When people are involved with dogs, it's quite common for them to have their favorites. It's also extremely common for people to utterly hate other breeds. This could be for multiple reasons, be it a bad experience, just not liking the look of the breed(s), not liking the size, thinking that some breeds have been ruined, not liking certain aspects of a breed, or any other number of reasons.
To be perfectly honest, I used to be like that. Though the breeds I hated were few, and my reasons varied.
I recall a time in which, even though I was in love with molossiods, I hated Neapolitan Mastiffs. Why? Because every picture I had seen in ads or some books made me think that they were nothing but a mess of wrinkles who couldn't move. I did a complete turn around watching The World Dog when it was being held in Milan, Italy in 2000. I believe it was Ch. Urania Del Castellaccio who made it to the BIS ring. I had never thought that I would see a Neapolitan who would take my breath away, but watching the tv, she did. Power and movement, with size and flews, not overly done like some of the Neos I had seen before which made me wonder if they were melting. She was amazing. It was a complete turn around for me, I knew there were great Neapolitans out there now, and I never looked back.
I grew up in South Florida, so I had more than enough run ins with small dogs, especially Chihuahuas, to make me want to dismiss them and their 'small dog syndrome'. I generally loved dogs, but small dogs just had iffy temperaments from my experience. Nothing ever happened that was too bad besides a bite from a Rat Terrier and a Boston who tried to go for my Ibizan's throat. However, my mother had been a groomer, had plenty of bad experiences herself with the small dogs, so that didn't help with hearing her stories.
I always knew it wasn't so much breed that made a poor temperament and bad behavior, but could easily be bad genetics, poor or no training/socialization, bad experiences, abuse, or what have you. I knew it and I have always been against breed-specific legislation because of it. However it doesn't make dealing with small dogs that are allowed to misbehave and run loose around the neighborhood any more easier to deal with, and those dogs can make one a bit frustrated at the very least.
Becoming a dog nerd at age 13 and getting around shows, I saw some pretty awesome little dogs that were at their best, both mentally and physically. And you know what? I loved it, I love seeing what these little awesome dogs could be. (Pekes can still make me giggle, the tough little rug-tanks that they are-and I do say that in fondness.) I also got to know some little dogs who were just pretty darn cool regardless of whatever background, and even if their conformation wasn't sound. Some which captured my heart at the dog daycare I worked at. A French Bulldog that wasn't a dog's dog and would test new people (this little Frenchie had some serious muscle to him, and boy, could he jump). An undersized Shih-Tzu who was all about play. A beautiful and enchanting Papillon that gave me my first real one-on-one experience with the breed and made me fall in love with the breed. Another Frenchie whose barking sounded like rapid sneezing, and he could run with the big dogs. Just a few really great little dogs.
Between shows and experiences, both on tv and off, my views and how I saw different breeds changed. And while there are some breeds closer to my heart than others, and some breeds I wouldn't ever own and am generally 'meh' about...and I'll confess, there's one I feel particularly bad about due to conformation and high rate of HD....I tend to have a vast love for the variety. Over 500 breeds, possibly over 800, and it seems we're finding 'lost' breeds and land race types as we go. It makes my head swim, it fills me with this absurd giddiness because there's almost certainly a breed for everyone who actually wants to include a dog in their life.
I'd like to think that because of that change, I have learned a lot more than I would have otherwise. That I did open myself up that much more to the dog world. It's been an interesting journey so far.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Not All Rescues Are Saints
What really prompted me to start this blog was the fact that I had run into a question thread yesterday that left me rather worried from some of the responses. When you have been floating about the skirts of the dog world like I have, you see and hear things, you learn things.
The questions that set this all off were asking if anyone had bought a pet from a breeder, and why would someone choose that route.
The questions alone gave me icky feelings, as if buying a pet from a breeder makes one not normal. I suppose in this day and age, thanks to the AR propaganda machine doing it's job so well, it isn't considered normal these days in the typical 'just want a pet' circle of pet owners.
The responses varied. One person felt guilty over their bought dog that had been a gift. Another 'adopted' retirees from breeders, and another got a rehome from a breeder. A few people did buy from breeders. Some people hadn't, but knew someone who did, and some of those people 'didn't understand it'. Comments saying there's too many unwanted animals in the country. A comment calling breeding an 'industry' which paints all breeders with the same brush, which also insulted people who wanted a specific breed.
And I was worried. I was horrified actually. Because the general mass of these comments showed a vast support for rescues without question. Only a few comments mentioned anything about some possible negative aspects of some rescues.
