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Loneliness a killer!
Hello,
I wanted to write in to say I totaly agree with David (issue 3 P40) on his note about dogs neglected and tied up outside all day.
As a breeder I would not sell any puppy knowing it was about to be sold into a life of being tied up to an outside kennel, the reason being that dogs tied up outside spend most of their days alone and lonely. Dogs thrive on human and other dog company and to tie them up for long periods of time away from our company is cruel and the dog will go through a very lonely life and will often be forgotten.
It is important that as breeders we provide our puppy buyers with all the information they need on puppy care and welfare. Dogs do need fresh water and food daily but most of all they need human company and humans to care for their every other need such as play time, exercise, keeping their coat, ears and eyes clean and free of parasites and disease, a good healthy diet, and of course medical check-ups from time to time.
Nikki, Staffordshire, UK
Problems with UK laws to control puppy farming
Hello,
I have just read the article in your magazine about puppy farming in New Zealand. There is a problem here in the UK with the new law designed to protect dogs against puppy farmers as it penalises the true breeders and rewards the back-yard breeders. New Zealand needs to understand this better before composing its own laws.
The back-yard breeders here can still breed as often as they want to and get away with it as they just need to get a licence to breed, which is not hard as long as they have the yard cleaned up and everything looks good at the inspection, then away they go breeding dogs by the dozens - they could even hide a few bitches with friends and no-one would know how many they have.
The law stating they cannot breed a bitch more than once in a year also works in their favour as that law can only be acted upon for kennel club registered puppies ... and backyard breeders often don't register their litters anyway, so can breed a bitch every six months and no-one will ever know - there is no compulsion to register all pedigree litters or any litters at all for that matter.
There is no council law in UK to operate a dog registration programme so people can own as many dogs as they want to without anyone ever knowing as there is no licence system in place with councils and no dog licenses issued by them.
If New Zealand does eventually bring in laws to control puppy farmers its local-body licence system may assist in the control, but it must be remembered that there are many people who still do not licence their dogs, and for those who do licence an inspection of their property may occur once a year, or if a neighbour complains about the noise ... it would require a whole new level of council animal control staffing to even begin to check on all owners of all registered female dogs.
The British law has not stopped back-yard breeders, but has put many obstacles in the way of caring breeders trying to do it right.
For a start there are some bitches who come into season only once a year and if that bitch comes in season a few days or a month too early the breeder has to wait another year to get the second litter from her. If a bitch whelps her litter a few days short of the one year cut-off date from her last litter then the puppies are denied registration from the kennel club no matter how big or famous the parents.
One woman I know had a bitch whelp a litter of Great Dane puppies from champion sire and dam and the kennel club would not register the litter because the bitch whelped four days early.
I do not recommend New Zealand follow England in the way they have compiled their laws as they will only get into the same sort of trouble England has. The NZ government and the kennel club should work together on this - wording a law so that there is an 11-month space between litters would give a little flexibility for early pups or early yearly seasons, but would still ensure that breeding every 6 months was out of the question. NZ should wait and learn of the pitfalls of the laws that Britain has introduced, and compile any laws to the advantage of caring, licensed owners.
Gabby, Kent, UK
Congratulations Expo!
Hello,
I want to say how much I enjoyed the Auckland Pet Expo this year - they seem to be getting better every year and are really helpful in showing the ordinary pet dog owner what is available in the way of foods, natural products, accessories etc, as well as details on sports and exercise activities that dogs can attend. Well done Expo - hope to see you there next year and for many years to come.
Simon, North Shore, NZ
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