Living With Dogs (12 page)

It is a myth that bitches are happier if they have one litter of puppies before they are desexed. That’s a good example of anthropomorphism. Maternalism only occurs when a bitch is lactating, and the desire to reproduce only occurs when the bitch is at the peak of a season — or ‘on heat’. If she’s not in season, she has absolutely no interest in reproduction.

The smaller the breed, the more likely it is for the bitch to have her first season at or around six months, whereas a bigger dog is likely to have its first season between 12 and 18 months. Once the first season is over, subsequent seasons occur regularly, at intervals of about six months. There is no menopause in dogs, and they can go on reproducing until they die, although the season becomes increasingly erratic after they reach nine or 10.

The season is divided into two parts: the pro-oestrus stage, followed by the oestrus stage. During the pro-oestrus stage, which lasts about seven days, the bitch discharges an odour, and a watery blood discharge, which proclaims to male dogs that she is coming into season, and is available to be mated. In the wild, she attracts a large number of suitors, and she chooses one or more. The domesticated bitch who is being used for breeding is more likely to be presented with one male.

Once the bleeding has stopped — usually seven to 12 days after the start of the discharge — the bitch enters the true oestrus stage, when she is about to ovulate. Provided mating coincides with ovulation, pregnancy normally follows. Ovulation will occur at the time of accepting the male dog or within a maximum of three days, and during the remainder of the stage, which takes a further week, the genitalia will return to its normal resting state, and the bitch will no longer be attractive to male dogs. The whole season usually takes about 21 days.

Male dogs are inherently programmed to find bitches in season, and the only time a male dog is aroused is when he finds a bitch on heat. Many male dogs enjoy the experience, and remember it, and roam to find another bitch in season. We have domesticated most of the natural instincts of dogs, but reproduction is not one of them, so the influence of the male hormone in dogs which have not been desexed is exactly the same as you would get in dogs in the wild. Desexing will stop the production of these hormones, and the roaming of dogs looking for a mate.

Once a male dog is desexed, the male hormone level drops, and erections will cease to occur. It will no longer have any interest in bitches beyond normal dog-to-dog interaction. Dogs who are desexed will still recognise when a bitch is in season, but they won’t do anything about it.

People often wonder whether they should breed their bitch. As a general rule, unless you’re going into it commercially, with multiple breeding bitches, you will not make any money. The dog has become so domesticated that human intervention is usually necessary to ensure success in the breeding process, and in rearing the puppies. The amount of intervention depends very much on the individual bitch, and whether she has a lot of problems. If she is a terrific mother the process generally goes without a hitch. Each puppy born into a litter is an individual, just as each child is, and the more puppies a bitch has, the more problems you are likely to have. Even if you have a very beautiful dog or bitch, with a great temperament, the characteristics will not necessarily be passed on to the progeny.

As soon as the bitch’s milk dries up, which usually happens after six to eight weeks, she loses the maternal streak and starts preparing for her next litter. She has to toss these puppies out and get on with life. They are converted from her puppies to young dog associates.

You also have to consider the difficulties associated with disposing of the puppies. If they’re pure breeds, homes will probably be found comparatively easily, but finding homes for cross breeds is much harder. For all these reasons, most owners decide breeding is too hard, and have their animals desexed—a view fully encouraged by the RSPCA.

Over-feeding is not the way to make your dog happy. There are recommended weights for pure breeds, and you should stick to them. If you brush your fingertips over the rib cage of your dog, you should just be able to feel its ribs. If you can’t, you’re giving it too much to eat. Labradors and Golden Retrievers are two examples of breeds that are quick to put on weight if they are overfed and under-exercised. Owners don’t consider that the big dog which lies down and does nothing will put on weight: they don’t think it through, and it never occurs to them that the reason they’re fat is the same reason why the dog is fat. It’s a case of one piece of cake for me, and one for the dog; one biscuit for me, and one for the dog.

If a correct feeding regime is essential to a dog’s happiness, so is having its own proper place to sleep. The reason dogs sleep in baskets is that they like to have their own personal space, just as humans do. They also have their possessions, like tennis balls and bones. Bones are precious, and a dog will growl and snarl if you try and take its bone away while it is still chewing it. Dogs bury bones to make sure that no other dog gets its teeth on them. It’s like humans putting possessions away in a drawer or safe.

Dogs have an associative memory, and they remember things that are pleasurable, and things that are nasty. The memory can be triggered by a smell or a noise. Often dogs dislike going to the veterinary surgery, and they may associate the smell there with something unpleasant that happened to them, like an injection. I’m told that dogs who are treated by me will leave the room when they hear me talking on the radio, because my voice is imprinted.

