REALLY?

Every year GAP (greyhounds as Pets), who are New Zealand's largest greyhound adoption agency runs a fundraiser/publicity event in conjunction with Animates (a large chain opf pet stores and vet clinics).

Having attended the event over numerous years, I've found it to be a great way for members of the public to meet greyhounds. The event usually results in a number of adoptions too.

I was looking forwards to attending this years event with our two hounds.

UNfortuiantely it was not to be.

I was told Animates dont want me to attend. Worse still, Animates also refused to let GAP operate out of one of their stores, citing me as the reason.

The trouble is that several years ago I'd posted on Linkedin to express my disgust at Animates selling electric shock collars and invited other linkedin  users to express their distate.

This was picked up by the media and over the course of a week became a hotly debated issue.

That this happened 2 and a half years ago didnt seem to matter in the minds of Animates .

My concerns around shock collars are just as valid as nothing appears to have changed.

If anything, Animates have plummeted in my estimates. I can understand them not wanting me in their stores - the PR risk of a potential dissenter on their premises makes demanding I do not attend a logical move.

What I cannot understand is the move not to allow GAP to fundraise in one of their stores because of social media posts . I am not a GAP employee, and my relationship with GAP is limited to the small amount of fundraising I've historically done as well as the two greyhounds I'd adopted through GAP. Punishing GAP for the actions of an unrealated individual simply makes sense. Worse still, greyhounds suffer.

Animates loony logic aside, My issues with electric shock collars stem from 4 simple facts - these are:

1) training with fear rather (negative reinforcement) instead of encouragement (positive reinforcement) generally doesnt work and often results in other behavoural issues and in some cases even agression.

2) While shock collars have a place with professional trainers who know how and when to use them, numerous studies have found that non-professionals tend to overuse them. This often desensitises the dog to to shocks and this see's the collars settings eventually turned up to full. this can have two possible outcomes. Firstly the dog learns to ignore the shock and their behaviour remains uncorrected. Secondly the dog gets stressed out and redirects fear and frustrations into other behaviours which is why shock collars are often seen as not being efective or sometimes resulting in undesirable canine behaviours such as agression.

3) Anyone can buy one. While Animates claim that their shock collars are kept under lock and key, there's no restriction on who they may be sold to. While Animates can operate a measure of discretion on who they sell shock collars to, the decision is usually made by a shop assistant who is at best poorly equipped to make a decision.

4) Shock collars are potentially dangerous. There is also no regulation around the importation of shock collars into New Zealand. A common argument often cited by shock collar proponents is "I've worn one of these shock collars and zapped myself and it was fine". What is not so widely discussed are the many incidents involving faulty shock collars thatr have caused severe electrical burns to dogs or refused to turn off and delivered a constant stream of shocks until their batteries ran flat. The other lesser known fact about shoick collars is that they are typically powered by Litium ION batteries and are cranked out of factories third world nations. Given the recent Samsung Note 7 smartphone debacle which saw poorly manufactured Lithium Ion batteries exploding, the potental for canine carnage from cheaply made shock collars is huge.

Sadly at the end of the day, it is the Greyhounds that suffer.

and Afterwards...

It has been a while since my last entry and I apologise. In the 4 weeks since Bomber died, I've found it difficult to focus let alone write about him without becoming incredibly sad even though we've just had a magnitude 7.8 quake and flooding. In fact about the only thing missing at the moment is a plague of locusts and the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

The funny thing is that the support we've received from friends has been nothing short of incredible.

This contrasts so markedly from a few years back when Ally, our little black cat died. At work I was sad and when asked why, was shocked at how many people said "ah well, it's just a cat". They amazingly expected that to make me feel better.

It didn't

In fact it simply made me want to punch them in their insensitive smug idiotic faces - I didn't of course (but it was ever so tempting).

With Bombers passing, things could not have been any more different.

