Chaining and Penning Of Dogs Is Abuse.

Chance says "I wish all dogs lived the life I live with my "pack." "I live inside with them, not chained or penned up a 100 yards away from the "den."

An organization called Dogs Deserve Better (DDB) just finished a tour called 12-12-120. They went to 12 states, in 12 days, only expecting to find 120 dogs. They went about documenting the chained and penned dogs in each of the 12 states. West Virginia was the last on their tour. In 6 hrs. of driving, they saw and counted 179 chained or penned dogs in deplorable conditions. The link I am providing shows some of what they saw in our state. (It is one YouTube)

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001TieZ0g-gLXyWOGcag36gEDz3faCui_vO9SQiSgxQecyR8tOeIwaeFg9-FR1UnrUh2vb9RXLi2XG5MMDw6u5iVZBLmSReAVZ5o0yMA9ZM8obcaX4sdknr2cmDWne_7WeKK2tNv3O9Jv0V2KRjU86i1w

http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/

This is their official website.

source: from an email to me from Tammy Grimes at DDB.

The duo found a lot more than they bargained for; 1051 dogs as opposed to the sought-after120, as well as many more aggressive dogs than they expected. Each day they interacted with around 20 caretakers, and left information for at least 20 more who were not home. Each night they posted videos and a diary of the day's events online. Said Ashby, "All I can say is send out the troops!

"What Tammy and I saw blows our minds...Everywhere we went there were more and more dogs on chains and in pens with no water, no food, nothing! Their spirits were either broken or they had already become so aggressive no one could step near them. How can people just forget about their friends like that?"

Tammy Grimes and her friend, Dawn, said that WV was the "saddest underbelly" of chaining and penned up dogs of all the states they visited." This saddens me to no end. I see it everyday where I live. Or, the feral dogs that are running loose. Feral dogs, in my opinion, are much more dangerous. With a chained dog, he cannot just attack you wherever you are. He is hindered by the chain and how far he can reach. With the feral dogs, they are in pack mode, and hunting. Go to the websites I listed above and check it out. Sad, but interesting.

The tour encompassed the following states: Day 1: April 6th, Missouri; Day 2: April 7th, Arkansas; Day 3: April 8th, Lousiana; Day 4: April 9th, Mississippi; Day 5: April 10, Alabama; Day 6: April 11, Georgia; Day 7: April 12, South Carolina; Day 8: April 13, North Carolina; Day 9: April 14, Tennessee; Day 10: April 15, Kentucky; Day 11: April 16, .Virginia; Day 12: April 17, West Virginia.

To read Grimes Top Five List of the Things she Learned on the Tour, and see videos, diaries and photos of the tour visit the website at www.dogsdeservebetter.org

The tour encompassed the following states: Day 1: April 6th, Missouri; Day 2: April 7th, Arkansas; Day 3: April 8th, Lousiana; Day 4: April 9th, Mississippi; Day 5: April 10, Alabama; Day 6: April 11, Georgia; Day 7: April 12, South Carolina; Day 8: April 13, North Carolina; Day 9: April 14, Tennessee; Day 10: April 15, Kentucky; Day 11: April 16, Virginia; Day 12: April 17, West Virginia.:

To read Grimes Top Five List of the Things she Learned on the Tour, and see videos, diaries and photos of the tour,visit the website: http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/dognamictour.html.

Dogs Deserve Better, a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Tipton, Pennsylvania, is the 2003 First Place.
Winner of the ASPCA Pet Protector Award. The grouphas 150 area reps in 38 states as well as in Canada and France.
Grimes was also a Top Ten Finalist for the 2006 Animal Planet Hero of the Year Contest..
Dogs Deserve Better, a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Tipton, Pennsylvania, is the 2003 First Place.
Winner of the ASPCA Pet Protector Award. The grouphas 150 area reps in 38 states as well as in Canada and France.
Grimes was also a Top Ten Finalist for the 2006 Animal Planet Hero of the Year Contest.

Pack Mentality.

source: Complete Dog Book.

The natural pack behavior is perhaps the most important reason why it has so successfully integrated itself into human communities worldwide. The sophistication of pack behavior varies considerably within the canine family. Foxes, for example, after leaving their mothers, have little inclination to behave socially with other foxes. Wolves, on the other hand, remain gregariously sociable throughout their lives. This results in the pack - a group of genetically related individuals who work together with a common cause. They hunt together, share food, keep each other warm, all of which involve communicating in a variety of ways.

