Tuesday, March 30, 2004 The Halifax Herald Limited
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breed bans barking up wrong tree
By RICK CONRAD Petpourri
AS IF most of us didn't already have enough reasons to dislike insurance companies.
Now one of their ilk has decided to discriminate against certain dog breeds.
Allstate, the international insurance giant that last year raked in $2.72 billion US in net income on $32.15 billion US in revenue, is refusing home insurance to people with Rottweilers, German shepherds, pit bulls or Doberman pinschers.
The company that boasts "You're in good hands" with Allstate is worried that the four breeds are too high a risk. A spokeswoman told the Calgary Herald last week that the company did a risk assessment in 2003 on dog liability and found the breeds didn't pass. She said a single dog bite could bring a million-dollar lawsuit.
For Emmanuel Gionet of Calgary, that meant giving up the "good hands" of Allstate and not turning his back on Sasha, a Labrador-Rottweiler cross, and Daisy, a German shepherd-Doberman-Lab mix, when the firm refused to renew his home insurance because of his dogs.
Reportedly, the only havoc Sasha and Daisy could wreak may be messing up your makeup with a good old-fashioned face lick. (A local company gladly took Gionet's business.)
You know what? I think Allstate is on to something here. It's the only one out of 207 insurance companies in Canada with this pooch-prohibitive policy, but you could extend it to other breeds that could be just as dangerous in their own way.
Let's bark for a ban on vertically challenged dogs like basset hounds or bichons frises. I know from personal experience that you sometimes don't see that little guy parked behind you when you're cooking supper. One misstep and it's a belly flop on the linoleum.
It's understandable that Allstate wants to protect itself from escalating claims. The company has a similar policy for our litigious neighbours to the south, with some expanding it to other breeds like Akitas, chows and huskies.
And I'm not trying to trivialize dog attacks, which are extremely traumatic and sometimes deadly.
Nonetheless, Allstate's decision is flawed. And it ignores the crime-deterrent effect of simply owning a large dog. To single out specific breeds is reactionary and doesn't address the real problem - irresponsible owners.
There's no doubt that a Rottweiler, like a basset, is a powerful animal.
But even smaller dogs can be dangerous. Last summer, for example, a Jack Russell terrier came charging after our cat as Joe was trotting home along the sidewalk. Luckily, Joe quickly scaled our fence for safety. We told the dog to beat it and lectured the owner on not having him leashed.
But we're not about to lobby for a ban on the breed altogether.
The problem is rarely the breed or the dog alone, it's how the animal is raised. Ill-informed or intentioned owners bring up bad dogs.
And some owners are just careless. I'm sure the Jack Russell's owners thought that chasing a neighbourhood kitty was kinda cute.
Any dog reared with proper training by responsible, loving people can grow up to be as friendly as the goofiest yellow Lab.
(As a matter of fact, four Labs were on a list of fierce and dangerous dogs in Halifax in 2001.)
But this recent breed bashing isn't really surprising. It was only a matter of time before big business began treading the trail blazed partly by myopic municipal politicians in this province.
Guysborough municipal council in February banned residents from owning new Rottweilers, and forced current Rotties to be muzzled in public at all times.
The town's top dogs said they made the move partly to protect children.
I assume it'll just be a matter of time before these same safety-conscious types round up all the hunting rifles, impound everyone's vehicle and raid residents' homes for smokes.
But rural councillors aren't the only ones bitten by the bad-breed bug. In December at Halifax regional council during a debate on off-leash parks, Coun. Harry McInroy (Eastern Passage-Cole Harbour South) suggested that dogs be muzzled at all times while running free in a park.
It's too easy to say let's muzzle all dogs or ban certain breeds.
It's a lot more difficult to hold bad owners responsible for their actions.
Or, gosh, here's a revolutionary idea: How about devoting more money to enforcing the bylaws and other legislation already in place?
Bring the hammer down on people who train dogs to fight, or on puppy mills who keep their dogs in deplorable conditions. It's time for tougher penalties in animal cruelty cases.