When we got home with Bombers body to bury him, there were flowers on our doorstep. That was just the beginning. Friends from the greyhound collective on facebook banded together to create a photo-book of him, and we've had more flowers. My family and my sisters in-laws both donated to Greyhounds as pets and sent us a beautiful block mounted canvas print of Bomber and Lottie cuddled up on the sofa together.

Not long after this a delegation of greyhound owning friends popped over with a tree and lots of food. It was wonderful. More recently we received a lovely picture of Bombie in his bathtub (he had a habit of hopping in water troughs and old bath tubs being used as water troughs. We called him Bombie the fish because of this) from the amazingly talented Elizabeth Dodds. I was so choked up with emotion when I got this picture I was literally lost for words and couldn't speak.

The thing is words cannot express how much all this kindness has meant to us.

Being surrounded by people who actually get just how painful it is to lose a much loved pet has really helped a lot. It has been humbling and has shown us just how amazing our friends and family are.

Family aside, my saint-like wife has been incredible. it has been tough for her and we've both cried rivers. Lottie has been sad and a lot quieter. Not a day doesn't go by without her, Lottie or I feeling incredibly sad. I guess that oft used cliche of "time heals all" must apply.

I know this is perhaps the shortest blog post I've written in a while, but I want to say use it to say a huge thank-you to everyone for their kind words, support for just being so understanding. It means a lot to us and I hope that somehow we can repay all the kindness, sensitivity and consideration that all these lovely people have shown us.

Guy Fawkes Mayhem - AGAIN

I started this blog to keep a record of my hounds. What has proved interesting are the themes that keep emerging again and again. One topic that pops up at the same time each year is Guy Fawkes.

For non commonwealth citizens the term Guy Fawkes probably has no meaning. To put it into context, Guy Fawkes was a member of a small number of people who tried to blow up the UK parliament in the gunpowder conspiracy.

Bizarrely we celebrate this act of terrorism each year. Even more bizarrely we celebrate it by paying over the odds for increasingly dire fireworks (they seem to get smaller and more pathetic every year despite costing more each year). In essence we celebrate an act of terrorism by burning money. How loopy is that??

If that doesn't make you question the sanity of the average New Zealander, our unwillingness to ban the sale of fireworks to private individuals should at least leave you scratching your head and wondering.

Some argue that it is their "right" to have fun letting off fireworks. These idiots seem to be oblivious to the huge amount of damage caused by fireworks and the bill that they as taxpayers have to foot so they can have their "fun".

Perhaps most upsetting of all are the stories of terrified animals who've been horrifically maimed or died as a result of fireworks. Things have got so bad that this year the veterinary association and Wellington SPCA have backed calls for a total ban on the sale of fireworks.

Hell Pizza's usual lack of good sense and taste means they're delivering fireworks to peoples doors. I urge you not to buy any pizzas from these idiots (the packaging their pizzas arrive in are usually more tasty than their pizzas anyhow) and to register your displeasure on their website.

Sadly the madness that is Guy Fawkes will again this year as our politicians lack the guts to enact a ban on sales of fireworks to private individuals.

Here's a few pointers to help you should your hounds be stressed by fireworks.

1) Thundershirts - these swaddle the hound and really can work wonders calming them... they're a great investment if your hound goes to pieces on fireworks night.

2) Environment - make sure your hound is inside, and pull the curtains. Also play some music or turn on the TV to drown out the noise of fireworks

3) Vet - there are also a pile of great options available from your vet to calm your hounds. Visiting your vet for advice may yeild some surprisingly useful tips. Many vets will also prescribe low level tranquilisers that are safe for greyhounds and can help take the edge off their stress.

4) Prepare for the unthinkable - sometimes even with all the planning in the world, things can go wrong. Get an identity disk on your hounds collar along with its rego tags. Should your hound somehow get outside and freak out, the disk could help rescuers reunite you with your hound.

5) Sign any petitions you can and support a ban.