The domestic dog experiences a few months of natural pack activity from birth until it leaves its litter and joins a human pack, of which it will become a member. In the litter, each puppy learns how to behave with its litter mates and its mother. The mother is the leader because she controls food, warmth, and security. Beginning at about three(3)weeks of age, puppies start to play with each other. Play offers the satisfaction of physical contact with other puppies, while at the same time providing learning experience for muscle control. Equally important, it teaches the puppies how to behave with other dogs. Play remains a lifelong activity among pack members.

The Human Pack: People discovered over 10,000 yrs. ago that the dog's mind is most malleable and impressionable in the first 3-4 months of its life. When a puppy is taken from the litter at between 8 and 12 weeks of age, and homed with people, it naturally transfers its innate pack mentality to the to this distinctly different species. Because they control food, warmth comfort, and security, people are seen as pack leaders. The puppy naturally begs for food. It jumps up to lick a human face just as it would jump up to lick its mother's face, a behavior that in wolves and some dogs stimulates the mother to regurgitate a partly digested meal for her puppies. As the puppy matures, it continues to treat its human pack as an acceptable substitute for the canine pack it has left.

In play with people, nipping them as it would nip its litter mates or its mother. In a natural pack, if a puppy nips too hard it is reprimanded, either by a squeal and a reluctance to play further by a litter mate, or by a controlled bite from its mother - a bite not meant to damage the puppy but to sufficiently intense to teach it not to play quite so vigorously. By these means, the puppy learns how to behave with other members of the pack.

Status with the Pack: As a puppy matures into adulthood, its pack behavior evolves, eventually to be influenced both by cumulative experience and by the onset, at puberty, of sex hormone production. Within typical human households, the adult dog's pack instinct drives it to find a suitable niche in the family.

A dominant dog, particularly if it is a male, can challenge its designated position in the human pack at any time between sexual and emotional maturity. It does so by refusing to follow instructions given by another pack member or by intentionally challenging someone. The dog usually chooses what it considers to be the weakest member of the pack.

It might, for example, bite a child over possession of a toy, or refuse to obey a command given by the child's mother, but still obey the same command given by the deeper voiced, more assertive sounding father. The dog's position in the pack is not always static. Especially while young and robust, it may challenge in an attempt to move closer to pack leadership.

The Territorial Instinct: When canine and human family groups share territory, they warn each other of potential dangers. After companionship, security is the most common reason of dog ownership. The dog's territorial instincts have their origins in pack activity.

Almost every dog becomes alert and inquisitive when it hears, sees, or smells something different. Most dogs will alert other members of the pack by barking, sometimes aggressively, but just as often simply to alert the rest of the pack that someone or something is approaching their communal space. As well as communal space, each pack member has its own personal space within the territory. This often a bed provided for the dog, but some individuals choose their own space - a chair, sofa, or space from incursions by other pack members, including themselves.

Going Solo: Free-ranging dogs(owned by people but allowed to roam freely) never form social packs, and only congregate when they are following an estrus female. No scientific observation of groups of free-ranging dogs has shown any indication of territorial pack behavior, probably because there is no need for these dogs to defend either a source of food or themselves. Free-ranging dogs are simply individuals with irresponsible human pack leaders.

Feral Dogs Are The Result Of Neglect.

I took my dog, Chance, for a ride this afternoon up Clutts Hill to Fairview Ridge and rode around to Union Ridge. Driving slowly, enjoying the weather, and periodically glancing at Chance in the rear-view mirror, as he rode with his head out the window, savoring the swarm of new smells, I noticed 5 dogs running together through a pasture. These dogs, running in a pack are called Feral or wild and can pose a very serious problem to farmers with livestock. Plus, by being in the pack mode, there is very little fear due to numbers. This problem is the result of unwanted breeding of dogs that their owners let run loose and do not spay or neuter them. This is called neglect. Neglect in the sense that the owners do not care enough to take care of these dogs. Letting them run loose and fend for themselves and reproduce over and over. If you see a group of dogs running together, do not try to approach them. Call the Animal Shelter and report it. With the lack of funding for our shelter, they probably won't respond because they just don't have the manpower. I am so glad they are now using Petfinder.com to help place their dogs. The head of the shelter, Anita Asbury, seems to be a really great person. Remember, the shelter can use newspapers, blankets, food, toys, food bowls, anything that would benefit a dog or cat. We can't forget the felines. They are just as important as the dogs. No animal deserves to be abused, as no human deserves to be abused.