Maybe if our political leaders would make a commitment to real solutions instead of reactionary ones, then we, including our pets and our kids, would all be in better hands.
Rick Conrad is The ChronicleHerald's education reporter. (petpourricolumn@yahoo.ca)
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Thursday, March 4, 2004
Temperament Testing - Stress in the Shelter - Dr. Pamela Reid
--- In Puppy_Mills_No_Spin_Zone@yahoogroups.com, by20hounds@a...
wrote:
Those involved in rescue are familiar with the profound change that
shelter dogs seem to magically transcend once they have been removed from
what is often a stressful shelter situation. With the current trend in No Kill
shelters being to include the use of temperament testing evaluations to
separate adoptable dogs from those who are judged as not adoptable this
article written by animal behaviorist Pamela Reid challenges the results these
evaluations present.
Interesting was Reid's comments about the effect that stress plays in
temperament testing when she writes "Stress can impact dogs in many
ways but, clearly, reacting aggressively while severely stressed does not mean
the dog will behave aggressively under normal conditions."
Failing a temperament test administered in a shelter does not mean
that a shelter dog will not respond favorably to training nor does it
preclude this dog can become highly adoptable once placed in a stress free environment.
The other comments I found extremely interesting where those that
related to separation anxiety in shelter dogs and the benefits of providing
comforting "crating" to dogs exhibiting those tendency's.
Many of us crate our fosters, Reid's comments validate a favorable
perception that encouraging adopting family's to provide a crate for their newly adoptive pet seems to lessen the problems associated with separation
anxiety and reduces the number of pets returned.
Crosspost -
It should be noted that the author of "Stress in the Shelter," Pamela
Reid, Ph.D., is the ASPCA's Vice President of Behavioral Sciences and
is a qualified behaviorist who is highly regarded among her peers.
As almost everyone knows by now, the ASPCA/Petfinder is Sue
Sternberg's most defensively adamant supporter. Without coming right out and saying it, Dr. Reid, in this article, puts the lie to Sternberg's lethal
brand of in-shelter temperament testing.
Stress in the Shelter By Dr. Pamela Reid, ASPCA
© 2003 ASPCA
Merlin, a beautiful brown and blue mottled Australian Cattle Dog mix,
peered out at me from his hospital cage. Heâ?Td come into the clinic
two days before for routine neutering; however, the owner failed to return
for him and, as it turned out, left illegitimate contact information.
The Animal Placement department wanted to know if Merlin would be suitable
for adoption. He had recovered from his surgery so I brought him to
the training room to undergo our standardized behavioural assessment. He
skulked along at the end of the leash, trembling in fear and
unresponsive to my attempts at reassurance. During the evaluation, he did his best to avoid me by cowering under the chairs. If I approached too close or tried to reach for him, he lunged out at me, with teeth bared, then made a
hasty retreat back to his â?ocave.â? Needless to say, I couldnâ?Tt
put Merlin in the adoption room if he was going to behave like this. I decided to
wait a couple more days and then re-evaluate him.
I was hoping that Merlin was behaving atypically as a result of being unduly stressed. Stress is a biological response that occurs when an animal or person perceives a threat to their well-being and Merlin was acting very much like a distressed dog. Dogs in a shelter are exposed to a variety of stressful events: the place is novel and often extremely noisy; the feeding and walking routine is likely to be quite different from what the dog is accustomed; the dog has no control over what happens to him; and moreover, the dog is probably experiencing distress over being separated from those with whom he was attached. These types of events are known to activate stress-related physiological systems in laboratory animals.
A group of researchers in Ohio, headed by David Tubor and Michael Hennessy, determined that dogs coming into a shelter normally experience high levels of stress for the first three days. Stress can be manifested in both behavioural and physiological changes. One fairly reliable indicator is the increased secretion of the adrenal glucocorticosteroid, cortisol. The Ohio researchers measured cortisol levels in shelter dogs shortly after their arrival and for several days thereafter. The levels gradually declined until stabilizing on Day 4 or 5. They also discovered that cortisol levels in the newly arrived shelter dogs were almost three times higher than those of pet dogs sampled in their homes. I wanted to give Merlin the chance to â?ode-stressâ? before checking him out again.
