Kenzo the Hovawart

Selling Puppies In Pet Stores? The Ghost Is Back In Germany

2012-01-28T17:35:00.000+01:00

Selling puppies in pet stores in Germany? Many responded in chock, wasn't this illegal? No. It was taboo, but it was never illegal. There was so much red tape involved in selling puppies through pet stores, the industry simply gave up.

Last week the whole of Northern Europe, including me, woke up from our dream when Norbert Zajac, owner of the largest pet store in the world according to the Guinness book of records, opened his puppy wing. According to Norbert Zajac, he expects to sell around a 1000 puppies per year.

Norbert Zajac created something that looks a lot like a 5-star hotel for dogs, which allowed him to comply with all the regulations, and there is nothing the law can do about it. Dogs have ample space, beds, toys, are walked, there is veterinary care, air conditioning, ... the works. (Follow this link, if you are interested to see the facilities, in the middle of the article in German is a video).

Window dressing in optima-forma nonetheless:

We still have puppies that in the most important period of their life - the socialization period between 8 and 12 weeks - spent most of their time confined in a golden cage. And therefore have the highest risk of ending in a shelter because of behavioral issues.
Also, there is no responsible breeder in the world that would let their pups be sold through an outlet, without the opportunity to check the future owner.
Puppy mills and backyard breeders have no problem pushing puppies through Norbert Zajac though. Even worse, it has now become easier for them to get away from the illegal "car-trunk" selling again, and appear legal once more.

PETA Germany organized demonstrations already a half year ago, when Norbert Zajac filed the paperwork for his permits. (here is a video of such a demonstration, you will also see them having a discussion with Norbert Zajac).

But now the ghost is back. So what can we do? PETA Germany organized a petition. For each signature a mail is send to Norbert Zajac. Until now more than 38,000 signatures have been collected. The petition is in German, but here is a picture I made with some instructions in English to help (click on the picture to enlarge):

English instructions (click to enlarge)

You can also like the FB page "Initiative against puppy discount" that PETA Germany created on Facebook.

I really hope you could help and sign the petition. Maybe we can still stop this in it's initial steps, before it is too late, and we have pet shops selling puppy mill dogs in Northern-Europe once again.

Calling all Wizards To the Hovawart School of Witchcraft & Wizardry

2012-01-27T13:10:00.000+01:00

Do you think they come and play?

The Hovawart is a Magical Creature. And in the Hovawart School of Witchcraft & Wizardry we study how it is like to live side by side with a Hovawart in our Care for Magical Creatures class. What does a Hovawart need and expect from Muggles - those not yet touched by the Hovawart's magic?

Unlike the school with the name that sounds a lot like ours, we do welcome Muggles! We invite all Muggles to come and hear the tales of the Wizards - those that have been touched by the Hovawart's magic.

After all, the choice for a particular Magical Creature breed requires a good match with the Muggle, in life style as well as temperament, and real-life info from Wizards is of key importance for Muggles to choose the right Magical Creature breed. A good match makes happy Hovawarts and happy Muggles!

We are calling all Wizards to the Hovawart School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. Maybe once upon a time, when you were a Muggle yourself, you found it difficult to find stories about Hovawarts, as compared to other Magical Creatures? I did. And I felt a little like going in way over my head when we got Kenzo as our first Hovawart, solely based on the recommendations of a friendly - and competent - breeder, together with the occasional Wizard's blog/website and the obligatory breed encyclopedia.

What I would like to achieve together with you Wizards, is to provide real life information for Muggles to learn more about Hovawarts. A place where Muggles can read how we play, what kind of training and activities we undertake. What makes Hovawarts special to us, and how they made us into Wizards. The role they came to play in our lives. And the hard times we shared. Helping Muggles to make the best choice possible if a Hovawart could be the Magical Creature for them, or at least what to expect. What do you think? Shall we help them?

Here is how Wizards can participate. We are excited to hear about you and your Hovawart!

Coming up soon ... the first installment: Wizard Kelsey and her Hovawart Ethanah!

***

Last but not least, a big Thank You to AJ from I Still Want More Puppies, for being the creative mastermind behind the whole Harry Potter pun.

Dog Walks Man ... With Poop Bag

2012-01-24T17:30:00.000+01:00

Where is the bag? We don't go without it.

Half a year ago I promised we would become a Poop Fairy, every day picking up one doggy deposit that doesn't belong to Kenzo & Viva. Apart from the daily scooping, making this promise to Amy Burket from Go Pet Friendly made me more aware of the whole debate surrounding our four-legged friends and we made some peculiar observations.

I thought you should always pick up after your dog. But apparently not. I discovered that in Holland they had poop lanes. Workers operating special designed scooping machines - like lawn-mowers - were doing their best to keep up with the poop flows. Some places had doggy restrooms, a small fenced in area, which no dogs even wanted to visit, with good reasons. Workers had to clean out those as well.

Poop is bringing employment to Holland. When we visited Holland last week, there was even a very real "dog poop symposium", in which 60 municipalities and counties exchanged "how to's" on dog poop, and how to get it scooped. It has become a business.

Back in Denmark, I found out by accident the Danish laws that poop should be scooped by the dog's owner had become obsolete. The scooping laws were a part of some police regulations, that everybody forget to address when they reformed the police some years ago. Scooping thereby became the responsibility of the person who lives on the ground adjacent to the public space, and not the dog owner. They are even liable if someone would slip in the poop and would harm themselves. I kid you not.

Reading a good book doesn't free me from my newly gained awareness. Even John Zeaman, author of the (otherwise fabulous and must read book) "Dog Walks Man", went to great lengths to find places to walk his dog where he could convince himself scooping surely was not necessary here.

I makes me wonder how poop did become such a topic that we need legislation, new industries, well-meaning lobbyist's and action groups. It all comes down to a man (yes it always seem to be man) with his dog that doesn't want to clean up. It is so simple: dog+man+bag=problem solved.

Ladies, demand from your spouse to display one bagged deposit (two if he is a Poop Fairy) on return from the dog walk. Use your positive reinforcement wits and praise him for every pile you see in the open: "I am so glad you are not doing that and clean up after Fido". I can see it work, can you?

Shiloh adopted after 2 years

2012-01-21T09:30:00.000+01:00

Maybe you remember Shiloh the Hovawart? She featured on this blog during Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week and before that, we raised the funds for her second FHO hip surgery.

I am so thrilled for Shiloh. An elderly couple from Idaho adopted her. They owned a Hovawart before and found Shiloh on Petfinder. They flew to Charlotte (NC) together with their Yorkie and met with Shiloh. Fell in love, and rented a car for the trip back home. With Shiloh on the back seat.

Sometimes there seemed to be no hope. More than 125 people tweeted about Shiloh, some daily in more than a year. Bloggers wrote about her. She featured as Pet-of-the-Week on NC's local TV station. As it seemed, to no avail. But finally, after more than two years, Shiloh has a family.

In all that time Shiloh was in the care of the no-kill rescue project HALO, and in particular Shiloh's foster dad, Tim Roney. They are the real heroes in this story. Please pay a visit to their website of like/leave a note on their FB page. I am sure they will appreciate.

Seized in Holland

2012-01-15T15:27:00.000+01:00

When the Dutch repealed their breed ban 3 years ago, the future seemed bright. At least for a moment. Although no more dogs are killed because of their looks, the new "Dangerous Dog Act" is killing more dogs than ever before. The innocent and the not so innocent.

Dogs are seized, of any breed, that are perceived as dangerous. If your Jack Russel or Yorkshire terrier jumps up to a person to greet, you risk your dog will be seized, as jumping up can be explained as dangerous behavior. Pounds are filled with dogs of any breed. Many have done nothing more than jumping up on people.