The Unspoken Contract

When we adopt a pet our thoughts are filled with the practicalities of feeding, where they'll sleep and so on. Little thought is given to an unspoken yet vitally important part of owning a pet. I call this the unspoken contact and it is works like this:

When you adopt a pet, your obligations are:

• To give it as good a life as possible
• To ensure that it is physically and mentally nurtured and cared for and protected
• Making sure it knows that it is loved

The unspoken part of this contract is one most of us dont want to contemplate:

What are our responsibilities to our pet at the end of their life?

Having just been there, I can't emphasise strongly enough just how important this really is. You really need to think this through.

Short of natural death or death from injury, Most pets succumb to illness. How you choose to act at this stage will play a big role in how you feel about your relationship with your pet for the rest of your life. Most important of all, it'll also dictate how your pet lives and how its life ends.

When faced with a terminally ill pet, the plain truth of the matter is that there are no good options.

If you try to prolong their life they may suffer end up enduring a lot more pain that leads to an agonising death.

It goes without saying that this is a breach of your contractual obligations to your pet.

The question you most need to ask yourself in such a dire situation is this:

Are you prolonging your pets life for your own needs or for your pets?

If you are in this terrible situation you really need to have a frank discussion with your vet.

By now you'll be feeling as if the ground has gone out from under your feet. The pain and conflict you'll feel at this stage is intense beyond description. I cant put into words what you'll be feeling right now.

This might sound crazily difficult (trust me it is). but you'll need to set aside the emotional typhoon swirling around in your head to ask your vet these questions -

• Is your Pet in any pain and discomfort? 
• Is the prognosis is terminal? 
• Are there any treatment options that'll save your pet and give them a decent quality of life?

If the answer to these questions are yes the illness is terminal, yes they are in pain, and no their quality of life will see them stuck in a cage and drugged to near senselessness until they die, then there really is only one option.

Trouble is that this option requires that you set aside your own pain, feelings of loss and guilt and let your pet go. They must come first and you have to be strong enough to end their suffering.

This is your obligation to them. Your needs shouldnt énter the picture and this is likely to be one of the hardest (yet selfless) decisions you'll ever have to make.

Ending the life of a much loved pet runs counter to nearly every instinct you're likely to have. Looking into their eyes knowing that you have to say goodbye forever is not something I'd wish on anyone.

This said, you also need to remember your responsibility to your pet. Namely that you need to ensure they suffer as little as possible and leave this world knowing that you love them and that they were the best thing that ever happened to you.

We just went through this with Bomber, our much loved black greyhound.

There was no good choices available to us and we put him to sleep.

It was my responsibility as his owner.

He was my dog and I made sure that he knew how much he was loved before he passed.

I bought Bombers body home and buried him. He was my dog and laying him to rest with as much love and dignity as possible was the very least I could do.

I'd be lying if I said that I am not hurting (I am horribly) and that I am not wracked with feelings of guilt at ending his life ( I am). I do however know that this was my only real choice as Bombers illness was terminal and he was in an incredible amount of pain.

So please when you adopt or when you are next cuddled up to your pet, please contemplate the unspoken contract you have with them. Doing so might help a little should you ever be faced with such a horrible situation.

RIP Bomber (Lochinvar Elle)

died aged 6.5 years

We love you and miss you Bomber

Saying Good-bye

The last 4 days have been some of the worst of my life.

On Monday morning at 3am my wife awoke to Bomber (a.k.a Tinklebert Woofledink) crying in pain. She went in to see what was the matter (he often sleeps in the spare room) and he was standing, not wanting to sit and trembling with pain.

Fearing bloat (an often fatal condition which sees internal organs twist), we rush him to the emergency vet. To our relief bloat was ruled out and the vet said maybe it was pancreatitis (which dogs sometimes get). Pain medication and antibiotics were administered and we were told to take Bomber to our regular vet if there was no improvement by the morning.