Before any rescue supporters stop reading and write me off as some ignorant fool, please, continue reading. I have no problem with rescues, I have a problem with how some rescues do things. I am upset with how so many people can sit there and act as if all rescues and shelters are saints, and all breeders are evil. You can't EVER paint an entire group with the same paintbrush, you can't say they're all the same. Because they're not. There's many shades of grey. And just as there are bad breeders and great breeders and mediocre breeders and everything in between, there is just the same in rescues.
I have a friend who worked for a rescue not too far from me. A rescue that should have been shut down years ago, yet to this day, continues to hoard animals. Yes, the rescue is a hoarder. They have twice as many animals, if not more at this time, than they are allowed to. The number is such that only half the dogs get walked for a short bit while the rest stay caged/crated. There's cats in the ceiling, animals in rooms that should not have them, and no real drive to try to adopt out these animals, and they bash every other rescue and shelter in the area.
In fact, this rescue is such that they judge you by what you wear, what you drive, and where you live. The list of basis of refusal that my friend gave me can pretty much be summed up as 'if you have any signs of living in the country or being a redneck or hunter, you are evil' and they'll turn you away. Camouflage, orange collars on your own dogs, pick-up truck, owning land, etc.
The rescue will also refuse you to spend time alone with an animal for fear that you will steal it, so with a volunteer in the area, the dog may, depending on it's personality, be more focused on the person it knows. How is a person going to be able to tell if they mesh with the dog if it is distracted?
For all it's issues, the rescue has been reported, multiple times, and apparently to no avail.
That's not the only rescue around here that has had it's issues. Another rescue has appeared to adopted out feral cats, only to berate the adopters when they return a cat that is acting violent. This hasn't just been one person, it's been a few.
Shelters and rescues all over have been up to really strange things. I had alerted the Vallhund people to a Vallhund in another state. The breed club's rescue had no idea, and normally they're on top of things. The rescue that had the dog refused to turn it over to the breed club. Why would they? They were going to charge a $300 'adoption fee' for a healthy, spayed rare breed. Never mind that Vallhunds are not like Corgis, never mind that the breed club knows more about the breed than the rescue, and could probably place it far better.
Rescues refusal to work with breed clubs is one of the thing that makes me incredibly irritated. It's no secret that some rescues will charge more for purebreds and certain breeds. But hoarding dogs because of their breeds just so you can charge more for them is not in the best interest of the dogs, nor potential adopters. It is the breed clubs who know their breeds inside and out, who know the types of people who are suitable and can screen properly for their breed. Being able to charge extra because of a dog's breed is greedy as the dog's expense.
There's also plenty of rescues who refuse to work with breeders on fostering as well, turning away many breeders who, again, know their breed. There has not been any decent answers as to why. It's not as if the breeder is getting an intact dog unless if the rescue releases it like that, which is irresponsible on part of the rescue, and possibly even illegal in some places. Breeders get people looking for their breed often, they have are a powerful, untapped resource for many rescues who seem to loathe breeders as the cause of all their 'problems' and then cry when they are overcrowded. To me, you are making your own bed when you refuse to use a resource like that.
I also question some rescue's screening. I have heard multiple reasons for people being turned down, some of which simply don't make any sense. Not owning your own home even if the landlord allows pets, not having a yard even if the people living an active lifestyle or they're wanting a small breed they can simply walk, being single, having kids, having other pets, having intact pets who are either working or show or maybe have health problems which put them at risk for death if they're put under, having certain other pets, never having pets. I'm sure there many more I'm forgetting. But all this turning people away without any further questioning does nothing to increase adoption. I have heard many people who have given up trying to adopt and end up going to whatever breeder they can find, reputable or not, and writing off all rescues and shelters forever. Some of these people are great owners who just get passed up because they're not exactly like the people running some of these rescues.
These are just a few of the big issues I can think of off of the top of my head which causes me to wonder WHY? Why does it seem that for all we promote 'screen your breeders, ask questions', no one asks rescues anything? Where does your money come from? How do you use your resources? Who do you work with? Who can foster? Do you work with breed club rescue? If an answer is questionable to you, do you inquiry further? How do you place your animals? How many animals do you usually have? How many are in foster? Do you temperament check your animals? Do you consider breed/activity level/training level/etc in placement of a particular animal? And so on.
I think these questions need to be asked. I think we need to support good rescues who do right by their animals. I think that maybe if we do this, other rescues will notice and take some time to reflect if they're really doing right by their animals, or if they're actually harming them because of their own beliefs.
The questions that set this all off were asking if anyone had bought a pet from a breeder, and why would someone choose that route.
The questions alone gave me icky feelings, as if buying a pet from a breeder makes one not normal. I suppose in this day and age, thanks to the AR propaganda machine doing it's job so well, it isn't considered normal these days in the typical 'just want a pet' circle of pet owners.
