Posts

Posted on

Custodians of the breed

There is a disturbing trend happening in the dog world. It’s not the first time this happened but it seems to be the first time it has so directly involved this breed. Trends are never a healthy thing in purebred dogs. This has taken its toll on me personally.

Some unethical and selfish people are breeding Staffords for specific purposes other than the intended purposes of this wonderful versatile breed – such as below standard smaller size, super extreme high drive & excessive tenacity, specific color and pattern or other non standard traits which will bring in more puppy sales for them. This is my blog so I am perfectly comfortable calling things as I see them. I especially feel okay since I also see the other side of this in my work with Stafford rescue.

We now have people breeding something called the ‘Miniature Staffordshire Bull Terrier’ to which my response is get yourself another breed. Dwarfism isn’t a healthy trait and joint, structure, health issues will occur when you begin selecting your breeding partners for smaller and smaller sizes. You don’t believe me? Ever go to a ‘Bully Fest”? Google American Bully and have yourself a look. Like what you see? Do you want to see Staffords heading down this road too? What do you think the life span is of these animals? Think there is any pain involved? Think they can reproduce naturally? What about spinal injury occurrences? I am perfectly fine naming and shaming if you call me and ask me for names of ‘breeders’ doing this. I personally know people who own some extra tiny below standard Staffords. They will tell you all about the heartbreak of injuries and health concerns. You cant make this stuff up.

So called ‘sport breeders’ are producing Staffords with such extreme drive and energy that nobody can live with these dogs on a daily basis. There is no off switch. They want dogs to compete and win at sports. Thats it. Nothing to do with a breed standard or health testing – just fast, small, drivey. Have you ever wondered what happens to all the puppies from these ‘sport bred’ litters who dont make the cut? The ones who either don’t excel at the intended sport or those sold to families instead of being put to work daily? Let me tell you. They end up being re-homed either to rescue (Hi thats me) or sold from home to home to home on Craigslist, etc. or being dumped at the pound to die. Now lets discuss the ones they do keep to do their chosen sport – they are worked from week one. They teach them to tug, run, grab, go go go go go – always on. They are worked before growth plates have closed – they are worked hard and often beyond injury and fatigue. These are not pets. These are means to a goal for owners. These ‘breeders’ and owners are only after one thing. Personal attention – “look at me – my dog is number one – look what my dog can do – doesn’t that make me terrific?!” Then after they begin to not win guess what happens then. They are either ‘retired’ meaning sold or given away, dumped with rescue (hi again) left alone in crates and kennel runs or used for breeding purposes only. This issue isn’t isolated to sport folks either – lots of conformation people are exactly the same but thats another blog post for another day…..

Then we have those who are not involved in the mainstream breed ‘family’ at all and they buy Staffords specifically to breed because they supplement their income with these dogs. Some are honest about it advertising on Next Day Pets and the like. Others lie to themselves and say they are breeders of champions therefore its all legit. These ‘breeders’, if not also breeding for the above traits, only breed for the popular colors or patterns in order to make their puppies more desired by the masses of the ignorant public. You may see blue to blue (no health testing at all just chosen for dilute), you may see black and tan or tri color bred purposely (a disqualification in the breed), you may see a combination of those as blue and tan and in fact you also may see merle which doesn’t even exist in this breed therefore you know for a fact they are not purebred.

Some don’t breed for these traits at all but they call themselves ‘show breeders’ but when you look at their dogs you may wonder what breed it is. I do not consider these people breeders – to me that just making puppies. Like in a factory or on a farm. Their dogs represent cash not family. Their dogs may be studded out at very young ages with no testing done, they may always have a litter available, they may take non refundable deposits, they may have paypal buttons on their websites, they may also say ‘health tested’ but somehow cant come up with proof. They may brag about the show or sport wins before they ask you about what kind of home will this puppy grow up in or before they get to know you because in reality – they don’t care. They wont remain in touch with you beyond the sale unless your contract states you have to breed your Stafford and give them puppies back. See a theme here?

And another thing – bear with me please – I came into this breed with a pet quality Stafford I purchased as a pet but allowed the breeder to make me show her. Thankfully I had the sense not to breed from her and she was soon spayed. My second Stafford was slightly better quality. I had learned a little more about the breed standard at this point. I had great success with this dog even though I knew he had many faults. I often wondered what the judges were thinking when they praised his more extreme qualities rather than his overall balance and fitness. I wrote about this in a very early blog here. Then I continued with a 3rd Stafford who in herself wasn’t a fantastic bitch in some ways but in other ways was quality. I began to understand the importance of fully health testing my dogs and publishing results, good or bad. I began to test my Staffords in performance and conformation. I bred my bitch understanding I would be lucky to get 1 show quality pup in a full litter – unlike so many others around me who sent full litters out with handlers to champion them all and in turn breed mediocre or faulty Staffords. I continued along on a slow path choosing what I wanted and where I wanted to go and understood more and more as I went along where my mistakes were made and where my good decisions fell closer to the path I sought. I made good connections within the dog community and I contributed back as I took from it. We returned from our first time at the PSBTC shows glowing with excitement from all we had learned. Lightbulbs had turned on. Wow was there so much to learn about this breed! We had been fooled into thinking what we saw and what we read were unrelated! Once we saw good examples of the breed we immediately understood so many things. We were met with a fellow exhibitor saying (as he rolled his eyes) “ut oh Lynnie and Jim have gone to the dark side”. This man is an AKC judge now.