Bomber came home and initially would not lie down in the bed, instead trembling in pain. Eventually he was so exhausted he lay down and dozed. There was no improvement in the morning and we took him to our vet.

Feeling a sense of dread we waited for the call from our vet. When it came the news was devastating. Xrays had revealed a large mass and it was putting pressure on his other internal organs. The vet suggested that if money were no object (when it comes to either hound money is no problem - I'd have donated kidneys to help), we should take Bomber to Massey University Veterinary Hospital, it is the best in New Zealand. It was a two hour drive and we didn't hesitate.

Dropping Bomber off we checked into a hotel and went in search of breakfast/lunch. At a cafe, Massey called and the ground fell away from my feet.

The mass inside bomber was fluid - blood. X-Rays had revealed tumors and that cancer had spread - there were a lot of them, many were well developed. The prognosis was about as bad as it gets. We were told get back to the vet hospital as soon as possible.

Arriving at Massey, Sophie the vet (who was nothing short of amazing) explained the options - there really weren't any. If they operated to drain the blood he'd just bleed more and the operation would probably kill him given his weakened condition. Even if he survived the operation, he'd probably only live for a few more pain filled weeks.

There really was only one option. I just couldn't face it. Bomber had to be put to sleep.

No words can describe the dilemma we were faced with. There were no survivable options and the only choices we had were to end Bombers life or to see him suffer until he died.

Sophie allowed us to sit with Bomber for as long as we liked. I patted him, told him I loved him and that he was a good dog. By now he was in such pain that they'd had to administer methadone, synthetic heroin. I'm not sure Bomber heard what we said but we said it anyway.

In the end I called a good friend and fellow greyhound owner who'd also been through this and spoke to her. I probably didn't make a lot of sense, I was a shell-shocked blubbering mess. Her advice really helped. We needed to let Bomber go and end his suffering. It was the only right choice there was.

I didn't know what time it was but an hour or so later we put Bomber to sleep and he gently passed.

Before he was put to sleep I reminded him that I loved him and that he was an amazing dog. I asked him to wait for me and when I die I'll look for him at the rainbow bridge.

Bomber was only six and a half years old, he should have had many more years sharing a sofa, mooching treats and going for walks.

I've cried a river and have not stopped. The grief of losing Bomber isnt 'just emotional, it is a very real physical pain. Everything hurts

Now we have a huge black greyhound sized hole in our lives and the house feels incredibly empty. There are many things that catch us and cause a tears to flow. My love for him has and never will cease. Rest in peace Bombie boy we love you so much.

Dangerous dogs and Dangerous Humans

We own two big dogs. Ok they're greyhounds. In reality this translates into them being two of the laziest, gentlest canines known.

This said, they're definitely not small. While walking Lottie and bomber we often see smaller dogs being walked across the road, as their owners wrongly assuming that they're two big dangerous dogs.
It is funny seeing how these assumptions are made about Lottie and Bomber - they're harmless. Trouble is other people don't know that.

Ironically we used to own a miniature Dachshund called Monty. He was about the size of a largish tabby cat and looked a lot like a puppy. We loved him to bits. He was tiny and kids adored him. Sadly he didn't like kids at all. We lost count of the amount of times we'd shout "don't pat him!" as he lunged snarling at the kids trying to give him a cuddle. You see he looked small and cute, but he wasn't harmless

Assumptions can be dangerous.

This seems strangely salient. New "dangerous" breed laws are about to be passed that'll require dog breeds deemed as "dangerous" be neutered and kept locked up with restricted access to a properties entrance. They'll also have to wear a specific collar to signal that they are dangerous.

This law is at best nonsense, and in reality will solve nothing. In other countries similar laws have been repealed because they've failed to make one iota of difference.

In Australia, the state of Victoria passed breed specific dog laws. These were recently dismantled as it was found that most dog control officers couldn't correctly identify dangerous breeds with enough certainty for the laws to be effective. Meanwhile dog attacks continued.