To prevent euthanization people can file a request to let their dog undergo a "Good Citizen" test. Most don't even bother, but for those that fight on to have their dog returned, an unpleasant surprise awaits. The dogs are kept in isolation, visits are not allowed, deprived of any contact or sunlight, and they have to wait for months, in some cases more than a year, to undergo the test. Needless to say how traumatized the dogs become, with almost no chance whatsoever to pass the test.

The Dutch "Workgroup for Assistance of Seized Dogs" tries to change all of this. They educate and inform the public, but also does an effort to help municipalities and counties to change their rule set and become aware of the unfair chance they give to the dogs and their owners. The workgoup's aim is that all seized dogs should undergo a fair test, and not be kept in the pound. And every dog should have the opportunity to get a second chance, and to be rehabilitated and socialized, before being tested.

Together with Martin Gaus (the Dutch Victoria Stillwell) the workgroup also steps in to help individual owners and dogs. With the socialization training they provide, many dogs have been rehabilitated and are living happy with their owners again, or are re-homed. The famous pit bull Ruby, that was sentenced to death 4 times, was one of these dogs.

The next video is showing how they rehabilitated Boran the Rottweiler. Boran was seized after a minor bite incident. He was kept in isolation for months and became completely traumatized. He failed the "Good Citizen" test as a result. After the workgroup was allowed to step in and provided training for Boran, he passed the test and could return to his owners.

Not all dogs make it. Some become so traumatized, their spirit never returns. Although the Dutch should be proud they repealed their breed specific legislation and stopped the discrimination of pit bull type dogs, they still have a long way to go towards a society that treats it's dogs fair. The workgroup is making a big effort to become that change for the dogs in Holland.

Pet Blogger Challenge: Round Two

2012-01-10T14:02:00.000+01:00

Edie Jarolim of Will My Dog Hate Me and Amy Burket of Go Pet Friendly are again hosting the Pet Blogger Challenge this year.

The time has arrived to show how far we have come after last year's challenge. I will not give up my blog as safe haven for the world of deadlines and numbers without a fight though. Like last year, maybe I can spin myself out of this again?

I gave it a lot of thought:

It sounds like I am cornered. It is time to come clean and give some honest answers, so here we go:

1. Provide a link to your post from last year’s Pet Blogger Challenge so we can refresh our memories.

Last year's post was Bad, bad blog, I cheated with the format. And worse, cheated even more by writing another one the next day: The Day After. I'll be a good boy this year though.

2. What do you consider the most important goals you set out in last year’s post?

I hadn't made any specific goals. On the other hand the overall goal of the blog is still the same. To provide real-life experiences living together with Hovawarts.

3. Have you made progress toward those goals, or have your goals changed over the past year?

Last year's Pet Blogger Challenge and the discussions that followed, helped in finding more focus on the mission of this blog. After all this is a blog about Hovawarts and I do tend to get carried away in other subjects as well. So I made sure to add more regularity to the Hovawart as the main subject.

During the year we took on the additional goal to help getting the Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) repealed in Denmark. Again an unrelated subject, but in the eye of so much suffering and injustice, I can't do anything else than to speak out against it. Whatever the breed, Hovawart or not. We will continue to help the Danes in getting the word out and support Danish organizations like Fair Dog in the fight against BSL. I willl take this opportunity and once more ask you shamelessly if you already signed the petition?

Change.org|Start an Online Petition »

4. Has your opinion of blogging on a schedule or as the spirit moves you changed? Which are you doing now? Do you still worry about lost traffic, momentum, etc?

I still blog as the spirits moves me. But without last year's guilt of not being on a schedule: thanks to last year's Pet Blogger Challenge I came to terms with this. I try to find a good balance between keeping my readers interested and to continue to enjoy what I do. There is nothing more rewarding than that. You will find no schedules here, although I do resist the "publish" button more. Meaning I write as the spirit moves me, but try to "publish" in what appears to be a more scheduled rhythm.

Of course I admit having to swallow an additional time when I see visits plunge after a longer period of silence, like when Viva was diagnosed with Cushings disease and during the latest busy at work episode. Nobody wants to write for an ever declining audience. On the other hand it is encouraging to see search engines continue to send queries about Hovawarts to the blog during periods of silence. I especially like the "Hovawart puppy" searches that go to our post about the Hovawart puppy mill. In the end that it is what matters, that people find the blog when looking for information about Hovawarts.

Blogger statistics, very rudimentary, tell me that I have on average 2,000 monthly readers when I don't blog, and up to 6,000 when I blog. The year before ended with only one third of those numbers, although that was also the year we started with blogging. Two months ago I installed Feedburner and Google Analitics, so I can see better where people are coming from and what they are (not) reading in the future. I am not sure what to use those numbers for, but I love to fiddle around with the techy side of the blog and procrastinate with that. I'll hope to get some clues reading the challenge posts from other bloggers to learn more about how it could help.

5. Are you generating income from your blog? Has this changed since last year?
If you are generating income, how (e.g. sponsor ads, affiliate relationships, spokesperson opportunities)?
If not currently, do you hope to in the future — and how?

We have no desire to sell anything through this blog. And that will probably not change. But we all know what they say about the offer you can't refuse. I am listening.

6. Have your likes and dislikes about blogging changed since last year?

My likes are still the same. To connect with readers and other bloggers. I am still a sucker for comments that make me see things differently or add to the story. It is that interactivity that makes blogging so much more rewarding than other forms of writing.

What stands out for me in 2011 was how other bloggers rallied behind the BSL campaign on this blog and to what lengths they went to support and help me. Not only writing about it on their own blogs, but also coming with ideas what to do and how to move this forward. I never asked, they just did it. It was inspiring and invigorating.

7. Overall, are you pleased with the progress you made in 2011?

Progress is best measured in real-life results. One of the best reinforcers was when I got some real proof visitors were actively using the blog to form their opinion on the Hovawart. One of them, Kelsey M., was so kind to get back in touch and mention the blog as an "indispensable source of real-life information". Kelsey found a responsible Hovawart breeder and is now living with "Ethana". It gives all the motivation needed to keep on blogging for another year - or more.

8. How do you see your blog changing/growing in 2012?

I would really like to do more with all the contacts established through time with other Hovawart people. It would be great to be able to write, or let them write, about their experiences with Hovawarts as well. I have a plan for this year to try getting them more involved. I have not come around it yet, because I am not looking for breed superlatives and overly optimistic views, but real-life information, and mistakes made which we can all learn from.

There is a huge wild-card though. As we are traveling more and more for our work - if you read this blog before you remember the dogs always join us on those trips - it is not unlikely we start to blog about that a lot more if it all materializes the way I expect it to. A Hovawart Pet Travel Blog, how is that for a niche? I will have a dozen readers at least. But in essence that is what it is about for us. The blog should follow us, Kenzo & Viva. Not the other way around.

It was good coming clean. Now I am off reading all about you other bloggers. I am sure you will be as inspiring to me as last year.

What can you do else than smile

2012-01-07T12:53:00.000+01:00

I found myself in that vacuum right after the Christmas and New Year's events that we heard so much about. Even pork cracklings that turned out to be a very international thing after all, couldn't do much about that. As well as the thoughtful presents of our dinner guests, DVD's of "Marley & Me" and "Hachiko", in which I couldn't find a lot of happy endings. If you have seen them, you know what I mean.

