Does This Dog Deserve To Die If It Can't Do Its Job?

[Boronia]

ABC article, a follow-on from Trinabean's RAAF Dogs

http://www.abc.net.a...3-11-01/5062536

Does this dog deserve to die if it can't do its job?

By Mia Cobb Posted Fri 1 Nov 2013, 8:08am AEDT

Photo: Whether these dogs live or die is intimately linked to their working performance. Working dogs and dogs used in sport are routinely euthanised if they can't perform in the job. Surely there's a better way, says Mia Cobb.

There is an industry in Australia that relies on a piece of equipment that's not only essential to its business but integral to it: yet the system behind the product development process is flawed, and lives are at stake.

From farm dogs to military explosive detection dogs, guide dogs to greyhounds, Australia's working and sporting dog industry claims a 50-70 per cent fail rate as normal. More than half of the puppies bred for these roles in Australia simply don't reach the standard required.

The destiny for the unsuccessful varies by sector, but for some, the outcome is grim.

In the cover letter for the 2008 report on integrity assurance in the Victorian racing industry, Judge GD Lewis AM noted that "of the 7,500 greyhounds born annually, approximately only 1000 will live a full lifespan", accepting "the greater proportion are killed because they are too slow to race".

This week the Royal Australian Air Force announced a new program that will find homes for retiring working dogs at the end of their service. Euthanasia is now a routine end point.

The public outcry of surprise ("I'm stunned and disgusted" comment from ABC site) and disbelief ("For how long has this happened to our dogs?" comment from ABC site) unleashed online in the wake of this policy change was hardly surprising.

Although working and sporting dogs are in our communities everywhere, we often don't stop to consider how they get there or where they go when they are retired from the job.

This issue has repeatedly attracted public and media attention in relation to greyhounds in recent years, but surely it's only a short step before someone asks, "What about the farm dogs? The guard dogs? The detection dogs? The assistance dogs?"

The welfare of these dogs is intimately linked to their working performance.

It can be an emotive topic, so let's take the emotion out of it for a moment and objectively consider current practice as a business proposition.

A diverse industry, with four sectors - private, government, assistance and sport - operating in different industries, is dependent on one key piece of equipment. A tool that can vary in price from free to $40,000, can be purchased new or second hand, but is unequivocally required to get the job done.

Hundreds of thousands of units are currently used daily throughout Australia in government, human health, sporting and private operations.

Practitioners invest resources in puppies or young dogs, only to find that the 'tool' they have ordered doesn't do the job. It's unsuitable. Dogs aren't fast enough, they get injured, or they don't perform the task they were purchased to do.

Too often, animals are disposed of and new ones sourced - some from large scale purpose breeding operations, some from smaller or even accidental breeders.

Less than 10 per cent of dogs deemed unsuitable by one employer find work with another in a different context.

The breeding and production of working dogs lacks validated minimum standards and assurances around the quality of the animals being provided.

It is this lack of efficiency that translates to high rates of industry wastage - dogs that are failing to meet requirements - throughout the production (life) cycle.

Set aside the animal ethics issues that this situation raises for a minute, and consider what business strategies can be suggested to improve the situation.

A review of the purpose and production life-cycle analysis for this tool seems indicated? Absolutely. A review of how the equipment is being employed, handled, maintained and stored by practitioners? Yes. Perhaps a review of the training courses and educational materials available to the practitioners and the people who train them? For sure.

Without objective review and subsequent improvement, this industry is leaving itself open to criticism and risks losing public support. Indeed, the sustainability and economic viability of this industry into the future relies on improved accountability, higher transparency and demonstrated responsibility.

We know that animal welfare and productivity go hand-in-hand. If industry, scientific researchers, government and animal advocacy groups can work together with a shared goal to reduce wastage by improving the welfare of working and sporting dogs across the life cycle - improving the way that dogs are bred, raised, selected, trained, housed; provide them with suitable health and injury care; manage the outcomes for retiring and unsuccessful dogs, and improve availability of evidence-based education for trainers and handlers - the future could be much brighter.

We owe this commitment to review and refine the production, management and education surrounding this device to the industry, the people involved and the tasks they achieve.

It's sound business practice. And we owe it to the dogs.

Mia Cobb is a scientist at Monash University in Melbourne, researching the welfare of Australian working dogs as a member of the Anthrozoology Research Group. View her full profile here.

[Kajirin]

Working kelpies on my [now deceased] friend's father's farm were retired to being house dogs. If the kelpies failed in stock work they were rehomed as pets. The one I remember with fondness was old Fazz, he lived until he was about 18 and ended his twilight years as the house dog, happily basking in the sun and enjoying his retirement. Always had a lot of respect for my friend's Dad.

[mixeduppup]

My friend has a kelpie stud and occasionally gets a pup with no natural instinct and gets it desexed and rehomes it as a pet. He has done that with quite a few and I've occasionally taken a pup on with no instinct and rehomed it as well. Some farmers prefer to cull non workers as they don't want to hassle of rehoming etc or don't have connections. I understand their position and as long as it's done humanely it's better than the dog being dumped or put in a country pound already overflowing with failed workers and not a big chance of being adopted.

Edited November 4, 2013 by mixeduppup

[OSoSwift]

In my family if they don't work they are pets.

Becasue of this when we wanted a working dog we went to a reknowed breeder of working dogs that was recommended as we were not accomplished trainers or working dogs adn we wanted the dog to have the best chance at being a good working dog as if he wasn't we would have had a verandah ornament and I would still be running around like a working dog.

He is a brilliant sheep dog that has exceeded our expectations, especially at such a young age.

There may be many working dog puppies bred and a good half of them fail, however many of them are from oops or random litters or bred by those who throw two dogs together and wonder why it doesn' produce all brilliant work dogs. If more people bred for the right reasons there would be a higher percent of dogs that don't fail as working dogs, the rest well there is no helping some idiot humans sometimes, and some dogs despite genetics just are not work dogs :)

[Nekhbet]

We are so old fashioned in this country as well. And we're behind in our training and knowledge. I see a lot of good dogs wasted and written off because our training and raising abilities in a lot of instances are inadequate. Too many people also put too much expectation on the dogs, get it done with shitful amounts of effort then blame the dog when it doesn't reach the unachievable.

[Redsonic]

We know that animal welfare and productivity go hand-in-hand. If industry, scientific researchers, government and animal advocacy groups can work together ....

This is so untrue! The most productive animals are often the ones which are most stressed and have the poorest environment.

Just consider:

Caged hens - often "pushed" through the off lay period with artificial lighting and severe cuts to food intake then killed at 18months when their metabolism can't take it any more

Feedlot Dairy cows - Produce so much milk that they live on the point of metabolic collapse such that they are prone to every infection that comes their way and show constantly elevated stress hormones

Sows in sow stalls - raise more piglets because there is little risk of crushing them when you are unable to turn around.

The old "productivity can't be good when welfare is poor" is an argument factory farmers have been using for decades and is patently untrue.

Back on topic, I agree with what people have said about more selective breeding and modern training methods reducing waste of working dogs. The main exception to this would be greyhound racing because by definition it is competitive and there will always be winners and losers. No matter how well greyhounds are bred and trained, there will always be a large percentage of dogs which can't earn their keep.