When is a dog not a dog? by Elsie Evans
How long before the Indiana Dog Breeders, the Indiana Pet Stores and the good citizens of Indiana start asking questions? Recently I was made aware of two alleged veterinarians offering an alternative to dog kennels under roof. Their program is call "FREE RANGE DOGS". Wayne Pacelle, president of HSUS, has been pushing for "FREE RANGE CHICKENS" in California. Is this just a coincidence? I doubt it.
On this program a fenced area of an acre with a community shelter would support 25 dogs. These veterinarians would teach the breeder how to socialize dogs so they would all get along. The dog breeder targeted for this program was at a loss of what to do. I believe I know what to do. Start asking questions.
1.First thing you ask is how are they connected with HSUS. Also ask if this program has been approved by the USDA and/or IBOAH.
2.Ask if this is another crazy program to bankrupt breeders and if their intentions are to put them out of business. Don’t be afraid of offending them. Get a description of their vehicle and get the license plate number. Remember, they most likely will be wearing small cameras and microphones.
3.Ask for ID and write down the ID number.
4.Ask what kind of dogs they raise and do they have their kennels set up this way. They will have to acknowledge if they have put this in practice themselves or are they speculating. They probably don't have their own kennel.
5.Ask for names, addresses or phone numbers so you can Find Dog Breeders already on program that you can contact.
6.Ask how you keep your dogs from being stolen when you are away from home or at night when you are asleep since you don't have to be a 20 year old athlete to climb a fence.
7.Does the community shelter have access to the outside of the kennel in order for the owner to enter and check inside the shelter for removal of a sick or injured dog.
8.Ask what to do about hawks and owls if you have small breeds.
9.Ask how you know which male bred which female.
10.Ask how you determine a whelp date.
11.Ask how you discover a weak/sick dog before its too late. A sick dog could appear it is just napping.
12.Ask how you keep one chow hound from getting all the food.
13.Ask about feces removal and how you keep the kennel and the shelter clean, plus where do you put the dogs in order to clean the kennel.
14.Ask how you keep dogs from digging under the fence or finding a hole they can squeeze through and escape.
15.Ask how you keep a dog from eating the feces of another.
16.Ask how you deal with ALPHA dogs.
17.Ask for a list of what breeds you cannot put together.
18.Ask what you do about dogs not sharing the shelter.
19.Ask just how they go about socializing the dogs.
20.Ask about dimensions of shelter and height of kennel fence plus estimated cost.
21.Ask about materials used for fencing and ground cover.
22.Ask what you need to use for flea & tick control since the dogs will be exposed to the elements.
I have experience using a community kennel. Except for the yard dog, my dogs are 4 to 6 pounds and are turned loose together in a 16 x 16 chain link kennel everyday, weather permitting. I have two dog houses because they will not share just one. The male gets to be with the females for no more than a few minutes because they fight. Sometimes two will gang up on one for no reaon that I can see. They crowd the gate when I enter and sometimes one escapes. They ride the fence, they dig holes, they walk in feces, they share a water dish but will not share food. You can't pick feces out of grass or gravel but you can rake the feces into a pile for removal if there is only dirt. The grass is gone so when it rains they are standing in mud. I can't rake the dry ground when the dogs are there because they either attack the rake or want to play with it. Weeds grow into the fence and can't be sprayed or mowed without moving the entire fence. My toy breed dogs look like lunch to hawks and owls, so my kennel is located under my one and only huge tree. None of my dogs know they can dig under the fence but they do know they can squeeze out through the space at the gate. I had to fasten a piece of 2 x 4 to the post to close the gap.
A few things concern me about this "FREE RANGE" idea. The egg producers couldn't make it work. The large commercial egg producer had 10,000 eggs a day while the "FREE RANGE" producer had 900 eggs a day. After a few days the dogs are going to have open wounds, damaged eyes and ears from fighting, filthy from being in mud and some will be losing weight due to lack of getting their turn at the food. This is a perfect set up for the Animals Rights activists to claim abuse and neglect. Socializing dogs may work well when getting a puppy ready to go to a new home but it doesn't work on adult dogs. I have had vet bills as much as $300 to prove it. So, when is a dog not a dog? NEVER.