All along, my frustrations grew – not only with the topics in this very long blog (time for you to take some B-12 if you want to keep up). I grew frustrated with watching handlers showing mediocre Staffords and winning anyway, therefore justifying the wins with – this is how I make a paycheck, or don’t have sour grapes…now sometimes a handler was showing fantastic examples in my mind and even they couldn’t be found in the ring – now that was even more frustrating to me. I was secretly pulling for those dogs to excel to justify what I was learning.  How could a judge not see these dogs as being so close to our standard? Why is it that only other Stafford breeder judges found them?

Now of course I understand that I am not the police of the breed and I have zero control over what these folks do….it’s really none of my business – society will sort itself out eventually – but my concern mainly is to educate my readers so they understand that people who breed for these traits do not have these wonderful dogs in mind – only either selfish goals, ego or money. How does that affect me you may wonder? Why this lengthy blog post? Still reading? Two reasons – first – the cast offs come to rescue and now they become my problem. I clean up the mess these people are creating. (loads of conformation breeders are a part of this problem also, its not isolated to the above described people) It now becomes my expense and burden to find great homes for these dogs. These dogs are not perfect. They come with all kinds of structural, health or behavioral problems that now others must deal with. I’m burned out with exhaustion over this to be quite honest.

Let me vent a minute longer if you are still reading. I receive rescue requests daily. Most people will first tell me they just want to adopt a Stafford in need. However, a little more conversation and I get this – in reality they just do not wish to pay for a well bred health tested puppy b/c either they aren’t ideal themselves and have been turned down repeatedly by good breeders, they are too cheap to pay for a quality purebred Stafford or they are never going to be satisfied with any rescue or re-home I find for them. Seriously. Some people are so picky about wanting the absolute perfect pet. Hey people – why the hell do you think this dog is in need of a new home anyway?! It has issues and we need homes to help them work through them, or a health issue and we need a home willing to care for a special needs dog, or its old or it is dog aggressive or its never been trained to do anything at all! This isn’t Macy’s ffs.

Now I know not everyone wanting a rescue or re-home is like this. I know. Stop rolling your eyes at me. But you really wouldn’t believe the daily messages I get. I have to remain polite and helpful and do my best to match dogs with homes or politely turn them away. I have rehomed many many Staffords into fantastic loving well meaning homes over the years. Honestly I have. I also remain in touch with most of them the same way I do with my puppy buyers.

We are the custodians of the breed. It is our responsibility to make sure the breed, as it is described in our breed standards, are preserved as such for generations beyond our lives to enjoy as they were meant to be. The Stafford was one of the healthiest of the terriers living well beyond the years of most dogs of its size and structure. There was a study on this conducted in the late 90’s by University of Texas. The Stafford temperament was one of a stable and reliable dog. You get a Stafford and you know what to expect. Some tenacity, some prey drive, loads of enthusiasm and willingness to please – but – also an off duty quietness. Important.

Secondly it is extremely disturbing to see some of these ‘sport breeders’ doing anything they can to steal the joy from those before them who come to the start line with in standard, health tested, well planned, trained and healthy Staffords and bring a steroid injected, dehydrated, sport bred, crazy, unstable animal and say – now we beat you and we win and you lose. Nope. Sorry. We all lose. You lose. I lose. The breed loses. You can talk all you want about how your dogs are beating my dogs at a sport – it washes off my back and makes you look like a very sad, lonely person who cares more about the brags than the dogs on your leashes (and shock collars). Just look at your dogs faces. Do they have that sparkle in their eye that my dogs have? No. They look defeated because after they run, after they jump, after they walk in a left hand circle over and over and over again – they are shoved back into a crate in the van while you go off to do your thing. They don’t get that love my dogs get. I can see it in their eyes. And when they do not win – oh boy – that makes me so sad. I see you jerk them by the collar, I hear you curse at them.

