Jenna & Snickers » responsible ownership

My Bored Pupster :(

jenna — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:48:45 +0000

When we lived in Indiana, we couldn’t walk the dogs outside because loose dogs in the neighborhood would approach us – even chased us a couple times. Luckily, we had a HUGE backyard to play in there. When we got ready to move to Mississippi, I made a point to find an apartment complex that was all fenced in and has strict leash rules (in addition to the town leash laws). We can only walk around on the grounds of our apartment complex and very nearby though, because there aren’t any sidewalks going anywhere else. Can you say BORING??? Poor Snick – who grew up walking 2 miles a night around midtown Manhattan – is bored out of his mind.

There is a college campus directly across the street from my job. There is a beautifully manicured road leading to a lake on campus with a gazebo. I’ve been eagerly awaiting non-brutal temps so Snick and I could go walk there. Today, after work, we took off. Snick was SO EXCITED to be walking somewhere new. I was too. Yaaaaay! So, here we go…

You can see the shop behind us…

And the road stretched out ahead of us…

The weather was beautiful, Snick was happy, we were walking. THEN what did I see???? Right after taking the photo above, I saw a loose dog, Lab sized, come out of the woods ahead of us. Then a few seconds later, I saw another one, Beagle sized, come out behind him. They both crossed to our side of the road and were headed our way, but they didn’t see us yet. *sigh* Poor Snick. We had to turn around and rush back to the office. Snick was obviously upset and confused by the abrupt about face and now we’re both back in the office, sad and disappointed.

Phooey!

How to Find a Reputable Breeder

jenna — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:15:18 +0000

I get email once or twice a week asking for advice on finding a Shiba puppy. I’m glad when people ask, because it means they are trying to buy a pup the RIGHT way, but on the other hand, I know there aren’t enough puppies from good breeders to go around and that frustrates me. So many people buy puppies from pet stores and back yard breeders because they don’t know any better, but then – even worse – people who DO know better, to some degree, get frustrated and impatient and end up buying a dog from a less than ideal source because they don’t want to wait.

Shiba puppies seem to be more popular than ever lately. I don’t know about other areas, but in the northeast US, that extra demand is being readily filled by a breeding operation who markets themselves as an "aw shucks" kind of family business but in reality they’re a mill… the majority of their dogs are poor quality, they produce WAY too many litters at a time, they sell to anyone who is buying (they even take paypal deposits!), and they’re well known not to return phone calls if/when a puppy has any health or behavioral issues. I’ve been attempting to fight the good fight against this establishment for years now but it seems they’re just producing more pups than ever before.

Why? Supply and Demand. Legally, dogs are property. Puppies, it seems, are simply another commodity to be produced as cheaply as possible and sold for a profit. What does this mean for the poor souls being created for profit? I can tell you, it ain’t good. *sigh*

So, let’s talk about why people are buying puppies when there are so many dogs dying in shelters. And what can we do it about it??? (Hint: the answer is WE CAN EDUCATE CONSUMERS.)

Puppy vs Rescue Dog

I understand the desire for a puppy. I really do. Snickers came from a breeder. My daughter was 8 when we started discussing a dog – her first – and I wanted her to have the full puppy experience. I also wanted a purebred dog for the added security of knowing what I was getting (to a certain degree) in regard to size and temperament. We spent months deciding on the right breed for us, more months searching for a responsible breeder with puppies planned and not spoken for, and then another few months waiting for him. Was it worth it? Absolutely!!! Does that mean I think that’s the only way – or even the best way – to add a family member? No. Two years later when we were ready to add a female, we adopted a sweet little rescued girl who needed a home. We adore her every bit as much as we do Snickers and we didn’t have to deal with all the puppy nonsense again! Adopting a dog can be every bit as wonderful as buying a puppy. There are some situations where a puppy is even the wrong decision, but an older dog could be the perfect companion. If only people KNEW more about their options and understood the repercussions of purchasing from backyard breeders, mills and pet stores.

A reputable breeder with available puppies can be tough to find, depending on the breed you are interested in. But you want a puppy NOW! What do you do?

