Politics » Prick-Eared

When Shit Hits the Fan

Mar 312012

In most of Canada and in northern and western parts of Europe, it is illegal to train a dog using live animals. In countries with these restrictions, for a dog to gain experience, they need to be taken out hunting regularly and as often as possible. However in some parts of the Middle East, Central Asia and East Asia, training dogs on live animals is still an everyday part of life where it is practical. In Russia, dogs are still being used on chained or penned animals today.

Brad Anderson sent an interesting footage of “When Bear-Training Goes Wrong”. Caution, it is not for the faint of heart. While there is no explicitly graphic details, people who consider dogs as a family member may find it disturbing.

There are a few interesting things to note here. There are a few Jadgterriers and Laikas. Notice when the bear nabbed the victim, the Russians did nothing except to attempt to persuade the bear to give up the carcass. The men could have done a lot more to save the dog, but a well-trained bear is hard to find; an inexperienced hunting dog are dime a dozen.

However that is not to say it does not happen in real life. The reason why Jadgterriers and Airedales are popular in bear-hunting is because sometimes when the bear stands to fight, most of the time they have no idea what to do with a dog with gameness. While other breeds have strong prey-drive, they do not have the same spirit per-say.

It is commonly said an experienced bear in these types of instinct test usually put on a play. These know the dogs are of no direct threat, so bears treat the ordeal as a game. if the bear is experienced enough, they are allowed to roam free; and when it is time for the trials, the dogs would chase it. Once the trial is over, the bear would come back to the humans on its own accord. It is quite a spectacle to watch.

However the bear in the video seems quite young and has not yet reached sexual maturity. There is still a while bit before the bear has nothing to fear from the dogs or his captors. And for the dog? It is certainly a well-deserved snack.

The American Way

People, Politics, Ponderings 1 Response »

Feb 082012

There was an interesting discussion full of drivel on a dog forum filled with dog-mommies entitled “Does AKC Support Crossbreeding?”; however registering to respond to it seems to be a major drag. So instead, because countless of Europeans question why Canadians and Americans have so many dogs outside the major registries, perhaps it is better to explain why in the land of the free, people are free to make their own choices and why the American and Canadian Kennel Clubs, while they do not endorse nor recognize cross-breeding, lack the sufficient means to corral the general population.

It is quite understandable why someone who recently immigrated to the country has a hard time grasping the American way. After all, the continent is quite vast and Europe and Australia are tiny compared to the seemingly endless land. However there is a reason to all of this madness.

First off, do not focus on a subset of breeders. Consider the audience as a whole. A great number of pure-bred breeders are living out in the rural area; and with that there are events in life where pure-bred dogs cannot always fill in the niché, especially in the realm of working and performance dogs. Not everyone who is operating outside the registry are breeding “designer dogs”.

There is a reason why there are so many mongrels in North America. Firstly, it is actually quite common for ranchers and hunters to utilize cross-bred dogs. So it is unfair to ask everyone who manages cattle for a living, courses coyotes or pursues feral hogs to give up his or her hobby of showing and breeding pure-bred dogs because they have vested interests in other aspects of their lives. Whether it is mixing Catahoula Cur with Pitbull to improve their ability to physically hold a pig, or crossing in a Greyhound or Saluki with an American Staghound for managing coyotes as pests, or back-crossing a cattle dog derived from a Border Collie to Blue Heeler to work a new strain of cattle, many people have a practical reason for producing performance-bred mongrels. In addition, it is becoming quite common for dog-sports to be the arena of inventive nature with flyball opening way to winning Border-Jacks [Border Collie-Jack Russell Terrier mix] and Border-Staffies [Border Collie-Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix] leading while aceing the Frisbee championships; or Whippet crosses stealing the diving competitions where static breeds lacking innovations within the last 150-years are losing.

If the AKC or the CKC do not allow people to breed crosses outside the registry or even sell unregistered, then anyone who has serious investment in dog sports, agriculture, hunting et cetera will be pressed to forefeit either showing their purebred dogs or working alongside their crosses. The Kennel Clubs know they cannot afford to lose memberships, so the registries do not bother rocking the boat by forcing people into the “either or” position. It is both political and financial suicide for the Clubs to become anything more than being just a registry.

