Gonzalez1

LisetteGonzalez
Writing39C
ProfessorGregMcClure
29August2015
DogBreeding:Howmuchdoyouknow?

Dogshavebecomemuchmorethanjustanimals,theyhavepracticallybecomeoneofus.
Theabilityforhumanstodomesticatesuchananimalandtrainthemtodosomuchhasonly
proventheircapabilitiesandthestrongbondbetweenthetwo.Althoughmanybelievehumans
anddogscannotbecompared,mentally,DianaReiss,apsychologyprofessoratHunterCollege
ofNewYork,statesthatwecreateabiasbyfilteringananimal'sintelligencebasedonthe
humanworld,nottheanimalworld.Thereare,ofcourse,mentaltraitsthatremainspecificto
humans,butasMarcBekoff,anEcologyandEvolutionaryBiologyprofessoratUniversityof
Colorado,says,theresnoreasontothinkthatdogjoy,catjoy,andyourjoyaregoingtobejust
thesame(Clemmit878).Despitethefewdifferencesthesetwospeciesmighthave,many
studiesandexperimentshavebeenconductedinordertoprovedogsmentalabilities,toshare
howdogshavebecomenearlyasvaluableasanyhumanlife,butmostimportantly,togivethem
avoiceinasocietythatdoesnotalwaysseeeyetoeye.Thesestudieshelpshowtheworldwhat
manycannotseeatfirstglance,solidifyingtheideathatalotmoregoesoninananimalsmind
thanonethinks
.However,dogbreedingisasourceforsomeoftheproblemsdogsfaceand
humansstandbehindit.
Ithasbecomeanissuethatneedsfixingassoonaspossiblebecause
theseanimalssuffereveryday,andpeoplearenotawareofordontcareoftheproblemsthey


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create,despitethesciencebehindit.Gettingeverystatetocreatelawsagainstthiscrueltyoreven
campaigningtoreducedogbreedingarewaystopreventtheongoingabuse.Thiscanonlybe
doneifeveryoneunderstandsthebackgroundofthesituationandrealizethatsomethingneedsto
bedonetohelptheseanimalsthatbasicallyhaveamindverysimilartoours.
Peopleoftenwonderwhyorhowdogbreedingcametobe,especiallywhensome
consideritacontroversialsubject.
DuringtheVictorianera,peoplerealizedtheycoulduse
changingadogsappearancetotheiradvantage.ProblemscontinuedastheAmericanKennel
Club(AKC)wasfoundedin1884intheUnitedStatesandcreatedtherightlookfordogsto
competeindogshows,stoppingatnocost(Hancock).Theymanagedover100breedsofdogs,
keepingaregistryofancestryjusttomaintainpurebreddogsinline(Cohen,HartCohen26).
Thefirstshow,intheUnitedKingdom,wasin1859,aroundthesametime
TheOriginOf
Species,
byCharlesDarwin,waspublished

(Bateson8).Darwinexperimentedwithselective
breedinganddiscoveredhistheoryofnaturalselection,butnow,inthepresent,ownerscontinue
toinbreeddogstokeepdesirabletraits,notknowingthedamagebeingdonetothem(Bateson7).
Dogsfacedandstillfacehealthproblemsassociatedwithselectivebreeding,basicallycallingout
foractiontobedonetocontroltheseissues.
Althoughitmightbehardtocompletelyridofthe
thingspeopledototheirdogsfordogshows,thereshouldbesomestricterregulationforclubsto
avertthepainthatisbroughttothosedogs.
Theresaveryhighpossibilitytheseanimalsknow
whatisbeingdonetothemandfeeljustasmuchpainasanyhumanwould.Science,however,
haspartakeninthisissue,tobringawarenessofwhatdogsareactuallyabletounderstand.
Scientistshavebeenstudyinganimalcognition,tounderstandthembetter,knowwhat
theythink,oriftheythink.Afterall,itisimportanttoknowifdogsareabletocomprehendwhat


