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| Wolf collar, protects the dog, but looks unwieldy and the perception for some people is that it is a cruel device. |
When things are not as they appear.
©Louise Liebenberg (2019)
I some times feel that we are conforming to this image that dogs are helpless
fur babies, that only live a good life when they are obese, live inside a house
and sleep in bed with the owner. Anything less, is regarded as abusive,
neglectful or even cruel. Where is the respect and admiration for healthy
working dogs, who are fit, strong and capable?
This “fur-baby” rhetoric is propagated by “rescue organizations” who refuse to
place working dogs on ranch’s, or place pet dogs if there is not at least one
“stay at home pet parent”, or the vigilante do-gooders who go around smashing
car windows in order to feel good about rescuing an animal. Animal activist
organizations play on people’s emotions to suck out as much money as they can
to use to pay for advertisements to make even more money. Some, of these
organizations go as far as to lobby for new legislation, persuade lawmakers and
fund lawsuits all with the goal to stop animal ownership. Owners, who need
working animals, are not organised into large (financial) lobbying groups and
tend to lightheartedly dismiss the activist’s rhetoric as nonsense. When
campaigns such as “bring them inside during the winter” morph into laws, and
owners of working dogs are suddenly hit with the reality of this, it is often
too late.
Animal abuse includes both deliberate harm done to an animal (overt or
intentional acts of violence) as well as, failure to provide adequate care for
the animal (neglect). The term “animal
abuse” gets used in a variety of situations and the definition is very
subjective; an activist’s definition for animal abuse will vary from that of a
hunter, a rancher or even that of a pet owner.
The accusation of abuse is easily tossed around by anyone, and often is used to
help turn others against an industry (Peta and their anti-wool campaign, carriage
horses in New York, greyhound racing in Florida). The word abuse and the
reporting of abuse can be used in cases of personal vendetta’s, angry neighbors,
do-gooders, rescuers and some activist groups as a form of retaliation. In many
cases laws are changed to ensure that welfare standards are upheld, and new
laws are often legislated without consideration for working dogs, the “bring
them inside in winter” campaigns have resulted in certain States making it
illegal to have dogs outside in certain winter temperatures. These laws are
often blanket laws, covering all dogs from the fat, couch potato pug to our
working livestock guardian dogs (LGD) living with their livestock. It is a very
fine line to negotiate and many people fear the vigilante actions of animal
activist groups, the neighbor with a grudge and the
do-gooder crusader. No one wants to be labelled an animal abuser, which often
results in owners who are fearful of allowing their working dogs to work or
even correcting an unruly pup. We often build elaborate shelters for the
benefit of the neighbors, as we all know that most LGD will not use these
structures preferring to sleep with the livestock, under a big shady tree or
even nestled into a large round straw bale. We do this, so that others feel
appeased, and that we are not labelled an abuser.
People driving by on a wintery day may see our LGD sitting out in the pasture
watching over his sheep. The passer-by see’s a dog sitting alone out in the
cold and immediately feels that this dog is neglected. We see a dog choosing to
be in that spot at that given moment, watching over his sheep, doing his job,
revelling in the wintery weather which he is well equipped to deal with. We see
a dog fulfilling his purpose in life. The passer-by does not see a shelter, or
that the dog has a choice where it wants to sit, sleep or go. The passerby
calls animal control and the problems start.
Not everything that is perceived as abuse is abuse, and often, all that is
needed is education to understand the situation or the reason why things are
done a certain way. Regarding the anti wool campaign (Peta), the onus is on
sheep keepers to educate the public that shearing is beneficial for the sheep,
that it is done in a humane manner and certainly does not constitute abuse. We
need to campaign as hard as Peta does, to educate the public, show videos of
our newly shorn sheep and even explain that sometimes nicks and cuts do happen.
We need to be active in disputing what is being told to the pubic by
organizations that want to discredit our industry with misleading information. The
same applies to our LGD. We need to educate people, explain what LGD do, the
importance of their job and we must counter bad information. In all aspects of
farming there will always be the “bad apples” who do abuse and neglect animals,
and we need to distance ourselves from those folks. We need to be active in
countering misinformation, share the truth and good stories on social media and
campaign for the preservation and the right to work and own working dogs.