It is actually much wiser to enable people to have their little showing hobby on the side with FCI-recognized breeds, while allowing them to participate in other cruicial life matters which also involve dog-ownership. Otherwise, the registries will just collapse.

Just because someone is operating outside a registry, it does not means they will commit pedigree fraud or engage in other illicit activities; nor does it mean they are being unethical. If cross-breeding is regarded as unethical because of a few bad apples, then in the fairness of tits for tats, one might as well ban dog-breeding altogether since there are just as many horrific examples of pure-bred breeders committing great sins. Bad cases make for bad laws.

Suit Up!

Absurd Finds, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting 5 Responses »

Sep 142011

Inevitably, no matter what we try to do, there is always some kind of risk no matter what we do with our dogs. Fido might go out in the suburban backyard, and a cougar would scale the fence to gobble him up. A wolf might pick off the good old reliable Roy the Cattle Dog scouting ahead on a hike out in the bush; or a curious street-savvy coyote might be bold enough to take a petite leashed Maltese going for a neighbourhood stroll in the presence of her owner. These are hidden dangers we might face as soon we leave the sanctity of our front steps.

In Finland, Norway and Sweden, since wolves are endangered and are a protected species, there is an increase in frequency of attacks upon hunting dogs. In Canada, this is not unheard of and it is an accepted part of life– and we control it by hazing predators, or by shooting the ones taking livestock. However the Scandinavians came up with something rather unusual. It’s called “wolf-jerking.”

Mirka from Gekkoo No Kennel in Finland was kind of enough to share these pictures of something she read about in a magazine a few years ago with us on a forum:

Norwegian Grey Elkhound in a teal spiked cut-vest tearing into a moose.

A vest based on the ancient concept of spiked wolf collars.

A medium-sized black-and-white dog with in a dark green nylon jacket with orange horizontal stripes. The jacket has a wrap around the dog's neck.

This vest employs electric juice.

In Finland, these are called “susiliivi,” and in Sweden, they are called “vargvast.” Both means “wolf vest”. The electric vest, lines with wires, is actually quite heavy for the dog to wear, weighing about a kilo [about 2 pounds] for a medium-size dog. The other vest is made with four rows of 40mm spikes mounted on four layers of ballistic nylon fabric and Kevlar.

A Karakachan livestock guardian dog with an iron collar and what appears to be nails welded on.

Wolf protection collar in Bulgaria.

So how do they work? Well, the spiked model is fairly obvious. It is nothing revolutionary. The idea of using iron and steel to deter predators has been going back for eons and it is still used today in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Far East. In fact, it is not uncommon to see cabins in North America lined with thick long iron nails, often around window-stills, to deter bears and mountain lions from snooping around. So the spiked vest is an old concept applied to what hawgdawg enthusiasts call a “cut vest“.

A close-up view of a small grey tab on an orange vest where the voltage are stored.

The brain behind the vest.

The idea behind the electronic vest is if a wolf attacks a dog, it would receive a powerful jolt. This is not unlike the idea of using shock collars as a non-lethal depredation method pioneered by the Defenders of Wildlife.^[1] Now, the vest is far from perfect, as one anecdote reveals a scenario where the dog was shocking itself repeatedly.

What is amusing is one prototype protects the neck; while the other protects the belly. Nevertheless, in a country where poaching a wolf lands one in serious hot water, these are rather interesting solutions.^[2]

However, it is futile to refrain from captioning this:

A Norwegian Grey Elkhound in a teal cut-vest. Two lines of spikes are visible on on side.

Move over Neapolitan Mastiff, Viking Dog is now Gladiator Dog.

And to be honest, when I see the electric vest, Barney’s “Suit Up!” catch-phrase, from “How I Met Your Mother”, echoes in my head.

