Page 20 - Chow Life - Spring 2018

A Gathering Storm Part 2

A Gathering Storm Bring New Measures

By Dr. Carmen Battaglia

This is a continuation of last has been successful only because announcement came when the AKC
month’s discussion of the gathering most breeders are so busy with their Canine Health Foundation (CHF)
storm and how it has already begun jobs, families and other things that reported that 25 DNA health tests
to impact the world of purebred they fail to notice the implications were available for the screening
dogs. The winds that are fueling hidden within the labels they of breeding stock. Today, no one
this storm were identified as the accept and use. What lingers in the would question the importance of
undefined labels that are used by background are their intentions these announcements even though
the animal rights movement. As and a general lack of awareness. most breeders are still unaware of
stated in Part I, their efforts have This problem is not limited to just their existence.
gained wide-spread acceptance undefined labels; it extends into Scenarios like these have led
among the breeders which in turn many other areas. For example, the animal rights activists to
have impacted AKC registrations it was not so long ago that three believe that the dog world is
and the gene pools of thirty-five important announcements were asleep at the wheel. They believe
breeds some of which may soon widely published in the dog world. we are uninformed and therefore
be facing extinction. Related to The first occurred in 2003, when vulnerable. This of course works
all of this is the fact that hardly the AKC reported the introduction to their advantage. Consider how
anyone is noticing how effective and of a new Superplex G panel of 13 they effectively were able to link
dangerous this storm has become. DNA markers that were designed their ideas to the undefined labels
As discussed in Part I, there are to improve the quality of parentage called: "puppy mill", "vicious dogs",
many examples that show how, testing. This announcement "dangerous dogs", "over-population"
through the use of undefined labels, changed the AKC compliance audit and "responsible dog owners". Each
the animal rights movement has program as well as the voluntary label played an important role in
negatively impacted breeding and testing of puppies and adults. At reducing registrations, zoning,
registrations. the same time, the AKC announced breeding rights, ownership and
Sociologists who study social that a fourteenth marker had been the number of breeders. Now
change and the use of labels to added to identify the gender of each after more than ten years these
impact events call this discipline individual tested. The third same labels continue to impact
the "labeling process". When
epidemiologists study their causes
they look for three common
denominators. First, whether the
labels are defined. Secondly, their
underlying purpose or intended
target. Thirdly, the strategy that
has been linked to the label
which later can be grown into
something large with varying
consequences.
In the dog world the use of
undefined labels (responsible
breeder, dangerous dogs,
viscous dog, puppy mill
etc.) has already been
demonstrated to be an
effective way to negatively
impact breeding, ownership
and the sport (see Part
1). Many believe that the
animal rights movement
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