It’s Me or the Dog: How to have the Perfect Pet

Noise

Some breeds are naturally more inclined to bark and yap than others. Some breeds are more sensitive to noise.

Activity level

How much exercise does the dog require? Working breeds, bred to herd sheep, need serious workouts.

Temperament

Terriers are naturally bossy and tenacious. Spaniels, Setters, and Retrievers generally have friendly, affectionate natures.

Coat

How much time (or money) will you need to devote to grooming?

Weaknesses

Because of inbreeding, some breeds suffer from congenital problems. Dalmatians, for example, can have hearing problems. British bulldogs can suffer from breathing problems. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels can have heart ailments.

Mongrels

Unlike acquiring a purebred dog, taking on a mongrel is necessarily more of a leap in the dark. Mongrels or crosses (dogs bred from two purebred parents) will have characteristics of different breeds in their makeup, and you may not be able to tell which characteristic will come to the fore. It may even be hard to gauge how large the dog will grow. The size of a puppy’s feet may give some indication of how big he will get, but that is not an infallible guide.

On the plus side, many mongrels are good all-rounders. Many are particularly long-lived and, because they have a mixed gene pool, they are much less likely to suffer the congenital problems that result from inbreeding.

Where to find a puppy

Always acquire puppies from good, reputable sources. In the case of purebred animals, that means going direct to a breeder. No self-respecting dog-breeder would ever sell a litter to a pet store. My grandmother knew each of the Beagles she bred by name, and she took the trouble to visit them in their new homes.

You can find a reputable breeder by seeking advice from a national organization, such as the Kennel Club, or by contacting a breed’s organization. Alternatively, you could ask for a recommendation from friends. You will know you have found a good breeder when he or she asks you more questions than you ask them. A good breeder will only sell a puppy to someone they think will treat him properly and give him the care that he needs. They’ll want to know if you will be home during the day, if you have a garden, if there’s a park nearby where you can exercise the dog. They’ll give you advice on training and diet. They may want to come and see you at home. Only when they’re satisfied that you will make a good dog-owner will they sell you the puppy.

Mongrels and crossbred puppies, which are less sought after than purebreds, are less commonly found in pet stores, but it is just as inadvisable to acquire a mongrel in this way as it is a purebred pup. While the puppy may look cute and appealing, buying him from a pet store may leave you with an animal that has health problems or with one that has been affected by poor handling. Instead, look at advertisements in reputable magazines, or at the vet’s, and visit the puppy at home before you decide to take him home.

Contrary to what pet shop proprietors may tell you, puppies in pet stores are more likely to come from puppy mills or farms. While there have been efforts to control this despicable practice, it still carries on.

Rescue dogs

An alternative source for both puppies and adult dogs is to visit a dogs’ home, shelter, or rescue agency, and adopt a dog that has been abandoned. Rescue dogs have poor reputations, and many people consider that they are too unpredictable or too scarred by past ill treatment to be successfully re-homed. That is far from the case. Dogs end up in shelters for a wide variety of reasons. An unwanted litter may see the puppies abandoned; older dogs may be taken in if their owners are too elderly or sick to care for them. Greyhounds that have been raced professionally may be taken in by rescue agencies to prevent them from being put down when their racing days are over. Naturally enough, puppies are generally re-homed very quickly, while the older and more difficult dogs can take considerably longer to place. If you are considering giving a home to one of these unfortunate creatures, consult the shelter staff and be guided by their appraisal of each dog’s characteristics and what it needs in the form of support.

A large proportion of dogs that are in shelters are there due to behavior problems; that is, behaviors that are natural for the dog but unacceptable in our society. It is easier to blame problem behavior on a dog’s character than to look at how the environment we have created might be affecting it. Most of these problem behaviors can be modified with a little time and understanding.

Many people consider rescue dogs too unpredictable or too scarred by past ill-treatment to be successfully re-homed—that is far from the case.

Here’s an all-too-common scenario:

Lily is a typical puppy who, like a human baby, needs constant stimulation and guidance from her human pack for healthy development. Instead, she finds herself in a home where this support is lacking, and in an environment that is physically and mentally isolating. In order to cope with her insecurity, Lily begins to demonstrate increasingly desperate, attention-seeking behavior, which changes this picture-book puppy into an unwanted presence and a time-consuming menace.

