I often catch myself telling friends and others at the park that dogs are dog. If they want to hump each other (not procreate, but just social pecking order type of hump), I let them. If they want to link random places or objects, I usually let them.

I’ve even written a post about how I REFUSE to neuter my dog based on one and only one principal: that it’s a form of “species”-centrism and a violation of the natural principals. God made them that way for a reason. How DARE we think that we know what’s best for God’s awesome DIVINE creation.

So when I see people doing things that seem rather, unnatural to the dog’s design, I find myself a bit disturbed.

*deeep breath * Here we go..

Doberman Pinscher, for example, is one of those dogs bred for looks. Sure, not for “pretty” looks… but a look of intimidation and fear:

But the “cost” of creating this Doberman look is rather cruel + unusual. People call it “ear cropping”. I call it “chopping the ear off”:

For example, this is how Doberman look as natural puppies:

Once the ear gets “clipped”, people “re-resurrect” the ears to a certain shape:

Does it look like this dog is enjoying this process? This isn’t aesthetics. This is borderline animal cruelty. And for what? Make them look scary? Do you want your dog to look scary to your family + friends?

OK, so this post is more about my personal vent than anything. If you sense negative energy, I apologize. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot about dog abuse and it really ticks me off. Had to vent.

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There’s a lot of talk morbid news about the swine flu in the news these days. I am certain a lot of people are wondering if dogs and cats can actually contract the disease, and god forbid,  transmit the disease to humans.

Turns out, there is no evidence to support that they can contract it:

Q: Can animals, such as dogs or cats, contract the swine flu? If so, can they transfer it to humans?

CNN: There is no evidence that dogs and cats can contract swine flu. Still, this is a new strain of swine flu virus, and investigators can’t rule it out until more tests are done. In the past, the avian H5N1 flu has infected domestic cats and at least one dog in Thailand, according to the scientific literature. In 2004, the equine H3 virus appeared to infect dogs. There have been no reports of dogs or cats spreading the flu to people.

Well, at least our canine and feline friends are safe!

I can’t believe this (sometimes) cute animal can cause us so much trouble!

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We’ve asked this before, and we even gave a good explanation why you should: so your dogs don’t ROLL around in poop.

A couple of days while I was walking my dogs, I noticed an older gentleman and his Rottweiler-ish looking dog walking ahead of me. It was a gorgeous day and the weather was perfect. Birds were chirping and the squirrels were dancing, while the trees were humming to the sound of a cute Disney song. Life was great.

Then the record came to a screeching halt.

The Rottweiler pooped. It wasn’t a cute little dog poop that my three little dogs put out. It was the King Kong of dog poop. I was walking behind him but STILL i can tell it was rather a large doo doo. It’s alright, I thought. Dog’s just doing what my dogs do. It’s natural.

What WAS NOT alright was the fact that he did not pick it up.

In fact, I yelled out “Sir! Your dog poop!”

What did he do? He proceeds to run away from me. Not just a simple jog, but a full on sprint. I had a choice: chase him down and put him under citizen’s arrest, or pick up the poop and suck it up (”it” is not poop).

I was furious. What can I do?

What about non-dog owners who enjoy these park as much as us dog owners do? What about their kids? These unsuspecting people could step on them or God forbid, lie on them during their picnic. And why give the other dogs an opportunity to roll around in them?

In fact, there are two VERY good reasons why dog owners’ need to pick up their dog’s poop. In fact, they can ruin your lives:

1) Environmental - Dog poop is in fact a MAJOR source of water pollutant:

In the mid-1990s, scientists perfected methods for tracking the origin of nasty bacteria in streams and seawater. From Clearwater, Fla., to Arlington, Va., to Boise the trail has led straight to the hunched-up dog — and to owners who don’t pick up after their pets.

At some beaches, dogs help raise bacteria levels so high that visitors must stay out of the water. Goaded by such studies, some cities have directed as much as $10,000 in the last few years to encourage dog owners to clean up after their pets. A few municipalities have started issuing citations to those who ignore pet clean-up ordinances.