Some people seeing a large LGD wearing a spiked collar, will immediately think that something cruel is
happening to that dog, as many wolf collars are scary weapons. There was
recently a case in Canada, where folks had placed a spiked collar on their LGD
after it had been previously injured by a wolf. The people felt they were doing
the right thing for their dog by giving it some added protection in the form of
a spiked collar. They were reported to the SPCA, and had charges laid against
them for animal cruelty. Fortunately, the case was dropped after the people’s
veterinarian intervened and wrote the SPCA how the collar was not cruel, and it
was a tool to help keep the dog safe. If
people do not understand the role of a wolf collar, they will immediately think
the worst. People need to understand that wolf collars are designed to help
protect the dog and are often life savers for the dog. We need to inform, educate
and explain.
For many people tethering a dog is synonymous with a
neglected dog living its life at the end of a heavy chain in some back yard. Images
of fighting pit bulls come to mind, tethered out on heavy duty chains, a far
cry to temporarily tethering of an LGD.
What many do not realise that tethering is not only a temporary constraint, but
is also a training tool. Most LGD cannot work while being tethered so it is in
the best interests of the owner to not have the dog tethered for a long time.
Times that tethering may be used are when a new adult dog is brought to a new
flock, tethering will ensure that the dog does not escape and run off, he may
need to be introduced to new family members and other livestock and having the
dog temporarily tethered can help with this transition. If a female comes into
heat, she may be tethered in the barn or in another pasture to ensure she does
not get bred, a dog who is injured may require to be tethered or kennelled
while recuperating. Tethering keeps the dog and the livestock safe in times of
need. If a fence is down due to a tree or other reason, an LGD might be
tethered to ensure it does not get on the road and be killed by a vehicle. Not
all tethering is bad.
Yokes are another lightweight training tool. The yoke in no
way injures the dog, it may look uncomfortable, but it is not inconvenient nor
harmful for the dog. He can run, play, move, sleep, scratch his ears, and eat. The only thing he cannot do is squeeze his
head through a hole under the fence. This training tool is temporary and
designed to help teach the dog to stay within its fences in order to prevent
roaming and possible death due to collisions. Made from pvc pipes, it is light weight and
flexible and can rotate so that he can lay with his head flat on the ground. It
can be a life saver for the dog. The dog that cannot be contained in the fence
is a liability for the owner. If a yoke can be used to help teach an LGD not to
dig under the fences, and in doing so saves its life, then that little
inconvenience of having to watch a dog with a pvc pipe triangle on his neck for
a few weeks may be worth it.
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| The choice for this LGD is to sleep away from the livestock in a hard-bottomed shelter filled with straw or bury herself in a haybale close to her animals. Abuse or not? |
In many areas it is mandatory to provide a shelter for the
dog, and I do agree that on some very small acreages that it is a must. If the
dog is only living in a confined yard, or small area, then he does not have the
ability to choose the spot where he wants to sleep. Our dogs work on hundreds
of acres, and they have bush, trees, natural shelters, they have ponds and open
land, they have lookout areas, they have multiple places they can chose as a
shelter. In some cases, our dogs dig
their own dens to sleep in. They have options and choices and are more than
capable to choose where they want to sleep. Invariably, the shelter we provide is not
their preferred spot to sleep. Our dogs prefer sleeping in a thick pile of
straw by a large round bale close to their stock. Is it abusive to allow them to chose to sleep
where they want?
I think there is a role within the sheep industry to not only protect and
regulate the sheep industry, but I feel they have a secondary responsibility to
help ensure that our LGD remain working dogs and that they are not legislated
out of a job through laws that make the use of them impossible. In Alberta, our
sheep organizations have created animal welfare rules and regulations
pertaining to all aspects of the sheep industry, including welfare rules for
tagging, tail docking, transportation and care. What is missing, is a chapter
on welfare and care of LGD and herding dogs. Having the backing of a Statewide
sheep organization, with clearly laid out protocols on the work and welfare of
our LGD, will provide a good educational tool for lawmakers and welfare
organizations, as to what is good practices when it comes to using LGD to
protect our livestock.
