dogs
Not Safe for PETA or Pigs (NSFP)
WE’RE IN PIG TROUBLE
It’s hard to believe that an adorable little piglet like this can be related to something that many consider an intolerable nuisance. Wild boars are a dangerous and destructive exotic invasive that is taking over America’s South. This little piggy’s skipping down the sidewalk, holding hands with atherosclerosis and obesity like they don’t even give a damn.
Boars have a habit of digging and rooting around in the ground. As a result, they tear up gardens and crop fields, and create holes in roads that serve as hazards for cars and tractors. Additionally, Boars sport razor-sharp tusks and can be aggressive toward people and pets. I know this personally, because my mother still sports the scars from a boar’s tusks on her thigh. They have a remarkable knack for causing trouble, ranging from eating threatened species like dune lizards, spreading invasive weeds, to carrying and transmitting more than 30 different kinds of diseases to humans, livestock and other wildlife.
These freaks LOVE to party, and according to an Associated Press report, their wild raves cause an estimated $1.5 billion in damages annually!!
MULTIPLYING HOGS
Landowners of hog-rich communities have had enough. Of all of the Southern states, Texas has the worst feral hog problem. Considering 78% of Texan landmass has a wild boar population, that’s a whole lot of people affected. Texas A&M has poured a lot of energy into research, education, and creating coping plans for those managing and living with their local population. In a 2012 study published by the university, it is estimated that despite population management techniques currently in use, feral hog populations will continue to rise at an average rate of 21%. In order to stabilize the boars’ numbers in the wild, population harvest must increase to around 66% annually (refer to Table 2).
TO HUNT or TO TRAP
There are landowners that hold hundreds if not thousands of acres of land. The smart business man with a feral hog problem can capitalize on this by drawing in the “executive” hunters. However, not many landowners are fortunate enough to be able to afford this option. With limited resources, one quickly understands how it’s so easy to become overwhelmed by their pig problem.
Hogs cost landowners a lot in property damage, however they can make them money as well. Trapping is the preferred method of wild boar elimination because there are many meat processors that will buy captured critters. Generally, this meat is rendered into animal products such as limited ingredient specialty dog foods.
Some folks have gotten pretty inventive in addressing their overpopulation problems. Let’s explore some options! (WARNING: you may not like this, procede with caution).
Box Trap
This is how you end up in Uncle Touchy’s naked puzzle basement…
Circular Spring Panel Trap
The least effective type of trap, hogs are incredibly intelligent and do not like to go into an enclosure. Though humans LOVE corn mazes.
BoarBuster
Do wild boar have Spidey Sense? They almost got out! The BoarBuster is an incredibly advanced trap. This trap has a motion sensor that notifies you on your smartphone when there is activity in the trap. You’re able to monitor what exactly is in the trap via camera and then you activate it with the touch of a button. Traps don’t need to be this high end, they just need to work.
Corral Traps
One panel serves as a one-way door into the large enclosure. The larger open spaces, allows for less trap shyness. Sam’s Club has found this to be one of the most effective methods for humans and has been using it for years.
Drop-nets
The most effective hog trapping method. Can ensnare an entire sounder (herd of wild boar).
Hunting Dogs
Feral pigs are such a huge problem, many states do not require a hunting license whatsoever. Hunting for wild boar is a great option for those that focus on the sport of hunting, however it is certainly not for the faint of heart. When dogs become involved, you cannot shoot the hog to put it out of it’s misery because animals are unpredictable and you may end up shooting your own dog. Because of this, you’ll see a lot of really big knives involved. Catahoula Leopard Dogs are revered hog hunting dogs. They are fearless and relentless in their drive to reach their goal. When you’re up against a 400 pound beast, those are admirable qualities. You’ll often see the serious sportsman with dogs outfitted in “boar bibs” and kevlar vests. Both of these items prevent your dogs from being turned to Swiss cheese.
Aerial Hunting
These guys chose to use automatic weapons… you know… because Texas. Folks that want to experience this kind of hunting can rent a helicopter out for about $500-$600 an hour. This type of hunting eliminates the greatest number of wild pigs, however it is very expensive. Really, without a heads up display, it can’t be that much fun.
