Date with your dog: a cat and some philosophy

You know its getting colder when your multi-species household puts differences aside and relocates to your lap (astute observers will note the woeful count on my pedometer...aiming for 10K steps a day but last night it was either a walk in the cold or sitting under a pile of animals. What would YOU choose???).

Here's a question for you which probably seems like it has nothing to do with anything remotely vetty. A tram is careering out of control. In its path are five workers. On a track to the right is one loner. You're the driver of the tram. Do you run over the five, or change course and sacrifice the individual? How about, instead of being the driver, you are the controller. By flicking a switch you can change the course of the tram so that it mows done the loner but spares the group. Does your answer change? What if you are watching this all from a bridge. You can save the workers by throwing a heavy object in front of the tram. You happen to be standing beside a very fat man. Do you throw him off the bridge?

Sounds like a silly situation, but it the tram or trolley problem was posed in the 1960s by British Philosopher Philippa Foot and debate rages on about the appropriate course of action. If you want to read a fantastically entertaining, light book which introduces major ethical theory painlessly, I recommend Thomas Cathcart's The Trolley Problem Or Would You Throw the Fat Guy Off the Bridge?.

I'm giving lectures on veterinary ethics at the moment, and this book gives a very nice intro to theories like utilitarianism and deontology, and also covers major issues like moral intuition, evidence, psychological and emotional factors in decison making and even the impact of gender. All bundled into a crazy thought experiment. Despite the fact that I try to read as much philosophy as I can (for a vet), I learned quite a few things on the way.

AND I can now say that one can read it comfortably in a sitting whilst performing the role of a human hot water bottle for one sizeable cat and one small dog (just expect your lower limbs to be asleep when you're finished). 

What would you do about the trolley problem and why?

Is dressing up your dog a slippery slope?

Phil slips into a cableknit (hand made by the incredible Pat Starnovsky).

When you've got a large surface area to body mass ratio, things can get pretty chilly in winter, hence the need for the odd jumper. Thanks to some wonderful gifts and a few impulsive purchases, we must confess that Phil's wardrobe has expanded over the past twelve months. 

There are some who would argue that dressing up dogs says a lot about US - not all of it flattering. I was fascinated to view this collection of images of dressed-up dogs by Sophie Gamand, although I'm unconvinced that Phil's cableknit is a gateway piece that will lead eventually to Doggles, skirts, baubles and bling. Her Dog Vogue gallery might suggest otherwise.

You might also want to check out Gamand's other galleries: this collection about Dead Dog Beach is heartbreaking but profound, especially when juxtaposed with the previous galleries. We certainly don't always strike the right balance in our relationship with dogs, or other animals - something we can always work towards.

Bringing canine science to the world: Prescott Breeden reveals the spark behind SPARCS

Bright spark: SPARCS founder Precott Breeden doing what I want to do right now!!!

Are dogs conscious and sentient beings?  Are they capable of empathy and theory of mind? How can we give dogs a better life? How does their biology influence their behaviour? These are big questions.

We've been fortunate enough to chat with US-based researcher Prescott Breeden to chat about the Society for the Promotion of Applied Research in Canine Science (SPARCS). SPARCS isn't just about good science - its about sharing knowledge. Specifically, knowledge about dogs. And that can have a massive impact on their welfare. 

The story behind SPARCS is inspirational.  And everyone - vets, vet students, pet owners, dog trainers, biologists, psychologists, YOU - can enjoy the benefits. In the words of canine scientist Mia Cobb, "its a bloody brilliant idea".

Who are you and what to do you?

I'm a biologist and graduate student at Arizona State University studying dog behavior.  My research primary interests are in ecology, evolutionary biology, emergent behavior, behavioral neuroscience, and biophysics. [Ed - And proving that you don't need to wait to graduate to take on the world - nice work!]

Prescott and Wotan.

How did the idea of SPARCS come about?

To be honest, SPARCS as it stands now is the product of an extremely fast evolution.  Initially I wanted to host a conference in my hometown of Seattle because I was frustrated that prominent speakers rarely made their way through my neck of the woods.  Knowing that there are others like myself who cannot afford the expenses of travel, I decided that I would not only gather an array of prominent scientists but that I would also broadcast the conference live.  Of course, I cannot lie that a large part of me just wanted to be a kid in a candy store and invite brilliant scientists to come to my town so I could learn from them.  

So I sat down with my mom and laid out what I wanted to do.  She probably had no idea what I was trying to accomplish but thanks to her generosity and support she agreed to finance our first conference and the invitations were sent out to the speakers [Ed - what an awesome mum!].  It was actually quite funny, as the speaker list began to fill out, one of the speakers asked me if I planned on having security present for the panel discussions.  

