Woman arrested over dog fighting

The following article was published in The Times on September 9th:

A leading member of one of England’s biggest dog-fighting gangs, which had links with Northern Irish paramilitaries, wanted to become the Don King of the pitbull training world, a court was told yesterday.

Gary Adamson, 38, trained his illegally owned dogs on treadmills to compete in fights around Britain and attended “conventions” in Finland where severely injured animals had clips fastened to their ears and were electrocuted.

The harrowing accounts and secretly filmed footage of cruel treatment emerged at the start of a two-week trial at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court.

During a series of raids by the RSPCA, after an undercover investigation by a former SAS operative, it emerged that gang members also made pitbulls train in swimming tanks or by attacking “lunge poles” with dummies hanging from them to maximise the animals’ aggression.

The RSPCA raids also seized “break sticks” for parting the animals once their jaws had locked on to others, and veterinary products to treat animals injured in makeshift fight pits.

Five people, including Adamson, a welder from Yarm, North Yorkshire, have admitted a series of dog-fighting offences under the Dangerous Dogs and Animal Welfare Acts. They face jail terms of up to six months and fines of £20,000.

Claire Parker, 44, a mother of three from Kexby, Lincolnshire, was also in court yesterday. She denied being present at a dog fight, keeping premises for fights and owning three pitbulls. The breed is banned in Britain.

Mohammed Nasir Farooq, 33, from Birmingham, denied involvement in a dogfight, causing unnecessary suffering to a pitbull and possessing equipment associated with dog fights.

The RSPCA brought the case after Steve Ibinson, an undercover investigator and former SAS member, infiltrated a dog-fighting gang called the Farmer Boys, with alleged paramilitary links in Northern Ireland, for a BBC Panorama programme.

Mr Ibinson went on to uncover a series of links between that gang and dog-fighting criminals in England. Only now can his identity be revealed. He died of natural causes earlier this year while serving as a security guard in Afghanistan.

The court heard that after a fight at Mrs Parker’s garage, Adamson’s dog, Pablo, was so badly scarred that it appeared to have had a shotgun fired in its face. In secretly recorded video footage, Adamson is shown standing next to three reinforced pens in his yard, boasting that Pablo suffered a “real good ragging” during a 26-minute fight for a £500 prize.

The dog appears nervous as Adamson lifts it at one point by the collar to show numerous white facial scars, a badly torn ear and some wounds stapled up. The animal lost the fight and is thought to have died from its injuries, the court heard.

Mr Ibinson said in a recorded statement that Adamson was the representative of northeast England of the Farmers Boys, from Co Armagh, and aspired to be to pitbull fighting what Don King was to boxing.

Adamson was shown explaining that he wanted to make Pablo train in a swimming tank. At one point he grinned as he said that his mother was a member of the RSPCA, while was a badger-baiter.

Mr Ibinson said that he travelled with Adamson to Finland where they watched “conventions”, or dog fights, one of which resulted in a severely injured animal being electrocuted.

Michael Shorrock, QC, for the prosecution, said that RSPCA officers seized treadmills, break sticks and veterinary products at the house where Mrs Parker lived with her children and her late husband John, known as “Odd Ball”, a convicted dog fighter who died in prison.

Mr Shorrock rejected her suggestion that she was unaware of what took place in the garage.

The case continues.

A street status symbol

Two thirds of all dog fighting reports received by the RSPCA are directly connected to young men and women using their dogs as “weapons” in streets and parks

Animal welfare officers have reported horrific stab wounds, broken bones and cigarette burns to the dogs’ heads

In 2007 37 per cent of calls to the RSPCA about dog fighting related to instances where youths were “fighting” their animals outside. Last year that figure rose to 66 per cent

London has emerged as a hotspot. The Metropolitan Police seized 38 dogs under the Dangerous Dogs Act between April 2004 and April 2005. Between April 2007 and April 2008 officers seized 719

Islington dog attack - Barnard Park

We have heard recently of another dog attack in the area. Word has reached us of an Alsatian puppy who was apparently mauled to death by a gang of staffies in Barnard Park. Please be vigilant when exercising your dogs and contact the police if you have any concerns.

Summer colds - kennel cough

Kennel cough is caused by a combination of viruses and bacteria including:As many dog owners will know kennel cough is currently doing the rounds amongst the canine population in London. Unfortunately many people still believe that kennel cough is a life threatening disease and as such there is a stigma attached to admitting your dog has it or has had it.

Kennel cough is in fact very common and rarely serious. It is essentially the same as the common cold in humans. The reason that people have traditionally been worried by kennel cough is because it is highly contagious, again like the human cold. As such dogs that are kept in close contact can rapidly spread the disease to one another, for example those staying in kennels. Living in a city means however, that our dogs come into daily contact with many more dogs than their country cousins. Consequently it is much more likely that a dog living in the city is going to pick up kennel cough at least once in their life.

