Importance of Understanding K-9 Psychology
Why is it important to learn about k-9 psychology you may be wondering? Well when you educate yourself on this topic you can truly understand a dog. Once you understand a dog you can accurately know how they think or act, what they like/dislike & what they really are afraid of or not. Knowing this information helps you correctly judge some sensitive topics in today's world..
Whats Wrong With Today's Society?
The most problematic issue is there are a lot of animal activists that aren't educated in animal psychology or what an animals natural instincts are. They go on trying to make everything feel sad or inhumane when most times it's not. Then there are some that may know a little bit of information on this topic, but think because most dogs are domesticated they no longer have natural instincts. This is definitely not the case. They are doing this because they are looking at animals from a human psychological standpoint instead of a k-9's. People like this are trying to make the general public assume that animals think like humans and they don't. They also want to make things feel worse than they really are so people feel bad for them. This makes it to where they sell more dogs that need homes, which is great but most times it does not need to be dramatized to that extent. This confuses many people into believing that things like cages, crates, shipping, and kennels are inhumane and make animals sad and depressed or traumatized for life, and this is all false. If they are used in an appropriate manner they are just fine to use. Most times it keeps/makes them feel safer and definitely keeps them a whole lot cleaner.
Natural K-9 Instincts
Dogs in the wild live in packs and have a pecking order. One will be dominant over all others in the pack in both genders. The other dogs below them will have one as well. This is also known as a pecking order. They will fight and sometimes inflict serious wounds if not fight till the deth to stay on top. They do this because whoever is leader of the pack gets to breed. When moms get close to giving birth they dig out a small burrow barely big enough for mom to get in and turn around. Once she has her babies they stay in the dark den for 4 weeks before they even begin to pop their head out. Mom is very protective of her pups for several weeks, if she were not the other dogs will kill and eat her babies. Pupps stay near the den for 8 weeks before they finally venture out with the pack. All of these natural instincts that we see as cruel/mean to do to each other and heartless still happen if dogs live together in groups and are unfixed. This is why it is imperative to keep dogs properly housed in an environment that keeps them safe.
Are Kennels an Inhumane Way To Keep Dogs Safe?
Contrary to what animal activists try to make everyone believe, this is without a doubt the most safest and hygienic way to keep several dogs clean and safe especially in a breeding environment. Like I said above if they were to just frolic together like these people think they should do, they will fight like crazy. Breeders do not want their dogs being hurt or injured in anyway. We want them to be safe, this means several males cannot be around the females at the same time. Another fact you probably did not know is males not only pee on walls they will also pee all over each other even while one is laying down. They will even get peed on while they are peeing, by another male. This is not sanitary a good breeder wants to keep their animals as clean as possible. We also need to keep them separated so we know who the parents are to each litter or else we would not be reputable breeders. You can have 4 females and one male in a run at most so they are not lonely. No they do not feel deprived of love and lonely, they are pack animals, in the wild they have no human contact and they are fine. They get everything they need from each other just like in the wild. Yes they get excited to see to see you when you walk in but you should not confuse it for sadness. The dogs would act the same way if they were on a fenced acre of land when you came home. As long as they get to run and play for several hrs a day and get loved on by the human caretakers they are fine. Responsible breeders will do this.
Are cages, play pens, cage banks & crates cruel?
Not at all. Crates and cages are a safe place for your dog to be while you are gone especially if your dog likes to chew things up. If a dog eats something like couch foam they can get a blockage and need surgery or die. Playpens allow a dog to run and play in a larger safe zone where it can't get into anything that could be dangerous. Cage banks are basically cages that are stacked like in a vet office or grooming salon. Some breeders use them as the equivalent of a crib in the human world, until puppies are six weeks old. This also keeps each litter separated from each other. Keeping each litter separated also keeps parasites/illnesses from spreading from one litter to the next. If a problem like that arises it allows you to isolate and treat the issue right away without allowing it to spread. Once they get good footing they are able to play in a playpen during the day and sleep in the cage bank at night. As long as moms get let out several times a day , cages and playpens cleaned regularly and puppies get let out once they are old enough to exercise they are very happy. In the wild they don't even leave the den till 8 weeks old, they don't even see the light of day till 4 weeks old when they first start to peek their little heads out of their small den.