Right after the New Year we hunkered down as a hurricane visited Northern Europe, which is very rare, leaving a trail of destruction, followed by floods due to the rain and the rising sea levels. Nobody was hurt and there was only material damage. But by now I was gasping after something upbeat.

When we went on our first dog walk after the hurricane I was looking at all the flooding and fallen trees, but Kenzo & Viva didn't let me dwell in those thoughts for too long. Where I see destruction, they see opportunity. Every flooded area was met with excitement to demonstrate the zoomies. Every fallen tree with jumping, hide-and-seek and some extra sniffing.

What can you do else than smile in the face of so much joy. Especially when you least expect it.

Viva observing Kenzo's Bambi impression

Zoomies!

Zoomie chase

Is it deep over there?

Howling Hovie Holiday Wishes

2011-12-23T17:04:00.001+01:00

That's all you got ?!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and Howling Hovie Holidays! We hope you will have a couple of great days together with everybody and everything you hold dear.

As you can see on the picture, Kenzo & Viva are extremely disappointed as snow didn't visit for Christmas this year, apart from some pathetic snowflakes the other day.

We admit to envy all the beautiful white imagery displayed over at Lilly and Ginko in Boulder and Bajnok and Derria in Norway. They are so lucky with all that snow.

But Kenzo & Viva will enjoy their special holiday treat ... pork skin. Yummy.

www.flaeskesteg.dk

Danmark is one of the few places in the world where pork skin - "Flæskesteg" - is actually on the human menu as well. We are making a traditional Danish Christmas dinner for our family so there will be plenty of pork skin around.

As an expat, I had to try it. It actually tastes alright, but my Dutch mind cannot come around eating pork skin. There will be plenty falling off my plate for Kenzo & Viva. They love it.

On one of our holiday trips back to Holland, I promised to prepare it for my family. The Dutch butcher was horrified when I ordered a piece of pork with the skin still attached and telling him what I needed it for didn't help calming him down. He could only prepare it when a new shipment arrived, and after returning to pick it up, the entire staff was signaling each other: "That's him!". My Dutch family took it well, by the way.

So taking the menu and the absence of snow into account, me, Kenzo & Viva will launch yet another charming offensive for the family to migrate more up North. We want snow to go with our pork skin.

Happy Holidays!

Twitter Giveaway - Support Your Animal Charity of Choice With Cash

2011-12-18T10:43:00.000+01:00

A group of bloggers are giving away 325$ in a social media holiday event:

213$ to your animal charity of choice and
112$ all to yourself.

Last week you could use your Facebook account to participate and this week the event has come to Twitter.

Tell in the comment section which animal charity you would like to support and raffle with your Twitter account in the "Rafflecopter" below. Remember to return next week when you can raffle with your Google+ account too. In order to win you do not have to participate in all three parts of this event. We know that not all of you have accounts on all three platforms which is why they have been separated so everyone has the same opportunity. Good luck !

a Rafflecopter giveaway
If we would win we give all the money (including our personal prize) to the awesome Minnesota Sheltie Rescue that helped Mel Freer so fabulously to get her lost Sheltie, Lady, back.

Hovawarts To The Rescue

2011-12-15T11:00:00.000+01:00

This week I turn my blog over to Caroline Dunn - dog trainer, Search and Rescue handler, and Hovawart enthusiast - to provide us with a peek in the exciting world of scent and how you and your dog can do nose work too.

Venka, the Search and Rescue Hovawart, courtesy of MindYourDog

How did I get involved with Search and Rescue (SAR) and the wonderful world of nose work? Well, it all started with a Hovawart. A hov… what!? I hear you say. No, nothing to do with the famous school for witches and wizards. Although I think I may have been struck by a spell for luck the day I came across this rare German breed.

The Hovawart is a versatile general-purpose working dog from Germany, calm in the house but full of energy outdoors. They have been known since the middle age as faithful protectors of their families, watching the livestock and their master’s property, while also being excellent at tracking criminals.

Venka, courtesy of MindYourDog

Ours is called Venka. She has been working as an operational lowland SAR dog since she qualified with NSARDA in 2007. Many people have met our bouncy girl. She will lean on you for a cuddle at any opportunity. But nobody really knows Venka until they have seen her searching. Working with a Hovawart is a fantastic experience. It is all about respect and teamwork. They work with you, not for you. They have an excellent understanding of their task, great focus, but still retain a sense of initiative.

A lot of SAR handlers work border collies, some have spaniels or labradors. We have no reason to envy them. Hovawarts are amazing working dogs. To be fair though, many canines have the potential to be great for the job. Most of the breeds from the gundog, pastoral and working groups could do it, apart from those at the very end of the scale in term of size and weight. Having said that, I knew a SAR Newfoundland and once he had picked up scent, he was unstoppable. Mongrels don’t have to stay on the "back bench" either. We have a fantastic rescued boy called Red currently training in our unit, who is believed to be a collie x staffie. I will be very surprised if he does not pass with flying colours before the end of the year.

You may wonder what SAR dogs do exactly. Most use a technique called air scenting to find vulnerable missing people. They analyse scent that is being carried in the air. Many elements such as temperature, wind and terrain will affect how scent travel and a real partnership between the dogs and their handlers is necessary to ensure success. The dogs cover vast area off the lead, following directional commands from their handler and constantly checking and reviewing scent. Once they identify human scent, they will pinpoint the source, alert their handler, usually by a bark, before taking them to the location of the person.

You don’t have to join a SAR unit to have fun with your dog though. Getting started with scent work is easy. Here is a simple and fool proof method to teach a basic game at home, without any special equipment and whichever breed your dog is. You will only need a helper to get you started.

Start in a closed room, hold your dog and ask your helper to show them a "prize" such as a dog biscuit or a favourite toy. If needed, they may tease by shaking it in front of your dog's nose and talking to them in an exciting manner. Then, they should place the prize just out of sight, for instance behind a box or a piece of furniture, and take a few steps back. Release your dog saying "go search". As they have seen where the prize was placed, they should go straight to it. When they do, praise them. Play with them for a short time if the prize was a toy. Repeat this once or twice, not necessarily with the prize in the same place.

The next step is slightly different. Your helper should still place the prize just out of sight. But then, instead of releasing your dog, either cover their eyes or turn them towards you so they can’t see what is happening. Your helper should then as quietly as possible move the prize a little further. Keep it simple at first, the prize should be on the floor and within a relatively short distance. When you release your dog - remember to say "go search" - they should go straight to the place where they think the prize is. They will be surprised that it is not where they though and start searching. Unless the dog stops searching or looks too confused, don’t repeat the command. I see many people who think they are encouraging their dog, while they are actually distracting them. SAR dog handlers direct their dogs during searches, but they also know when to shut up and let their dog work. Well, have you ever try to concentrate on something while your colleague is speaking loudly on the phone or your teenager has put the volume up on their stereo? And dogs are not always a lot better at multi-tasking than men… come on guys, you know you can't talk while you're shaving!

Coming back to our scent game, once you have done this a few times in different locations in the room, your dog should not need to see the helper place the prize to a "dummy" location first. Instead, cover your dog's eyes or turn them towards you from the start, have your helper hide the prize and then send your dog with a "Go search". Always use the same cue when releasing the dog.

The dog will very shortly understand the game enough so that you won’t need a helper anymore, simply place your dog in one room, close the door and hide the prize in the next room. Open the door saying "Go search" and watch your dog go.

Then the limit to how far you take this game is only your imagination, you can make your dog search one room, the whole house, the garden, the dog park… If you do not always use the same prize, then make sure that the dog is shown it first and has a chance to sniff it. Otherwise, you may be surprised what your dog will find for you!