And with this – I say – you cannot steal my joy. You are really trying to. You have a times been soooo close to doing so. You cannot affect the joy my dogs feel from me. My dogs are not my life because they have excelled at sports and in the conformation ring – they are my joy because I live with these fantastic wonderful animals every single day – spending my time with them no matter what. They are my companions. They are my family. I am proud of the achievements we have accomplished together. I look at them and get goosebumps. They don’t have to be doing a damned thing. But even without any of these top awards – and trust me if you follow me at all you know there have been numerous firsts and top spots in the breed made by my dogs – (see, there I bragged a bit) these dogs are my love, my life, my reason to smile.

I do not wish to stick around long enough to watch what is happening to this breed by those who are not passionate about them like I am. You may see us sometimes at events if we feel like attending or seeing old friends or having a day of fun, attending the occasional specialty show, breeding a litter now and then . . . . but we are pretty much finished with the non stop weekend dog events. We spent almost 15 years living 24/7 for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. We have probably done more for this breed than most of the people in the breed in so many ways. (its not a brag if its the truth is it?) We have raised and donated 1000’s and 1000’s of dollars and worked many 1000’s of hours for clubs, rescue, BLS, committees, shows, graphics/photography, online stores, auctions, sponsorship, advertisements –  we have created many outlets for education about this breed through the non profit work of The Stafford  Knot, sales from Thankdog – All Breeds Equal and this website. I feel pretty good about all we have contributed.

A year from now most people may not even know who we are and thats ok too. We will be here at home with our Staffords and know that we did a great job. We helped do our part to preserve this unbelievable breed. We didn’t cheat. We didn’t boast (much). We didn’t allow our dogs to represent our self worth. We enjoyed our dogs and will continue to do so. Its now time to relax, enjoy life. And with that…….we retire. We go out on top in our eyes.

 

Posted on

Our 2018 Crufts Experience

Breeders have many goals when they begin their journey with their chosen breed. For us our goal is to always promote what we felt was the perfect Staffordshire Bull Terrier for US – we don’t place personal value on the success or failures in a show ring but rather we appreciate each experience for what it is. For some breeders or owners who show their dogs a ribbon and a brag is all it means to them. They center their own personal self worth on the opinions of others. That’s never been the case for us. Showing and performing with our Staffords is something we do for the enjoyment and experience alone.

We wanted to be able to show our own home bred dogs at several big venues – attending parent club National Specialty shows, Eukanuba National Dog show, Westminster KC, UK CH shows and Crufts! We can now say we have done all of that! Bucket list dreams can be check off!

We recently returned from showing Marina at Crufts in Birmingham England where she was entered in the Open bitch class. There were 33 bitches in her class. Many of them were UK Champions and almost all were well worthy of being considered top in the breed. It is our opinion that even the worst Staffords in the rings on that green carpet were far closer to our breed standard than most of the top Staffords in the USA. Looking around at the 100’s of Staffords qualified and entered that day it was difficult to fault the majority of them, especially in fitness and temperament.

Proudly, Marina held her own. She looked like she belonged…and she did belong. Marina has qualified at all but one qualifying show she was entered in here at home. This is possibly a record as the most Crufts qualified American bred Stafford. If nothing else this shows consistency. In fact, we have bred four Staffords who have qualified for Crufts at least once. We don’t regard this achievement as a personal measure of self worth, but rather as a measure of success in meeting the goals we set for ourselves when we decided to breed Staffords. In this respect we have done all that we set out to accomplish. If we stop today, we feel we have been a success.

Marina enjoyed the time on the green carpet immensely, “boofing” and carrying on, wagging and posing for all ringside. She was a crowd favorite for sure. Our bitch judge on the day was Paul Stanway and he was an excellent judge. We felt we got our moneys worth for sure. He did write down her number which is a good sign, but we did not place. That’s totally fine with us considering the high standards he was faced with selecting from. The bitches who did place were well worthy! Below are some photos from the day….one which we will never forget.

Photo by Linda McCulloch
Photo by Olga Kruglova
Photo by Olga Kruglova

Posted on

Not everyone loves Staffords

When filling out applications or interviewing for a Stafford puppy do not be surprised if breeders may ask you a LOT of questions which you may find a bit personal. Please keep in mind that they are asking these questions to make sure the puppy they sell to you is going to be living in the best situation possible for its entire life.
 
They may ask you questions about your home owners insurance or your home owners association or local legislation pertaining to dogs. Too often we find that breeders did not find out until after a dog is in a new home and perhaps has gotten itself in trouble that there are breed specific ordinances or outright bans directed at Staffordshire Bull Terriers. 
 

Be willing to answer the questions honestly, and also prepare questions for the breeder. The more open and honest the communication before the sale the better for everyone involved.

