Living With Dogs by Dr Hugh Wirth

Author:Dr Hugh Wirth [Wirth, Dr Hugh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-7304-9457-7
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2010-04-04T16:00:00+00:00

The bond between people and dogs

The close bond between animal and human is at the heart of the mental and emotional benefits enjoyed by dog owners. The bond changes through all the different stages of life. Children will see a dog on equal terms and view it as a friend, and also as a buffer zone against adults. Young adults no longer treat the dog as an equal, but it becomes enormously important as a companion: it’s often a case of ‘me and the dog versus the world’.

For young married couples the dog is a shared bond, and it can reach high levels of intensity if the animal takes on the role of a child substitute. In couples with children, the dog becomes an essential ingredient of the family unit. As the children grow up, the family dog is often seen by the husband as his personal mate. Where the mother stays at home, an equally intense relationship may develop, and the unit becomes ‘Mum, the kids, and the dog’.

When the children leave home, and particularly after the death of a spouse, the remaining partner often turns to the dog for companionship, and it becomes the only remaining link between the surviving person and the marriage. Euthanasia is always traumatic, but it is most distressing when I’m asked to put down a dog that was the last link with a marriage partner, or if the dog is the only animal a child has ever known.

Malcolm McHarg, the manager of the People and Pets survey, had conducted previous research in 1976. He concluded from the new study that dog owners had become more responsible in the intervening 20 years, particularly over the issues of getting dogs vaccinated, exercising them, and picking up their dog’s faeces. The 1995 survey found that most owners kept their animals on a lead during exercise, and troublesome barking or destructive behaviour by the dog was relatively uncommon.

It reported that the great majority of pet owners were responsible and considerate carers. While this kind of owner certainly exists, I have frequently encountered arrogant dog owners who are only interested in themselves and their dogs. I have found in life that there are three pointers to human behaviour: one is the way people ride their bike, another is the way they drive their car, and the third is the way they own dogs. Owners often take the attitude that it’s their dog, and it’s their business what they do with it. They show little consideration for humans or other dogs.

Most of the difficulties experienced with uncontrolled dogs are due to irresponsible owners. This has led to a growing belief among those involved with animal welfare that owners should be licensed by local councils as fit and proper people to own a dog.

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