By the time we reached 8 speakers, I had somehow managed to build a speaker profile that was unheard of. Clive Wynne was massively important in this process.  Not only was he one of the first speakers to accept my invitation, but he spent hours with me designing the programs and helping reach out to other scientists.   He was the first person I asked to join the board of advisors and we agreed to have an equal number of psychologists and biologists to influence the board.  After all, what good are advisors that all hold the same biases?

By this point though, I was still calling SPARCS the “Seattle Pawsitive Association for Research in Canine Science”.  I knew I wanted to raise funds for researchers because getting funding as a canine scientist is extraordinarily difficult.  Truly, talk to graduate students and they will tell you how even $100 for dog treats is incredibly helpful for their research.  Outside of this, it was in Seattle and “Pawsitive” seemed like a good P word as any.  I believe it was about a month or two before the conference when my friend and mentor, Jim Russell, said that SPARCS was becoming something truly special and recommended the change to the Society for the Promotion of Applied Research in Canine Science.  It was the word “society” that made me realize that SPARCS could be more than just a one-off conference but rather a new paradigm in continuing education for everyone who passionately loves dogs and wants to learn more about them.  There are many things that inspire me about the success of SPARCS, but one of them is without a doubt the passion shared by these professors and researchers to want a new medium to reach out to the dog world with.  Thus the SPARCS Initiative finally took shape. 

Global reach: This is where SPARCS online conference attendees are coming from.

You broadcast your annual conference at no charge. This is incredibly generous - why so?

Generally speaking, it takes about 50 years for modern science to become popular knowledge.  A large reason for this is because scientists publish in journals with expensive paywalls and write in a language and style that is impossible of the general public to understand.  This timeline is further challenged by the woes of an increasing internet and cable TV medium where there is no system in place for ensuring the quality of information.  

I want people to be able to tune in with no payment gates, no membership requirements: just their computer or smart phone and their companion beside them so that they can learn from real scientists about what we know about dogs and what we still have yet to learn.  I want the dog-loving world to come together to a single place to learn from the best, united by our common love for dogs and our passion to give them the best life possible under our care.   

People want to be equipped with the most accurate and groundbreaking knowledge to inform the way that they train and live with their dogs, but nobody should be required to pay thousands of dollars to continue their education.  I believe that everyone in the world, whether dog owner, enthusiast, or professional, has the right to continuing education and so SPARCS is making the science accessible to enable this.

Can you tell us some of the hot topics in canine science at the moment?

Where to begin!  Just off the top of my head; have dogs co-evolved with humans?  Are dogs conscious and sentient beings?  Are they capable of empathy and theory of mind?  Are dogs really descended from wolves?  Do dogs form social relationships and attachments like people do?  Do we have reliable means to test the temperament of dogs?  What do we do with a dog population of 1 billion dogs and growing, with 85% of those dogs not under human reproductive control?  What are the causes of increasing bite statistics?  Is it breeding?  Training?  Life-style?  Are there ways to increase the adoption rates of dogs in shelters?  

I’m sure many readers will say there are incontrovertible answers to some of these questions however the fact is that there are brilliant scientists from every corner of the globe working day in and day out on these questions who are in tremendous disagreements. 

How can people get involved?

One of the best ways for people to get involved is to spread the word.  Last year we had over 20,000 viewers over 3 days watch from all around the world.  Australia and Iceland are not the easiest places to travel to (or out of) and so nothing brings me greater joy than reading the emails from low-income individuals who so rarely afforded the ability to learn from the best in canine science.  Perhaps my favorite email so far was from a veterinarian in Namibia who wanted to travel to SPARCS.  He was hoping we would have travel scholarships for third-world countries and it broke my heart that SPARCS simply doesn’t yet have the membership base to provide these kinds of opportunities. 

The next best way to get involved is to become a member. In only about 10 months we have already surpassed 400 members and so to all our current members who might be reading this, thank you, it is because of you that SPARCS is heading into its second annual conference with an even better line up of speakers than last year.  All of our videos are available online to all of our members.  

In celebration of our current content and the content we will be adding this year and in future years, we are launching a new website in June and soon after that we will be releasing SPARCS in French.  By the end of 2014, SPARCS will be available in both French and Spanish.  The more members we gain, the more we can reach out to non-English speaking countries and move the conference overseas.  

I want to bring SPARCS everywhere.  Australia, the UK, Europe, India, Japan, China, Russia, Africa.  As the world comes together, our resources will become less and less expensive and our ability to give out the largest grants in canine science to graduate students will become realized.  This has untold importance because it is these graduate students around the world that are the future of animal welfare.