The responses varied. One person felt guilty over their bought dog that had been a gift. Another 'adopted' retirees from breeders, and another got a rehome from a breeder. A few people did buy from breeders. Some people hadn't, but knew someone who did, and some of those people 'didn't understand it'. Comments saying there's too many unwanted animals in the country. A comment calling breeding an 'industry' which paints all breeders with the same brush, which also insulted people who wanted a specific breed.
And I was worried. I was horrified actually. Because the general mass of these comments showed a vast support for rescues without question. Only a few comments mentioned anything about some possible negative aspects of some rescues.
Before any rescue supporters stop reading and write me off as some ignorant fool, please, continue reading. I have no problem with rescues, I have a problem with how some rescues do things. I am upset with how so many people can sit there and act as if all rescues and shelters are saints, and all breeders are evil. You can't EVER paint an entire group with the same paintbrush, you can't say they're all the same. Because they're not. There's many shades of grey. And just as there are bad breeders and great breeders and mediocre breeders and everything in between, there is just the same in rescues.
I have a friend who worked for a rescue not too far from me. A rescue that should have been shut down years ago, yet to this day, continues to hoard animals. Yes, the rescue is a hoarder. They have twice as many animals, if not more at this time, than they are allowed to. The number is such that only half the dogs get walked for a short bit while the rest stay caged/crated. There's cats in the ceiling, animals in rooms that should not have them, and no real drive to try to adopt out these animals, and they bash every other rescue and shelter in the area.
In fact, this rescue is such that they judge you by what you wear, what you drive, and where you live. The list of basis of refusal that my friend gave me can pretty much be summed up as 'if you have any signs of living in the country or being a redneck or hunter, you are evil' and they'll turn you away. Camouflage, orange collars on your own dogs, pick-up truck, owning land, etc.
The rescue will also refuse you to spend time alone with an animal for fear that you will steal it, so with a volunteer in the area, the dog may, depending on it's personality, be more focused on the person it knows. How is a person going to be able to tell if they mesh with the dog if it is distracted?
For all it's issues, the rescue has been reported, multiple times, and apparently to no avail.
That's not the only rescue around here that has had it's issues. Another rescue has appeared to adopted out feral cats, only to berate the adopters when they return a cat that is acting violent. This hasn't just been one person, it's been a few.
Shelters and rescues all over have been up to really strange things. I had alerted the Vallhund people to a Vallhund in another state. The breed club's rescue had no idea, and normally they're on top of things. The rescue that had the dog refused to turn it over to the breed club. Why would they? They were going to charge a $300 'adoption fee' for a healthy, spayed rare breed. Never mind that Vallhunds are not like Corgis, never mind that the breed club knows more about the breed than the rescue, and could probably place it far better.
Rescues refusal to work with breed clubs is one of the thing that makes me incredibly irritated. It's no secret that some rescues will charge more for purebreds and certain breeds. But hoarding dogs because of their breeds just so you can charge more for them is not in the best interest of the dogs, nor potential adopters. It is the breed clubs who know their breeds inside and out, who know the types of people who are suitable and can screen properly for their breed. Being able to charge extra because of a dog's breed is greedy as the dog's expense.
There's also plenty of rescues who refuse to work with breeders on fostering as well, turning away many breeders who, again, know their breed. There has not been any decent answers as to why. It's not as if the breeder is getting an intact dog unless if the rescue releases it like that, which is irresponsible on part of the rescue, and possibly even illegal in some places. Breeders get people looking for their breed often, they have are a powerful, untapped resource for many rescues who seem to loathe breeders as the cause of all their 'problems' and then cry when they are overcrowded. To me, you are making your own bed when you refuse to use a resource like that.
I also question some rescue's screening. I have heard multiple reasons for people being turned down, some of which simply don't make any sense. Not owning your own home even if the landlord allows pets, not having a yard even if the people living an active lifestyle or they're wanting a small breed they can simply walk, being single, having kids, having other pets, having intact pets who are either working or show or maybe have health problems which put them at risk for death if they're put under, having certain other pets, never having pets. I'm sure there many more I'm forgetting. But all this turning people away without any further questioning does nothing to increase adoption. I have heard many people who have given up trying to adopt and end up going to whatever breeder they can find, reputable or not, and writing off all rescues and shelters forever. Some of these people are great owners who just get passed up because they're not exactly like the people running some of these rescues.