We get emails all the time from people all over and one of the first things we ask is where do you live and will the new puppy be living at this residence with you full time. If you travel to another location and your Stafford will be joining you, we need to know this as well. All too often we get Staffords back into rescue due to either breeders not asking about these things or excited new owners afraid to tell all and later its discovered that Staffords are not allowed. Remember, if they do not allow ‘pit bulls’ then chances are high Staffords are also not allowed no matter how many times you show them AKC paperwork proving they are Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, or ever have any issues with your Stafford, please always contact your breeder. Most breeders want to help and be involved. They will be more likely to help guide you and find the needed resources to assist. If your breeder can’t, or won’t help you then contact the breed parent club through the AKC or a local or regional club may also be a good resource.
However, please save everyone heartache and headache and if you cannot legally own a Stafford please get another breed or move to a place you can. Research the breed you want and do your homework first.
Posted on

Ethical Breeder

I borrowed this from the English Setter club Code of Ethcis and I feels strongly it should apply to EVERY breeder and breed club:

“I am the caretaker not only of the individual dog but of the reputation and welfare of the breed as a whole.”

“It is incumbent upon me to set the example of each dog being individually cherished but only the physically and temperamentally sound being bred.”

“I accept the premise that if I breed a litter those dogs are my responsibility throughout their lifetime.”

 

To read the full article where I read this please go to:

An argument for ethical dog breeders

Posted on

Sportsmanship seems lost on some

Let’s play a game. Here is an easy quiz we would love for you to take. It should be super easy for most of you, and for at least ONE person, should sound very familiar.

​1. When ringside mentoring,  conducting a breed seminar, showing your own dog or spending time ringside which of the following activities are to be considered acceptable, constructive and conducive to improving the judge education​, spectator​ and exhibitor ​experience:

(A) Loudly pointing out your opinions of faults of dogs in the ring while ignoring virtues

(B) Sharing photos of your own dog with judges saying “This is the nicest ____ you will ever see

(C) Trashing dogs and exhibitors in the ring verbally while pointing at them

(D) Badmouthing the names, dogs and kennels of other exhibitors to anyone who will listen including fellow judges

(E) Verbally accosting a judge and disparaging their decisions

(F) Loudly protesting the judging procedures and decisions while ringside and expressing these opinions to the judge

(G) Entering a ring during judging to disparage procedures or results

(H) Storming away from a ring saying unkind opinions loudly enough for those around you to hear

(I) Inserting photos of your own dogs, and those of your friends into an illustrated breed standard while inferring that this is the official version approved by the parent club members

(J) Calling fellow judges and/or exhibitors ‘idiots’ within earshot of said fellow judges and/or exhibitors

(K) Storming out of the ring while wildly yanking your dogs collar when you lose

(L) Accusing another exhibitor of ‘screwing you out of a win’ if they are in the group

(M) Literally counting entries out loud ringside to see how many points your dog will accumulate before judging, therefore assuming all other entries only showed up to add points to your own dogs assumed win

(N) Adding and removing their name from his dogs entries depending upon what was being offered that show – OH or BBE for instance.

(N) Telling the judge who awarded a dog a big win that they have ‘made a grave error’ while the owner is standing there proudly waiting for a prestigious win photo

(O) After losing yanking the heck out of their dog and wagging a finger at the judge telling them something to the effect of ‘I’m re-writing the breed standard and you had better learn it’

(P) All of the above

(Q) None of the above

​If you answered (Q) None of the above – you are correct! ​Unfortunately, however, ALL of the above has occurred and is documented as actual continuous behavior by an AKC parent club BOD member.

It’s high time this is stopped. Too many times over the years a blind eye has been turned, or a slap on the hand is given to their un-sportsmanlike behavior. Not only is their behavior rude, unethical, distasteful and off-putting, but also against the AKC Code of Sportsmanship, parent club Code of Ethics and is a recurring topic of conversation after shows. Some people are laughing at them behind their back, others are very hurt by their words and actions. I do not feel they really realize what they sounds like. If they did I wonder if that would change this behavior or if they feels it is acceptable. My feelings are that this person feels beyond reproach. They feel strongly that they are somehow righteous.

Club members, people in other breeds, aspiring judges, accosted judges and non participating visitors have all witnessed and/or been the focus of this behavior for far too long. Its time to put an end to this now. I highly doubt most people who know this person have been made aware of how long this has been continuing, how many years they have acted in this manner and how many times they have been asked to please refrain from this behavior or how many judges and members have complained.

It used to be a little sad, but now its beyond that and bordering on requiring an AKC formal complaint to be filed. It is an embarrassment to our breed and to those who work hard for the success of the shows.

Speak out when you see things such as this happen. Dont say somebody else will – hearsay is not what will work but if you witness this please speak out and tell the truth or nothing will ever change.

Enough is enough.