How Does It Make Them Feel?
All cages should make a dog feel like its a den if used in the proper manner. When you use cage banks as cribs it makes the moms feel safe as if they had a den in the wild. They are able to stay secluded from all the other dogs and can focus on just caring for their babies. If they were in an open playpen in sight of another female with puppies or other dogs, it would make her extremely nervous. When you have a mom that is extremely nervous she can go into panic mode. If they go into panic mode they can step on the baby's even put them in their mouths and try to run with them as far away as fast as she can with as many as she could at once. This could turn into her biting them too hard and causing injury or even death to the puppies. They do this because they are afraid that other dog may try to eat them or kill them like they would in the wild. People that they don't know can cause them to panic as well that is why it is important to not allow visitors till the puppies are at least 6 weeks old.
Should you be jugmental towards a breeder that uses any of these?
Absolutely not. To judge a breeder negatively on this topic, without first educating yourself on the matter would be extremely small minded and inconsiderate to all of the time and effort breeders have taken to learn what actually keeps dogs safe and clean in a breeding program. A reputable breeder only wants the best for their dogs and spends a lot of money on them. Sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars on kennels and equipment alone. That does not even include monthly bills that can sometimes run thousands of dollars to heat and cool or feed alone. We do not throw our dogs into the backyard on chains with an igloo dog house to have to fend for themselves in whatever weather may come along. Our dogs are well cared for in pretty much their own house. As a breeder, this is extremely frustrating when people like this want to judge. If a person does not like how responsible breeders do things then they need to find a dog somewhere else, no one is forcing anyone to buy dogs from a breeder.
Does shipping a puppy terrify or traumatize them for the rest of their lives?
By No Means.
If it did we would not allow our babies to travel this way. Veterinarians would not write health certificates for them to fly, AKC show breeders would not fly their pets all over the world and neither would anyone else. I do not know why some people would go to such extremes to think such a thing, especially if they have not even done it themselves. Again it's most likely uneducated animal activists trying to make everything scary, because they are thinking that animals think like humans do, which they don't. Most people like this see a crate as "oh no a dark small space how sad." Well in a dog's mind it is like a small den that is dark and safe to be in. So when they get the dog they are filled with sadness and fear that the dog will not recover and this can happen, but usually only in the owner's mind. Dogs are very resilient and can overcome what can sometimes be hard for humans to do. But they are animals and we as humans have to understand that they are not human. That aspect of the mind they don't have, that is what sets us apart from any other species of animal on the planet.
How does being in a crate durring the delivery process really make them feel?
Being in a crate during delivery in cargo or even on board a plane makes them feel safe just like being in a den in the wild. If a dog feels unsure they will usually always hide in their safe place, like under the bed or in their crate which makes them feel like it's their den. So yes dogs and puppies feel safe while traveling in a crate during delivery.
Is Shipping Safe?
As I said earlier, if it were not we would absolutely not allow our babies to travel this way. Veterinarians would not write health certificates for them to fly, AKC show breeders would not fly their pets all over the world for dog shows and competitions and neither would anyone else. Cargo cabins are just the same as the cabin above where you and I would fly. It is temperature controlled, pressurized, oxygenated and insulated for noise just like above.
Please click on any of the links "listed below in red" to read the truths about shipping pets.
You need to find reputable sites that gives truthful information based on studies, not theories or speculations on topics. You can achieve this by looking for information on .Org, .Gov and .Edu websites. You never want to get info from a .com website when it comes to extremely important information such as this. I learned this in college. I know I have listed some .Com's here but there is some .Org's as well. American airlines are IPATA registered just in case you don't catch that on their site.