Thought it was about time I did an update of Ounce’s ‘head down’ trick. I am trying to create some distance with it, so that I can be out of shot. The hardest bit at the moment is getting her to wait round the corner. Oh and to keep her head down once she’s done it. And I’m still having problems getting her to stop and sit. So not much progress really! Never mind, we’ll keep practising..
Oh and then I decided to see if I could teach Busy to read. What do you think? This is after 5 minutes of training, so if we work on it..
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This is one of my favourite brands. I have plenty of their bits, including the full kit for when my book group come round; mugs, jug, sugar bowl, tray, cake slice (very important) and cake forks.
There are loads of different designs of these mugs, all as lovely as this one. I started with ten from British wildlife, including pheasant, squirrel, hare, owl, deer, robin and fox. Also chicken, goose and horse from the farmyard.
There is also a ‘zoo’ series, including elephant, giraffe, penguins and flamingos – all adorable. And there are various dogs and cats as well. Then there are a few just for Christmas, perfect for presents!
These mugs are a lovely shape and size to drink from and they are so good to use.
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What do you do if you want to start doing something with your dog but don’t know where to go? It’s really challenging. Often, when people get their first dog, they don’t know many other ‘dog people’. Just like with any hobby or interest, if you don’t do it, you don’t know anything about it.
You could talk to people you meet when walking your dog. Ask them if they do any training with their dog and if so, who do they go to? Usually people are only to happy to promote their trainer, so that is a good place to start. Often though, good trainers are fully booked up, but they may well know other people who train.
Anyone with collies should know plenty of dog trainers – collies need to be doing something!
What questions should you ask when choosing a place to train for agility?
Do you teach fun or competitive agility? If you have a collie and are young and fit, you will definitely want to go somewhere that trains for competition. If you are old and unfit and have another breed, consider going to ‘fun agility’ first. But be warned! Fun agility can just mean “I don’t really know what I’m doing.” This might mean that it’s not safe.
How experienced are the instructors? Again, it’s about safety. The more experienced the trainer, the better, obviously. There are qualifications for agility training – KC Accreditation, or the British Institute of Professional Dog Trainers (BIPDT), specialising in agility. If you want to be taught well, try and find someone who has trained and competed to Championship level, or competed at National or International level.
How old do dogs need to be before starting?
How old do dogs need to be? Dogs should be at least a year old before they start jumping. Foundation work for experienced handlers can begin earlier, but a complete novice should not start with a dog younger than a year. Equally, dogs should not be too old; any dog over about five is probably too old to start. They must be fit – agility is not a way to get an obese dog into shape. Again, this is about putting strain on joints, agility is a sport for the dogs (if not for their owners!)
Do you use reward-based training? I’d be amazed if you found anyone who said no to this question, but some trainers believe in being ‘firm’ with their dogs and expecting a good level of behaviour. I would hope that the trainer would have the facility to cope with dogs who don’t like other dogs, or dogs who run off, or who bark uncontrollably. There should be crates for dogs to stay in, the area should be fenced securely and there should be somewhere a dog can be tied up between runs.
Equipment and venue
Where is the training held? A competitive agility arena is 30m x 30m, so that’s roughly the amount of space needed as a minimum. Most agility is done in a field or an indoor school at an equestrian centre. Either way, it should have a good surface for running about. Outdoor training areas can become slippery when wet, so trainers should take account of this. What cancellation policy do they have? You shouldn’t have to pay if it is too wet to run safely. However, be prepared to train in all weathers! Dogs don’t usually mind the rain.
Do you have all the equipment, and is it professionally built? This is very important. Items should be reasonably heavy, so they don’t blow over. Tunnels should be weighted down at either end so they don’t move. Competitive agility includes the following items:
16-20 items
Jumps with four different height settings and wings
Tunnels
Dog walk, A-frame and seesaw
Weaves
Optional items include a tyre, a long jump, a wall, other types of jumps
Details of classes
How many people in each class? You want a small group only; 4-6 people is ideal. Any less than that and you are on the go all the time, which can be a bit full on when you start. More than that and everyone gets bored.
How long are the sessions? Typically training classes last an hour. After that, the dog gets tired and can’t concentrate.
How much are the classes? Fees vary enormously, particularly by region. If it’s too cheap it probably means the trainer is not qualified, or insured.
Do you have insurance? Essential. It’s a sport – both people and dogs can be injured.