Last… and certainly most ridiculously…
I’m not sure I would call this hunting. But it’s definitely an effective way to remove anything unwanted from all of the things. According to Texas law, this is totally legal. In fact, when it comes to wild boar, Texas says to use ANY means necessary to eliminate the boar from your property.
BOOM!
ARE YOU A DEMON?
You must all think I hate Frenchies now. I don’t! They’re FUCKING PRECIOUS……. eveniftheysoundlikeabansheepreparingtoconsumemysoul…
Suffocate me…WITH LOVE – The History & Realities of French Bulldogs
D’AWW look at the baby. Yo, Frenchie… Get over here so I can *boop* you!
I love these little munchies! They’re called French Bulldogs, and were created in the 1860’s by English lace workers who crossbred ratters and English Bulldogs. Their intent was to make the companionship of a bulldog more conveniently sized for dense urban living. Remember, this is the era where dog breeding became a “lady’s sport”, as a result, you start seeing people breeding for superficial features (i.e. Boston Terriers, etc).
Well, it’s all in the recipe, isn’t it? Drank your drank.
If one were to imagine ratters of yesteryear, you can guarantee that they have a HIGH prey drive, strong drive to continuously pursue their target, and have lots of energy.
Ok, so let’s smash that together with a Bulldog. It’s hard to say what exactly happened with English Bulldogs historically. We see references to them as far back as the 1500’s. But are they referring to a breed? Or perhaps a dog that they deemed appropriate for bull baiting? Bull baiting hit its peak in the early 1800’s but was outlawed in 1835 [ASIDE] this practice is fucked beyond all measure, we’ll have to cover it another time [/ASIDE]. People tried to get them to start fighting each other; luckily, their dog-to-dog aggression didn’t make them great dog fighters. Now a dog without a cause, the breed’s popularity plummeted. By all rights, the breed should have gone extinct, however it had gained many ardent admirers.
Big change in 100 years! They’re great looking, functional dogs, but they are already well on their way towards the adorable broken meatlumps of today. In the 1800’s bulldogs were bred for high drive, high pain tolerance, and never standing down in a fight.
TADA, the French Bulldog comes out a real champ as the happy medium! He’s a big dog in a little dog suit. With a tempered energy level and behavioral intensity, he has a winning, clownish personality. Frenchie thinks he’s hot shit…
Oh Frenchie, you are so fly. I want to hug that minibeast until it’s eyeballs pop. But, why’s the puppy on it’s back? Does that dog’s scientific classification put him in the Testudines class? He sure don’t LOOK like no turtle. So why you gotta play him like one? Shiiiit – turtles have built-in defense mechanisms for when they’re flipped over! But our friend TurtleDog™, he uhhhh… he can’t seem to get it. Heh, hey… good thing there’s a loving owner there to flip that baby over, right? OMG, the video cuts out before I find out, someone tell me he’s ok! Everyone knows that these dogs can barely breathe while standing, let alone at such a young age with their worlds all flipped-turned upside down. Right?! Everyone knows that?! You can hear the puppy uncomfortably groaning at the end, OH NO! HALP. Goddamn it, THIS is why we can’t have nice things! Frenchie don’t play like that. Bitch, do I look like a turtle?
Here’s an idea, I’ll hold your fresh-out-the-womb baby over the edge of a balcony just for funsies. WEEEE – Oh, you mean some deranged mental patient already did that?
I’m sure that went over just fine.
[ASIDE] We all love to torture our animals in small ways. Putting a blanket over their heads, hiding their toys, dressing them up, holding them like babies, it’s fun! For me, the distinction is when a person understands that the animal is uncomfortable, but can respect that they’re tolerant of the behavior. On the other hand, a person could have zero care that the animal is uncomfortable, so long as they get their way and snap a shitty picture/video. [/ASIDE]
Unfortunately, French Bulldogs did not come without the English Bulldog’s many, many health issues. To begin with, our nomenclature already tells you you’re in seriously deep trouble. This breed falls into a category of dogs that are described as “chondrodystrophoid breeds”. It basically describes them as a set group of dogs that are supposed to, according to breed standards, experience dwarfism (Dachshunds, Corgis, etc). Don’t get me wrong on this, dwarfism is fine and occurs naturally ALL of the time. But this is wide-scale, systemic dwarfism – meaning that there is simply not enough genetic diversity to get healthy, non stunted growth in their limbs. In humans, dwarfism comes with susceptibility to a host of associated conditions. In dogs, you will most commonly see this group of dogs affected by intervertebral disk disease. “According to the Canine Inherited Disease Database, disc herniation occurs at a relatively young age (3 to 6 years) in affected breeds” (read full .pdf).
