Pocket-Beagle.com - My Life with Dogs Blog

My Life With Dogs

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Trying to keep my life organized is a full time project. I was writing two dog blogs - one of beagle and one on English Shepherds. One day I realized that My Life with Dogs was about me and all my dogs. SoI decided to master "Word Press", a blogging software, and write one blog about all the dogs that have shaped my life.

I haven't completely mastered Word Press but I have moved my blog. If you would like to continue reading about my life lessons learned from dogs, visit My Life With Dogs.

Maybe one day,I will get really computer educated and be able to let this blog open when you click on this link. If only I was so lucky.

Eight Belles

As many of you know, my husband and I are horsemen. Our education ( PhD and MS) is related to horses. We have taught at three universities and spent our lives training horses and people about horses. While at the University of Maryland and Louisiana Tech, we were involved with Thoroughbreds. We also trained our own racing stable.

I have been so "upset" about the "verbage" written about Eight Belles that I haven't been able to even write a response. Yesterday, I read this quote on-line in a New Zealand newspaper. I just couldn't stand it anymore.   So to follow are my thoughts...

"It is possible the horse began to feel pain and would have slowed down but couldn't because she was being whipped," said PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo. "We want to know."

It is hard to believe that anyone who has actually owned a thoroughbred or a horse (or a dog) bred for a high performance event would utter a statement like this. It hard to believe that a person who trained for any event or trained anything for a high level performance event would have even had this thought.

A race horse is experiencing such a high level of adrenaline and or endorphins being in the moment of competition that it does not feel pain.   The function of the “whip” is not to inflict pain – it is a communication signal to a horse in the peak of performance.

It is the same sort of state that drives humans and animals in the wild to perform amazing feats after they have been injured; the same state that drives human athletes to amazing peaks of performance

Thoroughbred and other equine athletes are bred to have this drive. It is one of the traits which makes them great. It is one of the traits that separates some individuals from the rest of their species: The desire to achieve the goal at any costs.

Instead of trying to crucify the jockey, we should be hailing him a hero and thanking the powers-that-be that the filly did not break down till after the finish line. If she had gone down in the stretch, it is likely that there would have been a horrible pile up. Jocks and horses scattered over the track as they dodged falling horses and riders in front of them.

After the finish line the jock guided this filly toward the outside rail where the dirt was best. In retrospect, this was the best possible scenario for a bad scene. The rest of the field was free to come home and easy down slowly from the speed of the race.

It is impossible for a horse running at those speeds to stop in a short distance of space. They are like a train. They have to time and distance to slow down.

While it is unlikely that we will ever know when the filly’s injuries actually occurred, shouldn’t we discussing the heart and courage of this filly who came in second in a field of boys.

Dog Collars can Kill

I want to share this sad story in hopes that it will save the life of some puppies. Several years ago I received a call from a State Trooper who had a 2 year old son.

The perfect gift was a beagle puppy. Within days, the Mom and the Son and the Grandmom arrived at the farm so that the little boy could pick out the perfect puppy.

The pups were too little to leave their Mom but the choice was made. Several weeks later the puppy was ready and I found a ride for the pup close to the area where the family lived. That was Saturday.

Later that day, I heard about the "great puppy" and how happy the little boy was.

The next day, Sunday. I heard from the State Trooper. He was upset. The family had gone to church and decided to leave the little pup on a line in the backyard. The weather was great and they wouldn't be gone long.

When they got back, the puppy was dead. Strangled by the collar. The collar was a very thin nylon collar. It has caught on something as a the pup pulled back the collar twisted up and choked the puppy.

The family desparately wanted another pup for their little boy. Fortunately, I had another pup available and a really traumatized family came and picked it.

Obviously, this story upset me as well. I really couldn't imagine what the collar twisted up. I went and got one, put it on a puppy and sort of hooked my finger under the collar. The puppy pulled back and in a heart beat, my finger was trapped as the collar twisted down. The puppy stared to choke and I couldn't get my finger out fast enough.

Fortunately, I got it free. Thecollar relaxed and the pup was OK. It was eye opening.

Now I recommend that new owners use leather collars or harnesses for their new pup. Please pay a lot of attention to the collar you pup on your dogs.

New thought: Seems like chock chains can also be lethal. I doubt that any beagle owners used choke chains on their pcoket beagles but this article was published in a Scottish newspaper: Family warns of dog choke chain dangers as pet killed

Dog Thefts

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about dog thefts. Actually. last year breeders were talking about people coming in and stealing entire litters of puppies. These were usually small puppies that would grow up to be small dogs.

I think one possible deterent might be to microchip more of our dogs.

