Testing Pawsitive for H1N1
By Rose Atwood

About recent cases of H1N1 in pets.

See listing of all Paws to Ponder articles.

http://www.cafepress.com/DoggedDogdom

We have taken our favorite photos from the past year or so and combined them in these two completely original 2010 Calendars. The Airedale Terrier Puppies 2010 Calendar features puppies mostly from our 2009 Max x Kadie litter and our 2009 Nitro x Porsche litter. The Airedale Terrier 2010 Calendar features several of our dogs doing what they do best, mostly goofing off. You can view the photos for each month of both calendars at the DoggedDogdom CafePress store. All images are originals and copyright Rose Atwood of Woodcrest Airedales and Woodcrest Kennel LLC, all rights reserved. Please email us if you would like to see a particular image on a product and we will gladly do so.

Special thanks to the Gates family who supplied the February coverdale photo of Dutchess and Duke, both Woodcrest Airedales, and one of my personal favorite photos.

30% of the proceeds from all items in the DoggedDogdom CafePress store will be donated to National Airedale Rescue.

*Submit your dog photos for the Photo Daily, email them to dogtalk@doggeddogdom.com along with a Title, Date Taken, Subject Name(s) & Breed(s), and Photographer’s Name.

-Barbara Kingsolver

BrainyQuote.com

Subject: Chase & Ike (Airedale Terrier)
Photographer: Karen Gunter
Date: 10.09

*Submit your dog photos for the Photo Daily, email them to photo@doggeddogdom.com along with a Title, Date Taken, Subject Name(s) & Breed(s), and Photographer’s Name.

Stoughton’s animal control officer has been fired for allegedly giving a stray dog away, even though she would have known how to find its owner. Town Manager Mark Stankiewicz confirmed Friday that Kristin Bousquet no longer works for the town. He refused to disclose further details citing privacy issues. Janet Torren of Rochester says her Yorkshire terrier had an identifying microchip in its ear. She said the chip’s distributor told her it was scanned Sept. 18 by the Stoughton pound. Torren said Bousquet denied any knowledge of her dog. >>Mass. dog catcher fired for giving away stray (11.2.09)

Dear Carolyn: In your experience, is a couple’s style of dog-owning indicative of parenting style? My husband and I spoil our dog rotten. We want not to, but feel somehow powerless to change. I’m six months pregnant and want desperately not to spoil my child! >>Is a couple’s style of dog-owning indicative of parenting style? (11.2.09)

There were 101 Dalmatians, but not in a single litter. That’s why everyone is amazed to learn that an American Bulldog near Columbia, Illinois, delivered no less than 21 adorable pups. Their six-week birthday is Wednesday so they are now up for adoption. Dog owner Shari Ballard says, “We wanted to breed her and have a litter of puppies. But I didn’t expect to have this many!” Daisy Mae is your typical American Bulldog. She delivered 21 puppies over a 20-hour period six weeks ago. Four of them died during delivery but the Ballard family near Columbia, Illinois, can tell you 17 is still a handful. >>21 Pups Born To Columbia, IL Dog Up For Adoption (Video) (11.3.09)

Dale Haney is the keeper of the White House grounds. In nearly 40 years of keeping the grass green and the flowers blooming, he also has managed to cultivate something just as important: relationships with the presidents’ pooches. Mr. Haney is often spotted walking Bo, the Obama family’s Portuguese water dog. In fact, he has tended to every White House pup since King Timahoe, Richard Nixon’s Irish setter. Mr. Haney, 57, has been a White House fixture since 1972. After getting a degree in horticulture from Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, N.C., he continued his training in Washington and basically was discovered for his green thumb, as he tells the story. >>Obama dog is White House keeper’s pet project (11.3.09)

Q: I’m reluctant to put my dog under anesthesia to get his teeth cleaned and have heard of anesthesia-free dentistry. This sounds appealing, but what are the pros and cons? >>Pros and cons of anesthesia-free dog dentistry (11.4.09)

An Iowa cat is confirmed as having contracted H1N1 influenza virus (swine flu), in the first case of a domestic cat or dog being diagnosed with the virus. Iowa state officials confirmed on Wednesday morning that the first case of swine flu infecting a cat had been discovered. It is believed that the 13-year-old indoor cat caught the virus from someone living in the same household who had also been infected. The cat was treated at the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and is now expected to make a full recovery. “Two of the three members of the family that owns the pet had suffered from influenza-like illness before the cat became ill,” said IDPH Public Health Veterinarian, Dr. Ann Garvey. “This is not completely unexpected, as other strains of influenza have been found in cats in the past.” >>Swine Flu Confirmed In Iowa Cat (11.5.09)