Go and watch a class first
If you like the sound of it all, please go and watch a session first, so you know what to expect. Dogs get very excited by agility, so your dog may not behave as you expect them to! You might need some help managing this. Some dogs are so focused on whether or not it is their turn that they don’t mind other dogs barking right next to them. Others will react to this aggressively. So be prepared to give other people space.
Agility is fun!
I cannot stress this enough. It is fun for your dog and fun for you. Do not take it seriously, you will be sorely disappointed! This is a life lesson I took a while to learn. I am a competitive person who likes to do well, so being so bad at something for so long was demoralising and uncomfortable. Eventually I realised that it was not about winning or losing, or being better than other people. It was about me and my dogs, being out there and enjoying ourselves. It is also great spending time with other ‘dog people’ who are all as lovely as their dogs!
I am now training with Emma Conlisk at Beancroft Agility. I can’t recommend Emma highly enough! She is a great teacher, so positive, thorough and focused. Very professional, with a great setup.
Ask me for Advice?
You are very welcome to contact me to ask for my advice. I won’t necessarily know the answer! But I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues. Please let me know if you have found this post helpful?
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Dogs cannot do agility until they are a year old; we don’t want to damage their joints and it’s better to wait until their bones have finished growing. However, there is a great deal we can do if we know we want to do agility with them later on.
Wait – teaching a good solid stay and release
This is one of the first things you will need your dog to do. They need to be able to wait while you get ahead of them. Many people with slower breeds of dog start with their dog and run around the course with the dog beside them. It looks so lovely and I am often jealous of this great bonding experience. Not with a collie! The faster you run with a collie, the faster they will try and beat you! They like to be ahead of you. They have great vision, particularly their peripheral vision, which means they can see you coming!
Therefore, if you want to have any hope of getting your dog round a course, you will need them to wait for you to get a head start. Fortunately, I have been teaching Ounce to wait since she was a tiny puppy, so her wait is not bad at all. Of course I need to continue to practice it, but we have the basics solidly in place.
Recall – working off lead and coming back at the end
You can’t do agility on the lead! So we need to be able to let them off, run around with them and then get them back again. Getting them back at the end of an agility run is a bit different from the ‘formal recall’, but if you have the latter, the former should be straightforward. Here’s a reminder of Ounce’s formal recall training.
Still not quite sure why I thought it was OK to wear my pyjamas to do this video.
Other moves to teach
Once we have a wait and a recall in the bag, we can start to work on other commands. These include:
round – go around an obstacle and come back to me
left and right – yes really!
on it – get onto something, ie a piece of contact equipment
touch – stand with two feet on the equipment and two feet off
The last two are what I am trying to teach in this video. I am using this box because it’s nice and sturdy. I am trying to ‘shape’ her behaviour. This means I am trying to get Ounce to understand what I want without me having to show her each time. She is already familiar with the moves and you can see how eager she is to show me! If you look carefully, you can see that near the start of the video, I reward her for getting ‘on it’ and then ask for a ‘touch’. She does it immediately, but is so excited that she then jumps at me, so doesn’t get a reward. I am being critical and I want her to stay in that position until I release her. So I have to show her and encourage her.
NB: This is the whole of her training for today. I do not want to spend ages with her in this position because again, I don’t want to put undue strain on her joints. But as with all training, consistency and practice are what pays off. If we spend a few seconds doing this a few times a week after our walks, Ounce will be a long way towards her contacts when we transfer this skill to the field.
Why do we teach contacts in this way?
It seems a bit odd that we want our dog to stop at the end of the contact equipment (dog walk, A-frame and seesaw), with this very specific requirement of ‘two feet on, two feet off’. We do this to stop dogs jumping off the top, which can cause them serious injury. All the contact equipment has painted sections at the bottom which must be stepped on before the dog moves on. If we teach the dog to get down to the bottom and take a treat from ground level, waiting until we release them before moving off, we ensure that they are safe, which is better for their health. It also stops them being given faults.
There are other ways to teach contacts; a ‘running contact’ is when the dog goes down to the bottom but then carries on without stopping. If you have a fast dog though, this just means you have to keep running! It’s a bit of a mystic art anyway, not something I am familiar with!
Why do agility?