Struggling to understand her human world, Lily has no idea that she is living on borrowed time, until she finds herself at the doors of the local shelter. She enters a bizarre world where she experiences high levels of stress in response to the new sights, sounds, and smells surrounding her.

The routine changes. She is fed strange food, which she doesn’t feel like eating. Her new home is cramped and smells of disinfectant. She senses tension emanating from the dogs around her, and endures a constant stream of strange faces passing by her pen. In order to cope with these pressures, Lily hides under a security blanket of self-preservation, her true behavior numbed by this alien environment.

However, fortune favors her when she is adopted by a new human pack. She responds well to their attention and they, in turn, are pleased with her response. Her world changes again, but this time the environment is calmer. The bed smells good and the food is tasty. The pressures of shelter life begin to fall away.

For the first weeks, the numbness that protected Lily at the shelter keeps her from showing her true colors, but renewed confidence awakens previous patterns of behavior that soon challenge her new owners. Their attempts at control cause confusion and turmoil. Unable to cope with their “problem,” the new owners take Lily back to the shelter. This time she is not so lucky. Her unpredictability is deemed a liability for prospective adopters, and her life is ended by the vet’s needle.

This is not a sob story. This is the reality for millions of dogs each year. According to the Humane Society of America, between six and ten million dogs are put down in American shelters every year, and only 5% of these for medical reasons. In Britain, a nation of dog-lovers, the figures are a vast improvement, but there is no cause for complacency. Around 20,000 unwanted and stray dogs are put down each year, and that’s still 20,000 too many.

What can we do to help adopted shelter dogs adapt to their new lives? First and foremost, rescue dogs take time and patience. The type of training outlined in subsequent chapters of this book can be used to address certain types of problem behavior that shelter dogs may display. Equally important, it is necessary to understand why dogs behave the way that they do, to see the world from their point of view. This is always important, but it is even more critical when a dog has been ill-treated or abandoned.

The effort is worth it. With renewed confidence, the shelter dog can develop into what he was always meant to be: a happy and healthy companion that deserves our time and respect for coping with all the pressures that human life has thrown at him.

It is easier to blame problem behavior on a dog’s character than to look at how the environment we have created might be affecting it.

Should I have my dog neutered?

The short answer is “yes,” but there are some factors that should be taken into account. Having a dog “spayed” (removing the ovaries and uterus) or neutered (removing the testicles) is an important part of dog ownership. Your dog could be healthier, more contented, could live longer, and have more of an even temperament without hormones confusing the picture. However, there are many different opinions about what age to neuter and if it is right to neuter a dog in order to “cure” various negative behavior problems. Many people are reluctant to have their pets neutered because it seems unnatural. But if you do not intend to breed your dog, what is more unnatural, allowing him to suffer tugs of instinct he cannot fulfill, or removing the urge completely?

Whatever confusion there is about when and if to neuter, there is no dispute that neutering our dogs is the most significant way we can reduce the huge pet overpopulation problem in this country. Millions of dogs are taken into shelters every year and many are put down because there is no room and too few homes to adopt them. Perhaps you imagine that letting your dog have just one litter wouldn’t make much of a difference. Think again. If you placed all the puppies of that litter in the homes of people who thought the same, and they did likewise, your dog could be responsible for the birth of 200 puppies in a single year.

If you are making a decision to neuter your dog because of a behavior problem such as aggression, you should be aware that neutering must never be seen as a “cure” for that problem. Neutering always needs to be done along with a solid behavior modification plan in place, and in some cases neutering may exacerbate the problem. Advice on what age to neuter should be sought from your veterinarian.

Medical Pros of Neutering

Eliminates risk of testicular cancer in male dogs

Lowers incidence of disease of the prostate in male dogs

Reduces the risk of perianal adenomas in male dogs – tumors that occur around the rectum in later life

No possibility of fathering a litter and adding to the pet overpopulation problem

Eliminates risk of pyometra – a potentially fatal infection of the uterus in female dogs

Eliminates risk of uterine cancer in female dogs

No heat cycles or risk of pregnancy in female dogs

Reduced chance of female dogs developing breast cancer in later life

Behavior Pros of Neutering

Male dogs are less likely to roam

Male and female dogs are less likely to scent “urine” mark

Reduced likelihood of sexual aggression and mounting in males

Removal of testosterone can make many dogs less reactive to other dogs