Posted on

Post Whelp – a list of helpful info

There have been many articles on information good breeders suggest for post whelp health for the newborns and dam. Do a search for breeding on The Stafford Knot website in the Library section and you will find several interesting articles submitted by breeders from around the world. I wont go into too many details but I will offer a little informational list of must haves based upon our experiences.

Make sure you have calcium citrate on hand. Its fine to use the convenient tubes but after whelping get yourself a bottle of the higher quality capsules 1000. Also, a B-Complex and DLPA 750. I would also suggest buying a homeopathic kit made for birthing and one for emergency care. Read the books that come with each ahead of time so you are partially familiar with the contents.

Go to the suggested reading list on this page and pick up several good books on whelping/breeding – especially Book of the Bitch and one on newborn care. Sign yourself up for Puppy Culture and pre-watch at least the 1st few videos if not the entire course. Keep pedialyte, lactated ringers solution with both adult and newborn set-ups, colloidal silver 500, tube feeding sets, oxygen, fresh frozen plasma, liver water, whole milk yogurt, fresh raw goat milk, fresh eggs (yolks), a big green cabbage and local raw honey. Do not use cottage cheese thinking you are feeding calcium – go read the package and you will be surprised. Yogurt is a much better choice plus its full of probiotics. Get full fat grass fed sourced.

Get two working thermometers, new batteries for flashlights, thermometer, scales and anything else which requires batteries. Buy a USB laptop red LED light – comes in handy for overnight checks in whelping box. We have USB outlets in our wall outlets and there is one right behind our whelping box where I keep one of these plugged in.

Set up a warming box or drawer. I have both – the box for when/if I have to leave the house to go to the vet – the drawer is the top drawer in a dresser I use for weighing and keeping my charts updated.

Get your essential oils and diffuser, Thieves wash/wipes/cleaner/sanitizer/soaps, etc….put all your vets on speed dial and visit an emergency clinic to pre-fill out forms in case you need to rush there in the middle of the night……on a Saturday/Sunday night…..when your bitch has a temperature of 103.6 and mastitis is setting in – get your Thundershirt out as its perfect for holding that cold cabbage on her teats for a couple hours alternating with warm compresses (a sock filled with rice works well for this heated in microwave or a hot water bottle is also perfect )- you want moist heat to expel milk once her teat is soft – alternating back and forth…..checking for both color and smell to make sure her milk is safe for the babies to nurse from.

Learn how to use lactated ringers to administer fluids. This is very important. Dehydration in both newborn puppies or in the dam can be serious and life threatening. Keep them hydrated!

Buy whatever laundry soap you plan to use in bulk – we use Young Living Thieves and white vinegar for softening. Wash and change whelping box bedding often! Clean the box several times a day with your Thieves spray and a clean cloth like a diaper. Its very important to keep everything clean.

We check temperatures, weights, poop and pee daily – these are simple ways to make sure the health is spot on for your bitch and her whelps. rotate the teats your pups suckle from in smaller litters. Watch for any redness, dark spots, swelling or hardness – watch for this several times per day – mastitis can come on very quickly and its best caught very early. Remember broad spectrum antibiotics can still pass onto puppies through the milk and also can cause nausea. If you can use homeopathics instead and get success try them first.

I’m certain this is not all encompassing information but its just a sleep deprived stream of thought blog entry which I hope has offered someone a little information they didn’t already have in their arsenal. I am not a veterinarian nor am I attempting to replace their advice – I am just offering up info based upon our own experiences  – take it or leave it but always seek the advise of medically trained professionals if in doubt.

Below is a list of homeopathic remedies for treating Mastitis

Apis Mellifica… This is a great remedy for painful and swollen glands. This is particularly common after whelping.

Bryonia Alba 30c… is highly beneficial for glands that have become hard. Other symptoms may include the legs being stiff and signs of constipation.

Belladonna 30c… may be prescribed by homeopathic vets for treating hot and swollen glands. The affected dog may also be restless and excited.

Hepar Sulphuris Calcareum 30c… can be used to treat glands that have become painful. There may also be a pussy discharge too.

Phytolacca 6c… may be beneficial for treating painful and hard lumps in the dog’s breast glands. The affected dog may appear listless and the glands may appear blue in color.

Urtica Urens 1 m… can be prescribed by homeopathic vets to help restore milk production as the infection starts to subside.

 

 

Posted on

Preservation breeder or busine$$ breeder? PART 2

Moving forward from my last post of the same title (https://wavemakerstaffords.com/preservation-breeder-or-business-breeder/)  I want to share the experience of what can happen after all the time, research, planning, expense and love of producing that special litter goes in an unplanned direction. . . . from the viewpoint of a preservation breeder that is….because puppy farmers and prolific breeders and business breeders dont care enough to do any of this and for some stupid reason they can stick 2 dogs in a yard with no testing or plan and get ginormous litters of mediocre puppies.