These are just a few of the big issues I can think of off of the top of my head which causes me to wonder WHY? Why does it seem that for all we promote 'screen your breeders, ask questions', no one asks rescues anything? Where does your money come from? How do you use your resources? Who do you work with? Who can foster? Do you work with breed club rescue? If an answer is questionable to you, do you inquiry further? How do you place your animals? How many animals do you usually have? How many are in foster? Do you temperament check your animals? Do you consider breed/activity level/training level/etc in placement of a particular animal? And so on.
I think these questions need to be asked. I think we need to support good rescues who do right by their animals. I think that maybe if we do this, other rescues will notice and take some time to reflect if they're really doing right by their animals, or if they're actually harming them because of their own beliefs.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Introduction
I've debated about starting a blog about dogs for a while now. Who am I, as nothing more than a spectator at this point, to speak frankly about my opinions and things that I've noticed/learned/think about/etc?
Yet, I already do it. On my art accounts, on LJ. To people who follow and friend me on Facebook. So why not? Maybe some random person will find something of value in my words. Maybe some good will come of it. I do say so often that knowledge is power and education is key.
Of course I could just have started an early mid-life crisis. Who knows?!
Anyways....
Hi.
My friends call me Karja. I'm currently nothing but a spectator in dogs. I have had many animals in my life, all my life, and have worked at an exotic animal farm that did many things, as had a short stint at a non-profit zoo. I live with my boyfriend and a couple of roommates. We currently own an American Eskimo (Cassidy), 3 cats(Spider, Diva, and Khalil), 2 rabbits (Juniper and Raditz). I also have multiple bettas which I'm trying my hand at breeding. It's going ok I suppose, fish can be tricky. One of the roommates has a low content wolfdog and a fish tank, but there won't be any more mention of them in all likeliness.
I'm an animal nerd, especially when it comes to dogs and camels. I took an interest in learning about dog breeds at 13, discovering so many at the library in various books, and it just snowballed. By 14, I had talked my grandparents into letting me get an Ibizan Hound and started getting more immersed in dogs. Had many adults blown away when I could identify their rare breeds without a second guess (though sometimes a second guess is needed when you get into very similar rare breeds that are more deviations of a land race).
It never stopped. I soon got an interest in genetics, and of course I was all over the place, though I really wanted to show. It just never came to be for one reason or another. I try not to get down, though at my age, people don't take you seriously when you're just starting out to show. I hold out hope and try to remember that I have learned, and I have grown in this time and maybe, hopefully, that will be a good thing if and when I can finally take the plunge.
So, more about me.....I am an artist, if you haven't guessed by my mention of art accounts, however I am searching for actual 'normal' work because I can't make it as an artist. I'm an introvert by nature. Love to read. Love to cook when I have the energy. And I am bored talking about myself...
There you have it. Really all there is to know at this point. I may end up discussing other animals here as well, but I don't know. Guess time will tell.
Yet, I already do it. On my art accounts, on LJ. To people who follow and friend me on Facebook. So why not? Maybe some random person will find something of value in my words. Maybe some good will come of it. I do say so often that knowledge is power and education is key.
Of course I could just have started an early mid-life crisis. Who knows?!
Anyways....
Hi.
My friends call me Karja. I'm currently nothing but a spectator in dogs. I have had many animals in my life, all my life, and have worked at an exotic animal farm that did many things, as had a short stint at a non-profit zoo. I live with my boyfriend and a couple of roommates. We currently own an American Eskimo (Cassidy), 3 cats(Spider, Diva, and Khalil), 2 rabbits (Juniper and Raditz). I also have multiple bettas which I'm trying my hand at breeding. It's going ok I suppose, fish can be tricky. One of the roommates has a low content wolfdog and a fish tank, but there won't be any more mention of them in all likeliness.
I'm an animal nerd, especially when it comes to dogs and camels. I took an interest in learning about dog breeds at 13, discovering so many at the library in various books, and it just snowballed. By 14, I had talked my grandparents into letting me get an Ibizan Hound and started getting more immersed in dogs. Had many adults blown away when I could identify their rare breeds without a second guess (though sometimes a second guess is needed when you get into very similar rare breeds that are more deviations of a land race).
It never stopped. I soon got an interest in genetics, and of course I was all over the place, though I really wanted to show. It just never came to be for one reason or another. I try not to get down, though at my age, people don't take you seriously when you're just starting out to show. I hold out hope and try to remember that I have learned, and I have grown in this time and maybe, hopefully, that will be a good thing if and when I can finally take the plunge.
So, more about me.....I am an artist, if you haven't guessed by my mention of art accounts, however I am searching for actual 'normal' work because I can't make it as an artist. I'm an introvert by nature. Love to read. Love to cook when I have the energy. And I am bored talking about myself...
There you have it. Really all there is to know at this point. I may end up discussing other animals here as well, but I don't know. Guess time will tell.
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