There are many more scent games you can play with your dog. Air scenting is just one aspect, then there is trailing, tracking, scent discrimination, etc… Why not check if your local club offers any scent activities or join a nose work boot camp? All dogs love scent work, it is suitable for all size and breed. Learn the techniques and take your relationship with your dog to a whole new level. People who have dogs who always seem to want to do more will get the added benefit of finally finding an activity that will tire their dog out. Scent games can even help with dogs who bark or get destructive when bored.

About Caroline Dunn
Caroline lives in Kent with her family and their hovawarts. She is the head trainer at Mind Your Dog, where she create happy relationships between pet dogs and their owners. Caroline and her husband James are also members of NSARDA Cantech, a charity which provides SAR dog teams to assist in locating vulnerable missing people.

For more information about Search & Rescue dogs visit the NSARDA and the Air scenting search dogs websites.

For more information about Mind your Dog events, including their scent workshops, visit the Mind Your Dog website or follow Caroline on Twitter.

This story was first published on Safe Pets UK.

Facebook Giveaway - Support Your Animal Charity of Choice With Cash

2011-12-14T16:42:00.000+01:00

A group of bloggers are giving away 325$ in a social media holiday event:

213$ to your animal charity of choice and
112$ all to yourself.

Tell in the comment section which animal charity you would like to support and raffle with your Facebook account in the "Rafflecopter" below. Remember to return next week when you can raffle with your Twitter and your Google+ account too. Good luck !

a Rafflecopter giveaway
If we would win we give all the money (including our personal prize) to the awesome Minnesota Sheltie Rescue that helped Mel Freer so fabulously to get her lost Sheltie, Lady, back.

Once Upon a Time There Was a Mutt

2011-12-11T18:30:00.000+01:00

You probably remember the BBC show Pedigree Dogs Exposed. In 2009, it revealed how breeders prefer exterior characteristics above health. Crippled and sick dogs became the winners of dog shows and were used in breeding. The end of the pedigree dog as we know it was predicted.

The modern Hovawart

What about the Hovawart? During Kenzo's "passing the genes" project - interrupted by his neutering - we did a lot of research and soul-searching if it would be an ethical thing to pursue. And we decided to dig a little deeper into the history of the Hovawart.

Most breeder and Kennel Club websites paint a romantic picture of the Hovawart as a robust dog breed that has been around since medieval times. If you believe in fairy tales, stop reading.

The tale of the Hovawart starts in the Germany of 1922, when a group of German Shepherd dog breeders in the "Härzen" province (in former East-Germany) were disappointed by the decision of their club to stop breeding long-haired German Shepherds.

They decided to "create" their own long-haired breed and found a text in the Schwabenspiegel, the oldest Code of Law to survive from medieval Germany, referring to a type of dogs called "Hovawart". They were mentioned because they were valued dogs and stealing such a dog meant harsh punishment.

The author of the text that eventually led to the "Schwabenspiegel", Eike von Repgow, was saved himself as a little boy by one of those dogs, explaining why he valued them.

Courtesy of www.hovawarte-becker.de

"Hovawart" is old-German for "estate guard dog" and it is more likely the law text was referring to a type of dogs, instead of one particular breed. It attracted the group of breeders nonetheless, also because they found more records describing "estate guard dogs" saving human lifes.

A problem for the group was the texts did not describe how the dogs looked like, and they assumed the breed must have looked something like the dog on one of Albrecht Dürer's drawings (see picture to the left).

The group, led by the German zoologist Kurt F. König, started roaming the country-side for dogs resembling the image they already had created in their minds and crossed them with German shepherds, Newfoundlands, Kuvaczs, Leonbergers and African wild dogs.

König was the mind behind the blond colored Hovawart as well. As he worked on this during the years 1934-1945, and was later accused of "neo-darwinistic" views, we can make a good guess of where he found his inspiration for a blond Hovawart.

Castor Meyer-Busch, courtesy of www.working-dog.eu

In 1932, they created their image of the perfect Hovawart with "Castor Meyer-Busch" and this dog would set his fingerprints on the future generations. He was 45% "type" dog, 12% Newfoundland, 15% Kuvacz and 28% German Shepherd.

I do not know what the effect of all this crossing was on the gene pool for the Hovawart. A lot of breeds contributed to the first Hovawarts. The use of the "type" dog - basically a mutt? - must have added a lot of diversity. But like with all breeding, which individuals were predominantly used? They would have had the biggest effect on the gene pool for later generations.

What also affected the gene pool was the 2nd World War, which decimated the ranks, as Hovawarts were working dogs and were conscripted by the army to die on the fronts. After the war, the Iron Curtain divided the remaining gene pool in two as well. Even today it reflects in the Hovawart. Dogs bred in the West were predominantly working dogs and pets. Which made them more compact and almost loose their undercoat. In the East they where still used as estate guarding dogs living outside, and this made a robust dog with a lot of undercoat.

As with most working dog breeds during the 60-ties and 70-ties, the Hovawart was plagued by hip-dysplasia (HD) and breeding was restricted on dogs with a form of HD in their ancestry. This meant roughly half of the population could not be used in breeding. And although it solved the HD threat concerning the Hovawart, the side-effect of an ever diminishing gene pool soon was revealed. Some lines now had dogs which acted more aggressive than before.

This was counter-measured as well with mandatory mental-testing, but it revealed the dilemma of the pedigree dog once more. Each restriction is made to make the breed healthier, but also shrinks the gene pool and thereby increases the inbreeding factor and future risks.

How the Hovawart will evolve will depend on that inbreeding factor. Seen in that light it is positive the Hovawart show world is not solely focused on external characteristics. You see that when you go to a Hovawart show. They differ in size, coat structure and coloring, and the local "champs" do not resemble each other as perfected clones, even for the untrained eyes.

Is that enough? Or does it only buy time and is the Hovawart already destinated to share its faith with all other "breeds" that are the result of a hundred years of mankind trying to mess with nature? Hovawart breeders face a difficult task. Wrong decisions will shrink the gene pool even more. And good decisions are not rewarded, as the gene pool is never widened.

Plastic Surgery For A Hovawart

2011-12-09T20:15:00.001+01:00

B-day. The day of Kenzo's neutering. My subconscious made it's final move: surely the appointed time with the vet was a mistake? But the vet - she is starting to get to know me - called after us with a reminder of the appointment.

And so Kenzo went on the operating table, well on his way of becoming 100% gorgeous to famous movie stars like Katherine Heigl. Have you not seen it? According to Katherine dogs are already 98% gorgeous, and removing two tiny little not-so gorgeous obstacles - according to Katherine - is the only thing needed to reach a one-hundred-percent of absolute gorgeousness.

As you can see on the photo, he didn't feel gorgeous right after the procedure. But despite small red eyes and wobbly feet he made sure to cover Viva with ear-nibbles on return. After all, he is 100% gorgeous now, and he knew Viva must have been looking forward to his return.

Everything went well. After all it is a simple procedure. And as soon as the anesthesia started to wear off, we got a smile too - although still with small eyes. It feels good to be gorgeous. Or doped? Alright, maybe both.

To all you commenter's on last week's blog, FB and Twitter: thank you for your thoughtful support and for cheering us up. You guys rock!

There Will Be No Small Kenzo's

2011-12-03T18:15:00.000+01:00

But she is still my girl

Kenzo is getting neutered. Yes, we did embark on a project to show him, get his mental- and health state tested. And maybe it would lead to small Kenzo's, eventually. But we are going to leave that path.