Footnotes

In North America, wolves are protected in a few states, and the population density is too low for ranchers to protect their livestock through depredation. A study shows wolves regularly comes back to a bait station every 5 days. Using a shock collar fitted on 5 individuals, the incidence rate was reduced to every 47 days and the shocked wolves moved away 0.7 kilometres away from the shock zone. The interpretation of the study is the shock collars could be used to establish buffer zone during calving seasons.^[source]
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Wolves went extinct in the 1970s in Sweden, and was recolonized from Finland. However there is a growing concern there is an under-reporting of poaching, despite the fact a four-years penal sentence serves as a deterrence, as there are only 250 out of a projected 1,000 individuals in 2011. Consequently, because of the high illegal hunting pressure, the Swedish wolves are highly inbred suffering from skeletal and reproductive disorders.^[source]
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References

Hawley, J., Gehring, T., Schultz, R., Rossler, S., & Wydeven A. “Assessment of Shock Collars as Nonlethal Management for Wolves in Wisconsin.” Journal of Wildlife Management 73 (4), (2009): 518-525. Accessed August 14, 2011. doi:10.2193/2007-066.
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^{[HTML] [PDF]} Lieberg, Olof, Guillaume Chapron, Petter Wabakken, Hans Christian Pedersen, N. Thompson Hobbs and Håkan Sand. “Shoot, shovel and shut up: cryptic poaching slows restoration of a large carnivore in Europe.” Proc R Soc B (2011): 1-6. Accessed August 17, 2011. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.1275.
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Images

Tunturisuden Susipalstalle. ”Ruotsalainen susiliivi”. Last accessed August 15, 2011. http://www.tunturisusi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1850 [Images: Unknown]

Sheep! “Karakachan Livestock Guardian Dogs”. Last accessed August 15, 2011. http://www.sheepmagazine.com/issues/31/31-2/karakachan_livestock_guardian_dogs.html [Image: The Bulgarian Biodiversity Preservation Society]

PYSTYKORVA.INFO. ”Susiliivit pystykorvalle”. Last accessed August 15, 2011. http://www.pystykorva.info/viewtopic.php?p=12187 [Images: Vilperi]

Naturalized B.C. Resident

Hunting No Responses »

Sep 122011

In the last few years, Albertans have been complaining about the increase in grizzly population. However the biologists are telling SRD the bears haven’t sustained a healthy population yet.

In fact, these people are crying out for an open season to be reinstated, despite a moratorium on the big bears being declared a decade ago. There is a valid point to this. Fear will be struck into them if they are hunted, however it is not a sufficient enough pressure to keep human-bear conflict to a minimum.

Let me provide an alternative. The solution is actually quite simple: allow hounds to be used again. This was once legal in the province two decades ago; not anymore. Unfortunately, in the interest of “ethical” sport-hunting, dog owners have been sold out to the antis and are now mostly limited to birds and non-game animals such as hares and woodchucks.

“That doesn’t matter, at least there is a no-limit open seasons on coyotes!” It’s true that residents can only legally take a few ‘yotes a year in British Columbia. “Treeing bears and baying them is harassment!” No, it’s hazing.

However we won’t see such changes in the regulations being accepted by the resident hunters on the Prairies. Although the neighbouring residents in the far west of Canada are both politically conservatives, they don’t always see things eye to eye. Even though it is legal to bait bears on the east side of the Rockies, many condemn hounds purely out the question of sportsman ethics.

Consider this: at most, hunters in British Columbia can only tag two Black Bears during open season, and a Grizzly regulated under LEH per year. Many of the houndsmen usually run their dogs all season long in the spring and fall before taking a bear or two to keep the pack in shape and just let them do what they were born to do. This is, in effect, hazing the bears– teaching them to be wary of humans and their companions. Not everyone will run hounds, but their contribution to educating the bruins and sows to take heed cannot be ignored and probably far outweighs the majority without dogs, hunting either for food or for trophy, who are just merely weeding out the stupids.

