New perspective on dog breeding part 1 puppies conditioning in the womb

This article by Larry Mueller was published in Outdoor Life 15 years ago, in 1998. Since then the science of genetics and epigenetics have advanced tremendously but the conclusion has not changed that much. If you want to breed superdogs, youd better start really, really early in a dogs life. The next installment will present a current perspective on the points raised in Larrys article.

Building The Superdog

Beginning Before Birth

The where, when, why and how of starting a superdog

Larry Mueller

Hunting Dogs Editor, Outdoor Life, 1998

     The new century for dogs is now. Modern science has poised the dog world for a fastforward of unprecedented proportions. In the past, superdogs were rare accidents of nature - naturals that made even first timers believe they were great trainers. And now we know how those accidents happen. We hold the simple secrets to building our own superdogs from scratch.

  

How early can we begin the conditioning which could lead to a superdog? Five months? Eight weeks? Ninety days? Would you believe… in the womb? Its true. We have scientific evidence that the fetus is not sealed in isolation. It lives in its mothers world.

Interestingly, before Mendel discovered genes, breeders were hunting pregnant bitches to produce superior pups. After Mendels theory caught on, that practice was called an old wives tale. Genetics allowed us to break breeding down to numbers and predict a few traits like coat color. So, we assumed that breeding is a crap shoot of many-sided gene dice. All traits, behavioral and physical alike, were thought to be locked m place at birth. It was a neatly packaged theory that shrank nature to fit our head size. To believe it, however, required ignoring all the loopholes and protecting our ignorance against obvious evidence to the contrary.

  

But this is for the future. For now, were conditioning fetuses to become great hunting dogs: Proof that its possible comes from the Universityof California, Berkeley. Dr. Marion Diamond, professor of anatomy, divided laboratory rats into two groups. In one rats were housed singly in boxes with just food and water. In the other, groups of rats lived together and enjoyed toys which were changed periodically - a mentally challenging environment.

  

At maturity, Marion Diamond sacrificed some of both groups and physically measured the cortex areas of their brains. The cortexes had actually grown thicker in the challenged rats. For the first time, it was proven that the anatomy of an animal brain could be changed by experience. Subsequent maze tests m other laboratories proved that rats with thicker cortexes were smarter and quicker to learn.

     

In a second study, Professor Diamond placed pregnant rats in both deprived and challenging environments. Again, the challenged rats had the thicker cortexes. But get this: So did their offspring! Somehow, the mothers experiences had improved their babies ability to learn.

  

Can this happen in dogs as well as rats? Of course. As Dr. Diamond points out, the number of neurons in a single column of cortical nerve cells is the same in rats, dogs and man. The number of dendrites (branchlike extensions) and the resulting complexity of circuitry is what creates some of the differences between species.

I asked Professor Diamond whether given the olfactory propensity of dogs and the fact that scent is tasted as well as smelled - there might be a biological connection telling the fetuses that their hunting mother is excited and what odor is responsible. Sound reasonable? "It does," she said, cautioning, however, that she believes everything is possible until proven otherwise.

  

How might the fetus be conditioned by the mother s experience? My own theory is that tasted odor, like medicine held under the tongue, quickly enters the bloodstream. At the same time, excitement releases adrenaline into the bloodstream. Brain chemicals such as seratonin fire into the gaps between the dendrites. A percentage of those chemicals are recycled to be used again by the brain. The remainder enters the bloodstream, which, in a pregnant bitch, also flows through the unborns brain where it reproduces sensations much like the mothers.

  

Whether my theory is right or wrong (veterinary neurologist and Auburn Universityprofessor Larry Myers says Im close, if not dead on) were certain that challenging the pregnant bitch will enlarge the offsprings cortex. Training will be easier. And if my theory is right, the pups will likely have a strong preference for the scent that excites their mother. Deer chasing should be minimized.

  

I believe that the time to make the greatest impression on the fetus is the last 21 days of gestation. (Since this was published in Outdoor Life, NBC reported that Dr. David Min used ultrasound to track heartbeats and movements of human fetuses. They began responding to parents voices and music at 26 weeks, verifying the third trimester as the time of greatest opportunity for influencing the unborn.)