I hoped it would take a year, and in that time Viva would only come in season twice. Not that we want to breed Kenzo with Viva, her health doesn't allow to be bred and neither does it allow a risky surgery getting her spayed. But the issue is that Kenzo with his manhood intact just goes through the roof when Viva is in season.

During Viva's season period he is howling and whining and only stops from pure exhaustion. He hardly eats, drops a lot of pounds and doesn't find joy in many other activities. Not even tracking which he loves so much otherwise. For us it is heart breaking to see him that way and we worry for his health.

Normally a female dog would come in season once every half a year. If the project would take a year, it would have meant we had to go through two more episodes. I thought we could handle that. But Viva changed the plan. Since we started, Viva has been in season three times, meaning she is in season every other month.

Every other month. Thats just too much, and not something I want to put both Kenzo & Viva through on such a regular basis. So Kenzo is getting neutered. There is a risk it will not change his anxiety when Viva comes in season. We tried chemical castration, and it had no effect on his behavior otherwise than that he was shooting blanks. But since we cannot spay Viva without risking she wouldn't survive the operation, I can't see any other options.

Their will be no small Kenzo's. In many, many years from now when he would have passed away, it would have made us happy knowing his unique spirit was living on inside some small Kenzo's enjoying their own life. A nice thought. As long at it doesn't hold us back from enjoying the life we have now. I guess giving birth offers a touch of immortality and therefore can blur our judgment sometimes.

Kenzo can have a more fulfilling life with joy and fun, doing the things he wants to do, than being bothered by what he needs to do. I am here. Kenzo and Viva are here, lets make the best out of it, right now.

Hovawart on the Job

2011-12-01T04:24:00.001+01:00

Viva defending the company colors

Taking your dog with you to the office can be a lot of fun. Kenzo and Viva join me regularly. We all refer to them as the "Complaint Department".

Now they never read their job description, and a Hovawart will make a guarding job out of anything. Which makes it a little bit more challenging in our case.

Viva is the easiest. She loves people and showers the whole office with kisses. Not everybody in the office appreciates that, but it is hard to stop her when she is in love-mode. Viva needs me to be in eye sight due to her separation anxiety though, making sanitary stops quite a challenge.

Kenzo should have been even easier. He is raised as The Ultimate Office Dog: after all, he grew up in an office. We started our business at the same time we got Kenzo as a puppy. As with most businesses, we started in the garage. And when we were hiring, we couldn't pay a lot more than the wages. We cleared the 1st floor of our house and arranged it as an office space. People were walking in and out. The front door and the door bell were active all day long.

Kenzo was growing up in the middle of all the activity and I guessed myself lucky with some free and necessary socialization. He moved between the ground- and 1st floor as he pleased, and had a lot of fun with his self-appointed role as the doormen. Already that time he was suspicious of new faces, and he needed some hours to decide if my call that it was alright was indeed accurate. You cannot deny those Hovawart guarding genes, especially in a Hovawart male.

It could have ended here would I not have made some mistakes. I took Kenzo with me to basic "Schutzhund" training, just to see if it would be something he would like. He didn't, but he learned enough to pick up some skills he could use. Showing disinterest in training class to "arrest" (barking in front of a person) someone he "knew", didn't mean he didn't learn.

He just applied it in situations he himself deemed necessary. Which sometimes lead to hysterical situations, maybe you can remember his latest drugs bust - revealed in the comments section. Again a typical Hovawart, thinking independently and making his own decisions.

Viva joining the family has changed Kenzo in many ways. Being the man in the house, not neutered, and having "his" girl Viva, made him a lot more ambitious as well. I noticed it all too late, making it more difficult now to get him off the podium he created.

We all got a shock - after we moved to a real office - when a visitor came in and Kenzo decided it was time for his first office arrest. We straightened it out quickly and Kenzo and the visitor quickly became BFF, but I remembered looking in his eyes, this has been a great reinforcer for him. He gloated.

The worst I could do is to not take him to the office anymore. Socializing never stops, especially with a Hovawart. We keep some precautions and Kenzo is on leash all the time. When somebody he doesn't know comes up to me I have to be vigilant and step forward myself. Relieving him of taking a decision on what to do. He is constantly aware, and so should I. This is enough to prevent any "unpleasant" situations from happening.

We all had a laugh last time, when Kenzo decided to take a good nap and stop looking at the door closing and opening all the time. He lost seeing the point I guess, as he knew all those people coming in and out anyway. Yet there was a new person coming in without speaking - he would have picked up a new voice - and sat down in a waiting area.

I thought Kenzo knew - he always knows - and took him with me to go for a walk. Still half a sleep he looked at the person while we passed by but still nothing. I said hello, and as soon as the person responded, we all could see the confusion on Kenzo's face, he missed that one! Even his bark sounded disappointed. To make it worse I rewarded him, now he really was confused.

This post is for all my awesome co-workers. A big thank you for putting up with us!

The Gift

2011-11-29T21:15:00.000+01:00

It was time for some long overdue recharging of batteries. We all needed it after our last ~~boring~~ busy period. To round it of, we traveled to Holland for business for the week - again - and spent the two weekends trying to catch up some of the time lost on the family's favorite place, the beach at Kijkduin.

It was beautiful autumn weather on the beach. Low temperatures, windy, sunshine, rain, all at once. Excellent Hovawart weather and especially Kenzo couldn't stop bouncing, he even forgot to swim :)

Without me knowing it I was carrying a little gift in my travel bag. Edie started a book club on her will my dog hate me blog. Although I missed the discussion about the first book from Steinbeck, due to the mentioned busy period, I was prepared and had a copy of Following Atticus - by Tom Ryan and Atticus M. Finch - for the next installment of Edie's book club packed for the ride.

After both Kenzo & Viva were laying down after another active day and went to rest for the remainder of the night, I made the mistake to open this book and read the first couple of pages. Just reading the prologue was enough. I was hooked and unable to stop reading until I finished it.

I am burning to tell you all about it, but will not at this time as it is Edie's party. So tune in to Edie's book club session on her blog on December 8 where we can all join and talk about this wonderful book.

It is a story about hiking. And a story about dogs. But it is so much more than that. After you read it, I am sure you will see your dog - and your life as well - through different eyes.

Please read and join us!

Look at That, Not at Me

2011-11-20T12:30:00.000+01:00

No time to look at you, I am looking at that

Dogs learn from each other and copy behaviors of each other.

For Viva I hoped she could benefit from Kenzo, observing how he interacted with other dogs, and how he handles situations that would otherwise impose fear on her.

The exact opposite happened. Viva is making good progress – thanks to BAT (Behavioral Adjustment Training) – but Kenzo is going in the opposite direction. They are copying alright. But it is Kenzo that is doing the copying, not Viva.

Looking back, Kenzo’s change in behavior already started to develop ever since our very first encounter with an off-leash dog together with Viva. Viva snared at her, and the other dog snared back. Kenzo stepped in between the two ladies before it could escalate any further. He did not snare or growled, just moved in between them while making himself as large as possible. The other dog left. I thought it was just Kenzo being his diplomatic self, like he has done so many times before.

This scenario repeated itself with other dogs. And then one day Kenzo decided to act in a preventive way, and moved in between before the other dog could reach Viva at all. And in small increments, he became a little more persuasive as well. Without me noticing it - I was glad for the help while in the background trying to somehow keep Viva from going berserk -, he was learning a lesson I did not want him to learn. Aggression can pay off.

In the mean time Viva became a lot more relaxed due to the progress we made with her BAT training. She became so much more relaxed that I could start doing some “Look At Me” with her on our walks. When another dog approaches, I can use it to have her focus on me. She can still respond to a “Look at Me” only meters away from another dog.

