Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:06 am Post subject: Dogs in Japan - Puppy Farm Paradise :(
Ahoy hoy all,
I thought I would share with you my experience of dogs in Japan. It's rather distressing, so if your in a cheery mood, read no further!
To explain, I live in Japan at the moment teaching english in a Super Science High School. (I was really pleased with this placement as I get to teach science classes how I want, which means I drilled some environmental issues into them, and if I get another chance to make my own science lesson, it will be about animal rights!!!)
I wanted to express my concern about this to other dog lovers, as it really bothers me. To set the scene, Japan sees animals as below humans, therefore they are there for us to do whatever we like to them. There are no rescue organisations and certainly no animal rights.
In every city, there are massive "puppy" shops. The walls are lined with glass-fronted cages each filled with one or two tiny puppies (a lot of whom I am sure are weaned far too early). These shops are filled with people looking at the puppies, banging on the glass (the staff too, to wake the puppies up). They are often quite hot. The cages are kept very clean and they are not overcrowded, but it looks like the puppies are kept in these until they get the sold. There is such a wide variety of breeds and the shops are always stocked with a fresh supply of young puppies, it can only mean one thing. Puppy Farms.
The nearest pet shop to me must be less successful with some of its puppies. It always has a supply of "cute" young puppies, but there are some older puppies too. Ever since I have lived here (7 months now) there has been a Sheltie puppy who was hyper active, doing backflips off the wall of its run. He is now kept in a cage on the shop floor, to calm him down I think. There was also an English Bulldog, who gradually reached about a year old and suddenly disappeared. I hope to a new home, but who knows. To understand, Japan has an obession with "cute" things. I think the cute stage had left the poor Bulldog.
Most breeds are toy breeds, especially Dachshunds and Chihuahuas. Dogs are accessories in Japan, and often get dressed up in ridiculous outfits. (though in winter I can understand!)
I wanted to know if anyone has any ideas of how this could stop. It really upsets me to see these puppies, although they may go to loving homes, there must be so many bitches used as breeding machines. I hate to think what conditions they are kept in. Is there any kind of national petition? Or anything one can do through a rescue group? I wouldnt know where to begin. It's such an upsetting scene, and people here seem oblivious to where the puppies magically come from.
Sorry about that rather depressing story, I just want to create awareness of what's going on here, and find out other peoples' opinions and if they know anything. Hopefully it's not as bad as I think...one can hope!
I don't want to paint a terrible picture of Japan though. It's not all bad, I see people walking their dogs (particularly Shiba Inu's) and they do seem to care for them well and love their dogs. It's just where they come from that bothers me.
What an amazing post...thank you for sharing this with us. Actually I felt a bit sick reading it, shouldn't really, know just as bad, if not worse happens here in the UK in terms of abuse to breeding bitches and pups
I see you mention small breed dogs...do you ever see large breed? lab pups? Or adult labs appearing, generally? Just a thought
I can understand your distress. We run www.lostlabs.com LF's sister site and come across many horrors that humans inflict on dogs, one way or another.....
Well, in the pet shops, its probably 50% Dachshunds, and 49% things like Chihuahuas, Yorkies, Westies, Toy/Teacup Poodles and the occasional Shiba Inu or Cavalier. I did see a Golden Retriever pup looking quite sorry for himself, but this is rare. In the neighbourhood, there is a fully grown Golden Retriever which I sometimes see someone walking, and also a beautiful Dalmation which I often see tied up outside shops on the same street. I do live in the heart of the city though, so I think most people would have small dogs anyway because everyone lives in a tiny apartment.
However, in a particularly atrocious pet shop in Osaka, I did see a pen crammed with adolescent Huskies and a StBernard! Far too big for city life!
Also...there were other horrors in this pet shop. The ill-treated giant breeds were just the icing on the cake. This shop also sold monkies...I was horrified. I though Japan was a developed country! Primitive in animal care...they were kept apart from each other in small cages well out of reach on top of all the puppy boxes, as if they were an unsed toy gathering dust. I was disgusted. The final straw was even more unbelievable. I was shocked to come across a cage containing...a FENEC FOX! Are these not incredibly endangered in the wild?! It had pictures next to it of someone walking it on a lead like a dog! It was incredibly expensive...there was also an ant-eater type creature for sale. I was lost for words.
But, mostly it's just puppies. And cats (dont get me started on how they treat cats...their idea of having a cat is treating as you would a house rabbit! They are confined to a cat-cage (about the size of a large dog crate and a little taller) most of the day. A friend of mine has a neighbour who keeps his cat tied up by a lesh outside the house, like a neglected dog!) Grr...sorry, going off on one about irresponsible animal care...I just really bothers me, and baffles me that this is "normal" in Japan!
Yes I wrote a similar post 'dogs in singapore' a while back (i think its been deleted now as it's old because i cant find it on the search function)
It is very similar to your description here
There are puppy farms here (in fact in my eyes there IS ONLY irresponsible breeding here) , pet shop breeding and puppy imports from Aus (which come from Aus puppy farms but ignorant people pay more for these thinking they are being responsible. Home breeding is not allowed here
The pups in pet shops are better cared for than at the farms (these farms are so blatant you can go visit, look around and buy direct )
It is hard to distinguish the REAL age of pups. Pups have to be 12 weeks to be imported but paperwork is forged. Pups that have been in petshops a while seem to be declared as 3 months old for a long long time. Small unweaned pups are displayed in cages too and given puppy formula milk instead of mums
Socialisation is generally not understood and therefore poor. There are lots of untrained dogs. Sooo many dogs with behavioural issues its crazy
It is common for dogs to get regularly pampered and groomed but not vaccinated nor given medical care.