What exactly does â?obeing stressedâ? mean?
Stress is a necessary part of life and not all stress is bad. Humans sometimes seek out stress, for the exhilarating thrills. Judging how long squirrels wait before fleeing from my dogs, I expect that animals may well do the same! However, stress can be harmful. It is believed that organisms exposed to stress go through three stages. The first stage is alarm, during which the body readies itself for action by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system and producing glucocorticoids, such as cortisol and corticosterone. If the stressful event continues, the second stage is adaptation, during which the animal takes action to resist or escape from the stressor. If the animal is unable to return to a comfortable state, it enters the third stage of exhaustion, during which a variety of pathologies can develop,
including susceptibility to disease, inability to reproduce, and compromised
psychological welfare.
It is impossible to measure stress levels through behavioural indices because animals vary in their behavioural responses to stress. Years ago, I witnessed an interesting illustration of this individualized responsiveness. I was competing in the Utility obedience ring with my Saluki, Shaahiin. Shaahiin appeared to understand and even enjoy the scent discrimination exercise during training but his reaction to the same task in the ring, in front of a judge and an audience, was quite shocking to me. He became almost â?ozombie-like,â? moving very slowly, as though in a daze. I recall that he walked right through the pile of scented articles, mindlessly picking up one without sniffing at all. My friend, who was competing with her Border Collie at the same time, had quite a dissimilar experience. She also characterized her dog as â?ostressedâ? but, unlike my slow-motion dog, her dog was zipping
round the ring like a whirling dervish. He was moving so quickly he blasted
righ through all the articles, sending them scattering! Two dogs with very
different temperaments manifested two extremely different responses
to a stressful event. Veterinarians are familiar with such variation. Some
dogs on the examination table lash out to fend off the perceived threat,
others become rigid in terror, while still others try to leave or simply
go belly up and urinate. Responsiveness to stress is influenced by a host
of factors, including temperament traits, such as timidity and emotionality, and early experience. In particular, exposing a young animal to mild stressors appears to equip the animal with strategies for coping with stress in later life.
So how did Merlin do on re-test?
Sure enough, two days later, Merlin was transformed into a friendly and playful pup. He showed none of the fearful and aggressive behaviour of before. We discovered he was particularly fond of children. A few days later an African American family with two young boys came in looking for a great pet and it was love at first sight. Merlin joined a busy household with two cats and another dog. He never looked back! Now, lest I mislead you, Merlin still showed that undesirable fear and aggression toward strangers when he was stressed. A minor injury a few months later required a stay at the veterinary clinic and Merlin reverted back to that frightened dog, fending off the caring medical staff. Fortunately, his family was able to help him through his treatment and recovery and he continues to build confidence and trust in people.
While Merlinâ?Ts story is a happy one, it illustrates a significant problem
for those of us working in shelters. No-kill shelters have to be very selective about the dogs they take into their care, so they are not faced with the dilemma of placing a potentially dangerous dog into the community. Often, though, decisions have to be made on the spot. They donâ?Tt have the luxury of waiting for the dog to adjust to the shelter first. How common is it for dogs like Merlin to be passed over, because they are under severe stress at the time of their behavioural assessment? Itâ?Ts impossible to know. Stress can impact dogs in many ways but, clearly, reacting aggressively while severely stressed does not mean the dog will behave aggressively under normal conditions. Unfortunately, at this time, we do not know how to compensate for the possibility of stress-induced undesirable behaviour.
Can stress in shelter dogs be reduced?