The same reason we should do any form of training or sporting activity with our dog – for fun! Agility is great fun for the dog, they find it really exciting and stimulating. Generally it should be safe and should build their athleticism, while giving them something to think about. It can even improve your athleticism, although this is a bit debatable!
There are many different activities you can do with a dog. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you are spending focused time with your dog, enjoying each other’s company. If you have several dogs, it becomes even more important that you focus on each individual dog for a set period each week.
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Dog Doc Question 16: What is the best food to give your dogs?
Honestly, I have no idea. Arguments rage about this subject on social media and I know nothing. It is definitely something I have grappled with, as a ‘responsible’ dog owner and breeder.
I care about what I eat; it needs to be healthy and tasty (not necessarily in that order!) I cared about what I fed my sons, but sometimes life is too short to get really hung up about it. My son was really fussy, but he turned out fine. Most of my dogs are fussy too, but they are also pretty healthy.
What type of food?
The most suitable diet should be easily digested and produce dark brown, firm, formed stools, (which are easy to pick up!) If your puppy produces soft or light stools or has wind or diarrhoea, then the diet may not suit your puppy or it might have some kind of digestive problem or infection. If the condition persists for more than 2 days, consult your vet for advice. Please remember that stability in the diet will help maintain good digestion.
I also think it is important that the dog likes the food you give them and that it is suitable for the level of activity they are doing. If your dog is always on the lookout for something more, then the food you are giving them is not satisfying their hunger. A different type of food might deal with this more effectively.
Different foods:
Dry complete foods
Semi-moist, pouch, tinned and frozen foods
Home-made food (raw fresh or frozen meat)
I feed my dogs Royal Canin complete food. For better or worse, it suits me and my dogs. My vet agrees that it is a good quality food. I now feed veterinary Royal Canin to my diabetic Luna. I feed my adult bitches Royal Canin Sensible and Sensitive on a 50:50 mix, as this suits their level of activity. The younger, more active dogs have more Sensitive and less Sensible.
I have tried feeding them the frozen raw food. It feels more ‘natural’, less processed. It is supposed to produce less stools, which are harder. It is supposed to be ‘better’ for the dogs. I think wild dogs also eat plants though, to aid digestion and provide additional minerals and vitamins. I also think feeding farmed animals to dogs is probably not that healthy, compared to them eating wild animals. Anyway, my dogs didn’t like it at all. It was expensive. I would also have concerns about hygiene around having raw meat around the house all the time.
I have tried feeding mine a more ‘natural’, less processed complete food. There is an argument for not feeding dogs wheat, as it is not a food they would eat naturally and causes allergic reactions in some dogs. They didn’t like it.
Hey this is good
Feeding tips
Make sure that water is ALWAYS available to your puppy, so never take its water bowl away. Provide fresh water every day, do not just leave it down until it is empty.
Do not leave food down – throw away any uneaten food after 20 minutes. If your puppy does not eat all of its meal in one go, you may be offering it too much. Not all puppies eat the amount recommended by the pet food manufacturers. Puppies’ appetites can vary enormously, with some eating much less than the recommended amounts, whilst others scoff their meal down as if it was their last!
Do not refill half empty bowls, but ensure that fresh food is always provided at each meal time. This is particularly true in the hot weather when food left in bowls can attract flies and other insects. Half full cans of dog food should be kept covered in the fridge, but allowed to stand until the food is up to room temperature before feeding.
There are two different types of dog food manufactured ‘complete’ and ‘complementary’, clearly marked on the label. A complete food can be fed as a sole source of nutrition and is available as both canned and dry food. A complementary food is designed to accompany the complete food and should not be used as the only source of daily nutrition.
It is better to stick to one variety of food, so you don’t need to add anything to the diet. Always remember that over-supplementing can be harmful to your puppy.
As long as your puppy is not showing any growth or digestive problems, resist the temptation to change its diet or offer it a range of foods, as you may turn your puppy into a fussy eater.
Never change your puppy’s diet abruptly (unless under the direction of your vet). If you want to change its diet, do it gradually over a period of a few days to a week or longer if necessary.
Avoid feeding your puppy before travelling in the car, as this can encourage car sickness.
Do not feed your puppy an hour before or after exercise or play, as this could lead to stomach dilation and torsion (also known as bloat), which is a life threatening condition requiring immediate veterinary intervention. For owners of breeds which are thought to be susceptible to this condition, you should seek advice from your breeder, vet and/or breed club on further precautionary measures.
