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| We need to consider the world "through their eyes", says veterinarian Karen Dawson. |
Greyhound racing has been in the media lately, thanks to a greyhound racing ban which was implemented then later withdrawn by the Government. The ban was spurred by a Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry of New South Wales (you can read a fact sheet here) . Following the Government’s ban reversal, with Industry guaranteeing a radical overhaul, the NSW Greyhound Industry Reform Panel has made 122 recommendations (you can read these here).
Welfare problems highlighted by the special commission
and addressed by the Greyhound Industry Reform Panel include, among others,
wastage of dogs that were unable to race, or retired from racing. There is an
argument that rehoming all or as many of these dogs as possible will minimise wastage and improve the welfare of rehomed dogs.
That’s if we assess the success of rehoming only
according to the number of dogs rehomed, at present still a mere fraction of
those produced by the industry. But there are other issues to consider.
These were raised in a presentation by Dr Karen Dawson, a
veterinarian with memberships in behaviour who works extensively with
greyhounds, and founded the Pet Behaviour Clinic. Her presentation, “Through
their eyes – helping pet greyhounds adjust to life as a pet”, raised some
tricky questions that no doubt will generate emotive responses. But they are
worth considering.
There has been a huge effort on the part of greyhound
rehoming organisations to promote greyhound adoption. These organisations do
incredible work in rehabilitating, training and selecting dogs. But they can’t
rehome every racing greyhound. Their numbers currently outweigh capacity of
rehoming organisations. Another factor is that some greyhounds don’t cope with
rehoming. Successful rehoming of animals is not just about numbers rehomed, but
the quality of life of rehomed dogs. Rehoming has the potential to compromise
the welfare of adopted dogs and their families.
The key point is that, in order to be safe pets who are
able to enjoy good welfare, there need to be substantial changes to the way
greyhounds are cared for at all of their life stages - not just once they enter
a rehoming program. As Dr Dawson said, the process of creating an animal that
has good mental health starts in utero, not at retirement. Chronic kennel
stress can expose foetal puppies to stress hormones – we need to consider the
stress of the dam as well. She acknowledged that industry and Government are
taking steps to address these concerns but it will require substantial
commitment.
Dr Dawson pointed out that rehoming is stressful for any
dog and the aim of preventative behavioural medicine is to reduce this
occurring, to maintain the animal-family bond. She added that sometimes our
expectations of any rehomed animal can be unreasonable, i.e. we expect these
dogs to assimilate uneventfully into our environments and routines, much of
which may be novel to them.
Research has shown that the more similar the rearing
environment is to the domestic environment that a dog will live in, the more
emotionally stable that dog will be as an adult. Greyhounds are routinely reared in paddocks,
yet often marketed as perfect unit dwelling pets.
Greyhounds have a traditionally passive coping style,
that is they will freeze or be inhibited when frightened. This can be misinterpreted
as good welfare by some; it certainly can make them apparently easier to live
and work with. But if the strategy fails, they may ultimately choose another
coping strategy. The important point is that we might assume their welfare is
neutral or okay when they are not.
Behaviour problems seen in greyhounds are generally based
around fear and anxiety.
These include
- - Freezing on walks
- - Separation related problems
- - Sleep startle
- - Resource guarding
- - Excessive fear
- - Difficulty in toilet training
- - Growling and lunging at people within the home
- - Inter-dog aggression (familiar and unfamiliar dogs)
Another problem behaviour is predatory behaviour, which
is exacerbated by the illegal practice of live-baiting.
It’s not an issue of simply throwing more money at
rehoming efforts. Some fearful dogs may never fully overcome this anxiety. Dr
Dawson recommends referral to a veterinary behaviour specialist or veterinary
behavioural consultant sooner rather than later.
Exposing dogs to what they’re fearful of does compromise
their welfare and can worsen fear. The advice behaviour vets are giving dogs
with fear and anxiety is now make the dogs world smaller, not bigger. Reduce
exposure to those triggers. For some dogs, being kept in a protected and
predictable environment is the best thing for their welfare.
To benefit from socialisation, animals must be in a
positive emotional state. There is a fine line between socialisation and
sensitisation. If early socialisation is not carried out, or process is
inappropriate, by 14-20 weeks dogs are likely to be neophobic, fearful,
anxious, show a lack of plasticity in responses and have difficulty learning.
Socialisation is not, as many understand it, a treatment for anxiety, fear or
aggression. Dr Dawson added that greyhounds are not the only breed to suffer
inappropriate socialisation. (I have personally seen a number of poorly
socialised dogs that have come from a puppy-farm background with severe
behaviour problems).
Greyhounds when they go from a racing to domestic environment,
they are exposed to a huge range of novel stimuli. Even for those dogs that are
emotionally resilient, it can be challenging. Simply exposing greyhounds to
“everything” can be potentially harmful.
Many greyhounds are reared in outdoor paddocks in rural
areas, with little human contact, no structured socialisation and minimal
exposure to novel stimuli. This can lead to fear and neophobia. Many of these
dogs are not lead trained before 6-12 months. They may be less socialised that
regular puppies, and may have not seen a domestic environment.
Reducing kennel stress has been a major aim of animal
shelters for years as we know that the mental wellbeing of dog declines with
increasing length of kennelling. Dr Dawson said that we need to remember that
greyhounds are often kennelled for prolonged period and this also needs to be
addressed.
Dr Dawson is concerned that compulsory attempts to rehome
every greyhound could have negative welfare impacts for the above reasons.
She asked three provocative but important questions:
- Can anxious, fearful or predatory dogs (and their owners) experience good welfare and a good quality of life?
- Does the zeal to find dogs homes inadvertently compromise their welfare?
- Do we expect too much from them, with their earlier experiences and inappropriate marketing setting them up for failure?