Kenzo gave “Look at Me” a different meaning. For him it was a signal another dog was approaching – which in itself was correct - and he made himself ready to scare them off for Viva. Instead of looking at me, he would scout the surroundings for any dogs and locked in on them as a guided missile system. No matter how much I tried training it with Kenzo separately, on a walk together with Viva, Kenzo mistook it for a warning that danger is approaching.

Now I found myself in a situation where Viva was improving, but Kenzo was clearly in a downward spiral. Not something I would have expected, to say the least. And I needed to fix it fast.

I discussed it a lot with my Twitter pals, and while I chatted about it with @kimhalligan1 and @positivelydog, I got some great advice. According to @positivelydog Kenzo was an info-seeking dog and with them “Look at That” (LAT) works better. That meant I actually had to reward him for looking at the other dog, instead of trying to have him to look at me. She sent me this LAT video from Leslie McDevitt – author of “Control Unleashed” - and off we went to try it out.

It was easy to train, as I can reward Kenzo for what is natural for him. When we are on a walk these days, we are just asking for a “Look...”. Viva looks at me, and is rewarded. Kenzo scouts the horizon, finds the dog, I praise and he looks at me for a reward. Jackpot!

It is such a small thing when you think of it, but it makes a huge difference. Having regained focus of both Kenzo & Viva once more we can move forward again as a team. The negative downward spiral Kenzo was in has been stopped.

Grooming a Lioness

2011-11-15T14:30:00.000+01:00

Before - After

We started treating Viva for her Cushing's disease more than half a year ago, and soon we were confronted with a harmless side effect.

Viva's hair growth was exploding. Cushing's had been suppressing her natural hair growth so far. And now it was rapidly returning to it's normal state.

In Viva's case, that meant a lot of hair. She quickly developed a "Lion collar", any Hovawart male would have been jealous of. It couldn't be comfortable for her having that much fur. And it wasn't very lady-like.

When I read on Pamela's blog how Honey grew "Muppet feet" and how Pamela executed some do-it-yourself grooming with great results, I went to arms. Viva needed some wellness.

Thankfully I started on the area below the chest, a little out of sight. My few existing grooming skills, if any, seemed to have gone with the wind. I had to give that up and I frantically started to search for an alternative, while Viva's "Muppet feet" where developing into "Muppet flippers".

Armed with a list of test questions on how to groom a reactive dog, I called around to local groomers but was left empty-handed. Nobody seemed to be able to refer us. Not in the dog training club, not the vet. Finally, we got a tip from Viva's water-walker therapist. She gave me the contact details of a groomer that she knew could handle reactive dogs. When I called for an appointment, we got a time two months away.

When the day finally came I told all there was to know about Viva and her reactiveness to our newly appointed grooming-lady, Jannie. She nodded politely through my whole monologue, and reached for the leash to take Viva in. I didn't expect her to do that, as she was physically absolutely no match for Viva and assumed she would need my help getting Viva crated in the bathing area in the back. But Jannie, nodding politely again, said it will be alright and off she went with 90lbs of highly-explosive Hovawart.

The longest 3 hours in my life started. I think I phoned Jannie at least twice. "yes, everything is alright", and "no, Viva is not ready yet".

When I could finally pick Viva up, I rushed into the shop. One groomer was busy with a Corgi mix and Jannie was grooming a Poodle on her table. When I started to approach Jannie and said hello, I noticed a blondish shadow was rising from below the grooming table the Poodle was standing on.

It was Viva, and she was off-leash. I panicked, expecting Viva to lash out to the Poodle. I reached for her, in what felt like being in one of those movies where you see the hero flying through the room in slow-motion while shouting "noooooo...", equally in slow-motion. She was too far away for me to reach. The only thing I could do was to hold my breath in a feeling of helplessness and accept the laws of gravity.

But the Lioness didn't roar. Viva rushed passed both dogs and made a whole spectacle out of greeting me, and the remaining dogs in the shop happily joined in for the concert. Viva had been taking a nap at Jannie's feet while she continued grooming other dogs. My jaw-bone must have reached the floor on the very moment I realized that.

I was so baffled and relieved, I was not capable of having any kind of intelligent conversation about it. Jannie did not give a lot of detail either that could explain Viva's exemplary behavior: "She was nice". Most important, Viva was B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L as well. Her fur was soft from the bath and her trimmed coat had the highest cuddle factor. The Lion's collar was gone as well.

Here are some pictures of Viva new style, and Kenzo seems to approve it too:

Nice trim Viva !

Kenzo takes a sniff on arrival at home

It's OK, Kenzo sends a look of approval :)

Take the pledge: Boycott Petland

2011-11-13T00:17:00.001+01:00

download this "pledge" and share

In an attempt to have Petland USA follow the example of their Canadian branch to stop selling pets from their pet stores that come from puppy mills, a petition was raised. In just one month it already gathered more than 45,000 votes.

When confronted with the results, Petland management decided in all their wisdom to ignore the results and even made up a genuine conspiracy theory.

As a response, a call for action from change.org, the BTC4Animals team and Mary Haight from DancingDogBlog was organized to join a social media protest for a boycott of Petland USA.

Everybody could join by placing a "pledge" badge on the FB walls of the Petland franchises. In an attempt to stop the bad publicity Petland USA closed their FB walls.

WE SHOULDN'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT.

It is appaling they can still turn a blind eye for the practices that are going on, continue to sustain puppy mills that use dogs as breeding machines. Kept in small cages and never seeing the light of day.

In Europe this was banned 2 decades ago, Petland Canada stopped selling pets through pet stores. Other chains in the US stopped as well. Clearly Petland USA knows this. But they choose to ignore it and make money on the suffering of dogs.

Join this action and take the pledge by sharing the badge on your FB wall, blog or other social media. And lets keep on voting and sharing the petition as well.

Waiting for The Happy Days

2011-11-12T10:59:00.001+01:00

Where is that tracking dude? We are tired of waiting

During some crazy weeks for the business in which we worked like madmen on a bid for three huge "call for tenders", life had to wait.

Walks were just sufficient. No tracking. No training.

Kenzo's activities suffered the most. I canceled his mental test in our show or neuter project, canceled ring-training, canceled mid-week obedience classes, canceled the tracking exam.

Viva's vet visits, the holiest of the holiest, were of course uphold. She is in thriving health, and the latest Cushing's test with blood work came back just fine. I even got her groomed, but that is a different story.

Kenzo & Viva seemed to quickly adapt to the new routine. Spending their time waiting for the happy days to return. I worked a lot from home, conveniently keeping my own guilt feelings at bay. Being the active dogs they are, I expected a lot more protests and new "behaviors". Apart from occasionally stealing some laundry and taking their self-invented guarding duties a little more serious than usual, nothing out-of-the-ordinary happened.

No need to say that the first thing we did today - now all work was "finished" - was to go out for some well-deserved tracking. After Kenzo finished jumping up on me and slobbering my face, he did his best imitation of a vacuum cleaner, while Viva provided a background barking choir, in anticipation of her turn to track. They have just been waiting. Politely and patiently.

Happy days have returned. And while I write you this short note on what we have been up to, Kenzo & Viva are laying at my feet, in a deep and fulfilling sleep from a couple of hours of nose work. Just how we like it. And how it ~~should~~ must be.

I know I'll have to do this smarter next time. On top of all I forgot, when you bid on a "call for tender", you can occasionally win. And that's what happened, we won one already.