Leave your puppy in peace while it is eating from its bowl (preferably in his crate). Taking the bowl away while it is eating causes anxiety and this can lead to food aggression. If you want to be sure that your puppy is comfortable with you approaching it during mealtimes, add a little food to the bowl while it is eating, so it sees you as an asset, rather than a threat.
Never feed your dog from the table or your plate, as this encourages drooling and attention-seeking behaviours, such as begging and barking.
Treats
NB: All treats should be given sparingly, and never comprise more than 15% of your puppy’s total calorie intake. If you use treats regularly, reduce the amount of main meal food your dog is receiving in order to avoid obesity. Some chew treats have proven ability to help prevent dental diseases, but again check the label to ensure you are getting a genuine product.
Always remember that table scraps contain calories so they should be taken into account as part of the daily diet. Better still; don’t be tempted to feed table scraps at all.
Food sensitivities and intolerances
Like humans, some dogs are sensitive or intolerant to certain foods, and this can cause a variety of problems. In extreme cases, they may develop colitis (slime and blood in their stools). Always consult your vet if you notice your dog displaying any of the following symptoms:
Lethargy
Aggressive or hyperactive behaviour
Chronic skin and ear problems
Light to mid-brown loose bulky stools or diarrhoea
Slime and jelly being passed with stools and flatulence
Bloating and weight gain or loss
Potential Toxins/Poisons
NB: This list is by no means complete and always consult your vet if you puppy ingests anything it shouldn’t
Alcohol
Bones
Chocolate
Coffee/Caffeine
Raw Egg
Green parts of tomato plants
Grapes/Raisins/
Artificial sweeteners
Human vitamins and supplements
Liquorice
Milk/Lactose
Mouldy food
Onions, chives and garlic
Raw or undercooked meat
Slug pellets
Yeast
Ask me for Advice?
You are very welcome to contact me to ask for my advice. I won’t necessarily know the answer! But I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues. Please let me know if you have found this post helpful?
If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post. Please CONTACT ME if you would like help with a specific topic? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think?
Happy 4th Birthday to my magical imp, Busy. Part of a Fairytale Litter and a fairytale story. She wasn’t meant to stay with me; I had three dogs at the time, which was quite sufficient, thank you. Within a few days of them arriving, I had seven lovely homes for seven lovely puppies. But friends kept saying to me “You love that one, don’t you?” And I really did. When the puppies were three weeks old I had a really hectic weekend with all seven owners coming to meet their puppies for the first time. Some of these were complete strangers to me, so it was hard work. I had mentally allocated all the pups beforehand, so was pleased to be able to sort out who was going where.
Unfortunately, Busy had other ideas. After everyone had gone, I had a sleepless night, realising that I could not let her go. She was my little imp, that’s all there was to it.
The Dentbros family
What a dog she has turned out to be! After all the others had gone, I spent four weeks waiting to take her out, sitting around the house. I was trying to catch up with my work, which meant that the house was quiet and we just sat around all day. When we were finally allowed out, people kept saying to me “Isn’t she calm?” Which was a bit of a shame, since I had called her Busy!
Busy
Actually, she is a bit of an contradiction, as she is extremely busy when running around in the woods, or on the agility field. She is very good at entertaining herself and rushes about the kitchen, shaking her favourite toy ‘Snakey’ in a very entertaining way.
Yet she is also extremely gentle and the perfect dog to work with children in school. Because of her I have met some wonderful children and staff at my local Junior School, as part of the Pets As Therapy Read2Dogs scheme.
Busy proved to be a brilliant mum to her litter and continues to play with and tolerate the puppy. They look so funny, tearing around on our walks.
Overall, Busy is an amazing dog, who has definitely changed my life. I still think her mum, Sunny is my ‘dog of a lifetime’ as she introduced me to breeding AND agility and has created a legacy of amazing dogs. I think Ounce will also prove life changing; she is a very special character, whom I have already trained differently to my other dogs. How lucky am I to have such incredible dogs in my life?
Remember..
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These are made by Ryan Wilson. Ryan contacted me and told me the following about himself:
“I am the owner of a small furniture making business located in Hertfordshire, I make bespoke furniture and have carried this expertise through on to making pet furniture. I mainly specialise in making wooden dog crates.”