There are a lot of assumptions and other baggage that comes with owning dogs, big or small. Most assumptions are usually based on poorly informed stereo types.

These stereotypes come from many sources, with one of the more prominent sources being the media. As a journalist I've lost count of the number of times I have seen a dog attack misreported. Be it through journalists who are unfamiliar with dogs or editors hellbent on upping readership, the fact remains that the media has a hell of a lot to answer for when it comes to reporting on canine issues.

Then there's laziness. Punishing dogs (who lets face it can be killed with little or no recourse) is easier than policing people. The bottom line is this:  It is also far cheaper too.

These new laws are a typical example of a band-aid applied to a gaping stab wound and are at best a vote catching move from a politician wanting to be seen to be doing something, regardless of how poorly thought through it may be.

While the numbers show a correlation between certain dog breeds and attacks, they're only half the story. Behind these statistics lurks detail that has clearly been overlooked by law makers and will almost certainly render the new laws ineffectual.

A lot of dog attacks go un-reported and many of these are from smaller breeds that are usually thought of, much like Monty, as not being dangerous. Most of the time a nip from a smaller dog isnt much of an injury compared to that inflicted by a larger breed, but still....

What is also most crucially missing from the stats is the human element. Many people fall in love with the idea of owning a dog. They adopt a small bull of fluffy pup and things are great - at least for the first few months.

Then they realise that owning a dog comes with a lot of responsibilities and requires some hard work. Dogs have to be trained, walked twice a day, groomed and fed. Sadly many people just give up and end up doing the minimum required to keep their dog alive.  Many dog owners forego dog obedience classes and often lack the basic knowledge that can mean the difference between a safe happy dog and a stressed dog with aggression/fear issues.

Sadly some dogs are left roaming the streets or barely cared for. A dog - any dog is like a loaded gun. Given the wrong set of circumstances great harm can happen.

Surely it would be a smarter move to recognise that ALL dog breeds are potentially dangerous and focus on putting the legislative fence at the top of the cliff instead of doing the bare minimum and putting a largely ineffectual ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

If a human wants to drive a car or own a gun, they must first pass some strict controls. Sadly this is not the case with owning a dog.

Make dog obedience classes mandatory. Humans learn as much as the dog at these classes. Simple things such as how to restrain, recall and tell what sort of state your dog is in are all fairly standard fare and can often mean the difference between a good and a bad outcome when it comes to dog safety.

Set up a genetic datatbase of dogs that is linked back to breeders. Fine, and shut down puppy mills. Too many dogs are re-homed to unsuitable owners which in turn acts as a root cause for so many other problems. If it isnt so easy to make a fast buck out of breeding only those who are genuinely interested in the welfare of their animals will do it.

Penalise humans first and dogs second. Most attacks happen because of lax and ignorant dog owners. Make the penalities harsh - if people face huge fines, chances are that they'll be more be more responsible about owning a dog.

Providing education for kids on how to approach a dog (e.g. ask its owner if they can pat it etc), and how to read some basic canine body language to tell if a dog is friendly or agressive etc. This alone could greatly reduce the number of dog attacks and it'd cost peanuts to put in place.

Sadly all of the above will never happen. These options would most likely sit poorly with voters and cost a lot of money.

The other thing is we need to be realistic - No dog laws are going offer a perfect solution. Even the most conscientious dog owners can slip up. Lax owners are also unlikely to comply. No laws can be 100% enforced.

Meanwhile we'll have to make do with the existing poorly thought out laws crafted by lawmakers who know next to nothing about dogs.

Stoopid humians....

A few days back I found out that Animates, a national pet store chain are selling shock collars.

This is despite them saying in their ""about us blurb that" it is our belief that life is better with pets, they are selling hardware that has been proven to cause significant psychological and physical injury to dogs. 

I am curious as to how life is better for the dog when it is terrified and has entered a state of what trainers call "learned helplessness". Remember that Animates are suppossedly the professionals and should know about all this stuff.