Those innovative researchers in Ohio were motivated to find ways to minimize the aversive impact of the shelter environment. One of the interventions they tried was to establish a simulated â?oliving roomâ? in the shelter. Each dog was brought into this room daily to escape the chaos and noise of the shelter and to receive one-on-one attention from a person. At the same time, the dog was provided with manners training, emphasizing the sit response for all attention, in a home-like environment. They compared the behaviour of dogs that received this training with dogs that spent time in the â?oliving roomâ? without the sit training. The trained dogs were more likely to approach familiar
people and were more likely to interact quietly with a person than the untrained dogs. The untrained dogs were more likely to spend their time playing with toys.
Shelter dogs at the Ohio shelter that participated in a blood donor program invariably experienced an increase in cortisol levels following the venipuncture procedure. If the dog received 20 minutes of stroking from an unfamiliar person following the procedure, rather than being returned directly to his cage, cortisol levels remained close to what they were before venipuncture. This short period of interaction with a person virtually eradicated the stress response.
Dogs adopted from shelters are exceptionally prone to developing separation anxiety. Many assume that separation anxiety was the reason why the dog was in the shelter in the first place. However, there is another explanation. We know that psychologically traumatic events cause long-term changes in the activity of certain neurochemicals, such as norepinephrine, making people more susceptible to developing anxiety disorders in the future. One hypothesis is that the trauma associated with being separated from the people with whom the dog is attached sensitizes his neurochemical systems, so that following adoption even short separations from the new owner evoke an extreme response from the dog. At the Ohio shelter, some dogs were trained to accept being in an airline crate or wire pen during their living room time. These dogs were eventually adopted to owners who were encouraged to crate their dogs when left alone. The crate-trained dogs were significantly less likely to be returned for developing separation anxiety than were untrained dogs.
Finally, it is well established that providing opportunities for zoo animals to perform species-typical behaviour patterns can reduce stress. Enriching captivity by increasing the complexity of the environment provides such benefits as reducing aggression, increasing activity, improving reproduction, and enhancing health and survival. Adding vegetation, barriers, climbing structures, and other forms of landscaping enriches enclosures. Offering mental challenges, such as television viewing, puzzle devices, and training allows animals to exercise their cognitive abilities. Presenting daily food rations more naturally, such as offering lions complete carcasses or presenting polar bears with fish frozen inside lumps of ice, stimulate normal foraging activities. More and more shelters are establishing enrichment programs, presumably
with similar results, although the benefits of enrichment have yet to be
documented in shelter animals.
© 2003 ASPCA
wrote:
Those involved in rescue are familiar with the profound change that
shelter dogs seem to magically transcend once they have been removed from
what is often a stressful shelter situation. With the current trend in No Kill
shelters being to include the use of temperament testing evaluations to
separate adoptable dogs from those who are judged as not adoptable this
article written by animal behaviorist Pamela Reid challenges the results these
evaluations present.
Interesting was Reid's comments about the effect that stress plays in
temperament testing when she writes "Stress can impact dogs in many
ways but, clearly, reacting aggressively while severely stressed does not mean
the dog will behave aggressively under normal conditions."
Failing a temperament test administered in a shelter does not mean
that a shelter dog will not respond favorably to training nor does it
preclude this dog can become highly adoptable once placed in a stress free environment.
The other comments I found extremely interesting where those that
related to separation anxiety in shelter dogs and the benefits of providing
comforting "crating" to dogs exhibiting those tendency's.
Many of us crate our fosters, Reid's comments validate a favorable
perception that encouraging adopting family's to provide a crate for their newly adoptive pet seems to lessen the problems associated with separation
anxiety and reduces the number of pets returned.
Crosspost -
It should be noted that the author of "Stress in the Shelter," Pamela
Reid, Ph.D., is the ASPCA's Vice President of Behavioral Sciences and
is a qualified behaviorist who is highly regarded among her peers.
As almost everyone knows by now, the ASPCA/Petfinder is Sue
Sternberg's most defensively adamant supporter. Without coming right out and saying it, Dr. Reid, in this article, puts the lie to Sternberg's lethal
brand of in-shelter temperament testing.