So, what exactly is kennel cough?

• Canine parainfluenzavirus
• Canine adenovirus
• Bordetella bronchiseptica

These bugs get into the dog's body and irritate the dogs throat which leads to the tell tale coughing. Kennel cough is easily identified by a harsh, hacking cough which sounds like your dog has something stuck in his throat. Most dogs are not really unwell when they have the disease although occasionally they have a high temperature and are a bit 'out of sorts' for a day or two. The cough tends to get worse for a few days and then gradually goes away.

What should I do?
Kennel cough is what is known as a self limiting disease. This means that it tends to resolve itself within a few days, again much like the human cold. There is NO treatment that will cure your dog of kennel cough - basically they have to fight off the infection themselves.

Very rarely, if the infection spreads to the chest and threatens to become pneumonia, or if your dog is unwell in himself or has a weak immune system, your vet may prescribe some antibiotics. However, these will NOT stop the coughing more quickly, NOR will they stop your dog from being contagious. Instead your vet will probably recommend that you give your dog cough linctus, you can safely give your dog human baby cough linctus which can be bought from any chemists. However do make sure that the linctus is for tickly coughs, not productive coughs. It is very important that you do not give your dog a medicine with ibuprofen or guaifenesin in it as these are dangerous.

What else can you do to help?
Just as in people with a cold, coughing is brought on by exercise, excitement and exposure to cold air. If your dog has kennel cough you should keep them in a warm environment (where possible) and try not to exercise them too much.
Avoid situations where your dog is likely to bark, as this is highly likely to cause coughing. If your dog normally wears a collar, take this off, to stop it irritating his throat, and exercise him outside with a harness or halter and lead.
Remember that other dogs are at risk of catching the cough from your dog, however by the time your dog starts coughing he is past his most contagious. Do not let your dog cough over other dogs, keep him on a lead when exercising him, and try and prevent him from sharing balls and other toys until his cough has gone.

How can I prevent kennel cough?
There are several vaccines available which can help protect your dog against the different viruses and bacteria that can cause kennel cough. Many of these vaccines are given as drops into the nose, although some are available as injections too.

Although these vaccines MAY help protect your dog against certain viruses and bacteria it is important to understand that they do not guarantee your dog won't get kennel cough. Much like the flu jab for humans, kennel cough vaccines will most likely just lessen the severity of a bout of kennel cough which your dog might get. There is such a wide and ever changing variety of bugs that cause kennel cough that it is impossible to find one vaccine that protects against them all.

Many kennels require you to vaccinate your dog against kennel cough before their stay, however as mentioned above this is no guarantee against your dog contracting kennel cough. Vaccination to protect against Bordetella bronchiseptica (one of the causes of kennel cough) is usually only carried in 'at risk' individuals - often just prior to entry to boarding kennels. The immunity produced by this vaccine does not last long and revaccination is required as often as every 6 months to maintain protection.

More evidence that the 'dominance' theory of canine behaviour is flawed

The University of Bristol has also weighed in with further evidence that a dog's desire to be dominant is not the main factor behind canine aggression.

Researchers from the university spent six months studying dogs at a Dogs Trust Centre, and used their findings to reanalyse earlier studies carried out on feral dogs. It was concluded that relationships between dogs are built through the experiences that individuals are exposed to rather than being motivated by an overriding desire to assert dominance or be the 'pack leader'.

Furthermore it has been suggested that training aimed at reducing dominant/aggressive behaviour could actually exacerbate the situation. Owners who continue to assert their 'pack leader' status over their dog are effectively bullying and intimidating the animal. Any submission seen will be restricted to very limited circumstances and will be the result of the dog coming to expect/fear punishment/chastisement. Ultimately this can cause dogs to become more aggressive, particularly when combined with physical abuse such as hitting and kicking.

As Dr Rachel Casey,Senior Lecturer in Companion Animal Behaviour and Welfare, said "The blanket assumption that every dog is motivated by some inane desire to control people and other dogs is frankly ridiculous.It hugely underestimates the complex communicative and learning abilities of dogs.It also leads to the use of coercive training techniques,which compromise welfare,and actually cause problem behaviours".

So if you have an ASBO pup look to see what you've been doing to your dog, chances are your actions are the root cause of the problem.

One hound's opinion on muzzling dogs

The Times has enlisted the services of Buster Hattersley to produce an account of the dangerous dogs debate from a canine perspective.
Times Article

A new way of thinking...

Since the success of a particular celebrity dog trainer it has become trendy for dog owners to try and emulate the role of 'pack leader' when training their dogs. However there is an increasing amount of literature from scientists and wolf experts alike which suggests this concept is flawed at best, and downright dangerous at worst.