Additional support for hunting the pregnant bitch comes from Missourieducator, Red Setter breeder and trainer, Bruce Ludwig. Except for heat-of-summer litters, Ludwig hunts his bitches until the last week. "Ive definitely seen more pointing intensity in pups from hunted bitches, Bruce said. And as an educator I see a parallel in children. From all walks of life and degrees of intelligence, those mothers who are physically and mentally active during pregnancy bear children who react noticeably better to sight, sound, and touch. Its most apparent before learned responses form, but it carries over to superior grades later."

  

But will breeders hunt their pregnant bitches? Should we risk hunting ours? Weve always pampered them. I can only answer with more questions. Have you ever known a coyote who took off two months from hunting to have her pups? Have you ever known a young coyote that wouldnt hunt? Not hunting the pregnant bitch may well be the first step in producing all those worthless dogs we see.

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New Zealand Farm working Dogs 1 Breeds

 

By Dr Clive Dalton

Whats a breed?

The definition of a breed is often rather vague.  All you can say is that its a group of animals with a common origin, that generally look similar.  Its really not very important to folk who want animals simply for their function - and that includes most shepherds and stock persons. 

Trouble starts with people who want animals for their looks and aesthetic traits.  Fortunately for people working stock - the show ring and breed society specifications have never influenced the farm dog.  Long may that be the way of things. 

The show ring has sadly been the cause of the loss of many working genes from some breeds - and this is a pity, as you never know when these could be needed in future.  We should have saved these working genes as frozen semen and embryos - a good idea far too late.

The Border Collie

Classical British Border Collie (Photo: Helen Brown)

This breed has been the foundation of most of the worlds working dogs.  It originated from the English-Scottish border, this small, long-haired dog that "clapped" on its belly while stalking stock, came to NZ with the early shepherds.   Selection for performance over time in New Zealand has changed it into an upstanding, long-legged and smooth-haired speedster.  It is not a barking dog except when excessively excited, and selection is firmly against this trait by dog trialists.  The instinct to grab and bite can be fairly strong and remains in some strains.  It was the final act to kill after the "stalk" in the primitive dog.

The NZ "eye" dog or "heading" dog does the bulk of speed gathering of stock and the quick-reaction close-quarter work such as shedding or catching sheep.  Border collies are mainly black and white although there are some black and tan strains and the occasional "blue merle", a gene associated with "wall" or pale blue eyes.  There are red (ginger) genes found and sometimes very white animals that are usually disliked.

NZ eye or heading dog

 However, border collies are now becoming popular as pets and are winning most obedience trials and agility tests.  This could be a threat to the farm working dog if these two strains separate and then get mixed up.  Not many shepherds want their dog to find their hankie or bring back a toy rabbit!  But fetching the paper from the gate is a useful trick some shepherds do teach their heading dogs though.

Border collies love to learn and there’s nothing wrong with teaching a working dog a few new tricks to keep its brain active.  Same principle applies to their owners.

The Huntaway

Typical huntaways

Huntaway x Beardie

 The Huntaway is truly "made in NZ" and is probably the best example in the world of an animal bred for performance alone, and not ruined by breed society rules and regulations!  A wonderful example of how to use a pool of genetic variation, out of which you select what is needed to do a specified task.  Its modern genetic theory used before such theory was worked out.

Huntaways come in many shapes and colours and there are there used to be three or four major strains.  They are big strongly-built dogs used for everything - heading (gathering by going round sheep), hunting (driving stock away from or towards the handler), forcing sheep by jumping on their backs, and handling all the hurly-burly work sheep yards and woolsheds.  They are all bred to bark (give noise).

Huntaways are mainly black and tan with variations of mainly black, and a ginger red colour.  These are genes clearly from their origins of border collie, beardie, fox hound, Labrador and goodness-knows what else!  Nobody today is concerned what went into the mix, but it would still be interesting to know how it was done.