Stress in the Shelter By Dr. Pamela Reid, ASPCA
© 2003 ASPCA
Merlin, a beautiful brown and blue mottled Australian Cattle Dog mix,
peered out at me from his hospital cage. Heâ?Td come into the clinic
two days before for routine neutering; however, the owner failed to return
for him and, as it turned out, left illegitimate contact information.
The Animal Placement department wanted to know if Merlin would be suitable
for adoption. He had recovered from his surgery so I brought him to
the training room to undergo our standardized behavioural assessment. He
skulked along at the end of the leash, trembling in fear and
unresponsive to my attempts at reassurance. During the evaluation, he did his best to avoid me by cowering under the chairs. If I approached too close or tried to reach for him, he lunged out at me, with teeth bared, then made a
hasty retreat back to his â?ocave.â? Needless to say, I couldnâ?Tt
put Merlin in the adoption room if he was going to behave like this. I decided to
wait a couple more days and then re-evaluate him.
I was hoping that Merlin was behaving atypically as a result of being unduly stressed. Stress is a biological response that occurs when an animal or person perceives a threat to their well-being and Merlin was acting very much like a distressed dog. Dogs in a shelter are exposed to a variety of stressful events: the place is novel and often extremely noisy; the feeding and walking routine is likely to be quite different from what the dog is accustomed; the dog has no control over what happens to him; and moreover, the dog is probably experiencing distress over being separated from those with whom he was attached. These types of events are known to activate stress-related physiological systems in laboratory animals.
A group of researchers in Ohio, headed by David Tubor and Michael Hennessy, determined that dogs coming into a shelter normally experience high levels of stress for the first three days. Stress can be manifested in both behavioural and physiological changes. One fairly reliable indicator is the increased secretion of the adrenal glucocorticosteroid, cortisol. The Ohio researchers measured cortisol levels in shelter dogs shortly after their arrival and for several days thereafter. The levels gradually declined until stabilizing on Day 4 or 5. They also discovered that cortisol levels in the newly arrived shelter dogs were almost three times higher than those of pet dogs sampled in their homes. I wanted to give Merlin the chance to â?ode-stressâ? before checking him out again.
What exactly does â?obeing stressedâ? mean?
Stress is a necessary part of life and not all stress is bad. Humans sometimes seek out stress, for the exhilarating thrills. Judging how long squirrels wait before fleeing from my dogs, I expect that animals may well do the same! However, stress can be harmful. It is believed that organisms exposed to stress go through three stages. The first stage is alarm, during which the body readies itself for action by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system and producing glucocorticoids, such as cortisol and corticosterone. If the stressful event continues, the second stage is adaptation, during which the animal takes action to resist or escape from the stressor. If the animal is unable to return to a comfortable state, it enters the third stage of exhaustion, during which a variety of pathologies can develop,
including susceptibility to disease, inability to reproduce, and compromised
psychological welfare.
It is impossible to measure stress levels through behavioural indices because animals vary in their behavioural responses to stress. Years ago, I witnessed an interesting illustration of this individualized responsiveness. I was competing in the Utility obedience ring with my Saluki, Shaahiin. Shaahiin appeared to understand and even enjoy the scent discrimination exercise during training but his reaction to the same task in the ring, in front of a judge and an audience, was quite shocking to me. He became almost â?ozombie-like,â? moving very slowly, as though in a daze. I recall that he walked right through the pile of scented articles, mindlessly picking up one without sniffing at all. My friend, who was competing with her Border Collie at the same time, had quite a dissimilar experience. She also characterized her dog as â?ostressedâ? but, unlike my slow-motion dog, her dog was zipping
round the ring like a whirling dervish. He was moving so quickly he blasted
righ through all the articles, sending them scattering! Two dogs with very
different temperaments manifested two extremely different responses
to a stressful event. Veterinarians are familiar with such variation. Some
dogs on the examination table lash out to fend off the perceived threat,
others become rigid in terror, while still others try to leave or simply
go belly up and urinate. Responsiveness to stress is influenced by a host
of factors, including temperament traits, such as timidity and emotionality, and early experience. In particular, exposing a young animal to mild stressors appears to equip the animal with strategies for coping with stress in later life.