An Atlanta man who rescued one stray dog from traffic now has his hands full with 10 pooches. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Thursday that Gary DeNicola rescued the dog in late September with plans to take it to a shelter the next day. But it turns out the dog was pregnant and gave birth to nine puppies that night. Now, DeNicola is running an animal shelter of sorts himself and he’s looking for good homes for the dogs. The Atlanta Humane Society said many shelters are facing overcrowding and aren’t accepting any more animals. DeNicola has been raising the 5-week-old litter with the help of neighbors. >>Man Helps Stray Dog, Ends Up With 10 Pooches (11.5.09)

A Barre woman is hoping to get at least some of her money back, after paying nearly $1,000 for a dog she thought was a designer breed. Amanda Quinlan insists the dog named Chloe is not a puggle, a mix between a pug and a beagle, but a mutt of many mixes. “By the time she finished puppy school she was 25 pounds,” Quinlan tells WBZ-TV. “That’s the max for a puggle, and soon after she just kept growing.” In fact, Chloe is now 40 pounds and Quinlan has no idea how much bigger she could get. >>Dog Owner Says Kennel Gave Her Mutt, Not Puggle (11.5.09)

The state Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would regulate dog breeders. The Senate approved the measure 32-0. The Assembly approved the bill 96-0 last month. Lee Sensenbrenner, a spokesman for Gov. Jim Doyle, says Doyle looks forward to signing the bill into law. Under the measure, breeders who sell more than 25 dogs annually would have to get a license. The state would investigate the breeder before issuing a license and could suspend or revoke it for violations. Twenty-five other states regulate dog breeders. Animal rights activists have been pushing for regulations in Wisconsin for years. They say the Wisconsin’s lack of regulation makes the state a magnet for puppy mills where animals are often abused. The bill is AB 250. >>Wis. Senate approves dog breeder regulations (11.5.09)

A staff error at the Manukau animal pound saw a dog mistakenly put down before its owner was able to collect it. Kaos, a sharpay cross belonging to Manurewa woman Michelle Griffiths, was impounded on September 17 and put down on September 25. “I got a little handwritten card – they said they would hold her until the 26th,” Miss Griffiths said. “I went to the pound to pick my baby up and they said ‘She was killed yesterday, sorry we got the kill date wrong’.” >>Animal pound mistakenly kills dog before owner’s return (11.5.09)

Lawmakers are poised to float a lifeline to the state’s two dog tracks as their live racing days approach an end, crafting an extension of their off-track betting rights that could come to a vote next week and create a new wagering environment in Massachusetts as policymakers ponder whether to permit casinos. The legislation would essentially allow Raynham-Taunton Greyhound and Wonderland in Revere to operate as off-track betting parlors, venues that do not feature live racing due to the ban on dog racing that takes effect Jan. 1, but instead allow patrons to wager on events broadcast from other tracks around the country. >>Massachusetts dog tracks may get reprieve on betting (11.6.09)

RECALL ALERT: The Food and Drug Administration is warning dog owners not to use treats made from pig ears or beef hooves by Pet Carousel because they may be tainted with salmonella. The products made by the Sanger, Ca., company were distributed nationwide. Affected items include hoove treats sold under the names Choo Hooves, Dentley’s, Doggie Delight and Pet Carousel; and ear treats sold under the name Doggie Delight and Pet Carousel. All sizes and lots of these products are included in the warning. >>FDA warns pet owners to not use some Pet Carousel dog treats (11.6.09)

RECALL ALERT: Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin is alerting Georgians that a type of dog treat is being recalled because of possible health risk to dogs and people. PetSmart is recalling two Dentley’s Beef Hoof products for potential Salmonella contamination. The products were manufactured by Pet Carousel, Inc. in Sanger, Calif. The recalled products include only the following types of Dentley’s Beef Hooves purchased between Oct. 2, 2009 and Nov. 3, 2009: Dentley’s Bulk Cattle Hoof UPC# 73725703323, Dentley’s 10 Pack Beef Hooves UPC# 73725736055 No other products are included in this recall. >>PetSmart Recalls Some Dog Treats (11.6.09)

This Week In Dog News (Saturday, October 31, 2009 – Friday, November 6, 2009)

Subject: Olive (2008 Max x Tory – Airedale Terrier)
Photographer: Gina C.
Date: 10.10.09

*Submit your dog photos for the Photo Daily, email them to photo@doggeddogdom.com along with a Title, Date Taken, Subject Name(s) & Breed(s), and Photographer’s Name.

Ticking Down to Winter
By Rose Atwood

About tick activity in the fall.

See listing of all Paws to Ponder articles.

Subject: Olive & Rufus (2008 Max x Tory – Airedale Terrier)
Photographer: Gina C.
Date: 10.10.09

*Submit your dog photos for the Photo Daily, email them to photo@doggeddogdom.com along with a Title, Date Taken, Subject Name(s) & Breed(s), and Photographer’s Name.

