Clean Run - February 2011 - 5

Editorializing…
When Is Enough Enough?
By Debbie Brooks, DVM

Sometimes it is really hard to separate what you do from who you are—sometimes it is impossible. I started showing in obedience in 1987 and ran my first agility trial in 1998 while fitting in herding, hunt tests and field trials, and conformation. For over 20 years now, I have done nothing but small animal surgery and since I am so involved in dog sports, many of my patients are those performance dogs I watch or run against on weekends. Unless you do dog sports, I don’t think you fully understand what we ask our dogs to do for us and what we have invested in them mentally, physically, and financially. When I do go to a trial or show I am inevitably asked by someone to look at their dog that has had physical problems. While in case of an emergency I don’t mind being asked to help, sometimes it would be nice to just be another person there enjoying their dog. During a walk-through I had a fellow competitor come out and try to pull me out of the walk-through to look at his dog. I asked if it was urgent or could we talk after the walk-through. He told me that his dog had been limping off and on for several weeks and he wanted me to tell him if he should run the dog or not. My response was that if the dog was lame, he should not run him but get a good examination to find out why. He was livid with me; what he really wanted was for me to give him some Metacam and Tramadol so he could run the dog through the problem. Although he did not run the dog on that day, the following day, there he was, running a dog that was struggling to get over the jumps. It broke my heart to see a dog that has always been so honest and eager giving it everything he had left in the tank, but being unable to perform. When others commented on his dog, he was angry with them and told them that he had the dog checked out and the dog was on painkillers. I have sat ringside and watched dogs struggle—struggle to get over the A-frame or over a spread jump. I have watched dogs painstakingly measure out their stride to hurl themselves over a jump. I have watched dogs that were much too obese being

asked to perform. I have heard exhibitors talk about what drugs they had given the dog so they could compete. Even more scary are the combinations and doses of some of these drugs that handlers have opted to use. Not that long ago I dealt with an injury myself and took a combination of medications so I could continue running my dog. I took these drugs under medical supervision, and I made the conscious choice to do so to be able to run my dog. But I fully understood what I was doing and why I was doing it. Our dogs cannot make those decisions for themselves, and quite frankly, I don’t think they should have to. When is enough enough? At what point do you look in the mirror and ask yourself who you’re doing this for? Does your dog really care if he only needs one more Double-Q for a MACH5? And does earning that title change your relationship with your dog? I have been fortunate enough not to have to deal with lingering injuries in my dogs and have never given them any type of medication so we could get through a run—and I would not do so. If my dogs need medication for pain, then they do not need to be trialing. And I have eaten a few weeks’ worth of entry fees when they did have minor injuries. What if they fell off the dogwalk or crashed a jump and really hurt themselves enough to affect the quality of the remainder of their life? I am also fortunate to have enough good friends who would stop me if they thought I was jeopardizing my dogs’ well-being trying to get one more Q. It takes a lot better friend to tell you something you don’t want to hear than something you do want to hear. I hope we can all recognize that and take the time to really listen to what our dogs and our friends are telling us.

Debbie Brooks, DVM
5

Debbie has operated a referral-only surgical practice in metro Phoenix, Arizona, since 1990. She graduated from veterinary school at Colorado State University, completing her internship at the University of California at Davis and her residency at Louisiana State University. She is currently running her Flat Coat Ch MACH2 Taz UDX2, OM3, MH, XF, WCX, and she just started running her rescue Border Collie Sly NA, NAJ. She also has an eight-month-old Flat Coat puppy and a retired Cattle Dog Ch VCH Boss CD, RN, HSAcs, MX, MXJ. February 11 | Clean Run

Clean Run - February 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - February 2011