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happenstothemwhentheyarenottreatedproperly.AstudyconductedbySanniSomppi,Laura
Hanninen,OutiVainio,facultyofVeterinaryScience,andHeiniTornqvist,ChristinaKrause,
facultyofBehavioralSciences,allfromtheUniversityofHelsinki,usingeyetracking,helped
provethatdogswereabletodistinguishmanythings,inthiscaseimages,showingtheirmental
capabilities.Intheexperiment,thedogseyesweretrackedandtheresultsshowedthatthey
fixatedonadogpicturemoreandforalongerperiodoftimethananyotherpicture,suggesting
anexpertiseintheperceptionofownspecies(
S
omppi,Tornqvist,Hanninen,Krause,Vainio
166).Figure1showstheapproximateschematicusedforthisexperiment,provingtopeoplethe
directionsdogswereabletofollowandmostimportantly,nohumaninterference.Thefactthat
thedogscouldevenrecognizeimagesdemonstratedtheyarecapableofformingmental
representationsthroughpictures(
Somppi,Tornqvist,Hanninen,Krause,Vainio172
)Thiskind
ofinformationneedstobeknowninordertosympathizewithdogsandwhattheygothrough.If
theycandothiswiththeirminds,whatelsearetheycapableofdoingorknowing?


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Figure1.
Somppi,Sani,Tornqvist,Heini,Hanninen,Laura,KrauseChristina,VainioOuti.
"Dogsdolookatimages:eyetrackingincaninecognitionresearch".
AnimalCognition
Vol.15
(2012):163174.Print.

Dogsneedtobedisplayedassmartcreaturesforpeopletounderstandandfixthetrouble
theybringtotheseanimals.Objectpermanenceandsocialcueingarebothsimpleandinteresting
formsofcognition,whereoneisthetheideathatanobjectexistseventhoughitisnotvisible
andtheotherisdirectingtoanobjectbypointing,respectively.Objectpermanencewas
originallyusedforstudiesinvolvinginfants,untilthe1980sand1990swhenpsychologists
appliedittodogsandfoundtheyhadconsistentlevelsofperformance(Clotfelter,Hollis293).In
astudytestingthesephenomena,itwasshownthatsuccessratesforobjectpermanencedropped
fromstagetostage,butJ.DavidSmith,apsychologyprofessoratStateUniversityofNewYork,
offeredanexplanationstatingtherewasapossibilitythesedogsoptedoutasathirdchoice,
becauseofanuncertainfeeling,asignofmetacognition(Clemmitt875).Socialcueing
presenteddifferentresultsasdogsperformedbetter,leadingresearcherstobelieveonlycertain
cognitiveabilitieswereselectedduringdomesticationforhumandogcommunication(Clotfelter,
Hollis293).Sothequestionremains,dodogsknowwhatisgoingon?Dotheproblemsof
inbreedingorbreedingingeneralaffecttheminanyway?
Ifso,solutionsneedstobepresented
soon.Forone,seriousmeasurestoimplementlawsfordogbreedingneedstobeapriority.States
musthelpoutasmuchaspossibletomakesurethedogsbeingaffectedbyimproperbreeding
receiveatleastthemostbasiccarepossible.Someregulationcangoalongwayifeveryone
cooperatesanddoestheirsmallpartofhelpingwiththisproblem.


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Itisnotfairthatadogshouldhavetodiebecausepeoplefeeltheneedtoalter,notjust
theirappearance,buttheirbehavior.
Alteringadogsappearancedisruptstheirwaysof
communication.Forexampledifficultiesindisplayingtheirteethorevenwaggingtheirtailis
proofofthechallengesadogfaceswhentheirownertriestorefinethemintosomethingtheyare
clearlynot(McGreevy,Nicholas332).Peopletendtoforgettheenvironmentdogsneedto
survive,whichissolelybasedoncommunicationwithhumans.socuttingoffthatrelationship
distanceshumansfromdogs.PaulMcGreevyandFrankNicholas,bothprofessorsofVeterinary
ScienceattheUniversityofSydney,discussintheirarticleofdogbreedingproblemsandhow
peopleoftenoverselectthetraitstheyfavor,causingbehaviorproblemsthat,insomecases,lead
toeuthanasia(McGreevy,Nicholas332).
Aspeopledecidetobreeddogs,theyareputtingdogsatriskforseriouswelfare
problems.Whenitcomestothedogsindogshows,thereareover400recognizeddogbreeds
worldwide,makingitapopularhobby,saysNicolaRooney,fromtheUniversityofBristol,and
DavidSargan,fromtheUniversityofCambridge,specializinginVeterinaryScienceand
VeterinaryMedicine,respectively(Rooney,Sargan9).Butsomeofthemainproblemsdogsface
asaresultofinbreedingincludephysicalabnormalitiesandinheritinggeneticdisorders(Rooney,
Sargan9).Sincesomeofthesedogswanttobeusedtocompeteatshows,ownersmakesureto
choosethebesttraitswhenbreeding,oftenexaggeratinglookstoapointwherethereisno
functionality.Heavierdogssufferjointproblems,hairlessnessresultsintheinabilityto
thermoregulate,unnaturalpositionofteethmakeithardforfeeding,alljustsomeofthe
problemsdogsencounter(Rooney,Sargan11).Insteadofviewingthesedefectsasproblems,
manyofthesetraitsareconsideredbreedstandards,forcingpeopletoharmtheirdog,not