So anyway…..here you find yourself on day 63 post ovulation (because you have done all progesterone and LH testing and a surgical AI implant you know the due date pretty well) and your bitch is not entering phase one. You head back to the repro vet (a 3 hour round trip drive) to check fetal heartbeats and run progesterone…progesterone is reaching that low point but not yet there and heartbeats seem okay…so home you go to wait. Nothing. Meanwhile every scenario runs through your mind as to what could be happening inside your bitchs’ womb. After what seems to be an eternity and still no signs of labor you and your vets (because you use several and have now called them all plus stud dog owner, friends, consulted FB groups, read all your books…) decide its time for a cesarean. Surgery is always scary and risky. Its not what you want to do.

Surgery goes well. You are in the room to assist and finally see your puppies. There are two as was expected. Both are boys as was not exactly what you were hoping for but thats fine. They are placed into the incubator to receive oxygen while you sit with your bitch as she recovers. That’s difficult to see. Ask anyone who has had anesthesia how it feels as you come out of it…not so great. As you look at the tiny boys your mind goes back to the first ultrasound where one of the little dots looked a bit off….kinda squished, not as round as the other. Then you recall the heartbeat check the other day when one had a slightly lower heart rate than the other. Something just is not quite right but the vet and the techs assure you they are both just fine….except its not. The boys are small. Tiny. 4 & 5 ounces. One takes a while to get the hang of suckling but you’ve seen this before and it could be the effects of moms anesthesia. The tiny 4oz boy looks a little less formed and a little ‘grayer’ in color…but again the veterinarian and all the techs are sure both are fine. They are each given fresh frozen plasma and tube fed a belly full of replacer and home you go…..

Once home you weigh them again b/c you just cannot believe how tiny they are and you see that the tech has made a mistake on the larger of the two boys which is what you suspected anyway. He is small but not tiny at 7.9oz. You decide on oxygen, FFP, ringers and sitting patiently in the whelping box (which you now wish was just a little bigger) trying to get the boys on mama for colostrum….the first night is a sleepless one for everyone as the attempts to keep the puppies alive through the night becomes a serious task. One boy seems strong enough but the other one….something is not right.  You call a good friend who has more experience and of course she comes over – arms laden with her emergency puppy supplies ready to assist you in any way you can to save these little lives.

You now tube feed, try liver water drops, Nutri-drops, more ringers, more FFP, more oxygen….you can tell one is fading but sometimes he perks up and suckles enough to get your hopes up…until he begins to rattle and grow weaker. At the 36 hour mark he is gone. An angel whom you barely knew but loved just as much as you love any of your dogs.

No time to grieve except a short burst of tears between the two of you because you still have a tiny life to concentrate on and you settle in for another sleepless night. You have one beautiful baby boy in your carefully planned litter that you now have spent almost $6000 to produce and you will do anything to make certain he thrives….and thrive he does!

Five days after he is born he has more than doubled his weight to an almost respectable 10.8oz! He is shiny, plump and content. Your bitch is finally settling in with regular calcium citrate, B Complex and DLPA (which by the way we are also taking along with ignatia because both aid with grief recovery). You are still sleeping next to the box but actual sleep is occurring and measured in 2-3 hour intervals! Deep breath and fingers still tightly crossed but you are now ok enough to name this little singleton. There is a little light at the end of the tunnel.

…..to be continued……

Posted on

When rescue cant fix it

There is no shame to ask for help when it is truly needed.

I have known several breeders who have allowed their hobby to grow out of control. I don’t know if you would call this a hoarding situation, or if somehow keeping ‘just that one or two’ from each litter began to take over and soon the breeder found themselves with far too many dogs to properly care for…or if somehow it simply became habit. A bitch comes into season and they may think well let’s just try this and see what we get…or I miss having puppies around because they give me purpose…sometimes even a reason to get up in the mornings.

Whatever the reasons behind these situations may be, in my time in rescue (in particular Stafford rescue) I have seen breeders who needed help. Let me briefly describe the situations I have seen or known.

Several years back I received a call asking if we could please meet at a location about 3 hours away where the word was several Staffords needed actual rescuing from a hoarding situation. When we arrived we were led down an unkept driveway onto a property which looked to be almost abandoned…but it was not. There was a tiny mobile home surrounded by overgrown landscaping and garbage. We saw what appeared to be unused, long ago abandoned kennel panels in a field not far from the home. The roof panels were hanging in various stages of disrepair, grass, weeds and vines had taken over the kennels chain links and it seemed as though nothing would be inside. On the front porch of the home we saw crates and food bags and bins, cats, garbage, bikes, car parts, grills…just trash everywhere. It looked as though nothing was still living in this home or on this property.