How to FIND a Responsible Breeder

contact local and national breed clubs
- If you’re looking for a Shiba Inu and live in the northeast US, start with the Shiba Club of Greater NY or the Blue and Gray Shiba Club (looking for link).
- If you’re looking for a Shiba in any other part of the country, contact the regional club nearest you for assistance (that is how I found Snick’s breeder) or refer to the breeders list on the National Shiba Club of America‘s website.
- If you’re looking for another breed of puppy, start by checking the AKC’s website to find the national club for your breed.
contact the regional purebred rescue group for the breed in which you are interested
Contrary to what some people believe, volunteers for purebred rescue groups are seldom anti-breeding. The breed we love so much couldn’t exist and flourish if it weren’t for responsible breeders!
- If you’re looking for a Shiba, try the rescue group closest to you that is listed on this page.
- If you’re looking for any other breed, try your national breed club’s site for a list of legitimate rescue groups.
attend a dog show or other dog related event and talk to the participants
ask your veterinarian for referrals

How to SPOT a Responsible Breeder

A responsible breeder does NOT sell their puppies to just anyone with cash in hand! Many unsuspecting people buy puppies from people who seem to be responsible breeders, but are not. Too often, the result is a puppy in poor health or with temperament problems that may only surface after time.

A responsible breeder is someone who:

breeds for their love and devotion to their chosen breed of dogs.
does not breed dogs to make money or so children can "experience the miracle of birth."
only breeds one or two types of dogs and usually only breeds a litter if they intend on keeping one of the pups. They are breeding to further improve the breed in general and their breeding program in particular, not just to produce puppies for pet buyers.
can explain in detail the potential genetic problems inherent in the breed and is willing and able to provide documentation from organizations such as the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) that the puppy’s parents and grandparents have been screened for these genetic problems.
can explain the reasoning behind breeding a particular dog to a particular bitch. They should be attempting to reach perfection as defined by the breed’s standard. In the attempt to reach this goal with the resulting puppies, they should be able to explain the good points of each dog and what points they are trying to improve. If, when asked about the breed standard, the breeder looks at you with a blank look on their face or tells you why the breed standard doesn’t matter… RUN!
does not breed a high volume of puppies.
usually participates in some sort of dog-related events such as dog shows (conformation), obedience, agility, schutzhund, sled dog racing, herding, field trials, lure coursing, earth dog trials, etc. They do something with their dogs.
usually belongs to at least one dog club (all-breed club, obedience club, breed club, etc.).
will tell you the good points AND the bad points of the breed. They want their puppies in the best home possible and will want to be sure you are fully aware of what to expect before you buy.
is willing and able to give you references from previous puppy buyers. Those new to breeding should be able to give you references from other breeders of their breed or dog club members.
will never sell puppies through a pet store or broker or any other way that does not allow for thoroughly meeting with and interviewing you to ensure that the puppy is a good match for your family and that you will provide a responsible lifelong home.
will ask you many questions and may ask for references or to visit you at your home. The breeder is looking for the ideal situation for the puppy. They want the owner to be happy and not return the puppy because it was ill suited for their environment or life-style.
can provide a pedigree of the puppies, not just a copy of the parents registration papers. A pedigree usually has at least three generations of the puppies’ ancestors listed.
usually insists that puppies sold as pets be spayed/neutered and placed on an AKC limited registration. (Limited registration makes the dog’s offspring exempt from AKC registration.)
believes in service after the sale. If a puppy buyer has any questions regarding grooming, feeding, or training, the breeder will be there long after the puppy is no longer a puppy.
not only WILL they take back any dog of their breeding at any age, they REQUIRE that you contact them if you ever can’t keep your dog. Reputable breeders do not want to find out a dog they bred has been given up to an animal shelter or dumped by the roadside. They assume a lifetime responsibility for the canine lives they have put on this earth.

Is it worth the wait to get your next family member from a responsible breeder, instead of purchasing from a puppy mill, pet store, or backyard breeder? Absolutely.

If you would like a printable non-breed-specific version of this, please download Responsible Breeder vs. A Puppy Right Now.

