February, 2012
Congratulations to Tracie Laliberte!
From among more than 700 entries in various categories, "Beware of Wrong Turns on the Information Superhighway" is a nominee finalist in the National Publication Editorial category for Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) Maxwell Award 2011.
Nominee for DWAA Maxwell Award 2011
Beware of Wrong Turns on the Information Superhighway
Appearing in: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club Bulletin, Winter 2010
When mom and I were breeders of Lhasa Apsos some years ago, one of my biggest complaints was that prospective owners just didn't seem to have access to enough information about the breed of dog that they were planning to bring into their home. For us as breeders, this meant that we felt responsible to spend hours upon hours with prospective puppy owners detailing our suggestions about how to care for the dog, advising them about proper methods for successful puppy-raising, and educating them about potential health problems that plagued the breed in general.
I took my role as health educator quite seriously, since the very first show dog that I had acquired from a breeder when I was a young girl of nine years old had died of kidney disease at only six months of age. It was quite a devastating experience for such a young child, but early on it taught me two very important things. The first thing it taught me was that no matter the age, dogs die from health problems. The other thing I learned was that every single breed of dogs has genetic problems that scare the bejeezus out of breeders.
With the advent of the Internet, I remember thinking about how wonderful it now was that people could learn about dogs by doing their own research in a wealthy climate of up-to-date information. Instead of people going from house to house talking with breeders of different breeds of dogs that they might be interested in, they would now be able to take the virtual tour of the wonderful world of dogs and gather information on their own. Instead of plaguing the breeder with every little question about puppy-raising, the answers to questions about grooming and housebreaking would also be a click away. In my mind, I had this romantic notion that the accessibility of information would improve everyone's lives with dogs. If nothing else, I was convinced that it would surely ease the burdens on the breeder.
Years after we stopped raising Lhasas, I obtained my first pet quality Cavalier through an all-breed adoption group. I had no idea about the past history of this dog, and I did not have a trusted breeder to talk with when I noticed that my four-footed friend seemed to have developed this annoying habit of scratching. As the scratching worsened, I developed a sinking feeling in my gut as my thoughts turned to a mental inventory of health problems that I knew were present in the breed.
Then one evening when I could no longer ignore the sound of the leg banging on the floor, I did what people do in the modern age of information: I Googled "Syringomyelia" (SM) and quickly perused the available information. I then did what most worried novice owners do: I focused only on those bits of information that seemed to confirm my nagging thoughts. I grew more frightened by the minute, and then I stupidly did something much worse: I watched SM videos on YouTube and became terrified. By the time I was finished, I was convinced that either my dog was going to die a slow and painful death or I was going to have to seriously contemplate selling my body to pay for brain stem surgery. Before I fell asleep that night, I figured that I had better start going to the gym if I was going to have any success at selling my body to save my dog.
When I woke up the next morning, my good dog senses had returned and I was ashamed of having fallen into the trap that so many well-intentioned pet owners get sucked into. This is the trap that I'm sure makes life in the information age even MORE difficult for breeders than those times when information was scarce. This is the quagmire of there being too much information without filters for separating fact from misinformation and media sensationalism.
After conducting an almost embarrassing reality check with my inner dog professional with no less than 35 years experience in the field, I decided to re-examine the information I had seen on the Internet, and really examine the dog at hand. Sure, my Cavalier was scratching, but a lifetime with dogs and my doctorate studies in animal naturopathy reminded me that there are SO many reasons why dogs itch, and shamefully, I had not taken the time to consider ruling out ANY of a number of eye, ear or skin conditions that cause scratching before jumping to the worst of conclusions. Of all people, I should have known better. Talk about feeling like a pet person who got foolishly lured and caught up in a World Wide Web.
When I realized my mistake, as every animal health professional should do, I began to methodically rule out reasons for itching. The first thing I did was to examine my beloved's ears for mites, an infection, wax build up and hairs that might be poking into her ear canals. Her ears were healthy and clean with just a few small bits of wax that I promptly cleaned out with a cotton swab. The next thing I did was to examine her skin for evidence of allergies and for the possibility of parasites. There was no paw chewing or inflammation, so allergies were unlikely. I quickly ruled out fleas, too. However, I did notice a few flakes along her back that looked like dry skin. That was when my light bulb went on.
I remembered when raising Lhasas years ago, there was one dog among my twenty or so show dogs that scratched constantly in-between trips to our veterinarian for skin scrapings and cortisone shots to manage his itching. I remember after a couple of years of struggling with constant scratching and arguing with my vet, one time I got lucky by seeing the fill-in vet who was covering for my vacationing regular vet. This new pair of eyes suggested that my dog might have walking dandruff and a comb test confirmed this diagnosis. My Lhasa had cheyletiellosis: a highly itchy infestation of a microscopic mite that often escapes detection by skin scraping. After a couple of weeks of therapeutic baths and treating the environment, the itching miraculously ceased.
After taking a closer look at my little black and tan Cavalier, I recognized all of the signs of this same skin issue that I had encountered with my Lhasa nearly 15 years earlier. Upon this discovery, I promptly began treating my little dog's skin for cheyletiellosis using all natural methods. Sure enough, by the end of two weeks she had stopped scratching entirely and I was thrilled to cancel my gym membership.
I was relieved by this outcome, and thinking about it now gives me insight into the new kinds of struggles that many breeders must face in this age of information. Sensationalism abounds and the scientific articles are too difficult to digest for the average person. After having taken the opportunity to explore some complex scientific articles on the subject of SM, it is clear that the reader friendly websites omit many important facts about this disease. For example, I learned from credible researchers that there are no less that 16 other breeds of dogs that have been documented as having chiari malformations (CM) even though the media would like for the public to believe that the Cavalier is the only breed affected by this condition because of its overrepresentation. The science suggests that a staggering 92% of Cavaliers have the CM and that only a small percentage (4%) of them actually show symptoms of SM. Leaders in the field assert that some dogs with the CM alone have facial pain, but not all dogs with SM exhibit symptoms. Most importantly, I learned that while there is a genetic factor in the inheritance of the CM, scientists indicate that it is unknown as to what environmental factors likely influence the CM to become symptomatic SM. The critical thinker in me concluded that there is that no breeder in the world who can be held responsible for those environmental factors a dog might be exposed to once it leaves their care.
The moral of the story is that in this age of information overload, it is easy to see how people can be misguided or lured in by the sensationalism so that they easily jump to the wrong conclusion. In my case, I was lucky because I had the benefit of having a lifetime of experience and education about dogs so that I was able to stop and regain my wits before doing anything rash. However, the average pet owner often does not have this advantage. As Cavalier breeders, enthusiasts, and advocates for the betterment of dogs, it is important that all of us become keenly aware of the problems associated with the information superhighway. At the very least, every Cavalier professional should strive to become aware of how and where to find the most valuable information that relates to our beloved breed on the Internet so we can pass this knowledge on and/or be able to direct lay people to the "right" information. Even in these modern times where there is more information than time in the day to read it, I still believe that knowledge is power—as long as it is the right knowledge.
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Tracie's book is now available at Amazon.com
From the Desk of a Dog Diva is like a bag of gourmet dog treats. This dog book contains a tasty collection of short column articles on a spectrum of doggie topics that include the human-canine bond, dog care, training, home life, the dog in society, and other fun topics.