How long before the Indiana Dog Breeders, the Indiana Pet Stores and the good citizens of Indiana start asking questions? Recently I was made aware of two alleged veterinarians offering an alternative to dog kennels under roof. Their program is call "FREE RANGE DOGS". Wayne Pacelle, president of HSUS, has been pushing for "FREE RANGE CHICKENS" in California. Is this just a coincidence? I doubt it.
On this program a fenced area of an acre with a community shelter would support 25 dogs. These veterinarians would teach the breeder how to socialize dogs so they would all get along. The dog breeder targeted for this program was at a loss of what to do. I believe I know what to do. Start asking questions.
1.First thing you ask is how are they connected with HSUS. Also ask if this program has been approved by the USDA and/or IBOAH.
2.Ask if this is another crazy program to bankrupt breeders and if their intentions are to put them out of business. Don’t be afraid of offending them. Get a description of their vehicle and get the license plate number. Remember, they most likely will be wearing small cameras and microphones.
3.Ask for ID and write down the ID number.
4.Ask what kind of dogs they raise and do they have their kennels set up this way. They will have to acknowledge if they have put this in practice themselves or are they speculating. They probably don't have their own kennel.
5.Ask for names, addresses or phone numbers so you can Find Dog Breeders already on program that you can contact.
6.Ask how you keep your dogs from being stolen when you are away from home or at night when you are asleep since you don't have to be a 20 year old athlete to climb a fence.
7.Does the community shelter have access to the outside of the kennel in order for the owner to enter and check inside the shelter for removal of a sick or injured dog.
8.Ask what to do about hawks and owls if you have small breeds.
9.Ask how you know which male bred which female.
10.Ask how you determine a whelp date.
11.Ask how you discover a weak/sick dog before its too late. A sick dog could appear it is just napping.
12.Ask how you keep one chow hound from getting all the food.
13.Ask about feces removal and how you keep the kennel and the shelter clean, plus where do you put the dogs in order to clean the kennel.
14.Ask how you keep dogs from digging under the fence or finding a hole they can squeeze through and escape.
15.Ask how you keep a dog from eating the feces of another.
16.Ask how you deal with ALPHA dogs.
17.Ask for a list of what breeds you cannot put together.
18.Ask what you do about dogs not sharing the shelter.
19.Ask just how they go about socializing the dogs.
20.Ask about dimensions of shelter and height of kennel fence plus estimated cost.
21.Ask about materials used for fencing and ground cover.
22.Ask what you need to use for flea & tick control since the dogs will be exposed to the elements.
I have experience using a community kennel. Except for the yard dog, my dogs are 4 to 6 pounds and are turned loose together in a 16 x 16 chain link kennel everyday, weather permitting. I have two dog houses because they will not share just one. The male gets to be with the females for no more than a few minutes because they fight. Sometimes two will gang up on one for no reaon that I can see. They crowd the gate when I enter and sometimes one escapes. They ride the fence, they dig holes, they walk in feces, they share a water dish but will not share food. You can't pick feces out of grass or gravel but you can rake the feces into a pile for removal if there is only dirt. The grass is gone so when it rains they are standing in mud. I can't rake the dry ground when the dogs are there because they either attack the rake or want to play with it. Weeds grow into the fence and can't be sprayed or mowed without moving the entire fence. My toy breed dogs look like lunch to hawks and owls, so my kennel is located under my one and only huge tree. None of my dogs know they can dig under the fence but they do know they can squeeze out through the space at the gate. I had to fasten a piece of 2 x 4 to the post to close the gap.
A few things concern me about this "FREE RANGE" idea. The egg producers couldn't make it work. The large commercial egg producer had 10,000 eggs a day while the "FREE RANGE" producer had 900 eggs a day. After a few days the dogs are going to have open wounds, damaged eyes and ears from fighting, filthy from being in mud and some will be losing weight due to lack of getting their turn at the food. This is a perfect set up for the Animals Rights activists to claim abuse and neglect. Socializing dogs may work well when getting a puppy ready to go to a new home but it doesn't work on adult dogs. I have had vet bills as much as $300 to prove it. So, when is a dog not a dog? NEVER.
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