I thought his crates looked like lovely pieces of furniture, but worry that a dog may simply chew it! I talked to friends about this and they agreed. However, on further discussion, we found that there are some dogs who much prefer to sleep in a crate, even as an adult dog. I therefore feel that these represent a great alternative to a metal cage.
I also think you could easily have one made that can take a metal crate inside it, which can then be removed once the dog is older. Go to my post on Cages and Crates to see more about other options.
Crate Sizes and options
Please see below the sizes and prices of Ryan’s standard crates:
Small – (£299.99)
Medium – (£349.99)
Large – (£389.99)
Extra Large – (£429.99)
All crates are made to order so can be made completely bespoke in various sizes, designs and many different timber options available, both hard and softwood.
If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post. Please CONTACT ME if you have a problem you would like me to talk about? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.
Dog Doc Question 15: How do you cope when your dog is reactive?
Chasing cars, or bikes, or runners, or cats. Barking at squirrels or cats in the garden. Chasing or fixating on lights and reflections. These are all examples of ‘reactive behaviours’. Dogs are very good at reacting to stimuli in their environment; it is what they are designed to do. They hunt, they chase, they watch out for danger. Being alert is what helps a dog to survive.
What we need to ask ourselves is, “Is this behaviour a problem?” First of all, “Do we think that chasing, barking, or fixating on something is detrimental to the dog?” If they are chasing cars, then the answer is almost certainly “Yes!” It is a dangerous activity that can only end badly. Barking at squirrels might seem like a less harmful activity but there are two problems with this; one, they will annoy your neighbours and two, they can become over-stimulated.
In order to be a successful pet dog, our dogs should be able to cope with living in our world. This includes cars, bikes, cats and everything else. We don’t want them lunging and pulling every time they see a car. We don’t want them chasing all cats, especially not if we have one in our house.
Another question we should ask ourselves, in order to assess whether the behaviour is a problem is “Can I put up with it?” Again, if it is a barking issue, or a cat chasing issue, then it is your neighbours you need to worry about. But you might also have behaviours that ‘drive you mad’. Most people just put up with these behaviours, as a quirk that having a dog brings. You don’t have to.
Dog reactivity to noise
Here is a video of Aura, showing what happens when we want to use something in the kitchen that makes a high-pitched noise:
I am using Aura because she is the worst, although you can hear Busy joining in. They definitely wind each other up, but it’s Aura who suffers the most, in my view. What can we do about it?
Step one: Move to a safe distance
Can you see how agitated she is? She knows something is going on and she really wants to be there to bark at it and ‘give chase’. Aura is an obedient dog who is well trained and quick to react to commands. But you can see here that she is finding it really hard to concentrate. Poor dog.
Step two: Move closer, but stay ‘safe’
We’ve moved a bit nearer, with one less door between us and the noise. I felt as though I was torturing her here! She is really agitated and doesn’t want to do anything, poor girl. You can see she is trying to pay attention to me but it’s really hard for her. Can you see her ‘lip licking’? And can you see her showing the whites of her eyes? She wants it to stop. These are what is known as ‘calming signals’.
Step three: Move beside stimulus
Finally, for this demonstration, I move her back into the kitchen. What I realised in going through this process, is that the other dogs are definitely making her reactivity worse. She is agitated as much by their noise and excitement as by her own desire to bark and react. So I have moved them a couple of doors away, where they can no longer hear or be heard.
Result! Aura is calmer in this clip isn’t she? Despite the noise still being present, she is more focused on me and is able to think a bit more about what she is doing. She is making good eye contact with me and is not looking towards the noise.
Step four: The long-term fix
In order to reduce her reactivity to these kitchen noises properly, I need to train this regularly and consistently. I need to practise with her every time we use something to which she reacts and I need to ensure that I give plenty of praise every time she ‘succeeds’. Did you notice that when she was a bit calmer I gave several treats and lots of verbal praise? That’s what we are looking for – the jackpot moment.
You can do this too! It’s not rocket science. These clips show how to put simple bits of training into practice. I have done the different steps one after the other; ideally you should stay on each step until the dog is calm in that situation, then move closer.
This training can be used to ‘de-sensitise’ your dog to anything; cars going by, cats in the garden, the postman coming. It is literally about how much effort you put in, together with your consistency.
Ask me for Advice?
You are very welcome to contact me to ask for my advice. I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues. Please let me know if you have found this post helpful?
If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post. Please CONTACT ME if you would like help with a specific topic? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think?
