Owner Profiles go to the Dogs
by Shannon Proudfoot/CanWest News Service
Nov 2006

Researchers link 'high-risk' breeds and "deviant" behaviour at the other end of the leash

People who own "high-risk" dogs are much more likely to be high-risk themselves, a new study says, with vastly more criminal convictions and traffic citations found among those who own dogs that don't play well with others.

In a study published in the current issue of the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, researchers examined the relationship between high-risk dogs and 'deviant' behaviour in their owners.
In a sample of 355 dogs and owners, the study authors categorized as 'high-risk' all pit bull types and dogs of other breeds that had killed or seriously injured a person without provocation, or killed another dog.

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Cincinnati Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals placed 153 pit bulls, three Akitas, one Ahra, three Chows and four Rottweilers in the high-risk category. Every one of their owners was found to have at least one criminal conviction or traffic citation in their record, while only 27 per cent of those with low-risk dogs, which included breeds such as beagles, collies, spaniels and terriers, were found to have past legal troubles.

People who buy and raise aggressive dogs might be looking for four-legged reflections of themselves says Neil Boyd, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University. "We create, as a society, certain cultural images around dogs, and then people who aspire to those cultural images...go out and find themselves dogs that fit those images..." However, Boyd says specific breeds sometimes become "victims of circumstance"; and get vicious reputations after a few highly publicized incidents.

Those perceptions often shift over time, he says, noting German shepherds were once maligned as the most vicious dogs.

Please Read! Written by:
Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville , Ohio

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday, but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7AM.
     I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard something about it, but.... Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give I.V. fluids at 1 & 1/2
times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.
     The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine! Over 5 ( 1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an I.V. catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At the point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care.
     He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220.. He continued to vomit and the owners elected to Euthanize.
     This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.
     Onions, chocolate, cocoa and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too.