(See blog on Huntaway)

The Beardie

Beardie

 Originated from Scotland where it would bark and gather sheep from bracken covered hills.  They were called "hunters" and this could be the origin of the Kiwi term "huntaway".  They are grey, white, and tan in colour and have long hair including a beard.  .  Great-natured, tireless dogs and despite their long hair, work well in heat.  They are better at hunting than heading and are always keen to bark.  They are very popular in dairy farms to bring cows in.

The Smithfield

A bit of a mystery dog, supposed to have come from the barking dogs used by drovers at Smithfield market in London.  The Australians have added confusion by calling Beardie-types "Smithfields".  The NZ Smithfield, if you can find one, is like a small conventional huntaway or beardie type, and sometimes has a naturally bobbed tail.  They look like small huntaways or handy dogs.

The NZ "handy" dog

These are great dogs that do everything!  It seems as if they are a strain of huntaway that some breeders have selected over time.   They are not a heading dog-huntaway cross, as these are generally disasters!  But they are varied in colour and mostly like huntaways.   Farmers comment that these old-fashioned dogs are now very hard to find, as dog trialists have selected for more specialist dogs and not the general-purpose dog so useful on farms for general-hands or less-experienced shepherds.  These dogs would definitely bring the paper from the gate.

The Kelpie

 

This is the Australian all-round working dog that has NO dingo in it!  Kelpie breeders get very upset if you mention dingos!  Its the Aussie huntaway and is supposed to have been selected from strains of Border Collies.  Very tough either black or chocolate-coloured dogs.  In NZ it would be used mainly for cattle work.

Photo:  Kelpie (Source: Internet)

The Australian cattle dog 

Australian cattle dog (with red factor gene instead of blue)

 Also known as the "blue heeler", "Australian heeler" or "Queensland blue heeler" - and probably a lot of other unprintable things too.  These are tough dogs bred to heel and nose cattle - real Aussie battlers!  Their well-documented genetic origin contains "black bobtails" (presumably collie), definitely dingo to get rid of barking, as well as Kelpie, blue merle collie, Dalmatian, and probably a lot more.  Generally too tough for most shepherds unless you have stroppy cattle to handle.  A loyal and tough dog.

Surprisingly they are increasing in popularity in New Zealand as pets and show dogs, so their future as workers is clearly at risk.

The rough-coated collie

These are the dogs that "Lassie" made famous.  Useless as working dogs as their working genes have been lost through the show ring. 

The Shetland sheepdog or Sheltie

This is smaller version of the rough coated collie from Scotlands northern most islands.  They were the crofter’s working dogs but now useless as workers.

Sheltie (Source:  Internet)

Old English sheepdog 
A very old breed of working dog developed to handle intensive sheep on the English downland.   Now completely ruined as a working dog by show ring standards.  Many of these dogs now cannot see for facial hair - unless its tied up with a ribbon.  Modern shepherds as far as I know dont carry ribbons!

 Photo:  Old English sheepdog (Source: internet)





The Corgie

Once the tough little Welsh cattle dog, and you may still find some that will heel cattle.  Two strains exist - the Cardigan and the Pembrokeshire.  Now generally useless for working stock, but made popular because of Royal associations.

Pembroks Corgi (Source:  Internet)

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The Science Surrounding Children Dogs Part 1 The Good

(source)

Hi Julie,

Oh my, but KAWAII is cute! I guess that’s kind of the point? I love that cute is good for us.

All this talk of cute, a website and some observations at home got me thinking this week.  

I recently saw this image posted on Facebook and I don’t mind admitting that it tugged at my emotions. 

Around the same day, I was watching my two year old toddler (an unpublished and independent kawaii survey reports the toddler is somewhat cute) interacting with my dogs (they are cute, no survey required).

(source)

The toddler is currently learning (slowly) that the world is not 100% about the toddler. This involves me frequently coaching the toddler’s interactions with other people and children (“yes it’s very sweet that you love your friend and that you’re giving them a big hug, but now you’ve actually crash-tackled them to the floor and they’re crying, it might be time to give them space”) and more recently in a similar way with the dogs.