Had a lovely walk this afternoon in the woods – the light was great for taking some pictures. I was lucky enough to have Kate from Kate Everall Photography giving me a lesson in shooting angles and light, although we had six dogs to manage, so it was a bit of a challenge. Some interesting results though, don’t you think?
I think some of these could do with a caption – please send me your thoughts? Which photos do you like?
Remember..
If you want to know more about Ounce’s Adventures, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post. Please CONTACT ME if you have a problem you would like me to talk about? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think?
Turns out, a responsible breeder looks a bit like me! Well not all of us have purple hair, although we do have a tendency to eccentricity, since our lives revolve around our dogs.
Assured Breeder Seminar
On Saturday, I went to an Assured Breeder Seminar, run by the ABS department of the Kennel Club. It was a great day, well run, well attended (100 people) and with some very interesting talks, on the following subjects:
Fourteen years of the Assured Breeder Scheme; how the scheme has developed since its inception
The importance of health testing and screening, such as hips scoring, elbow grading and EBVs
Changes to the puppy contract; showing compassion and dealing with issues; and the legal implications of social media to exacerbate issues
The rise in illegal puppy imports
Breeding Licence Regulations and the DEFRA Reform
Focus groups to allow breeders to discuss recommendations for the future of the scheme.
I learnt a great deal and had the chance to speak to lots of lovely dog breeders. It seems that there are in fact plenty of responsible people doing a great job, just for the love of it. Listening to the history of the scheme and the way it has progressed reflects the way that we think about dog breeding in this country.
front row: Luna, Sunny back row: Aura, Bea, Pudding, Wispa, Chip, Busy. And me, the proud breeder!
Demand for dogs
It is estimated that in this country we ‘need’ around 800,000 puppies each year, just to ‘replace’ dogs that have died. The Kennel Club expects to register around 300,000 dogs this year. The remaining dogs will include crossbreeds and people doing a ‘one off’ litter from their family pet. Sadly, a large number of these puppies also come from commercial breeders and illegal imports.
We were told that 73% of breeders only have one litter and only 5% have more than 10 litters. There are around 4,500 members of the Assured Breeder Scheme. Talking to the breeders around me, most of us Assured Breeders have had dogs for a long time and generally have around one litter per year. That’s around 5-10 puppies, per year. Not enough to meet demand, is it?
Breeding for health, not money
What was apparent in listening to other breeders, backing up the view I expressed last week in my post Should I breed from my dog?is that it is difficult to be a responsible breeder AND make money doing it. It’s one or the other, generally. This is one of the reasons that Assured Breeders do not generally have a licence from their Local Authority; we see it as a hobby only.
“Where you buy could determine whether they live or die”
Lovely babies!
Responsible breeders stop dogs going into rescue
They do this by:
vetting prospective owners and matching puppies to the correct homes
telling owners to look at alternative breeds and/or not to have a puppy
taking puppies back rather than allowing them to be dumped.
It is a never-ending challenge for the Kennel Club, trying to persuade dog buyers that this is the case. Fortunately, other organisations such as RSPCA, Dog’s Trust, Battersea and the Government are now working alongside the Kennel Club to promote this message.
Responsible breeding saves money
Agria Insurance have done an extensive survey and been able to demonstrate that there is a significant saving in vet’s fees when dogs are bred responsibly. For example, puppies from an Assured breeder are 23% less likely to visit the vet and owners spend around 18% less in vet’s fees.
Why breed?
I did a poor job of answering this question last week. In fact we do it to:
improve the breed
continue strong, healthy breed lines
produce dogs that have good temperament and are fit for purpose.
Think before you buy?
One key fact that I learnt on Saturday about supply and demand should give us all pause to think. From 2007-2016 demand for French Bulldogs went up, resulting in 3000% increase in registrations of the breed. From 2015-16 registrations went up by 47% and this year it is expected that there will be 30,000 registrations for the breed. There are now 31 Assured Breeders for the French Bulldog and 160 other breeders of the breed. Wow! Compared to just 23 listed Border Collie Assured Breeders.
In order to make so many puppies, what kind of life do those dogs have? Who is loving them? Are they having a litter every six months? Are they being illegally imported, whilst pregnant, so that they can provide the puppies that the public are demanding? What will happen to these dogs once the demand dries up? Dumped or dead, most probably. Please think before you buy?
Remember..
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