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thinkingoftheeffectsitcouldhave.For
example,BostonTerriersarerequiredto
beshort,squareheadedwithasquarejaw
andMiniaturepoodles,withtheirfine
legs,riskfracturingthemfromjumping
(McGreevy,Nicholas331).Traitsthat
shouldnotbeconsiderednormalare
glamorizedtofitthethelook.
Inbreedingalsoreducesfertility,lowers
birthrate,andreducestheimmunesystem,
whichcanprovedeadly,because
theimmunesystemhelpsremove
cancerouscells,leadingtothe

Figure2.
https://animalwellbeing.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/infographicshowspeskypedigreeproblems

developmentoftumors(Bateson15).Figure2isaninfographic,detailingtheconsequencesof
kennelclubbreeding,titledBorntosuffer,whichiswhatsomewouldconsiderthesedogs.
TheAnimalWelfareAct(AWA),whichwaspassedin1966,issupposedtoregulate
certainanimalactivities,includingdogbreeding,specificallywithpuppymills,butithasbeen


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knowntobepoorlyenforcedmakingthisproblemhardertocontrol(Lawsthatprotectdogs).
Somethingnotcoveredbythislaw,forexample,istheimportationofdogsfromforeignpuppy
mills,whichcanbeaproblemconsideringthesedogsweremostlikelyraisedinunsanitary
conditions.WiththehelpoftheAmericanSocietyforthePreventionofCrueltytoAnimals
(ASPCA)andotherwelfaregroups,anamendmenttothe2008farmbillwaspassed,prohibiting
theimportationofpuppiesundersixmonths(Lawsthatprotectdogs).Eachstatehasdifferent
lawsandregulations,andsomedontatall,buttheonesthatdorequirelicensing,standardsof
care,orinspections(Lawsthatprotectdogs).Breedersarerequiredtohavesometypeof
licenseandannualinspectionsofstandardsofcarearemandatoryinsomestates,makingthis
enforcementbetterthannoenforcement.Thisisimportantinhelpingthecausebecauseitcan
serveasadominoeffect,inthehopesthatotherstateswillfollowandenforcethesekindsof
lawstoo.Figure3showsamap,asofMarch2015,ofthestatesthathavesomeorallofthelaws
andregulationsinplaceandmanystatesthathavenoregulation.


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Figure3.
"LawsthatprotectdogsinPuppyMills".
ASPCA.
ASPCA,4Dec.2012.Web.16Aug
2015.

ThelawsprovidedbytheAmericanKennelClubareconcerningastheyclaimto
maintaincareandconditionpoliciesforthosewhobreeddogstoensurethattheyareraisedina
humanemanner,yetdogscontinuetosuffer(Kaminski).Thesepoliciesarebrokendowninto
threecategories,whichincludecareofdogs,kennelsandhousing,andoperations,allofwhich
shouldhelptheconditionsofdogsthatareforcedintodogshows(Kaminski).Dogsparticipating
inthesedogshowshavebeenknowntospendmostoftheirliveslockedupincages,barely
havingtimetorun,onlyknowingthelifeofcompeting,saysbehavioristanddogtrainer,Carol
Price(Gibson).ThelawsenforcedbytheAKCunderthecareofdogssectionshouldimprove
theseconditionsbynotallowingunhealthyandpoorlytreateddogscompete.Itseemsthingslike
thisstillgoon,though,consideringdogsarestillbeingputintoshows,whensomearenotablyin
noconditiontocompete.Forexample,theBritishbulldoghaslostoneofitsmostpowerful
features,endurance,asaresultofbreeding,becauseof,hugeheads,shortbowedlegsandvery
squashedmuzzles,yettheystillappearindogshows(Gibson).Smallstepsareasurepathto
success,however,becausealthoughitmayseemtheregulationsestablishedarenotvery
effective,criticswillsaytherehasdefinitelybeensomeprogresswhenitcomestohealthissues,
astheBritishVeterinaryAssociationfundshealthresearchtofixthedogsproblems(Gibson).
Thebiggestsolutionpossible,however,issimplyawareness.Inorderforpeopletobe
proactiveaboutaproblem,theyneedtoknowthere
is
aproblem.
Throughsocialmedia,itiseasy
tosharesomuchinformationaboutanything,inthiscase,theproblemwithdogbreeding
,soa


