Most health problems (dentistry, digestion) related to diet
a. Devocalization
- It is also called as debarking, devoicing or bark softening
- surgical procedure performed, where tissue is removed from the animal’s vocal cords to permanently reduce the volume of its vocalizations
Reasons for Devocalization
- Animal benefits: if behavioural & mgmt is not reduced to barking
- Human benefits: Reduced noise pollution causing damage to human hearing
Welfare Concerns
- Compromise of ‘freedom to express normal behaviour’ as barking
- Devocalization reduces the noise associated with barking, but not the motivation or behavior.
b. Ear cropping
- Crop/reduce the ears to modify their shape
- performed when dogs are between 6 – 12 weeks of age depending on breed and body condition
Reasons for Devocalization
- Animal benefits: less likely to suffer from infections of the ear canal. Cropping avoids later ear injury or improves hearing
- Human benefits: produces an alert expression in dogs used for security or guard work
Welfare Concerns
- ears are bandaged or taped upright for several days which involve discomfort and pain to the animals
c. Tail docking
- It is amputation of part of a dog’s tail. Puppies’ tails are docked during the first five days of life, either surgically or with a constricting band.
- for tail docking are cosmetic/ fashion set
Reasons for Devocalization
- Animal benefits: tail docking may reduce the risk of tail injury
- Human benefits: Maintenance of a distinctive appearance for a particular breed, and to take part in dog/pet shows
Welfare Concerns
- Puppies experience acute pain
- Puppies give repeated intense shrieking vocalisations the moment the tail is cut off
- Potential complications like bleeding, infection, delayed healing, chronic pain
d. Puppy Farming
- Puppy farming refers to the intensive over-breeding of dogs under inappropriate conditions which fail to meet the behavioural, social and physiological welfare needs of the dogs.
- Breeding dogs in puppy farms are confined in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions that lead to health and psychological problems in breeding animals and their offspring
- In puppy farms, dogs are provided with minimal health care and may be permanently confined in cages
e. Ear infections
If the pet frequently shaking head or always scratching one of its ears, that is an indication of welfare discomfort and the presence of an underlying problem. The common causes of ear diseases and infections in pets are:
- Infections – bacterial and fungus
- Ear mites
- Ear wax or dirt build-up
- Allergies
- Ticks
- Foreign bodies
- Polyps or other masses
All the above conditions result in similar symptoms that you can identify like:
- Excessive discharge from the ears, Redness and Swelling
- Indications of pain
- Foul odor
- Itching/ scratching of the ears
f. Pet Obesity
- Obesity in pet animals is a condition where excess body fat has developed to the point that health and welfare are negatively affected.
- 10-20% above their ideal body weight
Obesity Causes:
- Less exercise, Over feeding
- Certain disease conditions Breed – certain breeds have a higher risk.
- Age – the risk increases with age.
- Neuter status – neutered or spayed dogs are more at risk.
- Sex – apart from older dogs, obesity is reported to be more common in females.
- Owner – obese owners may be more likely to have obese dogs, perhaps because they are less likely to exercise their dog, or less able to recognise obesity.
g. Welfare Consequences
- Urinary tract diseases
- Diabetes mellitus
- Respiratory dysfunction
- Pancreatitis,
- Neoplasia
- Hypothyroidism
- Orthopedic disorders
- Higher risk of dermatological conditions
- Lowered health related overall quality of life
- Shorter average lifespan – by about two years