Wow. That is some palpable passion there. Thanks Prescott for that incredible interview! 

  

A little bit of happiness

I don't know about you, but this week we feel like doing a bit of THIS.

I don't know about you, but life seems to get busier and busier. Here's a slice of happiness from the interwebs, brought to you by marine ecologist Rachel.

Just click here for a little slice of joy - you can see dogs and one very extroverted cat enjoying the beach.

Small animal vets can help large animals too!

Brumbies need help too.

SAT is about small animals, the term usually referring to companion animals of the mostly canine and feline variety. But large animals can be companion animals too, and small animal vets like feline specialist Andrea Harvey are very capable of looking after large animals (or for some people, small large animals) – including brumbies! Dr Harvey recently established the Brumby Working Group and explains why here.

[This issue is important whether you're into small animals, large animals or don't worry about the distinction - it asks important questions about the evidence base for animal welfare, and the role of veterinarians in advocating for animals].

What is the Brumby working group?

The Brumby Working Group is a newly established group within Sentient, The Veterinary Institute for AnimalEthics, set up for veterinarians, animal scientists, students, professionals and non-professionals alike, with an interest in the welfare of Australia's wild Brumbies.

Why was it formed?

I developed an interest in Brumbies after having adopted 6 Brumbies from the Save The Brumby Inc charity.  Having become a keen supporter of the charity and advocate of the Australian Brumby, I wanted to find out more about Brumbies, their welfare and population management strategies.    Brumbies face many unique welfare issues, and it quickly became evident in my research that the veterinary profession was poorly represented in debates on how to manage the Australian Brumby population and in advocating for their needs.   Furthermore, it became evident that there did not seem to be much evidence base for decisions that are continually being made regarding their management.  

Surprisingly, not much research has been done into populations, their control, and welfare assessments of currently utilised methods of population control. Where research has been done, it is not always independent peer reviewed work, whilst other research has been quite fragmented and not necessarily directed towards population management or optimising welfare.  There are pockets of work being done by small numbers of people, but it can be quite difficult to find out information, and it is largely the Brumby interest groups and rescue organisations that are advocating on behalf of their welfare, with little input from the veterinary profession.   

The reason for forming the Brumby Working Group is to try and bridge this gap, and hope to provide a mechanism for the veterinary profession to have more input into decisions that ultimately influence the welfare of these unique wild horses.  

Hero, Sonic and James Brown living the dream.

What is its role?

My ultimate vision for the group is to become a central resource of scientific information about Brumbies, and with time to become considered the 'go to' organisation for welfare and scientific advice regarding their management.  This is quite a tall order though, and the aim for the immediate term is to try and bring together veterinarians and animal scientists with an interest and expertise in different areas, to gather information and form strategic alliances with other groups including scientific research groups, Brumby interest groups and rescue organisations, and to advocate on behalf of their welfare to government and environmental groups.  In the longer term we would like the group to facilitate and compile research into specific areas that will advance the welfare of Brumbies and be involved in developing policies for their management.  

What are some of the key welfare issues?

Key welfare issues include claims of their negative impact on the environment, leading to decisions that they should be removed from many areas, mass aerial shooting to cull large populations, limited alternative options for population control such as fertility control and passive trapping and adoption programmes, the fragmented approach to advocating for their needs, and the lack of independent scientific evidence upon which to base decisions about humane management 

The boys again.

Who can get involved?

The Brumby Working Group of Sentient, The Veterinary Institute for Animal Ethics is specifically for veterinarians and other animal scientists.  Any member of Sentient, with an interest in Brumbies can get involved.  It would be great to attract scientists with expertise in Brumbies, wildlife management, welfare, reproductive control and any other areas relevant to managing Brumby populations with a focus on optimising welfare.  However, simply being a supporter and helping to contribute to a voice of the veterinary profession and wider scientific community in promoting their welfare would be greatly welcomed.    Any other interested parties that are not eligible to join Sentient can still support the Brumbies by supporting organisations such as Save the Brumbies Inc 

How can people get involved?

Any veterinarians, animal scientists, students, professionals and non-professionals that are interested in becoming involved with the Brumby Working Group, please contact Andrea by email at: andreaharvey.cat@gmail.com and visit www.sentient.org.au to join Sentient, The Veterinary Institute of Animal Ethics

Anyone else that would like to get involved in helping the Australian Brumby in other ways, please visitwww.savethebrumbies.org, or australianbrumbyalliance.org.au to find out about the various Brumby charities in different regions of Australia and how you can help.