Butt weight, there’s more! Over 80% of Frenchies, much like their Bulldog father-cousins, can only have assisted-births — That’s right, cesarean section for dogs. They’re very prone to several skin issues including allergies, as well as Von Willebrand’s Disease, which means their blood can’t clot well. There are a lot I’m choosing to skip, but then there’s the breathing problems…
Their smashed skulls cause their nostrils and windpipe to be too small for sufficient airflow. Because of an elongated soft palate, hyperventilation and hot temperatures can result in swollen tissue in the throat which constricts airways even more. Needless to say, breathing takes a lot of work for these poor dogs.
When too much excitement on a warm day can easily send these meatballs straight into the throes of heat stroke, it got me thinking! I have a theory that these bulldog-type dogs are so “mellow” because they’ve been forced to self-condition. For example, a dog may learn to practice avoidance techniques with other dogs because whenever he’s interacted with other dogs in the past, they start to play A LOT. When the play is this intense, the feeling of shortness of breath can become overwhelming and cause high levels of stress. As we saw above, there are some high energy and drive traits in this breed. If they can’t breathe and expel their mental energy somehow, their frustrations can manifest themselves as anxiety and behavioral issues.
These dogs really can’t catch a break. French Bulldogs are one of the most susceptible to pulmonic stenosis (low out-flow of blood from the heart). Because of this disease, oxygenating tissue is more difficult. These underlying factors can cause the dog to be lethargic, weak, and exercise intolerant. Pulmonic stenosis is an inherited heart disease which is the cause of heart failure in many Frenchies. Want to have it treated? NO PROBLEM. Balloon valvuloplasty is a (potentially) corrective surgery that can cost you between $5,000 – $10,000. Drug therapy is much more cost efficient, unfortunately, the cost of diagnosis can be impossible for some. Echocardiograms may cost as much as $500-$600 while angiograms may cost $500-$1,000 or more.
So you spent $3,000 on this delectable morsel of puppy only to have it completely fall apart. Somebody call GM, and ask them what happened when people realized they’ve been hoodwinked into buying your shitty product.
By the way… That puppy lived! Check it out.
Chai the Japanese Frenchie is now 5 years old, the previous video was from 2009. This Japanese family is bonkers about their dogs. Unfortunately, they haven’t had the best of luck. Sadly, Chai’s mother, Flour died this year at the age of 6 due to complications from aspiration pneumonia. Another victim of the narrow airway and soft palate. Chai hasn’t had it easy either. In the video, he seems like a very happy, well cared for dog and he plays appropriately with his kitty pal. But superficially speaking, we already have some big concerns. At rest, he can be heard choking on his soft palate with close to ZERO physical exertion or heat, you can see this in ALL of their videos. The airways of both dogs are severely impaired. If you look at Chai’s paws, there are brown saliva stains which indicate overgrooming on his paws; these stains are associated with a number of conditions. This year alone, he survived bloat (incredibly deadly stomach torsion), and soon after Flour died, he had soft palate reduction surgery to improve his breathing. Keep in mind this dog is 5 years old! Genetically speaking, we’re not talking the cream of the crop. Well, I got some news for you… These folks bred French Bulldogs! I’m happy to report that they gave it up this year and had Chai neutered during his soft palate surgery (I guess Flour’s death had a huge impact on the owners). They haven’t posted anything since July 2014, I wonder where he is now.
It’s great these folks made the right decision, but so many people are driven by the demand for these dogs and will continue to breed regardless. Ain’t that some shit?
Tell me your experience!
What do you think of selective breeding for behavioral/purpose-driven traits rather than superficial features?
*boop* *boop*
CuteCrunch 