Their dogs receive more daily supplements of pills than they do treats People ask about Basils coat and are amazed when i say we just feed him a quality food.
It is against the law for dogs to off leash. (there are a few runs). People fear dogs and cross the street to avoid us. As a black dog Basil is particulalry feared. They are amazed that I trust him off leash and that he recalls.
E-collars and choke collars are commonly used.
Dogs are a fashion accessory, people dress them up and push them in pushchairs . Tens of thousands of dogs are abandoned annually (and it's a small country). It is common for a 6 month old pup to have had 3 homes or more. Dogs are a status symbol in terms of breed and pedigree and are as disposable as a car.
The attitude and treatment towards dogs angers and upsets me. I'ts ignorance on a monumental scale. Of course I AM generalising there are some responsible owners too.
The treatment of pets here is a sign of an underveloped nation in my eyes.
I could go on forever about it as i'm very passionate about the matter.
We recently went to Bangkok and saw pups being sold in the undercover market. Whilst it was shocking and not ideal it did make me realise that some things are just different and what we do in the UK is our definition of what's ok. These people were at least feeding, watering and attempting to protect the immunity of pups. In Thailand for example we saw most dogs off leash but collared, wandering in what appeared to be a sensible boundry from their perspective homes, they were fed and watered but had lots of freedom. They were very well behaved I have to say, walking to heel with their owners automatically. They were clearly loved. It was not dissimilar to the obediant contenetment you see from homeless peoples dogs. I'm sure that some Thai people would think our control level and confinement of dogs to be cruel too.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not condoning what happens here in Singapore or Japan, i'm simply saying it's how they have evolved to live with dogs and they don't know any different or better. It's 'wrong' because in the west we define that treatment as wrong. Don't forget in vietnam and china dogs are still commonly eaten
It really does makes you feel a long way from home though doesn't it?
In answer to your question from my perspective re small breed pups....
It's both here. Lab and large breed pups are kept in the glass cages, sometimes until 5 or 6 months of age when they may be sold.
Small breed pups are more popular here for the cute handbag carrying factor. But commonly there is a lack of understanding of breeds and people dont realise the small 6 week pup that fitted into their palm grows to become a big 25kg dog.
Breeds are a sign of status here. Some breeds barely exist and so are rare and hence good to show off or rather tell people you have.
GR's and Huskies are the most common large breed dogs here.
Labs are fairly common, mostly imported from Aus. They look different though. Our vet always says to his colleagues - see this is what a REAL lab looks like. People often don't relaise Basil is a lab in comparison.
It is common here for dogs to be papertrained (ie never house trained or outdoor trained as it's called here). Some dogs are house dogs and literally never get walked or go out
Even large breed dogs may not be walked and just left to live outside (in seering heat) with just a cover for shelter. The calluses you see are grotesque from lying with no stimulation on the concrete all day.
But i hasten to add, i do get a feel that things are changing for the better. But they are years off where they need to be from a humane point of view.
One of the saddest things is that dog lovers (and by that i mean the more responsible kinder owners) don't agree in putting dogs to sleep even if it can no longer live life fully. I have seen a few dogs put in no kill shelters by their owners. the dogs literally cannot move and are just fed and cleaned up until they die. Sometimes it can be months or years depending on the illness, they refer to it as long term nannying. Basically people hand their dog over and ease their ocnscience that they are doing the right thing.
Actually I wish i'd not seen this thread as it's making me sad just thinking and typing.
In order to end on a high with this I would say that good lab owners stick together here. We meet on mass (usually 10 - 20 labs) at the beach every weekend morning to break the law and swim with our dogs
The off leash law has also made me even more focussed on Basils training as he has to come to heel everytime we pass a jogger to demonstrate he is trained and safe (and reduce the risk of me being reported).
We hope to be outta here this time next year. It has it's pluses but fundamentally I dont feel we will ever accept and take on their culture.
Yea, it does remind me just how far away from home I am! I'm looking forward to coming home in August. But I am having a brilliant time out here, I feel I have become much more culturally aware, and I think Ive learnt a lot from being here.
I didnt mean to start such a depressing thread, its just something I feel so strongly about and I had to vent! There are some great things about Japan, dont get me wrong, its just the animal care that from an English point of view, they've lost the plot with.
Well, its time to be cheery again! I celebrated by buying membership! I'll be a permanent feature I'm afraid, he he he.
My Oh's just come back from Vietnam and told me that he'd eaten dog not sure how he could have done that knowing that we have Toby at home, but it's just the way of life over there and it would have been deeply offensive to have refused it (apparently). Can't say that I'm thrilled by him eating the equivalent of our newest family member, but as my Dad was Iranian and frequently thought our country was weird for caring for dogs and having them as pets and thought we were barbaric for doing this - I can totally see that cultures and countries and completely different and that, in the wordly sense of the word, is a good thing.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
)
