Page 156 - ShowSight - July 2019

On The Line... BY BARBARA J. ANDREWS continued
“There is no moral to this story but there is a lesson to be learned.
EVERY PUPPY, FROM CHIHUAHUA TO GREAT DANE NEEDS ADEQUATE EXERCISE TO BUILD STRONG BONES.
That is within your control as an ethical educated breeder, trainer or veterinarian. Not only that, it is your duty to properly advise your client or customer.”
thus exposing your pet to needless stress and you to more expense.
Here’s a classic example. TheDogPress. com received a complaint from a medical professional who thought admitting his dog was unnecessary and typical of the “goug- ing” complaints doctors are sometimes faced with. I smiled. He said his field dog had a clean break which, had it been a child, would have been radiographed, set, casted and sent home in about an hour. He wryly added that costs were about the same!
In another case, a toy breed with a clean break was put under anesthesia to be x-rayed and have a splint applied. He was then placed in a steel cage in a hostile environment among strangers, surrounded by other dogs moaning in pain or barking- begging to go home. The little dog was released late the next day with instructions to return (repeatedly) to have the splint adjusted. The splint may have been a bet- ter choice than a heavier cast but that isn’t the point.
Whether the current protocol was more stressful for the dog or the owner is a toss- up but it was obviously more profitable to the veterinary practice. Most owners accept it when a vet says the dog must be hospi-
talized. They rarely ask why. The owner is usually stressed and not always thinking clearly. But you ShowSight readers are expe- rienced dog owners so you would agree that hospitalizing for a broken bone should only be necessary if the attending veterinarian senses the owner is unlikely or incapable of providing proper home care.
Obviously the best care is prevention. Especially in toy breeds, genetic selec- tion for strong, dense bone can diminish the likelihood of such accidents. No AKC Breed Standard contravenes that common sense protocol although admittedly some breeders “fancy” thin, tiny bones in toy breeds... I can’t imagine WHY? In over two decades of toy breed ownership I have only had one broken bone but have had top ranked Chihuahuas and Toy Fox Terriers. The point is that toy breeds can have strong bones and still win.
There is no moral to this story but there is a lesson to be learned. Every puppy, from Chihuahua to Great Dane needs adequate exercise to build strong bones. That is within your control as an ethical educated breeder, trainer or veterinarian. Not only that, it is your duty to properly advise your client or customer.
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150 • ShowSight Magazine, July 2019