A decade ago I spent a lot of time on books and seminars about balancing work and life and postponed getting a dog. How ironical. All those lessons were in vain and I needed a dog to get the message across. Now I only have to act upon that.

Viva the Tracking Dog Against All Odds

2011-09-24T16:35:00.000+02:00

Who said a 7 year old dog that never has tracked before, and is fighting with serious health issues like spondylosis, cushing's disease, allergies and a fear complex, cannot track?

Viva is becoming quite an excellent tracker and Kenzo is getting some serious competition.

Viva has great focus on the track and there is not a lot that can distract her when she is tracking. What I love so much about tracking with both Kenzo & Viva is their different style.

Viva has a determinant style. When we trained cross tracks today - a "fake" track crossing the track I want her to follow - you can see that very clear. When she realizes she is distracted by the cross track, she makes an abrupt turn with her head and snorts, like if she is annoyed she has let herself get distracted! Here is a video of that - although it is difficult to actually hear the snorting part so you have to trust me on that:

Pretty impressive if you ask me! When we train cross tracks I lay treats directly after the cross so there is a reward when they follow the right track, or when they return on it after being distracted. Viva is an easy student.

The Story of Ruby: Pit Bull on Death Row

2011-09-20T00:26:00.001+02:00

Ruby

Now that there is a chance the breed ban in Denmark might become abolished after the election of a new government, it would be interesting to have look at other countries that repealed their breed bans in an attempt to learn from their experiences.

Yesterday I wrote the first installment about the Dutch, who repealed their breed ban in the start of 2009. This is the second installment.

What we can learn from the breed ban repeal in Holland is best told by Ruby. This is her story.

Ruby was seized in 2008 under the original Dangerous Dog Act, which banned pit bull type dogs. Ruby was put on death-row after being accused of attacking a 1-year old boy, but her owner appealed that decision in court.

When the Dutch repealed their breed ban in 2009 Ruby was still on death-row and her case in court still ongoing. The new law required any dog involved in an incident, regardless of breed, to undergo a behavior test before euthanizing. Ruby seemed lucky. As the new rules will apply for her too she should be tested first.

Ruby gets her test and fails. Spending 11 months isolated in the pound has stripped her from any social skill that was possibly left. Again Ruby is back on death-row.

RUBY BECOMES A NATIONAL CELEBRITY

A famous Dutch trainer, Martin Gaus (the Ducth "Victoria Stilwell") goes in and offers to re-socialize Ruby so she can pass her behavior test. The judge allows it. Ruby gets her second test and passes!

Ruby was finally set free, after spending more than one year in dog-jail on death row. Politicians embrace her success story. On April 22, the Dutch Minister responsible for Animal Welfare, declared in Parliament that Ruby was no longer a danger to society.

One month later, Ruby finds herself in the mids of a media storm. She apparantly seemed to have attacked 2 persons on the same day, together with another dog. And after that, attacked a person in the apartment complex she lives. Ruby is seized once more. The media goes in a frenzy:

THE PIT BULL IS BACK

"The lobby for the pit bull and the new freedom of a notorious pet."

(see yesterday's post for the complete intro to her story as the press wrote it).

The television program "Zembla", the Dutch equivalent of "60 minutes", aires a 35-minute special (video in Dutch) with the above headline. The message is clear, Ruby must die and the Dangerous Dog Act must be re-installed. The behavioral scientist responsible for Ruby's tests, Matthijs Schilder, declares "the test seem not to work as intended and this behavior must be genetic", and decides to put Ruby on death-row once again.

SEEKING JUSTICE

The Minister is under tremendous pressure, but stands firm to uphold the law. Once again, Martin Gaus steps in, he refuses to believe that Ruby could have attacked those people: "I know Ruby so well, she could never have done this". Together with the Dutch foundation "Help For Seized Dogs" and Ruby's owner they go in court once more.

As it turns out, Ruby's so-called "attack's" where nothing more than incidents in which she jumped up to people. As was the case with her very first incident, which put her on death-row in the first place. The owner could not keep Ruby under control and stop her from jumping on to people. The Dutch Foundation and Martin Gaus plea for the re-homing of Ruby. The judge allows it.

Ruby with new BFF Angel

That was two years ago. At this very moment Ruby is living happily with her new - specially selected - family. Her is a video of Ruby in which you can see Martin Gaus on the left and Ruby's mom on the right. It is in Dutch but have a look just so you can see who I am talking about.

Ruby almost died 3 times, because legislation failed, jumping up on people was misunderstood as aggressive behavior, and her owner could not control her appropriately. As a consequence Ruby spend 1½ year of her life in isolation on death-row.

WHAT RUBY TEACHES US ABOUT THE BREED BAN REPEAL

The elements missing in the new law that replaced the breed ban came quickly to the surface in Ruby's story:

Behavior tests: you cannot test dogs that have been isolated for a long time. They will need to go through a re-socialize program first. This is now provided by the Foundation "Help For Seized Dogs". It doesn't always work. Some dogs cannot come back, or they do have an issue that cannot be repaired. But at least they should have a fair chance.
The owner: a part of the problem lies with the owner. If you cannot fix that, you cannot fix the dog. There is one Dutch municipality, that after Ruby has implemented a test for the dog AS WELL AS the owner. When the owner fails and the dog passes, the dog is re-homed. This is managed in Holland on local level, but hopefully makes it way into national legislation.
Law enforcement: the police is still poorly equipped and educated to investigate and report on incidents. In Ruby's case it was long unclear what the facts were. Good instructions are needed, or better even a specialized unit, concerning dog incidents.
Fear: the sentiment of people that are afraid does not change because you made a law. Neither does the media. In Ruby's case, her jumping was still misunderstood as aggressive behavior with people. It underlines that exact and precise dog-(bite)-incident statistics not only are necessary for proper legislation, but an essential ingredient to inform and educate the public. Enabling them to make the shift from a state of fear into a state of knowing. Unfortunately the Dutch have not put a sufficient registration in place yet.

The breed ban is still "out of order". Let's hope we all can learn from Ruby's story and how the Dutch are dealing with their breed ban repeal. The BSL ghost is still just around the corner. The Dutch had a close call. Thank you Ruby.

Dutch breed ban repealed: what can we learn?

2011-09-18T23:17:00.000+02:00

Ruby

Education and prevention: a campaign was started to inform and educate the public on responsible ownership and how to decrease the risk for dog bites. An excellent and informative website (in Dutch) was build on the subject why dogs bite and how you can prevent from being bitten AND how to socialize and train your dog to function properly in society.
Dangerous dogs: any dog, regardless of breed, involved in an incident must undergo a behavior test. Depending the result of the test it can be decided to return the dog to the owner with additional requirements - like wearing a muzzle at all times - or when deemed necessary: euthanization.
Mandatory identification and registration: all dogs carry an ID - like a chip - and are registered in a national database together with ownership information.
Breeding: a mandatory "good behavior" test for breeds - Amstaff, Rottweiler, Dogo Argentino, Mastino Napolitano and the Fila Brasileiro - that should be part of the pedigree. It is only allowed to breed on parents that passed the behavior test.
5-year evaluation cycles: in which the results of the Act - the number of dog bites - are evaluated and possibly adapted.

Although a very decent list, in which the deed is punished and not the breed, one very important element is missing. When you want to decrease dog bites, you have to take the other end of the leash - the dog owner - into account. A missing element that will soon give the Dutch new headaches. But more about that later.

The new breeding regulations seem to be accepted and carried out by the Kennel Club. But why should we also not do this regardless of breed. I am not sure of the actual genetic effect, but what a great message to sent to the general public all dogs used in breeding are tested. It can stop the "fighting gene" discussion once and for all as well.