Instead of trying to “preserve” highly-subjective sportsman ethics and debating about what is fair, one might as well take into account how incredibly expensive the hobby of bear-hunting with dogs is, and how infrequent the game is taken. The government might as well save themselves the public spending headaches of legalizing “bear shepherding” and “bear-chasing” as legitimate options for Albertan hunters; seeing the usage of Karelian Bear Dogs and Coonhounds fall into the jurisdiction of Conservation Officers. The hunters don’t have to take the bear if they don’t want to, but at least give the people the options to do so. The tax revenues from purchases of equipment cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, the government or the antis isn’t the biggest barrier to allowing such pursuits; but rather the sport hunters themselves telling the government what they are willing to sacrifice to maintain the elitism of their culture.

This is a rather amusing revelations because for this former Albertan, I used to look down on such sports; but now the practical application became clear to me. As such, such practices are embraced for this inter-provincial immigrant.

Sources

2010-2012 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis 2010. Victoria, B.C.: Service B.C..

Images

October 2006 bear hunting 2006. Cowgirl Jules. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cowgirljules/372006826/in/set-72157607450266850/ (accessed September 8, 2011). [Image: Cowgirl Jules, modified]

October 5 2008 bear hunting 2006. Cowgirl Jules. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cowgirljules/2921035394/in/set-72157607450266850/ (accessed September 8, 2011). [Image: Cowgirl Jules]

In Our Backyard: Airedales and Coonhounds

Dogs, Hunting 4 Responses »

Aug 102011

So much is blogged about how them Vikings hunt, but never really anything about our local scene. Just giving a taste of what people use to hunt bears and cougars around here in the province of British Columbia. This guy uses a blue-tick coonhound and three Airedales.

via photobucket.com [Image: Clint Stubbe]

photobucket.com [Image: Clint Stubbe]

via photobucket.com [Image: Clint Stubbe]

via photobucket.com [Image: Image: Clint Stubbe]

via photobucket.com [Image: Clint Stubbe]

When Raw Emotions Take Over in Politics

Dogfighting, Hoarding 4 Responses »

Dec 282010

As some may had read today, Barack Obama praised Vick’s football team for giving him a second chance. Of course, right now, every single animal lover is outraged by the President backing Michael Vick.

The problem is: the New World was founded based on second chance. Our ancestors fled here to get a chance they never got in the Old World. In fact, the United States’ Constitution and many of their legal bills were on the concept of second chance. Yes, felons do get a second taste of freedom after being incarcerated, but many of them don’t last long in the chaos of the real world.

Obama never approved of Vick’s action of killing dogs and participating in a fight ring. Obama’s praise has nothing to do with Michael Vick, but rather something much larger than most people could possibly imagine. For the past few decades, everyone knows prisons are overflowing and it has become a revolving door system rather than a place to do time. So, really, Obama’s words is meant to incites a hot button issue on treatment of criminals.

Consider this, in the United States, the recidivism rate is between 50 to 60% with 753 felons per 100,000 people serving time in the penal system. Contrast the American statistic with Norway’s recidivism rate of 20% with 69 criminals per 100,000 people. This contrast in statistics is exactly why Norwegians funded their newest prison, Halden Fengsel.

It is no secret serving time in the States render people virtually unhireable, despite all the free education prisoners receive. In some cases, they cannot even find a place to live without moving to a backwoods place. Yet one wonders why ex-felons go back through the revolving door once again.

So rather than demanding the President to take back his words or step down, and continue to castrate Michael Vick for his actions, consider the political motive for making such statement. It is not about Michael Vick or dogfighting. Never was. It’s about Obama touting himself as a cause in the name of penal martyrdom. It’s a political sham to lower the national unemployment rate. Penal reform: check and mate.

As for me? I am conflicted. On the one hand, I do want to see the interests of the victims protected, but on the other hand, I would like to see a more efficient use of our budget for the criminal system and for revolving door system grinds to a halt. If it means ex-convicts get the scrubs, like Michael Vick, then I will have grudgingly accept it’s in the best interest of our country.

I know Michael Vick will never go near my dog. I sincerely hope if he’s allowed to have a dog, or any pets for that matter, he is required by law to seek psychological help and receive counselling throughout the course of pet ownership. I can only hope rationality can keep my raw emotions in check.

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