The Importance of Teaching Bite Inhibition

jenna — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:05:05 +0000

Sometimes a topic for a blog post has to jump up and down in front of me waving its metaphorical arms, before I realize I need to write it. This was apparently one of those times. First, someone on Twitter asked Snickers (@snick_the_dog) about puppy nipping and teething, which we did cover in Dealing with Puppy Biting and Chewing. Then someone on Yahoo Answers, asked How to teach a Shiba Inu Bite Inhibition? Lastly, it came up briefly on my favorite breed-specific mailing list, Shiba-L.

What Exactly Is Bite Inhibition?

Pups usually learn bite inhibition – as it pertains to other dogs – from playing with their litter mates and their mother. They learn from their interactions how much force is too much and they learn to make a conscious decision to limit the force of their bite. They have to learn to translate that desire not to injure others to humans as well.

Bite inhibition in companion dogs is much too important to leave to chance. I am fairly convinced though that many dog owners do exactly that. Of course, they are surprised when the dog eventually bites someone and then it is the dog who pays the price for their negligence. Too many people don’t respect how much damage a dog can do. Even a small dog! If our companions are not raised to have a STRONG inhibition to bite humans, they can inflict serious pain while reacting instinctively.

Two Examples of Inadequate Bite Inhibition

I evaluated a Shiba for rescue last summer who was being given up AFTER SIX YEARS because she bit her owner in the face. The problem was, it was the owner’s fault. The dog was a great dog with a nice temperament and even came from a good background. The owners, however, had not socialized her with other dogs and treated her like a human, not a dog. Consequently they didn’t know anything about dog body language. The owner startled the dog and then leaned over her in a threatening manner. The dog reacted by biting and then looking horrified that she had bitten her beloved owner. The damage was done though – the owner was never comfortable around the dog again and gave her away.

A less drastic, but still frustrating, example of poor bite inhibition happened to me a few days ago. I was at the local dog run near my new apartment. There was a super overweight lab there who kept jumping up on my daughter and me. When I put my arm out to try to block the dog, he grabbed onto my wrist and hand with his mouth. He only barely scratched my skin, but his intention was clearly to hold onto me with his mouth. So COMPLETELY unacceptable. His owner was unfortunately clueless about how bad his dog’s behavior was.

An Example of Excellent Bite Inhibition

Even when Snick is snuggling with me, I’m careful not to startle him awake. I was incredibly grateful for his bite inhibition a couple weeks when he was surprised in his sleep. I walked into my bedroom and he was curled up sleeping on my bed. I bent over to give him a kiss. At exactly the same moment, Secret launched herself onto the bed and LANDED ON HIS TAIL. He jolted awake all fangs and fury only centimeters from my face. Yikes! Luckily, his reaction to seeing me so close to his teeth was as immediate as his displeasure at being stepped on and he stopped himself before accidentally biting me. Nasty facial scar avoided.

Tips on Teaching Bite Inhibition

One of the best pieces of advice anyone gave me when Snick was a puppy was regarding how to teach him not to bite and play so rough with my daughter. He thought of her as a litter mate – an equal instead of a superior – so we used that to teach him. Whenever he played too rough and bit her too hard, she would YELP like a hurt puppy and then turn her back on him and ignore him for about 10 seconds. It worked like a charm. His puppy brain completely understood and he totally stopped biting her in about a week. What I didn’t know at the time was that this great advice was based on the excellent training method of Dr. Ian Dunbar. Dr. Dunbar’s wonderful article, Puppy Biting, explains the reasoning behind the method.

In addition to self control, dogs need to learn self confidence. Many dogs bite to defend territory or because they are afraid. Raise a confident, well-socialized dog and he is a lot less likely to ever feel the need to bite.

Bond with your dog. If your dog sees humans as his key pack members, he is more likely to understand that biting humans is undesirable.

Don’t put your dog in any situation he can’t handle. Protect your dog from having to defend himself. If your dog is confident that you will take care of him, he won’t feel like he needs to protect himself and is less likely to bite out of fear.