So how did Merlin do on re-test?
Sure enough, two days later, Merlin was transformed into a friendly and playful pup. He showed none of the fearful and aggressive behaviour of before. We discovered he was particularly fond of children. A few days later an African American family with two young boys came in looking for a great pet and it was love at first sight. Merlin joined a busy household with two cats and another dog. He never looked back! Now, lest I mislead you, Merlin still showed that undesirable fear and aggression toward strangers when he was stressed. A minor injury a few months later required a stay at the veterinary clinic and Merlin reverted back to that frightened dog, fending off the caring medical staff. Fortunately, his family was able to help him through his treatment and recovery and he continues to build confidence and trust in people.
While Merlinâ?Ts story is a happy one, it illustrates a significant problem
for those of us working in shelters. No-kill shelters have to be very selective about the dogs they take into their care, so they are not faced with the dilemma of placing a potentially dangerous dog into the community. Often, though, decisions have to be made on the spot. They donâ?Tt have the luxury of waiting for the dog to adjust to the shelter first. How common is it for dogs like Merlin to be passed over, because they are under severe stress at the time of their behavioural assessment? Itâ?Ts impossible to know. Stress can impact dogs in many ways but, clearly, reacting aggressively while severely stressed does not mean the dog will behave aggressively under normal conditions. Unfortunately, at this time, we do not know how to compensate for the possibility of stress-induced undesirable behaviour.
Can stress in shelter dogs be reduced?
Those innovative researchers in Ohio were motivated to find ways to minimize the aversive impact of the shelter environment. One of the interventions they tried was to establish a simulated â?oliving roomâ? in the shelter. Each dog was brought into this room daily to escape the chaos and noise of the shelter and to receive one-on-one attention from a person. At the same time, the dog was provided with manners training, emphasizing the sit response for all attention, in a home-like environment. They compared the behaviour of dogs that received this training with dogs that spent time in the â?oliving roomâ? without the sit training. The trained dogs were more likely to approach familiar
people and were more likely to interact quietly with a person than the untrained dogs. The untrained dogs were more likely to spend their time playing with toys.
Shelter dogs at the Ohio shelter that participated in a blood donor program invariably experienced an increase in cortisol levels following the venipuncture procedure. If the dog received 20 minutes of stroking from an unfamiliar person following the procedure, rather than being returned directly to his cage, cortisol levels remained close to what they were before venipuncture. This short period of interaction with a person virtually eradicated the stress response.
Dogs adopted from shelters are exceptionally prone to developing separation anxiety. Many assume that separation anxiety was the reason why the dog was in the shelter in the first place. However, there is another explanation. We know that psychologically traumatic events cause long-term changes in the activity of certain neurochemicals, such as norepinephrine, making people more susceptible to developing anxiety disorders in the future. One hypothesis is that the trauma associated with being separated from the people with whom the dog is attached sensitizes his neurochemical systems, so that following adoption even short separations from the new owner evoke an extreme response from the dog. At the Ohio shelter, some dogs were trained to accept being in an airline crate or wire pen during their living room time. These dogs were eventually adopted to owners who were encouraged to crate their dogs when left alone. The crate-trained dogs were significantly less likely to be returned for developing separation anxiety than were untrained dogs.
Finally, it is well established that providing opportunities for zoo animals to perform species-typical behaviour patterns can reduce stress. Enriching captivity by increasing the complexity of the environment provides such benefits as reducing aggression, increasing activity, improving reproduction, and enhancing health and survival. Adding vegetation, barriers, climbing structures, and other forms of landscaping enriches enclosures. Offering mental challenges, such as television viewing, puzzle devices, and training allows animals to exercise their cognitive abilities. Presenting daily food rations more naturally, such as offering lions complete carcasses or presenting polar bears with fish frozen inside lumps of ice, stimulate normal foraging activities. More and more shelters are establishing enrichment programs, presumably
with similar results, although the benefits of enrichment have yet to be
documented in shelter animals.
© 2003 ASPCA
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