These home observations and website images got me thinking about how important my pets, and in particular, my dogs, were to me while growing up. 

(source)

It got me wondering - why do so many of us have enduring psychological attachment to our childhood dogs? 
And do our childhood experiences stay with us as firmly held attitudes into adulthood? 

I plan to spend my next posts looking at some of the science surrounding children and dogs: the good, the bad and the ugly.

Why are dogs good for children?

The biophilia hypothesis suggests that people are instinctively attracted to animals and nature. It proposes that our relationship with them may contribute on an intimate biological level to our sense of fulfilment and identity. In our current busy lifestyles, often lived in industrialised city environments removed from ‘nature’ in its purest form, dogs and other companion animals offer opportunities for these ‘biophilic’ relationships. 

These nurturing relationships with animals are considered particularly important during early and middle childhood. Some research suggests that humans have a higher degree of attachment to dogs than we do to other companion animals; however, this may be a flaw in the way such studies have assessed attachment.

Dogs may promote respect and compassion for animals and nature by offering a child valuable opportunity to experience and learn about animals and the ‘facts of life’. Dogs can assist children to learn about responsibility. They can encourage trust, self-belief as well as caring attitudes and behaviour. They may promote exercise and healthy development, offer social support and provide companionship, security, comfort. Dogs can be an important source of fun and have demonstrated they can act as an outlet for childhood affection.

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Research has shown that regular contact with two or more dogs in the first year of life is correlated with a reduced incidence of childhood allergies and asthma. The presence of a dog in a learning environment (such as a classroom) has been shown to contribute to children’s motivation and can speed task completion without compromising accuracy. Dogs in this context also aid emotional stability, improve children’s attitudes towards school and aid in the learning of respect, empathy and responsibility.

So it seems like there’s a lot to like about fostering a positive relationship between children and dogs. But what happens to children when such an important relationship ends? And do our childhood experiences stay with us into adulthood? 

Dont worry - I’ll be sure tell you more about that next time!

Mia

p.s. Dont forget to head over to our facebook page to keep track of the childhood dog photo challenge!

Further reading:

Serpell J. (1999). Animals in Childrens Lives, Society & Animals, 7 (2) 87-94. DOI: 10.1163/156853099X00013

OHaire M. (2010). Companion animals and human health: Benefits, challenges, and the road ahead, Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 5 (5) 226-234. DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2010.02.002

Melson G.F. Child Development and the Human-Companion Animal Bond, American Behavioral Scientist, 47 (1) 31-39. DOI: 10.1177/0002764203255210

Blue G.F. (1986). The Value of Pets in Childrens Lives, Childhood Education, 63 (2) 85-90. DOI: 10.1080/00094056.1986.10521747

Zasloff R.L. (1996). Measuring attachment to companion animals: a dog is not a cat is not a bird, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 47 (1-2) 43-48. DOI: 10.1016/0168-1591(95)01009-2

Holscher B., Frye C., Wichmann H.E. & Heinrich J. (2002). Exposure to pets and allergies in children, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, 13 (5) 334-341. DOI: 10.1034/j.1399-3038.2002.02063.x

Anderson K.L. & Olson M.R. (2006). The value of a dog in a classroom of children with severe emotional disorders, Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 19 (1) 35-49. DOI: 10.2752/089279306785593919

Gee N.R., Harris S.L. & Johnson K.L. (2007). The Role of Therapy Dogs in Speed and Accuracy to Complete Motor Skills Tasks for Preschool Children, Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 20 (4) 375-386. DOI: 10.2752/089279307X245509

© Mia Cobb 2012

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The 1 Show Dog in America Is a Mess

The #1 show dog in America is "Lockenhaus Rumor Has It V" which is pictured above, and below, walking on its metatarsus, with its hock almost touching the ground.

This dog won "herding" even though it cannot herd, and cannot even walk as a dog should.

A German shepherd should not walk on its metatarsals, and they did not used to.

