French Bulldog Friendly Veterinarians Database

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French Bulldog Experienced Veterinarians Database

After much wrangling with the powers-that-be at Ning, it looks like we’re never getting back the original French Bulldog Friendly Veterinarians database.

Requests for Veterinary Referrals to a French Bulldog experienced Veterinarian are one of the most common questions I receive. As I’m sure most of you remember, it’s pretty scary trying to find a veterinarian who is trustworthy and up to date on treating the health conditions which can sometimes plague our Frenchies.

Because of this, I need your help in building a new database.

The new site is here:

http://frenchbulldogplanet.com/french-bulldog-friendly-veterinarians/

There’s a form which you can use to submit your Veterinarian’s information. Please use the ‘notes’ section to mention if this vet has a specialty, or if there’s a specific vet at the clinic clients should request. If possible, check to see if your vet has a website, and try to be accurate with their address information, since this will allow people to generate Google Maps directions for getting to their clinic.

Right now, the site is set up specifically for North American Veterinarians. I’ll work on getting it world wide over the next little while.

If you have any questions, please let me know. Also, please spread this request on any discussion boards or mailing lists you take part in.

Thanks!

USDA Licensed and Inspected Dog Kennel

USDA Inspected Kennel Kills 1,000+ Dogs

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As some you might remember, I wrote a while back about the CFIA’s requirement that any puppies under eight months of age which are imported into Canada for “commercial purposes” must come from a USDA Licensed breeder.

Here’s a link to the original article:

https://www.bullmarketfrogs.com/blog/2010/01/cfia-partners-canadian-breeders-with-usda/

CFIA defines ‘commercial purposes’ as a dog imported by anyone who has ever bred a litter, shown a dog, judged a dog, trained a dog or trialed a dog – in other words, any dog OTHER than one imported by an individual as ‘just a pet’ (By the way, if you are wondering how the CFIA determines if the person you are importing a dog from is “USDA approved”, they use this on line USDA Search tool, which can be accessed by anyone – http://acissearch.aphis.usda.gov/LPASearch/faces/LPASearch.jspx )

CFIA seems to believe that forcing Canadians to import only USDA inspected dogs will somehow ensure that the dogs being imported into are healthier than just ‘random’ bred dogs. The rationale might be sound – after all, CFIA likely feels that, if we only allow meat and poultry that has passed USDA inspections into Canada, why not apply the same restrictions to puppies?

The problem is that almost any kennel can pass a USDA inspection – or, if they fail one, they’ll be given almost unlimited chances to get their facility up to par.

In this most recent incident, as reported on Pet Connection, a mass distemper outbreak illustrates just how much of a fallacy the USDA “stamp of approval” really is:

More than 1000 dogs were euthanized as a last resort to thwart a canine distemper virus (CDV) outbreak at a USDA-licensed Kansas kennel, reports Dr. Bill Brown, Kansas’ Livestock Commissioner.

Am I supposed to feel better because the U.S. Department of Agriculture was “riding shotgun”? No, in fact their involvement makes the situation all the more deplorable. Canine distemper is completely preventable. How did the lethal combination of overcrowded, unclean conditions and inadequate vaccinations — the only way canine distemper can run rampant –  manage to slip under the USDA radar?

Are Canadian breeders supposed to feel better knowing that the CFIA has now limited us to importing dogs which have come from conditions like these? It’s clear to all of us that a “USDA Inspected” label means nothing more than a verification of the fact that this breeder just has too many Goddamned dogs. You don’t see a lot of three or four dog hobby kennels rushing out to get USDA certified – that’s reserved for the forty, fifty, one hundred dog or more breeders, the ones who raise their dogs, as the Pet Connection article says, like livestock. And USDA inspections might work just fine for livestock, but they are failing for puppies over and over and over again.

The CBSA border guard who confronted my friend when she didn’t have the appropriate paperwork for her Scottish bred, expensively imported puppy said that they are paying close attention to breeder imports, because “Breeders lie”. Given a choice between being limited to my future breeding stock coming from a USDA Kennel that churns out puppies like widgets from a factory, or being a big old liar, I know what I choose.

The better question is, what does CFIA choose – and what do we, as Canadians, allow them to get away with choosing for us?

Indented Quotes and Images – beautiful

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Bunny Puppies Update

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Don't hate me because I'm adorable

Don't hate me because I'm adorable

When it comes to newborn puppies, no news is generally good news. Bunny’s puppies fall into that category, at least so far. They’re growing like weeds, eating like little piglets and generally being adorable and snuggly and sweet.

This means I’ve had more rest than I usually get with a litter of puppies, and less stress, and that equals – more time to take photos! Photos are after the cut, at the end of the post.

Videos are another story – I have a new Camcorder, and it’s not playing nice with iMovie. I have to convert the digital clips to mpegs, and THEN import them to iMovie for editing. A pain in the ass, and a big old time suck, too. If I’d give in and upgrade to iMovie 10 (or whatever the newest version is), I wouldn’t face this issue. Instead, I’d face the issue of an editing interface that sucks serious amounts of suckage, and no ability to edit soundtracks. Win/loss!

So, here’s a crappily edited video made using the sucky editing software that came with the Camcorder. Still, you get to see OMG PUppIeS!!!!

Photos and videos after the cut. Read more →

How many is TOO many?

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Bunny's Boys

Bunny's Boys - crappy resolution still capture from my new video camera

Here’s a Frenchie Friday question – How many litters are TOO many litters?

We debate this question all the time – what’s that magic number that tips someone over from ‘reputable’ breeder to ‘not so reputable’? Is there even a magic number – or should there be?

There’s a HUGE big name kennel out west (not Frenchies), who has an average of six to eight litters per year – in a breed with fairly large litters.

Is that too many litters?

What if I then add that they feed raw, employ a full time staff of three to care for puppies and adults, have an ‘open door’ kennel policy, and a huge waiting list for available puppies?

Still not good enough?

What if I mention that they have literally DOZENS of Best in Show wins, multiple BISS wins, Westminster group and breed wins, International Champions, etc? Are they still an ‘un reputable breeder’? Or would you even call them a puppy mill?

What if, instead of six to eight litters, they had ten to twelve?

What about the small breeder who only has one to two litters, but they’re raised in a garage, barely socialized and won’t see new people until they either go to their homes or hit the show ring?

Are those two litters still too many litters, if their breeder can’t or won’t care for them properly?

Does it matter if their breeder has multiple champions and shows every weekend? Does it matter if they’ve never shown any of their dogs, and don’t even register their litters?

Can you have four litters per year if your breed only has two puppies, or is just all about that number? Can you have three litters if you didn’t breed the year before?

Personally, I care more about the way that the pups are raised than I do about numbers.

For Frenchies, I want to see pups that are home raised, with tons of exposure to people and sights and sounds. I want them to be clean, well fed, and well cared for. I want to know you’ve got homes waiting, and won’t be trying to dump un sold puppies on Kijiji when they get too old. If you’re doing all of that, I don’t have a ‘number’ – although I do think that there’s a number, beyond which, it’s almost impossible to achieve all of that, or at least to achieve it well.

Of course, all of that is just MY opinion – what I really want to know is, what’s yours?