The following is the second part in a series of eight articles about breeding dogs. Although it applies to a dog, it also applies to cats. People do not realize that there are cat mills which are like puppy mills. Note that these articles are based on my years of experience, my opinion and that I do not intend to refer to any individual. Please read the entire eight articles to glean a full understanding of breeding.

Part Two

Understanding registries is important because who a dog is registered with will give you a clue as to its legitimacy. There are a few types of registries.

1. Nationally recognized registries. These are established organizations that register purebred dogs. In the United States it would be the American Kennel Club and the United Kennel Club. There are breed specific and working specific registries that are also recognized. Usually breed registries have strict requirements that the other registries do not have to ensure that the dogs registered with them are top quality. An example is the Jack Russel Terrier Club of America and herding dog registries such as the North American Sheepdog Society.

• Non-recognized registries are those that anyone can establish. In the United States there are registries that cater to puppy mill breeders which were formed to provide “papers” for people who run these operations. By being a member of these registries they are not members of the national registries who then have no way to protect the dogs from their cruel environment and breeding practices.  

• Anything goes registry are those that will register any type of animal for any reason.

Most people who own a pet dog feel that their dog is worth more if it is registered. They only understand that the dog has “papers.” They do not understand the value or uselessness of the papers. The non-recognized registries have used this lack of understanding to legitimize dogs by giving them “papers” that are not recognized by any national or internationally recognized registry.  

It is important to note that no registry can guarantee the quality of a dog or puppy. They can only guarantee that as reported to them the records have been accurately kept. If the breeder owns both the sire and dam, they can list any dog as the sire and dam of a litter. For example, I had a client who made an appointment for training and told me that he had a Rottweiler. When I questioned him, he assured me that he had AKC papers. When his breeder found out that he was coming to me for training, he admitted that the dog was a Rottweiler/German Shepherd cross, the result of an accidental breeding. Yet the dog had recognized registration papers. The real ethics depends on the honesty of the breeder.

Ethical breeders will only register their dogs with recognized registries.

Almost every week I see a post on social media from a pet owner begging people to help look for their lost dog or cat. While every pet should be microchipped, that does not help the person who finds the pet since you must have a scanner to read the microchip. ID tags are a help but there is only room to put the pet’s name and one or two phone numbers on the tag. That does not give the person who found the pet any additional information. To solve that problem Edgar Rodriguez, who is the founder of Driyu, developed a fast recovery-first pet safety platform. This system is designed to help lost pets get home faster through free smart QR tags, owner-controlled pet profiles, and community-centered partnerships

All the person must do if they find the pet is scan the QR tag with their cell phone and immediately see the dog or cat’s profile. The beauty of this system is that the person who scans the QR code does not need to download an app, create an account, or understand anything technical. The profile is created by the pet owner who controls what information is in the profile. For more information go to: Driyu to see the programs that they offer. I highly recommend the Driyu system.

I have written two articles about how to find a lost dog or cat which you can see on my blog site.

For many years people who wanted to train their dogs for outdoor scent work would purchase my book READY! Training the Search and Rescue Dog for the section about scent. My publisher and I decided to take that section out of the book and rewrite it for those people who wanted to do scent work with their dogs; thus Scenting on the Wind was born. While the book targets hunting dogs, it applies to all outdoor scent work. The concepts also apply to scent in buildings.

Scent is very liquid; it moves erratically and is controlled by all the outdoor elements. Since it is invisible, the only way to understand its dynamics is to understand the elements that control it, the wind, weather and terrain. Through many years of research, we have gained a solid understanding of how scent moves.

To a lesser degree, scent in a building is also influenced by the elements. Added to that, it is also necessary to understand what scent is composed of. There is no such thing as an uncontaminated scent article. By understanding all the factors that make up and control scent we are able to help our dogs find and follow scent.

Scenting on the Wind provides diagrams and explanations of the various elements that a dog would encounter in the field. It gives the dog handler the information they need to effectively use their dog as well as help handler understand how and why their dog reacts to scent. The book offers training suggestions as well.

While this book is out-of-print, I have several copies available for purchase. If you would like a copy please email me at sbulanda@gmail.com The copies I have left are $12.00 which includes domestic shipping.

Pepper made headlines last year when his owner, John Lednicky, Ph.D., a University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions virologist,    discovered the jeilongvirus in a cotton mouse that Pepper caught. Now Pepper brought home an everglades short-tail shrew that had an unidentified strain of orthoreovirus.  

The discovery is important because this type of virus is known to infect humans, white-tailed deer, bats and other mammals. Unfortunately the effects of this virus are not fully understood, there have been cases of the virus associated with encephalitis, meningitis and gastroenteritis in children.

Dr. Lednicky and his collogues stress that more research involving serology and immunology studies are needed to fully understand the threat this virus may hold for both humans, wildlife and pets.

Pepper is happy and healthy and has not shown any illness or side effects as a result of his hunting expertise.

Journal Reference:

Emily DeRuyter, Robert A. Williams, Kuttichantran Subramaniam, John A. Lednicky. Coding complete sequences of the 10 genomic segments of a mammalian orthoreovirus type 3 isolated from a Blarina peninsulae shrew. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 2025; 14 (7) DOI: 10.1128/mra.00219-25

Cite This Page:

University of Florida. “Florida cat sniffs out another new virus—and scientists are listening.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 July 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250711224330.htm>.

Just like any other animal, cats have a wide range of personalities from very shy and demure to the warrior cat who likes to attack and chase everything in sight.  It is very difficult to evaluate a cat or kitten’s true personality before selecting one to take home. This is especially true for cats and kittens that are being adopted from a rescue or shelter because they will not have the opportunity to exhibit their true personality in that environment. 

What can a cat owner do if their cat is the warrior cat who likes to get into and chase everything, even your feet when you walk? The first thing to do if it has not already been done is to spay or neuter your cat. This can help calm your cat down.

Next, be sure that your cat is on a high quality diet. It is has been my experience that nothing you buy at the super market is a high quality brand of food.

The next thing you must do is make sure that your cat has quality interaction time with you playing with toys. Do not allow the cat to play with any part of your body or on your body. If your cat does try to do this, gently put them off of your body and say no. If your cat bites or claws you say “ouch” in a high pitched voice and remove the cat. Make sure that you ignore the cat for a few minutes after that. Only interact with your cat if the cat plays gently, this way you will reinforce the behavior you want in your cat.

If your cat does something you do not like, distract the cat from doing it by offering a favorite toy. When the cat focuses his attention on the toy instead of the bad behavior, praise the cat in a soothing voice.

Some cats like to have play sessions in the middle of the night and will wake their owners to join in the fun. If you do not want this to become a daily habit, do not get up. It is best to pretend to be asleep and ignore the cat. It may take a few nights but the cat will eventually give up trying to engage you in play.

What can help is to have a tiring (for the cat) play session before you go to bed, but pick a time that is convenient for you because it may become a daily habit for the cat and cats do not like changes in their routine.

A very busy cat might enjoy having another cat (or dog) as a companion. I always felt that adopting two kittens or cats at the same time works out the best rather than try to introduce a new adult cat later. Often cats are kept together in the rescue or shelter and have already bonded enough to live successfully together. Having a familiar companion can help the adopted cats’ make the transition to a new home easier. If you do adopt two cats, be sure to have at least two litter boxes for them. However, it is important that the litter boxes not be kept in the same location or the cat will view the two boxes as one.

With a little planning, you can help your cat be everything you want him to be. Contrary to popular myth, cats can be trained and are happier when they understand the house rules.