Below is the gait of a wolf.

What have breeders done to wreck the German Shepherd?

Quite a lot. 

And what would it look like if we did the same thing to a horse?  

A lot like this:

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Get Rich By Breeding Dogs!

O.K., the title is a joke. 

But only barely. 

Though show dog breeders may not be getting rich, many show dog people breed dogs to defray their show ring expenses -- payments to professional handlers, payments on motor homes and hotels, veterinary expenses, etc.

With "hobby" expenses of several thousand dollars a year, selling puppies is a significant part of the economic engine driving the show ring model.

The need for uninterrupted puppy sales is one reason the show dog world is so resistant to change.

If show ring folks could not sell their current crop of dogs because an AKC standard had been changed in order to improve canine health, that would be a serious economic hit.

There is another reason breed clubs are resistant to breed standard changes, and an increased focus on canine health issues; it is a negation of their own life and their own expertise. 

What does it say about the breed club, and its breeders, that the dog they claim to love so much is now in such dismal shape?

Dogs are not dying young and in pain because they are committing suicide.

Entire breeds have not been wrecked by accidental vehicle impacts.

No, the story here is quite a bit sadder than that. It is a story about a lot of people with misplaced priorities intentionally breeding dogs, and the horrific results they have achieved despite decades and decades of putative expertise "in the breed."

For these folks to admit that the results achieved have been a collective disaster, has a huge emotional cost attached to it.

They are in the same position as the person who has given this or her entire life to a company only to be fired in humiliation, or the wife who has been married for 25 years who comes home to find her husband in bed with another man. Was the whole thing a joke? A charade? Did this investment of my life mean nothing?

Little wonder that a lot of people are willing to do almost anything not to have to face those questions!

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New Zealand Farm working Dogs 10 Practical Feeding

By Dr Clive Dalton

Old  dogs need special care after many years of loyal service

 
 Balanced feeding

Dogs need a balanced diet, which has everything in it to meet their needs for maintenance and production.

What does a dog need for maintenance?

Table below has a mass of information on the energy and protein that a dog needs.  First, look at the layout. 

  Note these features:

·      There is information for three weights of dogs.

·      The maintenance needs per weight of dog are shown in kcal of energy and in grams of protein.  So a small dog (15kg) needs 1005kcal of energy and 72g of protein each day to sustain its body functions.

·      There is a range of diets in the left column and their energy and protein contents are shown beside them.

·      Look back in the column for each weight of dog and you can see how much of that diet to feed and how near that quantity comes to meet the maintenance needs.

For example: 450 g of meat will provide 900 kcal of energy and 81g of protein.  This is 105 kcals of energy too little, and 9g of protein too much.  Its "near enough" you could say.

What about production (working)  needs?

Here you have to provide feed over and above maintenance.  See Table below which shows the number of times you multiply the maintenance feeds by to meet the dog’s nutritional needs.

Dogs in work

Light exercise                 1.5 x M

Medium exercise            2.0 x M

Heavy exercise            2.5 x M

Bitches

Late pregnancy            2.5 x M

Early lactation              3.0 x M

Pups

Up to 7 weeks                  2.0 x M

7-9 weeks                        3.0 x M

9 weeks onwards            decrease to adult levels

Calcium and phosphorus

The Calcium and Phosphorus daily needs for a dog are shown in table below.

The table shows when supplements are needed for that range of diets.  If you need to add Ca or P, how much do you provide - the answer is in table 4, using the most readily available sources of dicalcium phosphate or bonemeal, and calcium carbonate.

Minerals and vitamins

Look at table below to see which type of diet is likely to be short of minerals and vitamins.

Note that the all-meat diet is short of all those listed so has serious implications for health.   Note also that vitamins D and E are going to be short in all the diets.

The all-meat diet

So many farmers will tell you that an all-meat diet is ideal for a working dog and theyll back their opinion with a lifetimes experience of feeding meat.  They point out that dogs are carnivores so meat is their natural diet.