At Morro Bay, Calif., for example, dogs contribute roughly 10% of the E. coli, says Christopher Kitts, a microbiologist at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. “And that can be the difference between a beach closing and a beach not closing,” he says.

Places where dogs dirty the water:

• Stevenson Creek in Clearwater, Fla. Residents were worried that a sewage treatment plant contaminated the creek. But when Harwood tested the water, she found that dogs, along with leaky septic tanks and wild animals, were to blame for high bacteria counts. Dog feces probably washed out of yards by the creek, Harwood says.
• Four Mile Run in Arlington and Fairfax counties, Va. Studies show that dogs add to the contamination in this suburban Washington, D.C. stream. Officials calculate that the 12,000 dogs living in Four Mile Run’s watershed leave behind more than 5,000 pounds of “solid waste” every day.
• Boise River in Boise. The river suffers from high bacteria levels that make it unsuitable for swimming. Testing of streams and drainpipes flowing into the river showed that in urban areas, dogs were a leading culprit. In some spots, dogs and cats account for even more of the bacteria than human feces — from dysfunctional septic tanks and leaky sewage pipes — do.

And guess who foots the bill for cleaning these pollutants? The rest of us tax payers, including the responsible dog owners who do clean up their dogs’ poop. So in fact, whether or not you own a dog or believe that dogs’ owners should pick up their dogs’ poop, it’s in our COMMON national interest to point out that irresponsible dog owners are committing a crime against the society AND mother nature, as well as our wallets.

2) Get harasssed by the world (via the Internet) - In Korea, bloggers targeted a woman who apparently was riding the subway and her dog decided to relieve itself on the floor of the train. She flat out REFUSED to clean up her dog poop and let it get stepped all over by her fellow train riders. Her internet title? “Dog Poop Girl“:

In 2005 in South Korea, bloggers targeted a woman who refused to clean up when her dog defecated on the floor of a Seoul subway car, labeling her “dog shit girl” (rough translation into English). Another commuter had taken a photograph of the woman and her dog, and posted it on a popular Korean website. Within days, she had been identified by internet vigilantes, and much of her personal information was exposed on the World Wide Web in an attempt to punish her for the offense. The story received mainstream attention when it was widely reported in South Korean media, and was discussed in Korean communities in the United States as well. The public humiliation led the woman to quit her university, according to reports.

Ok, maybe that was a bit extreme.  Well, is it? I’m certain stepping on dog poop on your subway ride to work at early morning is not your definition of a good morning commute.

So please, don’t let dog poop ruin yours or ours. So unless your dog can pick up his own poop, please pick it up.

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Breaking SAD news.

My dog Cocoa will be neutered on May 27th. He has slightly over a month in which to hump other dogs by utilizing his manliness balls to assert dominance. It’s sad, but it’s gotta be done. He’s way too aggressive for a puppy. I can’t imagine how much more aggressive he’ll get when he reaches his “puberty” so to speak.

Why did I wait? Well, he’s by far the most active, energetic, and playful of the three dogs that I have. I know this is stupid, but I somehow though that if I chopped off his testicles (without replacing them with neuticles), he would lose his spunk and that I would be left with three rather boring dogs.

But I know it has to be done. So I bit the bullet and called the Nut Chopper (i.e. animal shelter/control dept).

Here are some myths and facts that helped me mentally:

Many people, particularly men, have a hard time sterilizing their pets, imposing upon their dogs their own feelings on losing reproductive abilities. A dog will not feel like less of a “man” or “woman” after being sterilized. It will not suffer an identity crisis or mourn the loss of its reproductive capability. Your dog will simply have one less need to fulfill.

A dog’s basic personality is formed more by environment and genetics than by sex hormones, so sterilization will not change your dog’s basic personality, make your dog sluggish or affect its natural instinct to protect the pack. But it will give you a better behaved pet.

