UPCOMING EVENTS

415 – Legal Beagles Bring Support to Dog Breeders

Legal Beagles Bring Support to Dog Breeders

The legal beagles at Good Dog join host Laura Reeves to talk about their brand-new legal Resource Center. Ivy League-educated, top Manhattan legal firm attorneys are putting together an entire package of legal services for dog people.

“Dog breeders can and should be empowered with the law,” said Cat Matloub, Good Dog’s Head of Partnerships & Legal Affairs.

“When we started out at Good Dog, we very quickly realized the need for legal support for dog breeders in a few different areas. We identified five key areas where we can provide real valuable legal support and protection to breeders and help them protect their rights, their dogs, their programs and all of that. The five key areas are number one, how to protect breeders’ legal rights and that’s anything from support if there are ever any issues with animal control or breeders being unfairly targeted or their dogs being targeted.

“We do a lot of assisting with stolen photos and content that’s stolen from breeders. That is an enormous area where the public is continually misled and scammed. It’s contributing to the sort of horrible state of affairs that it is out there for a lot of puppy buyers. So we actually are able to get that content taken down on our breeders’ behalf. We have direct lines to the hosting companies of all these websites now and so breeders can come to us anytime.

Defense from scammers

“We help provide protection to our breeders if they’ve been scammed. If they’re worried about being scammed, we provide secure payment systems so that no breeders can ever be scammed.

“We also create things like ongoing rights to a dog, so if it’s breeding rights or rights to not have the dog bred, or co-ownership, how you can protect yourself and make sure that those rights are protected under the law.

Public Education

“With respect to protecting legal rights, we do a lot of educating the public in terms of helping them understand why breeders do things and why they shouldn’t get upset or unfairly attacked.

“Another huge area for us is legislation advocacy and overreaching regulation. What we do is we provide materials in our legal Resource Center. Letters, statements of fact, an advocacy sort of explaining why regulations are harmful, template letters that can be sent to folks that are breeders in the area and they can go speak at the council.

Contract assistance

“The other three big categories (include) contract assistance. There are so many contracts in the dog world. So sample contracts, annotated with explanations, different provisions calling out where state law applies, all of that in our legal Resource Center. What provisions to include, health care and deposit agreements, all that.

“Another big area that we provide support in is mediation services and support. Whether it’s amongst breeders or club members or breeders and puppy buyers, having an objective third party there has been enormously helpful in those situations. And then a general category of legal support more broadly, with questions around regulation and things like that.”

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406 – Veterinary Voice: Scary weird stuff that happens to girl dogs

Veterinary Voice: Scary weird stuff that happens to girl dogs

Dr. Marty Greer joins host Laura Reeves for a conversation about some of the scary, unusual medical emergencies and conditions which can affect our breeding bitches. On our list are prolapsed uterus, vaginal hyperplasia, inguinal hernia with the uterus in it, torsioned uterine horn, ovarian tumor, and spay or don’t spay during a C-section.

Included below is Dr. Greer’s peer-reviewed submission on the topic of not spaying bitches on the table during a C-section.

Reasons NOT to spay your bitch at her c-section:

  1. Pregnancy is a uniquely thromboembolic event. This means she is more likely to form blood clots during late pregnancy and in the immediate post-partum period. All bitches, whether they have had a c-section or not, are at increased risk of developing blood clots. These clots, as in humans, can be life-threatening, particularly if they lodge in the heart or brain. If she were to be spayed at this fragile time, she is a greater risk of blood clots formed at the suture sites, increasing the risk of blood clots. This is the most common cause of death in the period shortly after a c-section.
  2. The bitch shares 1/3 of her blood volume with her puppies. Only a small portion of this shared blood volume will pass to the fetuses. Most is left in the uterine lumen or in the uterine wall and vasculature. Over time, this blood will be resorbed by the bitch to replenish her blood volume.
  3. During pregnancy, the blood flow to the uterus is expanded to support the pregnancy and placentas. When the blood vessels are ligated (tied off), her blood pressure is lowered. Some bitches as they recover from anesthesia and her blood pressure increases to normal, a blood vessel may leak or a suture may slip off, resulting in bleeding, which may either lead to the need for another interventional surgery, or if this is rapid and severe, she may die prior to getting her back to surgery.
  4. Additionally, all of the blood vessels in the broad ligament (where the blood vessels supporting the ovaries and uterus) need to be tied off. If any are missed, there will be bleeding and possible drop in blood pressure which can lead to death.
  5. When she loses blood rapidly from the removal of the uterus and ovaries (if she is spayed), she will suffer a rapid drop in blood pressure, which is likely to lead to cardiac and/or respiratory compromise or crisis during the procedure, leading to death.
  6. Depending on the surgeon and techniques used, performing a spay at the c-section will add at least 30 minutes to a c-section. This leads to a delay in her bonding to her pups and allowing them to nurse during this early and critical period when her pups need colostrum and energy.
  7. Be particularly wary if the veterinary staff wants to do an en bloc c-section – where they remove the uterus in its entirety with the pups still inside. This is an almost certain death sentence for your valuable litter.
  8. A second surgery for a spay is safer than a spay at c-section.
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