These opinions are flawed!  But there are hundreds of farmers who wont accept these basic facts and nutritionists are regularly criticised for their ignorance of real life on a farm.  Owners also argue that commercially available diets are too expensive and there are plenty of cull stock to eat up which have little market value.  Again, remember my first question of what is a dog worth to your business.

There are all sorts of problems with all-meat diets for working dogs, and they require substantial supplementation with minerals like calcium, phosphorus and iodine, as well as vitamins.  Dogs on these so-called all-meat diets are in fact supplementing them by scavenging.  They are eating dung, carrion and goodness knows what else.  They maybe look all right but are not being kept at peak fitness, which a balanced diet allows.  Skinny underweight dogs are unhealthy and are even more prone to parasite attack.

The second common error is thinking that adding milk will balance an all-meat diet.  This is not true either. 

Bones

Bones with a red tinge of meat on them provide very little nutrients.  Bones are good dental exercise - and thats about all.  They do contain some calcium and phosphorus but its better to supply these important minerals in other more digestible forms if needed. 

How long was the meat frozen?

This is a concern on farms where there are many shepherds using meat out of the same freezer.   There are no problems if the meat is cut up, bagged and dated, but so often this doesnt happen and you dont know how long the meat has been frozen.  If you mark on plastic bags remember the ink may come off or be hard to read when iced over.  Tie-on labels are always readable.

The rule of holding meat at minus 10 degrees C for 7 days is a MINIMUM.   Please note well this point.   And its important to make sure the meat is at minus 10 right at the centre.  As many old freezers are used for dog meat, they sometimes are not at peak efficiency.  If you have any concerns, get your Dog Control Officer to check the freezer.

Big bags of mince for example will take much longer than 7 days to get to minus 10 C in the middle so they are not treated properly.

The key is to have a system that rotates the meat, and that everyone involved in using the meat understands it.  If you buy low-grade carcasses from a meatworks, make sure they have been held at the correct temperature and for the correct time.  The same would apply to local abattoir meat.

All meat sold at licensed pet food shops must meet the requirements of the Hydatids Act, so you can buy there with confidence.

Thawing frozen meat

Imagine working hard all day and getting a frozen joint to chew at all night.   What a great reward from a grateful boss!   This happens to many dogs when things are busy and the planning breaks down.  Allow at least a day for meat to thaw out and in winter it may take 2-3 days.  So allow plenty of time for this.

And remember – the juices that flow from frozen meat contain important vitamins and minerals that the dog should have.  The chore of catching the juice and returning it to the meat just shows impractical all-meat feeding is.

Cooking sheep and goat meat for dogs  

Do NOT feed any fresh sheep or goat meats to dogs, to prevent the spread of sheep measles.  Cooked meat must be brought to the boil and then left for a minimum of 30 minutes, and probably more like an hour.  If there is still blood showing at the end of the cooking time, then boil it a little longer.

Cooking offal and sheep and goat meat

This is a messy time-consuming business, even when proper facilities with modern electric cookers and time switches are available.  Although the law allows the feeding of correctly cooked offal, you would be wise to forget the idea.  

With so many good dog feeds available these days, it’s unwise to feed cooked offal to dogs.   If you think that feeding cooked offal produces a cheap dog feed, then you should do your sums again.  The true costs and the risks make it a poor alternative feed for dogs.

The risks of inadequate cooking are high because cooking time can vary depending on many things.  As a general rule, 1.5 to 2 hours is needed.  If there is still blood showing at the end of cooking time, then the meat needs some more treatment.

Feeding other meats

Meat from cattle, horses, deer, rabbits, pigs and possums can be fed raw to dogs without risk of infection from sheep measles.  However, it would be unwise to feed raw possum in areas where there is a risk of Tb which dogs could pick up.

Other dietary problems

There are a few problems such as bad breath, anal gland infection and bad teeth which can all arise as a result of feeding.  Check them out with your veterinarian. 

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And Your Little Dog Too!

This is Mary Langley Bruce in New York in 1908, with her Brussells Griffon, "Cupid". The original model for the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz? Could be!

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