diving in, but the benefits are amazing, and for someone willing to learn and devote the time, I highly recommend it, even over super premium kibble.

The "Designer Dog" Trend

2009-04-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

Everyone has heard of them. Goldendoodles, labradoodles, cockapoos, maltipoos, and many, many others. Breeders tout them as hypoallergenic, the "best of both worlds". They get the non-shedding coat of a poodle, the happy-go-lucky temperament of a golden, the intelligence of a poodle, all rolled into one adorable, astronomically expensive package!

Unfortunately, that's not how genetics work.

Let's look at the hypoallergenic issue first. Golden retrievers shed, poodles don't. (Actually, they do, just as humans shed their hair - but the loose hairs get trapped in the curly coat and therefore you don't find poodle hair all over your house.) While it would be nice if all poodle mixes received the poodle coat, it's really luck of the draw. A first generation golden retriever x poodle mix will have the same chance of having a golden retriever coat as it does having a poodle coat. If you cross a poodle/golden mix with another poodle/golden mix, that "shedding gene" is still there and so those pups still have a chance of shedding. Etc, etc.

Another phrase the mutt breeders like to tout is "hybrid vigor". There is some truth in the idea that expanding the gene pool helps eliminate genetic defects. However, it takes many generations for this to happen. Again, it's a crapshoot as to whether or not the pup will be healthier than the parents - or even worse off.

Look at it this way. Standard poodles are prone to hip dysplasia, progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), Addison's disease, von Willebrands disease (VWD) and hypothyroidism, among others. Golden retrievers are prone to hip dysplasia, PRA, Addison's disease and hypothyroidism, among others. Breeding a standard poodle to a golden retriever could result in a pup free of VWD - but it has the same chance of suffering from hip dysplasia, PRA, Addison's and hypothyroidism. There's also a chance that the pup will still suffer from VWD, and the chance that they'll get even more health issues from the golden retriever side, like lymphoma or epilepsy. While it sounds nice to say that crosses are healthier, it simply isn't true unless the breeder takes care to test for every single issue in every single breed - and there are plenty that can't be tested for.

I wouldn't trust a breeder that does not understand these simple genetics, even if I didn't have ethical issues with their practices - and I do. The world does not need more pet quality dogs, and because the vast majority of designer dogs have no standards, shows, or clubs, that's what they are. Pet quality. The majority of pups from litters produced by reputable breeders will be pet quality. There are also 187,287 homeless dogs across America - and those are only the ones listed on Petfinder. Those dogs already exist and have no place to call home. It is absolutely irresponsible and unethical to breed even more of the same type of dog (mixed breed, unknown/iffy genetic health). What's the difference between the puppy at the pound and the "doodle" puppy at the breeders'? $1000+. It is the same dog, but by buying from the breeder, you're promoting greedy, irresponsible practices and denying a perfectly good dog a home.

It's not difficult to find a nice, hypoallergenic dog at a shelter. It might require more patience than the instant gratification of buying a puppy, but you're saving a life - and not paying well over $1000 for an unhealthy, randomly bred pup.

Don't be fooled by "health guarantees". A breeder can guarantee anything they want, and usually the guarantee requires replacing your dog if they have genetic health issues. After getting attached to that specific dog, what help does that do? Oh, sure, you could turn the dog back over to the breeder - and they'd replace it with a puppy from the same lines, with the same propensity toward those same defects. (This happens at a lot of pet stores, too, which will be covered in an entirely different post.)

I know one golden/poodle mutt who, at barely a year old, had to have major surgery on his shoulder because of a crippling genetic defect. His owner had a health guarantee from the breeder. A lot of good that did for the dog! It was still the breeder's carelessness that put him in that position and gave him those problems.

There is absolutely no reason for the average person to buy a mixed breed from a breeder. You could either buy a purebred with the same traits from a reputable breeder (therefore encouraging reputable practices), or go to the pound and save a life. Don't buy in to the designer dog bullshit.

Definitions

2009-04-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

For ease of reading, I decided to define a few terms that I'll be using on a regular basis. Please note that these are my personal definitions. I'm not claiming that they're the only definitions, just explaining how I'll be using the terms.

Reputable Breeder: A breeder who shows their dogs in conformation, typically works the dogs in some way, shape or form (depending on the breed, it could be hunting, lure coursing, tracking, agility, obedience, etc), and does all of the applicable health testing on their stock before breeding, such as OFA and CERF. A reputable breeder only breeds to better the breed. The ultimate goal is to create the perfect representative of the breed. The vast majority of reputable breeders breed purebreds; however, breeders of mixed working dogs such as lurchers and Alaskan huskies can be reputable too. They would not, of course, show in conformation, but if the dogs are health tested and bred for superior working ability, then they are also reputable.

Backyard Breeder: A backyard breeder is a person with a substandard, unproven dog who breeds for a variety of reasons. They might be breeding to create "nice pets", because Sparky is just so cute and all the neighbors want a dog just like him, or because they want their dog to "experience parenthood". Sometimes they'll breed for profit, or to "recoup what they've put into the dog". Often knows little, if anything, about biology, genetics and health issues. Their dogs are almost never proven in conformation or working trials and are seldom health tested, although a backyard breeder might claim that the dog has been health tested because "the vet said that she was healthy". Almost everyone that breeds mixed breed dogs, with the exception of working dogs like lurchers and Alaskan huskies, are backyard breeders. However, plenty of backyard breeders breed purebred dogs, which is why simply being "purebred" is not a guarantee of quality. Also referred to as a BYB or irresponsible breeder.

Puppy Mill: A puppy mill is typically a business rather than one person with a few breeding dogs. The dogs are usually viewed as livestock and no more. They will often live their entire lives in cramped cages, constantly producing puppies until they're no longer fertile. The dogs are rarely, if ever, socialized.

Titles: A dog earns a title after a certain number of wins in competition. The champion (Ch.) title, which goes at the beginning of a dog's registered name (i.e., Ch. Paradox's Flash Fire), is given after the dog earns 15 points in the conformation ring. Conformation titles are the only prefix titles. If the same dog collects 20 points in flyball, then his registered name would be Ch. Paradox's Flash Fire FD. If he goes on to earn another 80 points in flyball, the name would become Ch. Paradox's Flash Fire FDX. Etc, etc.

Mutt: I want to clarify my usage of the term "mutt". I like mixed breed dogs. I don't think that they should be bred, but I like the individuals. I use the word "mutt" to mean any non-purebred dog, regardless of it's ancestry. A dog who has a purebred labrador mother and a purebred poodle father is a mutt. A dog whose father was a mutt and whose mother was a mutt is also a mutt. There is no such thing as a "hybrid" dog, as all breeds belong to the same species, canis lupus familiaris.

Animal Rights vs Animal Welfare: I am a proponent of animal welfare. I do not support the animal rights movement. I highly recommend this site for an explanation of the differences.