Becoming: Nature vs Nurture
BY JACQUELYN FOGEL continued
around them. Both types of dogs love their people, but they have been bred with very different instincts designed to support their people. Sporting dogs usually have soft mouths. They have been bred for this trait. Terriers have huge teeth and deadly mouths, and they know how to use them. Fortunately the lady in this conver- sation immediately understood what I was saying since she and her husband had bred cattle at one time. We talked about nature vs nurture, and she gener- ally agreed that nature was quite impor- tant—she just had not thought about how it might affect her choice of breeds and how they would get along with her current pets. A Bedlington could surely do the job of killing vermin, but it could also kill other animals unless carefully trained to distinguish between “good” vermin and “bad” vermin. And with their relatively low threshold for kill- mode, would it be the right breed for this household? She decided she want- ed to do some more research and think a little more about what managing these pets might take, and she would get back to me. It was a great decision. I don’t know if I will hear from her again, but it was certainly good to be able to have the conversation with someone who understood the issues. Sadly, conversations like the first one are far more prevalent today than conversations like the second. As our society has become more removed from an agrarian culture it is
becoming less informed about the processes of animal husbandry. And that’s dangerous. It leads them to think the world of Disney is true, while the world of wolves killing other animals— domestic and wild—is a fairy tale. They no longer have grandparents or cousins who live in the country, or friends with hobby farms. Today’s animal-loving kids want to be a veterinarian or start a res- cue. There is little interest in being a breeder or a farmer. And the well-inten- tioned misinformation about animals is rampant. I am one of the lonely voices in the crowd who does not think Pitbulls make particularly good family pets. These dogs have been bred to kill other dogs. They do it well. It’s in their genes. And most pet owners are not equipped with the training or nurturing skills to overcome centuries of genetic program- ming. I’ve heard the well-intentioned mantras that try to explain that it’s not the dog, it’s the way humans raise them. It reminds me of the NRA propaganda that says guns don’t kill people, peo- ple kill people. And dog-killing dogs, in the hands of untrained or unstable people are just as dangerous as guns in the hands of untrained, unstable people. The difference is that nobody is calling for background checks or dog- safety courses for Pitbull owners. You can’t overcome centuries of genetic programming by just loving a dog, but that’s what people today believe. Just as two “doodle-factored” Poodles can
create a Goldendoodle, supplying enough love can prevent a tragic acci- dent with a Pitbull. It’s magical thinking that feels good. And it’s wrong. I wish I had a quick or easy sug- gestion for correcting the massive amount of misinformation that circu- lates around the breeding, training and care of dogs. With the internet, bad and even dangerous information is as easily accessible as good, useful information, and there are no guides to tell us which is which. I find myself frequently saying things like, “I know this seems counter- intuitive, but I want you to try…” My breeding, care and training advice for dogs comes as much from 45 years of experience as it does from formal edu- cational sources. My formal education has taught me how to be scientifically analytical and critical, but it is my real- world experience that has guided most of my livestock management practices. I have learned so much from large ani- mal breeders and veterinarians. I would never have identified too much iron in water as a critical factor in fertility if I had not listened to the pig farmers and the companies who serve them, nor would I know as much about sav- ing newborn puppies if I had not had the guiding experience of a large ani- mal vet who recommended a pigrail for my whelping box and taught me how to assist in a difficult labor. As a breeder of dogs, and as a life- long student of animal husbandry prac- tices my hope is that younger people will come back to valuing the wealth of information inside the heads of long- time preservation breeders. My hope is that they give up on the notion that they can learn everything they need to know by logging on to a computer. As corporate farms replace small family farms our society is losing all contact with the people who spend lifetimes breeding and caring for animals. Their information is being lost and is getting replaced by people like the Goldendoo- dle “breeder”. Perhaps it’s time for the AKC to begin hosting symposiums around the country, inviting the long-time preser- vation breeders to discuss best practic- es. Perhaps we could even invite some dairy, pig or goat farmers to join us. Per- haps then we can start selling ourselves as the experts we are to a public that does not know anything about the fun- damentals of what we do, or why it is important to them. Perhaps we can add some real knowledge to the noise that passes for truth these days. Perhaps it’s not too late—if we start now.
“I WISH I HAD A QUICK OR EASY SUGGESTION FOR CORRECTING THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF MISINFORMATION THAT CIRCULATES AROUND THE BREEDING, TRAINING AND CARE OF DOGS.”
86 • S how S ight M agazine , D ecember 2018
Powered by FlippingBook