If you are not familiar with this concept, here is how it works. A small microchip is inserted in the skin around the neck of the dog through the insertion of a needle. This procedure doesn't appear to cause the dog much discomfort as most dogs have extra skin around their necks.

The problem that is more important is that there are several companies making these microchips. The microchip produced by each company needs a specific microchip reader.

Here is the status of the situation as I understand it. Last year I sent two beagle pups to HongKong. Yes, Hong Kong! They had to be microchipped before shipping and they had to be microchipped using an AVID microchip.

The vet told me that AVID gave a free reader to every Animal Shelter and that every Shelter checks for a chip in every dog that they find.

If this is true, amazingly, the AKC, who are big supporters of microchipping dogs does not promote the AVID chip. They have partnered with another company and are promoting another chip. (More Info )

If you are going to microchip your beloved pet, it might be a good idea to check around in your area for the microchip(s) that the local animal shelters can read.

Hopefully, one day soon, there will be a universal reader that can read the signal from any microchip. It seems silly that we have 3 or 4 different microchips, each one designed to need its own specific reader. This is more about MONEY than providing a service to dog owner.

Imagine if all the dogs and cats in New Orleans had been microchipped!

Raw Learning for Dogs

What a great name for a website. And this lady "tells it like she think it is".

After the big scare last year, when we found out that some of our dog food companies were poisoning our dogs with products that they got from China, many folks were searching for answers on how to better feed their beloved "Furry Family Members".

I, too, became a quest to become more knowledgeable about feeding dogs. Before I talk more about what I think, let me tell you about my prejudices.

I don't believe that the best source for information about dog nutrition is a vet. The last time I checked the average vet has 1 course in nutrition in vet school. So when they advertise that this product was formulated by a vet - I cringe. (No hate mail, please.)

I also don't have blind faith in dog food producers. I never feed the same feed all the time. I don't want the diet for my dogs to be limited to the nuritional formula and practices of just one company.

So, I am always searching for a real unbias dog nutritionist.

I have always had an interest in feeding raw meat to dog which makes this website (www.rawlearning.com) interesting to me.

I scanned over a lot of the information and my only initial objection is that she says that dogs are carnivores. I think they are omnivores - meaning that they also eat other things in addition to meat.

Personally, I do try to feed my dogs raw meat at least once month. And I supplement their diet with bones - lots of raw bones. I steer away from commercial dog products which list corn as the first ingredient. In fact, I try and avoid the grains known to cause dog allergies.

Our human food supply can be a source of a lot of unhealthy food products like trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup. If profits are more important than human health, what must a dog's health be worth?

Designer Dogs

As I cruise around the internet, I see a lot of site where breeders proclaim that they don't believe in crossing different pure bred dogs. The dog registries like the American Kennel Club also cringe at the idea.

I don't have that prejudice. I don't see why we have to assume that we must move forward into the future with just today's recognized dog breeds. If people believed that 100 years ago, we wouldn't have the breeds that we have today.

Just look at the history of the Beagle. Todays Beagle is a mixture of at least 3 other Hounds breeds. And the Beagle is not an exception. Most of the recognized breeds today come from mixing specific types of dogs.

This breeding theory is not limited to dogs. The Thoroughbred horse is a blend of Thoroughbreds and Arabians. The registration book for Thoroughbreds was not closed till the 1900's.

The American Quarter Horse was formed by accepting horses of a specific type and look. Their registry is still not closed as they accept foals with one thoroughbred parent.

The cattle industry has also reaped the rewards of cross breeding cattle. The modern cattle breeds are designed to mix the best traits of the original breeds.

Jim and I are animal breeders, We both studied animal breeding as a part of our curriculum and we have taught the principles of animal breeding. Over the course of 50 years, we have bred Thoroughbreds for the race track, Quarter Horses selected for reining, English cattle. a highly selected group of corriente cattle that works in the training of cutting horses, Quarter Horse selected to be cutting horses, English Shepherds, a rare farm workingdog breed, Beagles,Beagis and Puggles.

The Beagi is a "Designer Dog" created by crossing a Pocket Beagle on a Corgi.. We are trying to develop a small dog with a very calm demeanor, smart, happy and people loving.

The Pocket Puggle is the result of crossing a Pocket Beagle on a Pug. They are delightful little dogs with energy that burns fast and then they are ready to snuggle up and be lap dogs. Very friendly and dog social.

Having breeding goals for whatever you are trying to breed is the first step to being an "animal breeder". Indiscriminate breeding with no thought to the purpose of the new generation is a disaster for dog, horses, cattle, etc.

Looking cute is just not enough of a reason to make a cross. A puppy is going to be someone's "family member" for close to 10 years. There are so many traits that they need to have in order to be a well-adjusted member of that family.

Producing quality puppies regardless of the breed or cross should be the goal of every dog breeder.

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