Don’t startle your dog – or let anyone else startle him – especially when he is sleeping. If he’s going blind or deaf, pay special attention to how you interact with him.

Read your dog’s signals. Most dogs communicate multiple warnings before biting and will only bite as a last resort. Are you paying attention to what your dog is "saying" when he or she is stressed or in an unusual situation? Have you learned enough about canine communication to send your dog calming signals so he doesn’t worry as much?

Be your dog’s defender, his teacher, his advocate and his friend.

One Question Interview with Aurora Piacentino

jenna — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:37:54 +0000

Today brings us to the third installment of the One Question Interview series. Today’s answer is from Aurora Piacentino, Director of Operations at Liberty Humane Society.

Question: If you had the opportunity to communicate and teach one concept to all dog owners everywhere, what would it be and why?

Answer from Aurora Piacentino

Probably something you would expect from the Director of an animal shelter – the importance of spay/neuter in pet quality companion animals. I think that by this point, most people have probably heard that they should spay or neuter their dog, but most don’t know why. They might have some vague idea of health benefits or pet overpopulation, but those are concepts that most people don’t apply to themselves,

"My pet is healthy, why should I worry?"

"Too many animals? That’s why they have animal shelters, they find good homes for them!"

Pet owners should understand that keeping a dog intact, breeding dogs as well, comes with some very real health risks that can affect healthy adult dogs. With each heat cycle a female dog goes through her chances of developing mammary tumors and a horrific uterine infection, called Pyometra, increases. Pyometra often is diagnosed in later stages and most often requires expensive surgery, fluid therapy, antibiotics and other supportive care to treat. With pregnant dogs, there is always risk that complications could arise during birth – potentially risking both mother and puppies lives. Male dogs that are not neutered can also experience health issues directly related to remaining intact such as Prostate or Testicular Cancer. All of these conditions have the potential to not only significantly affect your pocketbook but to drastically reduce the quality and length of life of your companion.

Pet owners also need to understand that each and every litter born has an effect on their pet community. It simply does not make sense to bring more dogs needing homes into a community where there are already homeless dogs looking for families to adopt them. We do have animal shelters for those unlucky animals that find themselves without a place to call their own, but the dog owners in the community can help the cause by choosing to spay and neuter and thereby reducing pressuring the system, so to speak. It’s up to the animal shelter to provide information on low cost options, but the dog owner must take that next step and do the responsible thing. They have to cast aside fears that simple surgery will change their dog’s personality or physique (both notions that are completely false) and make the decision that they will be a part of the solution.

About Aurora Piacentino
Aurora Piacentino is Director of Operations at Liberty Humane Society in Jersey City, NJ. Liberty Humane Society is a private, non-profit animal shelter with a mission dedicated to fostering a community of compassion and respect, and providing animals in need with a chance at a lifelong, loving home.

For more information on Liberty Humane Society and to see the many animals in need of adoption, please visit www.libertyhumane.org.

Things I’d Love to See in My Lifetime

jenna — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 07:41:42 +0000

In no particular order, here are a few dog-related societal improvements that I feel would have immense benefits for companion animals and the humans who love them.

the psychological benefits of animal companions recognized so that the elderly wouldn’t have to give up their pets when entering assisted living or nursing care facilities
dogs proven to be well-behaved and under control (Canine Good Citizens perhaps) given the ability to fly in the cabin with their humans, without fitting under a seat
an end to large commercial pet breeding facilities
animals uniformly protected from neglect and abuse
the sale of dogs, cats and other companions in pet stores made illegal
an end to the mass murder of pets in "shelters" across our country
humane education taught as a standard course in elementary schools
an increase in residential and commercial buildings allowing pets

OK, that’s more than a few. What are some things you would love to see happen that would benefit our companion animals and ourselves?

The Family Dog Should be Family

jenna — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:59:13 +0000

When I wrote the mission for Jenna & Snickers (.com), I defined my own personal idea of responsible dog ownership. I listed ten basic requirements that I feel our dogs deserve from us. I expanded on one of those in the post about Making the Most of Companion Identification Methods. Today, I want to expand on four more.

to not live an isolated life
proper socialization with people and other dogs
appropriate levels of exercise and mental stimulation
basic companion training (at least sit, stay and come)

These four things have a common theme… you can’t accomplish any of these without spending time with your dog.

