Responsible Breeders

I'm often asked to recommend a "good breeder." The breed always varies but the desire is the same. The problem is that I don't need one hand on which to count the people I personally consider to be "good," ergo "responsible and ethical" breeders. My standards are high and I see no reason why breeders shouldn't meet them. Sadly, I find that while many breeders call themselves responsible, you don't have to look far below the surface to see that they talk the talk but don't necessarily walk the walk.

I've detailed what I expect in "Small Dogs, Big Hearts." I don't think it's too much to ask to see at least one of the parents on the premises, to see clearances for health testing done before breeding for any genetic diseases that occur in the individual breed, to ask for a health guarantee to a reasonable age. All puppies should be clean and healthy and have a separate elimination place. The breeder should be properly socializing the puppies and starting their training as well as teaching them about the human-animal bond. And the breeder should be keeping the pups, preferably to at least 12 weeks while socializing the pups. If the breeder isn't socializing the puppies properly (a situation that must continue throughout the dog's life) then the earliest the pup should go to its new home is 8 or 10 weeks. The later, the better.

I have finally found a book that I can refer both breeders and potential pet owners to that details exactly what breeders should be doing and it is written by someone who walks the walk. Jerry Hope, CDBC, is a breeder, judge, trainer and behavior consultant in Georgia whose book, "The Breeder's Guide to Raising Superstar Dogs," is a must read for everyone who cares about dogs. I have a few minor differences with what should be done with Toy dogs but that's very minor. This is a book I'm happy to see available to the general public. And I hope more breeders will adopt Hope's program which includes thorough socialization, training and use of the bio-sensor program which is carefully outlined in Hope's book which is available at Amazon.

Add this one to your collection. You won't regret it. Too many dogs end up in shelters because they've had a poor start in life and have behavior problems for one reason or another. This book can go a long way in helping to prevent that.

I'd like to see what would happen if cat breeders adopted this program. Cats develop at different stages from dogs but I think this would be a worthy experiment to create better feline companions as well. It's certainly food for thought.

Re: The Next Generation...

Last night, at their invitation, I drove to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, to speak to their new Behavior Group.

I wondered, on the long drive through New England roads, what I would find. UMass doesn't have a veterinary school but undergrads could certainly go on to that if they could get in. Getting into Medical School is easier these days than getting into Veterinary School. Did they want to be Applied Animal Behaviorists? Animal Behavior Consultants? What did they know and what did they want to know?

After getting lost on the campus despite a tiny map that is barely legible to anyone over the age of 25, and with help from the kindness of strangers, I found my way to the correct building.

The students, mainly women which is not unusual, were wonderful. Warm and welcoming and certainly curious about the field of Animal Behavior and the related dog training field. They want to do the right thing. They've been trying to encourage their friends and parents to make proper choices and are so determined to help animals that they want to know more. They are hungry for knowledge with the open minds and bright enthusiasm embodied by the young and young-at-heart.

One young woman had volunteered at a zoo and would do so again this year. Her immediate goal is to bring environmental enrichment to the facility to provide a better quality of life for the animals. Another had been a shelter volunteer and expressed a strong desire to help animals, to make life better for those in shelters and help them live better lives in their homes. That was a common theme: making life better for animals and their owners, help people choose the right pets and train them properly so that they wouldn't end up in shelters, or to rehabilitate those who could be rehabilitated.

I gave them the obligatory explanation of why some can't be saved even when it breaks our hearts to have to admit it. I told them that they would be training owners, not just dogs, that learning what is normal for animals, both physically and mentally, is important. You don't walk in assuming that it's truly a behavior problem without a full work-up being done by a veterinarian.

And on and on it went.

I walked out, tired but uplifted, knowing that the next generation is producing people who care about those who cannot speak for themselves and they want to help in a kinder, gentler way. They know that choke and prong collars get the exact opposite result that they seek, they know that animals are intelligent and can learn more easily when properly trained, or retrained. Among the self-centered, rude, they've-been-handed-everything generation of kids there are some who have learned to care about others.

The world may not be so bleak after all.