Neutered dogs have less desire to roam, mark territory (like your couch!) and exert dominance over the pack. Spayed dogs no longer experience the hormonal changes during heat cycles that turn your pet into a nervous dog that cries incessantly and attracts unwanted male dogs. Sterilized dogs are more affectionate and less likely to bite, run away, become aggressive, or get into a fight.

Another myth is that spaying and neutering cause weight gain. Dogs do not get fat simply by being sterilized. Just like humans, dogs gain weight if they eat too much and exercise too little or if they are genetically programmed to be overweight. The weight gain that people may witness after sterilization is most likely caused by continuing to feed a high energy diet to a dog that is reducing its need for energy as it reaches adult size.

Dogs do not mourn their lost capability to reproduce. They reproduce solely to ensure the survival of their species. They do not raise a puppy for eighteen years. They do not dream of their puppy’s wedding. They do not hope for the comfort of grandchildren in their old age. Female dogs nurse for a few weeks, teach the puppies rules, boundaries, and limitations and send them off to join the pack. Male dogs are not “fathers” in the human sense of the word; they do not even recognize puppies as their own.

Bye bye, Cocoa balls. Farewell. It was nice knowing you. You were so cute and cuddly.

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“Why Me?” - This is what I imagine a dog saying as he’s about to go under and get snipped. Just like any human being or animal, I think most of us would like to keep our private parts (generally speaking). Sadly, dogs don’t exactly have much of a choice.

I have three dogs and none of them have been neutered. Lately, I’ve been thinking about whether I should have Cocoa snipped. I really don’t want to not because I have intentions of breeding him (at least not any time soon), but more because he’s just too humpy. Every time we go to a dog park he somehow chooses a victim to go after the entire one to two hours that we’re there.

Honestly, it doesn’t bother me when dogs hump each other as long as they aren’t producing unplanned pups. Why? Well, it’s natural. Dogs do these things and I feel that dogs that are being humped need to learn to stand their own ground instead of the owner coming in and babying them.

On the contrary, what I do understand is how annoying it can be if a dog is clearly uninterested, fighting his ground and just wants to play with his ball or other dogs yet cannot because of the persistent humpy dog. This is why I’ve been having passing thoughts about my dog. It gets pretty irritating when I have to chase him around with a squirting water bottle and yell at him because the owner is unhappy.

Sigh, this is going to sound bizarre to some people, but I think Cocoa’s balls are cute. Gross? I think not. Weird? I think not.

I always thought that having a dog spayed or neutered was all a fictitious idea created by the government and vets solely to control the animal population and not for any real benefits to the dog itself, but based on what people have been telling me and what I have read up on, I suppose there are other reasons having your dog altered can be beneficial overall.

Spaying and neutering, particularly if performed at an early age gives a dog certain health advantages including protection against several cancers of the reproductive system, most notably cancer of the ovary, breast, and testicles. Neutering a male dog has also been shown to slightly prolong life in several studies.

Another site also states further reasons the procedure is a positive decision.

Spaying or neutering your dog is also better for you. Altered animals tend to have fewer behavior problems such as aggression, inappropriate urination/defecation, and roaming. Pet owners who have experienced an animal in heat are well acquainted with the reasons to spay your dog, as animals in heat tend to behave erratically, mark their territory with pungent hormones, and attract male followers. Sterilized animals are better behaved, easier to handle, and much more comfortable around children.

I suppose my decisions are certainly swaying. Benefits seem to outweigh my ideas of keeping my dog in his natural state.

Coincidentally, I was having a conversation with my parents last night about this same topic and they were telling me how my late grandpa used to neuter their dogs back in Vietnam. Quite disturbing I tell you. My mom told me that they would strap the limbs of the dog to thick wooden poles and without any type of anaesthesia used they would cut the testicles, sew the dog’s skin up, and then apply salt on. Hearing that made me squirm and it definitely made me feel fortunate that there are plenty of humane facilities in the US. Yikes! My mom goes on to saying, “Yeah, it was cruel, but the dogs healed up incredibly fast!” *more squirming*

In any case, if I have my Cocoa neutered I hope he keeps his cute personality and awesome majestic physique.

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