A lot has been written about bonding with your new dog or puppy. As a result, I think we tend to think of bonding as a one time process – something to accomplish and then check off the list. It doesn’t work that way though. If you really think about it, it’s illogical to think that it would!

Bonding with your dog is like maintaining any other friendship or family connection… you won’t really have a relationship unless you put time and effort into it. Your bond with your dog needs to be nurtured over his or her entire lifetime. I don’t mean just hanging out on the couch together either! If all the time you spent with your spouse or kids was spent watching television – never talking, doing chores, enjoying hobbies or vacations together – what kind of relationship would you have? Our dogs are part of the family too and they deserve more than cursory pee walks and a pat on the head at meal time. Interact with your dog on a daily basis.

to not live an isolated life

Dogs are pack animals. (Just because every "expert" out there is spouting it, that doesn’t make it any less true.) They are extremely social beings. This doesn’t necessarily mean that every dog has to have another dog around 24/7 (although, personally, I know Snickers is much happier if he has another dog to keep him company when I am not home). It does mean, though, that dogs need relationships and social interactions. Dogs have evolved to see us as pack members (just as many of us think of them as family members) and they need us.

I strongly believe that most dogs should live indoors with their families, unless they are working dogs and live with other dogs in an outdoor kennel. Either way, they need to LIVE with their social group, not just come in for a few hours of interaction after dinner and then be sent outside to be all alone again. I also feel that leaving a dog alone for 10+ hours a day, five days a week isn’t acceptable. Have I done it? Yes, when Snick and I were living alone and I was working long hours, he often spent 10 hours alone in the apartment waiting for me. Did I like it? Not one bit. I started fostering for NYCSR shortly after T and Secret moved to Florida, so he had a foster dog with him. When we didn’t have a foster at home, I took him to doggie daycare a couple days a week (since that was all I could afford). I did my best to give him opportunities for mental exercise and social interaction.

proper socialization with people and other dogs

Puppies need to be socialized with all sorts of people and in all kinds of situations. They need lots of interaction, exercise and attention. Most of us make exceptions to our daily routines when we have a puppy. We run home at lunch time to give the puppy an extra walk. We make time for a long morning walk so the puppy doesn’t eat the house while we’re out. We spend time playing tug of war before bed. As the puppy grows, many of us go to puppy kindergarten socialization classes, basic obedience class, etc.

When the puppy reaches about two years old, he/she finally starts to calm down. The lunch time walks are a thing of the distant past. We can get away with shorter morning walks (and therefore get more sleep) and we don’t necessarily have to play tug of war every night. This is the point, I think, where the human/dog relationship can easily stagnate… because the dog doesn’t need as much attention and exercise to stay out of trouble, it isn’t foremost in our mind and may become less of a priority than it should be.

appropriate levels of exercise and mental stimulation

I am repeatedly amazed by how many dogs are bored and overweight. The percentage of obese dogs in this country is probably as high as the percentage of obese humans! Dogs need to get out and move around to stay healthy, just like people do. Don’t just let your dog out in the yard. Snap on the leash and go exploring together. Go in the yard and throw a frisbee. Jump in the car and drive to a park for a walk in new territory. Going to new places not only exercises the body, but when your dog uses his senses to explore, he is exercising his mind also! Mental and physical exercise doesn’t have to all be outdoors either. You can play fetch, tug-of-war, chase and all sorts of games at home with your dog.

basic companion training (at least sit, stay and come)

Speaking of indoor games… Obedience training is a great way to bond with your dog and keep him mentally stimulated. Every puppy should be taught the basics, for the sake of safety and good citizenship, but the basics are only the beginning. If obedience training seems boring, try a tricks class or an agility class. Snickers and I have fun learning new tricks. The joyful look on his face when he "gets it" is just so cute!

More to come on basic companion training later