Many countries now have canine regulations on ear cropping and tail docking. Some breeds have had tails docked for many centuries, while for other breeds the practice of docking tails is a more recent practice. So the question is, if tails are docked for generation after generation, at some point will the future offspring actually grow a shorter tail on their own? With the Airedale in mind, how many generations might this take to grow the length of tail that we commonly see in the show ring? (South Burlington, VT, 10.24.09)

Ahhh, excellent question! (Think Mr. Burns with that ‘excellent.’) This is a topic that has become somewhat popular as of late with recent anti- docking legislation cropping up across the world.

As a breeder is breeding with every generation to improve the breed it stands to reason that you could breed for a shorter tail across generations just as you might breed for smaller size such as the Italian Greyhound compared to the Greyhound. Theoretically this should be possible. You should be able to breed naturally shorter tails together to produce a shorter tail that approaches the length of a docked tail. Theoretically is the key word here.

First, I don’t know of anyone who is actually trying to breed for a shorter tail. In order to know the length of the natural tail in order to breed for shorter tails, you would probably have to be in a country that is anti- docking already simply because given the choice most any breeder is going to dock. There might be a breeder in one of those countries that is doing this, but I have no knowledge of it. Someone who would breed for shorter tails would probably find themselves in the mist of their own controversy. Why?

In order to breed for a shorter tail you would have to place your primary focus on breeding this one quality alone, regardless of any and all other characteristics, at least to do it in as few generations as possible anyway. You would be passing over the most conformationally correct dogs in order to select the shortest tail over several generations. How would that affect the final dog? It would have a shorter tail, but what else would it have? If you were extremely lucky the best dog in each litter would also be the one with the shortest tail, but that would be more of a miracle than a likelihood.

Certainly those in countries where docking is now banned are experiencing their own dilemma. All you have to do is look as a variety of the current dog’s showing in those countries to see why. In most cases the undocked tail (we are speaking specifically about Airedales here, not other breeds which I’m sure are having similar problems) corkscrews around much like a Spitz or other Nordic breed. Why is this a problem? Let’s go to the breed standard for that.

From the AKC Airedale Terrier Breed Standard:

Tail
The root of the tail should be set well up on the back. It should be carried gaily but not curled over the back. It should be of good strength and substance and of fair length.

The key phrase here is “not curled over the back.” This is exactly what most undocked tails do in Airedales. So what do you do? Do you edit the breed standard to accommodate the change or do you breed for the correct tail? So far it seems most everyone is just ignoring this key phrase in the standard and ignoring the tail altogether in these undocked countries.

I have seen one dog with an undocked tail that did not corkscrew, but instead held straight pointed toward the head. It was a photo only, so I have no idea how it appeared in movement, but I would be a fool not to consider the possibility that this tail was somehow “fixed” to prevent the corkscrew. It seems just as likely that this tail was naturally in this position as the possibility that it was fixed, but I have absolutely no idea having never met the dog. But here we have a whole new issue with undocked tails. The point of anti- cropping is out of kindness to the dog, but if anti- cropping simply breeds a new generation of ‘fixed’ tails, what was the point?

But back to the original question, it is possible to breed for a shorter tail? Yes, but at what cost to the overall dog? How many generations would it take? This has to be more of a guess for me since there is no real precedent. It took about 50 years of selective breeding to alter the scull shape on the Bull Terrier to what we see today. Is the skull an easier or harder characteristic to manipulate? The information that I have read suggests that the skull is fairly easy to manipulate through selective breeding. I don’t think that the tail would be quite so easy. As much as I’d like to say that it would only take a few generation to breed the tail down, I don’t think it would be quite so easy. I would put my bet on 50+ years of selective breeding for tail length before the results were consistent and predictable.

A breeder would probably have better success breeding the tail down by integrating another breed that naturally has a short tail into the pedigree. This would of course dilute the bloodline, but in breeds where registries are being criticized for supporting the breeding of genetically unsound dogs becuase of a closed gene pool this could become some sort of viable solution, that is if the new breed was healthier anyway. But here we get into a whole new issue altogether.

Thanks for the great question! …even if it did simply raise more questions.

*Send your question to Ask Striker! by emailing askstriker@doggeddogdom.com. Striker will answer all questions that are sent to him, from the serious to the silly, with his own brand of stud dog wit and whimsy. Please note that views and opinions expressed by Striker are not necessarily those of Woodcrest Kennel LLC, Woodcrest Airedales, or Dogged Dogdom and he might use the word Bitch occasionally, but only in context when referring to a female dog. He’s a player folks and don’t forget it, so have a sense of humor why don’t you.