Much of the current trend is down to studies carried out in the 1950s on wolves in captivity - what we know now, but didn't then, is that the study was fatally flawed in two ways. Firstly the dogs were captive, so not behaving as they would in their natural environment, secondly the group was made up of random individuals rather than the family members that typically make up a pack. The end result is that the picture obtained, one which has been widely used in the last 50 years of dog training, was a false one. In fact modern scientific research has effectively debunked the theory that it is necessary to dominate a dog when training it.

Below are links to a sample of resources that provide scientific references and/or useful commentary on the subject.

American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior Position Statement

International Positive Dog Trainers Association article

NY Times Article about the Cesar Milan approach with quotes from wolf expert David Mech

Publications by wolf expert David Mech

Watch the "Alpha Roll" in action

DOGS: A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF CANINE ORIGIN, BEHAVIOR, AND EVOLUTION
by Raymond & Lorna Coppinger.

Biologic Basis of Behavior of Domestic Dog Breeds by Roy Coppinger and Lorna Coppinger

Here is an excerpt from the above:

Interviewer: Among your new views of the dog is a rejection of the trainer as the "alpha wolf" and the dogs as the "submissive pack member." Why have you rejected what has essentially become dogma in the dog training world?

Ray and Lorna: The alpha wolf model of dog training certainly does appear frequently in print, but we wonder if it was ever really incorporated into serious dog training. We suspect it was never very useful in training dogs, and that almost everybody intuitively knew that. It was "say one thing, do another."

Certainly all the new techniques, such as click and treat, are not based on dominance. We've watched top trainers like Terry Ryan and Ken McCort, and never saw any hint of "I'm the dominant wolf." People who try modifying aggressive dogs don't try to "dominate" them into submission. Everybody agrees that would be a disaster. Imagine training a wolf by dominating it. Quick way to get killed.

It is a mistake to think that because dogs are descended from wolves, they behave like wolves. Wolves do not show the "alpha roll," or any other hierarchical behavior, except in specific circumstances, particularly during reproductive and feeding behaviors. Wolf packs on a hunt are working cooperatively, and hierarchy goes by the board.

Training dogs is fun for me and for the dog, as it should be. Our sled dogs ran because running is fun and feels good. Endorphins are released, social interactions are increased. Try running while you're being submissive. Dogs aren't pulling sleds because they are forced to or are submitting to some person's will. Everybody who ever drove dogs knows that you absolutely cannot force them to do it.

Interviewer:It will be hard to get that alpha wolf/submissive wolf thinking eliminated from the parlance of dog training, but for starters, how should people think about their relationship with their dog?

Ray and Lorna: It won't be hard to get the wolf pack mentality to go by the board simply because we don't think many of the experts ever really believed it. It is through social play behavior that animals learn from one another. Further, it is fun to play with our dogs even if none of us learn anything. It will certainly make more sense to the dog than to be tumbled onto its back and growled at by a human.

Colin Allen and Marc Bekoff have recently drawn attention to a category of behaviors they call intentional icons. Dogs have signals they use when they want to play — the play bow. The play bow is a signal that all the following behaviors like growls and snarls are all in fun. Consider what might happen if you gave the "dominant male" intentional icon, indicating everything that happens from now on is about the driver being the dominant dog. The sled dogs, if they were reacting as submissive wolves, would then lie on their backs and pee in the air instead of running as a team.

Instead of threatening our dogs every time we want to train them, we need to perfect the human play bow which tells the dog the games are about to begin. Remember that games have rules, and what the dog and the humans learn during play is what the rules of the game are. That makes sense in teaching or training, whether it is dogs or students. The intent of dominance display is to exclude the subordinate from some activity, like breeding. The alpha wolf isn't trying to teach the subordinate anything.

Dog attacks continue in Islington

Sadly it seems that dog attacks are becoming even more common in Islington. In recent weeks I have heard reports of a Yorkie being killed just off Essex Road, a Bedlington Terrier being attacked twice - once on Upper Street and once on Chapel Market and now a Lhasa-Apso being killed on York Way.

Unfortunately even when these incidents are reported to the police little is done. The owner of two dogs which attacked a local terrier was visited by the police but protested that his dogs had never attacked before. As local dog owners know this was untrue - but unfortunately as the previous victims had not contacted the police there was no evidence to disprove the owner's assertions.

Frustratingly these two dogs continue to be exercised off the lead and unmuzzled in the park where the attack took place. Having spoken to the police they confirmed that this was permitted and they could only intervene if the dogs were reported as dangerously out of control. When I suggested that a dog which has a history of vicious attacks and which is allowed to run around loose and unmuzzled could be considered the very definition of dangerous and out of control I was told this simply isn't the case.

I strongly encourage all dog owners in the Islington area who are victims of dog attacks to let the Barnsbury Dog Blog know of their experiences, even if they do not wish to involve the police.