WHAT HAPPENED SINCE

As we speak, September 2011, the new law is in its second year. There is still no registration to enable a reliable dog bite statistic. Also the mandatory ID & registration has been postponed multiple times but should be in place before the end of this year. As always, implementing a Law is a lot more difficult than getting it through Parliament. But I don't see any reliable statistics ready before the first evaluation cycle which is a shame.

Where is the press in all of this? They always tend to play a dubious role when it is about dangerous dogs. Well, they waited only until May 2009 to make their first headlines. It is the story of Ruby, of which I will write in the next installment. But here is already a preview of how Ruby's story started, in "Zembla", the Dutch TV show equivalent of "60 minutes", in May 2009:

THE PIT BULL IS BACK

"The lobby for the pit bull and the new freedom of a notorious pet."

They are known for their aggression, bite force and determination. Pitbulls are among the most dangerous dogs in the street. They caused serious injuries and there are a number of children mauled to death by pit bulls. For years there was special legislation that would prohibit keeping aggressive dogs. The pit bull lovers revolted and carried a sometimes aggressive campaign to reverse the ban of their dogs. With success, because from January 1, 2009 the law is off the table. Why?

When in in the early nineties three consecutive children were mauled to death by pit bulls, the government acted. On February 1, 1993, the Dangerous Dog Act was introduced. Since then, the keeping and breeding of pit bull type dogs was not allowed. As a pit bull as a breed is not recognized, it was determined by physical characteristics, including width of the jaw and athletic physique. Did the dog resembled the characteristics, it was seized.

UKCE
After the Dangerous Dog Act was implemented, the pit bull association UKCE does all what it takes to stand up for their dogs. Association members intimidate people who dare to say anything negative about pit bulls. Dogs seized are housed in shelters. The owners of some of these shelters are then threatened. The pressure to return the pit bull is apparently so great that the Minister ordered the evaluation of the law by a committee. Their conclusion: the prohibition of aggressive dogs has not worked and should therefore be withdrawn. This happens on January 1 this year [Kenzo: 2009].

Ruby
According to the new law, the government may only seize and euthanize dogs as a behavioral test proofs that they are aggressive. Symbolic of the confusion about the pit bull is the story about Ruby. The dog attacked a 1-year-old boy on January 20, 2008. When the Dangerous Dog Act was still in place. She was put in an asylum and would be euthanized. The owner went into court to fight that decision.

In the long trial which followed it was agreed that due to the now changed legislation after the Dangerous Dog Act was repealed, that Ruby should undergo a behavior test. February 2009 Ruby gets her test, which she successfully carries out. Ruby was returned to her owner. As an extra guarantee Ruby even gets additional training with specialist Martin Gaus [Kenzo: the Dutch "Victoria Stilwell"].

The Minister reported in Parliament on April 22 that Ruby had successfully completed her training and was no more danger to society. But still it went wrong: on March 12 Ruby and another dog attack two people within one day. Ruby goes unpunished. On April 18 Ruby attacks a resident of an apartment again. Ruby is seized.

Havn't we seen these headlines before? Sometimes I wonder if they wrote it in advance, and just opened a drawer and pressed publish when the time was right.

After the new Act was put in place, a new "lobby" was created with like-minded people that just couldn't cope seeing the pit bull types back in the streets. They erected a number of "hate" websites, like http://www.gevaarlijkehonden.info (dangerous dogs) and http://www.tegenpitjes.info/ (against pit bulls). They are not harmless, and a simple google test in Dutch will point to their sites instead of the ones supported by the government to provide education and prevention on dog bites.

Together with the press they form a poisonous cocktail. Can politicians keep their back straight in this storm. Does reason continue to prevail? Coming up in the next installment: the story of Ruby.

Blogpaws is NOT the Pet Community

2011-09-18T20:44:00.000+02:00

My first shitstorm happened this weekend. In the pet blogging community that is.

I am glad Mel got an apology from BlogPaws. She was attacked in the most despicable way. BlogPaws, as a leader in the community, used all it's wrath, power and exposure to come down on one little individual blogger because they felt dismayed. A blogger with her heart on the right place, fighting against puppy mills and their facilitators.

And let's leave it at that in Mel's case, because I know Mel is not happy with the whole theater around her person. She hates it. She just wants to get along and think and write about what matters.

But I am still left with a bad taste in my mouth. Tom Collins from BlogPaws dissed Edie from Will My Dog Hate Me in the process as well. Of all people! And also Karen Friesecke. Although we never know if her comment was deleted.

And he dissed me too, as I was one of the many commenters which as a group he repeatedly mentioned as one of the culprits. Since when do you have to do due diligence for posting a comment? Come on, I post a comment when I like it, how I like it, and with the amount of due diligence I feel is appropiate. What is your next post about on BlogPaws? "unprofessional" commenters? There is no such thing, we are foremost readers.

BlogPaws' - or Tom Collin's - apology sucked. A lot of "oh now we see", and "thank you, but...". It doesn't seem genuine. It gives me the feeling of a corporate trying to cover up their social media glitch. And what or who is BlogPaws? Caroline's comment on Mel's blog explaining the situation and apologizing made so much more sense. She told it exactly how it was.They just could have left it with that. But no, it was necessary to add one more fake "almost-apology" blog post and try to play corporate.

It took me a while to decide to post this, as Pamela, in her wisdom, wrote an excellent post seeking understanding for all involved. Sorry Pamela for not honoring that. But I don't believe BlogPaws deserves it. Not yet. Neither do I think they can apologize themselves out of this. The image of the big blog coming down on the small will need time to heal for me.

Tom Collins and BlogPaws, you are welcome to add me to your list of what you call "unprofessional" bloggers, throw me out of your community, whatever. I really don't care anymore what you think or do. And I am going back to putting my energy in blogging about dogs with the REAL pet community again.

I am sure the pet community will survive. It is NOT equal to BlogPaws. This has only been the first shitstorm in 2 years of blogging, pretty good odds if you ask me. We don't need all your drama.

New Majority in Denmark: Breed Ban Repealed?

2011-09-16T16:59:00.000+02:00

Denmark has a new government after yesterdays election. Could this mean Denmark will now repeal it's breed ban? Before and during the election campaign we sure got the impression the new government would repeal the breed ban, once they were in power.

Let's help them remember what they promised. I changed the petition letter to target the new politicians responsible for animal welfare in the new government like this:

Change.org|Start an Online Petition »

Dear Bjarne Laustsen and Kristen Touborg,

Congratulations with your victory in the recent Danish elections.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the still on-going suffering of dogs and dog owners in Denmark. Suffering that was caused by the discriminatory BSL laws (hundelov) implemented by the former Danish government. I read the reports by Cecilie Thorslund "Danish breed ban rests on historically thin basis" and the recent research of the Danish association "Fair Dog" documenting that dog bite incidents still increase even one year after BSL was implemented in Denmark.

I am writing to you to ask you to re-evaluate the Danish BSL, as you promised during the elections. That BSL doesn't work is the experience from other countries too, like Holland and Scotland, which are a lot like yours. Although BSL does not make people feel more safe and decrease the number of dog bites, it does lead to endless suffering of individual dogs and dog owners, who have done nothing wrong. A new legislation where the deed is punished and not the breed, is needed.

Every time the petition is signed, the politicians responsible for animal welfare in the new government, will receive the above e-mail.

Keep on voting!

Bjarne Laustsen

Animal welfare spokesman for the political party, The Social Democrats

Kristen Touborg

Animal welfare spokesman for the political party, the Socialist People's Party.

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