Then a person came outside accompanied by a child holding a puppy. We were shown 8-12 Staffords led out to us on old tattered kennel leads. These dogs appeared to be experiencing new people, grass, and life outside a crate for the first time. Two more were seen in a small enclosure off one side of the home. All the dogs seems shell shocked, shy and filthy. It was impossible for us to get an actual count but the son of the ‘breeder’ was the person requesting help. His mother was unable to care for the dogs, yet continued breeding them. We requested all of them but sadly were only given eight. It was a start. These Stafford became known as The Georgia Eight and you can read the rest of this story in an article on The Stafford Knot website. (link will be added later). The bittersweet outcome was we found great homes for the 8 we took but sadly the breeder continued breeding with the ones she refused to give to us.

Another situation which was heartbreaking for me was the death of a close friend and breeder who had many Staffords when she became ill. We wanted to assist her by finding homes while she was still alive but were unable to do that so when she passed we did help her family find homes for many of them. This situation prompted me to write about the importance of knowing when to stop breeding and how to include a passage in our wills stating exactly what to do with any dogs living at the time of our deaths. Its a burden on our family and friends that can be avoided by prior planning. I place no blame upon my friend at all but now we know its best to plan ahead.

The situation which has prompted this blog entry this morning is a long time breeder who has been quite prolific over many many years whose family came to rescue years ago requesting assistance placing all of their dogs as the breeder was very ill. Rescue agreed and was able to find homes for what they assumed were all the Staffords living in their kennels at the time (approx a dozen or more Staffords). Rescue used volunteers and resources of their own to do this difficult project, relying upon the word of the breeders son that they were all gone except a couple oldies which they kept as pets. Sadly, honesty has escaped some folks and later we discovered all rescue had done was assist this breeder and her family in getting rid of dogs they had no need for. It seems they were less than honest and instead of needing this help due to illness, they were simply changing directions. This breeder and her family are currently breeding what they refer to as ‘a new strain of miniature Staffords’.

When kind hearted volunteers who have a passion for a pure breed of any type come together 24/7 making themselves and their finances available to assist those truly in need find themselves in a situation where they have been taken advantage of there are several things that occur. Sometimes these individuals say enough is enough and give up assisting with rescue. Others, continue on but hold that hardened chip of suspicion with each call for help. That chip, over time, festers and grows into resentment which is not good for anyone, including the innocent dogs needing help. And then there are those like myself – I have no fear of naming names. If I come across a dishonest person asking me to utilize my own free time, money, resources and asking others to trust me to join me in helping someone and their Stafford – and then I find myself betrayed – I have no problem with name and shame.

Ask me – I am happy to tell you what I know to be true. I will not slander, nor use hearsay – but if I truly was involved in a situation and I know it to be true –  I will speak out.

When I say I am happy to assist you in locating an honest breeder and you come to me and say I am buying a puppy from ‘so-n-so’ and I know that this person is not a reliable, reputable breeder – I will say so.

Just ask me.

Posted on

“Send in the Clowns” (reposting from The Dog Press)

SEND IN THE CLOWNS, THE (DOG) SHOW IS OVER

 If you show dogs, judge or breed dogs, you may agree that the dog sport has turned into a political circus and this well-known fancier is right but…

September 7, 2017 | TheDogPress.com

Carol Hawke, Guest Columnist

As someone who wrote for the dog sport for well over two decades, I realize that what I am going to put into words is a virtual epitaph.

The sport of showing dogs, I mean breeder/exhibitor conformation, is dead. The grave marker has not been inscribed because no one has so far defined the cause of death. Multiple forces, both greedy and ignorant, combined to murder the victim formerly known as “the Sport of Dogs.” Among them, the politically correct pressure cooker, AKC’s creation of its current judging pool, whom I refer to with sorrow as “the clowns.” Add to the plot the lure of greed essential to commercialize dog shows and voila!

Prior to the year 2000, the dog sport was composed primarily of old guard breeders and judges who held a mutual tug of war over integrity within the sport through their individual breed efforts. They kept the essential checks and balances within the system that allowed it to function in good health. It wasn’t perfect by any means but at least it worked. Good (standard correct) dogs were bred, good (standard correct) dogs were recognized (won) and the sport thrived in those decades prior to 2000.

There was no incentive to win beyond a championship and the adventurous potential for breed, group and BIS rankings. Nobody in that old guard ever went to a dog show to be featured on television, get a check or win a new car. We all ventured to see if our idea of the breed standard matched up to the best eye of the best judges in this country.