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goodwaytogoaboutsolvingthisissueismakingitpublic.ClayShirkystates,Thequestion
weallfacenowis,Howcanwemakebestuseofthismedia?Eventhoughitmeanschanging
thewaywevealwaysdoneit,emphasizingthefactthatsocialmediaisthenewesttoolout
there,nowallwehavetodoisuseitcorrectlytoouradvantage(Shirky).Inthiscase,acampaign
canbestartedtoshowcasetheproblemandaskforhelp.PopularsiteslikeFacebook,Twitteror
Instagramareallusefultopostandsharefactsandpicturesofthedogsthatarebeinghurtby
breeding.Figure4isanexampleofthekindofpicturesthatcanbesharedsinceitspictureslike
thatthataremovingandcanactuallyinfluenceanindividualsfeelingstowardsthesubject.Itis
easytoignoreanissuewhenitisnotaffectingyoudirectlybutwhenthingslikethisare
advocated,itishardertoavoidtheproblem.


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Figure4.PuppiesofpuppymillstobeusedinKennelClubs
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/20150226/animalwelfare/reportallegeskennelclublaxon
puppymilllaws/a447561
Themorepeopleknowaboutasubject,themorelikelytheyaretoactuponit,especiallyif
motivesareincluded.Awaytogetpeopletofollowrulesorlawsthatarealreadyestablishedis
bygivingthemamotive,likeareward,toprotecttheirdog.Althoughitmightsoundlikealong
shot,itdoesnothurtifitmeanslessabuseddogs.Thisisalsowhensocialmediacancomeinto
thepicturebecauseitcanbepromotedonanyofthosesites,oranewsite,specificallymeantfor
thesepreventions,canbecreatedtoadvocateagainsttheproblem.Manysiteshavealreadybeen
createdbyanimalrightsgroupsliketheASPCA,TheHumaneSociety,orevenPETA,butit
takesmorethanthattoreducetheproblemofdogbreeding.Itisuptootherstocontributeand
advocatebecauseinthisnewgeneration,thatisthebestwaytogetapointacross,notjustastate
away,buteventhecountry.
Lettingpeopleknowwhatdogbreedingcandototheseanimalsandthatitaffectsthem,
physically,mentally,andemotionallyisasurewaytogetpeopletostarttodosomethingabout
it.Ifpeopleareconstantlyseeingthesamethingbeingadvocatedoneverysocialmediasitethey
visit,itcanencouragethemtogiveitatry,whetheritistojoinawelfaregroup,donate,orjust
informthemselvesoftheissuetohelppreventit.Itistimetostopandhelp,becauseultimately,
wehavethepowertodoso,andletsbereal,whowantstoseeoneofourclosestcompanions
sufferanotherday?


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WorksCited
Bateson,Patrick."Independentinquiryintodogbreeding."
Cambridge:University
ofCambridge
(2010)
Clemmitt,Marcia.AnimalIntelligence.
CQResearcher
20.37(2010):869892.Web.
Clotfelter,EthanD.,Hollis,KarenL."CognitioninDomesticDogs:ObjectPermanence
andSocialCueing".
AmericanBiologyTeacher(NationalAssociationofBiology
Teachers)
Vol.70(2008):293298.Print.
Gibson,Helen.AFlawedBeauty.
TimeEurope
6Aug.2001:44.Web.
KaminskiLeduc,JanetL."StandardsofCareforDogandCatBreeders".
Connecticut
GeneralAssembly.
6Sept2013.Web.16Aug2015.
"LawsthatprotectdogsinPuppyMills".
ASPCA.
ASPCA,4Dec.2012.Web.16Aug2015.
McGreevy,PaulD.,Nicholas,FrankW.SomePracticalSolutionstoWelfareProblemsIn
DogBreeding.AnimalWelfare8(1999):329341.Print.
Rooney,Nicola,andDavidSargan."PedigreedogbreedingintheUK:amajor
welfareconcern."
Hosham,UK:RoyalSocietyforthePreventionofCrueltytoAnimals
(2009)
Shirky,Clay.HowSocialMediaCanMakeHistory.TEDTalks,June2009.Keynotespeech.
Somppi,Sani,Tornqvist,Heini,Hanninen,Laura,KrauseChristina,VainioOuti."Dogs
dolookatimages:eyetrackingincaninecognitionresearch".
AnimalCognition
Vol.15
(2012):163174.Print.