Interesting Dog Factoids in Magazines

The April issue of Smithsonian had a tiny piece about "A Wolf in Dog's Clothing." In North America, wolves come in gray and white, but also black. Stanford University scientists compared the DNA of the black wolves with the DNA of coyotes and dogs and seem to have found that the gene for black coat comes from dogs. They theorize that the wolves interbred with domesticated dogs that came across the Bering Strait on the land bridge with people migrating from Asia more than 10,000 years ago. So in an interesting circle, wolves became domestic dogs and the dogs then brought their genes back to the wolves.
A second piece was in Conservation Northwest, and it detailed a canine service I'm been reading about a lot lately - finding scat. In this particular instance, dogs are being used to find grizzly bear scat for the Cascades Carnivore Connectivity Project. They want to determine the effect of the roads crossing the Cascades on the local grizzly bear population, and the dogs locate the scat for genetic testing, and for hints on where to place hair sample devices and wildlife cameras.

Puppy Mills on Nightline

Tonight, Nightline will be doing an expose on Amish puppy mills in Pennsylvania. I believe this is the same guy, from Main Line Animal Rescue, who was on Oprah some time ago. He goes around and tries to rescue some of the breeding dogs and tries to get the worst operations shut down. But he is fighting a losing battle as long as people continue to buy the product from the puppy mills. So if you aren't buying from a breeder or rescuing from a shelter, you just may be part of the problem. A pet shop local to me advertises that all their puppies are from local breeders, but if you demand to see the paperwork, they came from Kansas or Arkansas. . . almost certainly from puppy mills.
I was dumb enough to buy a puppy from a pet shop back in my youth. She was far too young (6 weeks) and quite ill, and I nursed her back to health and dealt with her mental problems for 16 years. The only things I can say in my defense was that I was young and stupid and at least I made the pet shop honor their health guarantee, which contributed to getting them shut down.
Now my dogs have all come from rescue. Someday I may buy a purebred from a breeder, but I'm kind of fond of my rescues. And no matter where they may have started life - some may have originated in puppy mills, after all - I'm not putting any money in anyone's pocket.
I'm not anti-breeding. Heck, I've covered Westminster for the AKC Gazette. But I am against puppy mills. So please think before you purchase a dog.

Confidence Is Fragile

My dog Nestle had pretty much given up on the world when I adopted him from a shelter. He quickly bloomed to appreciate the good things in life - walks, meals, treats, even training. But it took a full six months for us to establish a bond, and he still spent too much time with his ears pulled back and his mouth in a tight grimace. We cautiously saw new sights, met new people and dogs, practiced agility purely for the increased confidence, and he blossomed. People who see him out and about with me think he's a perfectly sound dog. But I know differently, and that was brought home to me recently.
I had some quite serious medical problems, and through November and December, we had several occasions when we all (dogs and humans) got in the car, drove to the emergency room, and I went in and didn't come back out. This has resulted in Nestle being very anxious when left in the car. He started out just hiding and trembling on the floor in the front (the dogs ride in the back and aren't supposed to come into the front. Then he tore up some Christmas presents that were on the floor in the front. Since then he has torn up other things on the floor.
So his confidence is, as I always knew, fragile. We are working on getting his comfort level back, taking car rides and leaving the car for only short periods at a time. He has had several good days where he remained in the back, and another episode of tearing up a bag of pastries in the front. It is especially bad if I have to go to the hospital for tests or the cancer treatment center for appointments. He obviously recognizes these places.
But we are working on it, and I'm sure he will settle down again in time. It just reminds me that living with dogs is a constant work in progress.

National Animal Identification System

Full Disclosure: This has nothing to do with dogs.
There is a proposed bill in DC right now, to have all farm animals chipped for identification purposes, so they can be tracked. Though this may sound like an excellent idea, given recent problems with disease outbreaks and contamination problems, as usual, there is a downside.
For big factory farms, the cost and additional time would be minimal. But for the small family farmer, it could be crippling. And I think we need to support and encourage the small family farm. With all the supposed focus on anti-terrorism, what do you think might be the most essential thing to have in the event of some really catastrophic event? I'm thinking a local food supply. Not depending on food items shipped from thousands of miles away.
If you're lucky enough to live where there still is local food being produced, I hope that you will make every effort to support it. The small farmer struggles constantly to keep it going. Here, we have two lively farmers' markets, and an online store where you can order local foods and pick them up at a central dispersal site. We have farm shares, and can even work on the farms to pay for part of them. People raise grass-fed beef and free-roaming chickens, organic vegetables, and even grains, which a local bakery is using to make its breads and pastries.
I hope Congress does not pass this proposed bill, at least not without a provision being made for small family farms.

Censorship Is Not For Me

One of the television news magazines apparently recently ran a piece on AKC dog shows. I can't comment on it as I didn't see it, but I can comment on some of the fallout. I have it first-hand from people to whom it has happened that at least some AKC clubs are now trying to ban media from their shows. As most shows are held in public places, this seems like an illegal action. And besides, quite the overreaction. Yes, the press does sometimes overstep, especially in these days of "if it bleeds, it leads," but people also need to remember that the press has been responsible for uncovering things like Watergate and Love Canal.
As a long-time member of Dog Writers Association of America, I think we need to let the AKC know that trying to ban media is an excruciatingly bad idea. The people who have personally been told they will no longer be welcome at shows were also significant contributors of awards and financial support, so it's especially unfair.
And the AKC needs to remember that they aren't the only game in town - there is the UKC, which welcomes mixed breeds as well as purebreds.
Censorship is not an option. Maybe clubs need to engage in more education, as that was always stated as one of the prime objectives of the AKC regarding dog shows.