That was the incentive and a win was the reward. The chintzy ribbon never did matter, it was the recognition by the experts. Today, it is an oddity when any breeder wins with a good dog on their own. The old guard is mostly dead or sitting around watching from the sidelines if they haven’t grown entirely disenchanted and moved on.

The only way a good (standard correct) dog can win in this era is if:

  1. The breeder comprehends the standard and breeds to it

  2. The standard is understood foundationally by the club members and is used to properly educate, not simply influence or confuse incoming judges

  3. The judge actually has an eye for a dog

  4. The judge is sufficiently honest to use that eye for a dog

  5. The judges in the above category are approved and promoted both in house (AKC) and in the sport (by clubs) through regular assignments

  6. The breeder can get the best dogs into the ring and finish them without a handler

There is no incentive for AKC to choose ethical and competent judges as long as breeders are willing to hire handlers instead of showing their own dogs.

The only way integrity can be maintained in the sport is if that alphabetical short list above is rigorously adhered to. Clearly, it is not. In fact, that short list does not exist in practice at this point in time. The old guard judges as a generation – are – with a few notable exceptions, dead or retired.

The era of competency in American dog shows also died. The only thing remaining was to “send in the clowns,” so AKC did just that. For the most part, this is your modern judging field. The clowns, overall, do not realize they are clowns but the few judges with an eye for a dog do and so do the remaining breeders of integrity.

What you actually have is a ‘handler show.’ Every AKC dog show from the most inconsequential 300 dog entry to Westminster is a handler show. Buy your ticket, get your popcorn, hoist your drink and let the handlers great and small, duke it out.

There should be a new ribbon category at every AKC dog show, “Best Clown in Show,” for the judge that sends the most longtime breeders out of the ring without points while putting up the most handlers – that includes the handler wannabe’s or weekend warriors who don’t even groom or train their entries drag them in and win anyway.

Special recognition should be given for the clowns that put up lame dogs or those with obvious DQ’s because a familiar face drug it into their ring. Every show today, from the most inconsequential 300 dog entry to Specialties, is an incentive show. What incentive will bring the most handlers to that show? That seems to be the primary objective of every dog show committee. Not breeder/exhibitors, handlers. Every detail of the show is geared for handlers.

I began breeding and exhibiting (again) five years ago. In those five years it has taken to acquire breeding stock and recreate a bloodline, I have discovered it doesn’t do a lick of good to breed quality dogs that fit the breed standard. The new generation judges cannot find them. I mean they could find them if I paid a handler to show the dogs to them. However, that defeats the purpose of showing dogs. I expect the judges to have studied their standards and mentored with old timer’s long enough to actually recognize good dogs.

I expect judges to have an eye for a dog and not require the help of a handler to enable them to find breed type and reward soundness.

AKC, I place the blame squarely on your shoulders. You committed sport suicide by courting breeders and puppy millers simultaneously and not putting people in charge of the judging pool that actually knew what they were doing. Your field reps were nearly all former handlers…what did you think they were gonna do? They had buddies and they had enemies but what they usually didn’t possess was objectivity.

The AKC Board deserves to take the deepest impact, however, because they made the final calls. The exploitation of the sport through commercialization was the product of greed and it took away the moral incentive to show dogs. Gone is that precious integrity factor that made it all worthwhile. Each of you in charge and influence; from AKC to member clubs to the magazines deserve equal blame for killing this sport.

It takes courage to admit the truth in order to change the course of this game back into a sport for the future. It all depends on who is at the helm and whether anybody left actually cares enough to admit this is a pathetic game nobody really admires anymore. Just so you remember or perhaps need to hear it for the first time; showing dogs is about choosing the breeding stock that best fits the breed standard!

Today’s breed standards express modern trending instead of breed foundation and purpose.

The clubs don’t care because the members would rather win than breed to the standard anyway.

Handlers are the only consistent way of winning at AKC dog shows today.

The illusive eye for a dog has been exchanged for an eye for familiar faces.

Dog shows are now a politically charged game, not a sport. So go ahead, “send in the clowns!” because that is all you’ve got left in this circus.

1708 http://www.thedogpress.com/Columns/send-in-the-clowns-1709ch.asp

 Copyright © ii NetPlaces Network / TheDogPress.com – All Rights Reserved

Posted on

SBT Mentor & TSK Books

If you live under a rock or dont have a FB or IG account you may not know about some very exciting new projects we have been working on for Stafford owners, breeders, lovers – The Stafford Knot has produced a set of new books which are selling wonderfully all over the world! The proceeds from the books go into the TSK rescue funds just like everything else we do with The Stafford Knot, Inc. 501(c)(3). If you are interested in these books please visit  www.thestaffordknot.com.

Speaking of The Stafford Knot – we recently moved our website to a new host and redesigned the entire site.

Continue reading “SBT Mentor & TSK Books”