More than a little disgusted, I emailed Animates to ask a) why they're selling these horrible things and b) if they'd consider removing them from sale. I do have to hand it to Animates, they promptly came back, saying they’d investigate. Their next email however proved that any investigation was really a sham and read as little more than a weakly worded justification for selling shock collars.

Here’s what they said:

 “Thank you for getting back in contact with us.

Animates are very passionate about the welfare of pets and do not sell products that we deem inhumane. We are aware of some concerns around electronic collars and their usage.

However, we do stand behind Petsafe Anti-Bark Collars for the reasons outlined below, and provide ongoing training for our team members to ensure that the right collar is recommended as appropriate for the dogs' behaviour/size/age and importantly, that the collars are used correctly.

Also, many of our team members have personally experienced the sensation that a static collar emits, which is unpleasant, but not painful.”

Here's the thing, there's a growing body of evidence credible from studies conducted by scientists, dog trainers and canine behaviourists that highlight the negatives of shock collars, the fact that they are generally not good for a dogs mental state and that shock collars can also cause burn injuries. Needless to say, a common theme of these studies is that the negative outweigh the positives of shock collars by a huge margin.  

That a pet store that claims to be passionate about animal welfare sells a product that has a proven track record of causing harm to animals tells me pretty much everything I need to know.

Animates also said that they'd administered shocks from the collars to their staff. I say so bloody what. the reality is that Animates employees are sentient human beings. They’re know that there is a jolt coming and what it is. For an unsuspecting dog with no idea what this pain is and when it'll next happen it’s terrifying.

It gets better though - The next part of their response was titled “WHY DO WE NEED THEM?”. 

“Inappropriate animal behaviour is a significant issue for the public and in many cases, it can cause a threat to public safety. Electronic collars can be used to correct many nuisance behaviours, which could otherwise result in the euthanasia of animals.In fact, Petsafe has received many testimonials from users claiming that the collar they purchased had shock collar effectiveness"

You'll have to forgive my cynicism but these hollow blanket statements are often parroted by shock collar advocates. They also puzzle me. If On one hand Animates claim shock collars don’t hurt a dog why do they say it’s a last resort to prevent the “euthanasia of animals”. Surely that one statement contradicts the other. 

Stunned by Animates response, I penned a reponse to the issue in a bid to raise public awareness of this issue. Here's what I wrote 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that a stuff.co.nz had also picked up on the issue. It seemed like a great move - at least until I read the comments attached to story. 

Many read like they had been lifted out of a shock collar marketing brochure. Other pro shock collar comments submitted were written by people who either didn't have a clue about dog training or were too lazy to try them and wanted a quick fix.

One commenter said they lived on a lifestyle block and that the collars kept her dogs off a busy road. (they were obviosuly too lazy to install fencing). The same person then mentioned in a later comment that their dog had been run over and was now a tripaw. 

This highlights several things to me:

1) Shock collars are seen as a "quick fix""

In fact they're not. As the commenter found out at their dogs expense. Too many people don't do the research that is needed when buying a dog. Too many people are too lazy to invest time regularly attending dog obedience classes and learning about how their dog works. Instead they throw a shock collar around their dogs necks and go for a quick fix. It doesnt usually work well longer term. 

2) The story rattled someone

The comments section in that story had been astroturfed - this is marketing slang for vested interests using comments sections to push their own agenda. That there were so many comments that'd obviously been written by the same group of people using multiple logins tell me that the story has rattled someone.

3) Shock collars should be restricted NOT banned

Selling a shock collar to any member of the general public is a terrible idea. Too many people want a quick fix and really have little to no dog obedience experience. Talk to any trainer and they'll agree that shock collars are a bad thing but will also say that shock collars have a use as a last resort for training.

On the basis of this, I'd be happy to see shock sales limited to professional trainers rather than being sold willy-nilly to members of the public who will misuse them.