If there’s one thing that will get a dog moving faster than hearing my voice, it’s a cat. It’s often said that dogs hate cats, but they love chasing them. When a dog spots a cat across the road it sees an animal that is frightened and runs away, setting up the chase. In the stand-off the dog is usually the one that will back off, after the cat has fluffed up its fur and given a warning hiss.

A dog’s mood is judged by its tail attitude, and that’s why I’m so opposed to dogs having their tails cut off — or ‘docked’. For instance, how does a Rottweiler with a docked tail communicate that it’s happy? While the unhappy, fearful dog slinks with its tail between its legs, the happy dog will wag its tail. The happy dog is usually bright and alert, with its ears pricked up, and it often vocalises in a higher-pitched yip. When a dog rolls over on its back, asking to be scratched on the stomach, it’s a sign of submission and absolute willingness to do the bidding of the boss dog.

The happy dog has learned that life is predictable: it has proper guidance, established routines, and set times to interact with the boss dog. A well-adjusted dog with a good rapport with the boss dog will always be contented, because there is a certainty to life.

The happy dog also has an owner who ensures that the animal is properly housed, fed and exercised, and that it receives the right parasite control. If all this is done, the animal’s welfare is guaranteed, and you won’t need to visit the vet.

Dogs continue to maintain their popularity. The 2010 nationwide survey for the Australian Companion Animal Council (ACAC) found that 36 per cent of Australian households had a dog compared with 23 per cent in the United Kingdom and 40 per cent in the United States. The total number of dogs in Australia at 3.41 million makes Australians the highest per capita owners of dogs in the world.

The survey confirms what vets constantly witness in practice, namely that the dog is winning the popularity contest with the cat, because of its dependability and high level of interaction with humans. ‘Dogs won’t let you down’ is the common cry of owners frustrated with the human race. Dogs like doing things with humans, and will provide emotional support, while at the same time being willing to be dominated and directed by humans. They appear to understand human moods and seem able to overcome the communication barrier, even though they can’t speak.

You can never be quite sure that you own a cat (I actually have two). The cat associates with you, rather than necessarily wanting you warts ‘n’ all. It stands aloof, and usually only wants to interact with you on its own terms. It’s the emotional reverse of the dog, which is highly dependent on humans.

The support role played by dogs was reflected in the fact that 79 per cent of owners in the survey said they found it comforting to be with their pet ‘when things go wrong’. And 91 per cent said they felt ‘very close’ to their pet, indicating that it was seen as an integral part of the family.

The PIAS National People and Pets survey in 2006 confirmed how strongly embedded the dog is in the family unit. The highest dog ownership rate — 49 per cent — occurred in married couples with dependents, followed by lone parents with dependents at 41 per cent. The lowest dog ownership rates were among lone people aged less than 35 (18.9 per cent), and lone people over 60 (15.8 per cent).

The survey also indicated the extent to which pet ownership becomes a habit: 82 per cent of households had previously owned a cat or dog, and 74 per cent of households who did not currently have pets had previously kept a cat or a dog; while 12 per cent of households with cats or dogs had never kept them before.

The most common reason for not owning cats or dogs was that they were too much bother (22 per cent), the lease prohibited it (19 per cent), or because it restricted other activities (15 per cent).

Studies also show that the dog is a great social facilitator, and will break the ice between people who might not otherwise speak to each other. Respondents in the National People and Pets survey said, ‘I make better social contacts through having a dog’, a statement that would be supported by most veterinarians who find that conversation is quickly struck up in their waiting rooms by owners exchanging notes on breeds and behaviour. It is the opposite of the stoney silence that you find in most doctors’ waiting rooms.

I meet lots of owners for whom the dog is number two in the family, and wives, husbands and children come after the dog. I’m continually amazed at the way people attach themselves to the most smelly, indescribably badly-behaved dogs. In some cases these owners have had relationships with humans, but they’ve failed, and the dog has remained constant throughout. Some people have commented that the growth of dog ownership has coincided with the breakdown of the extended family, and certainly you see that young people who break away from home often have a dog, perhaps for constancy in a sea of change.

In the National People and Pets survey 17 out of 20 dog owners gave companionship as the main function of their pet, and one-third gave protection as a secondary function. Plenty of people had tried cats as companion animals when they moved into units, as the body corporate regulations forbade dogs, but the experiment generally failed because cats were unable to produce the level of interaction wanted by the owner. Many people ignore the regulations and acquire small dogs, which are never seen during the day. The importance of the bond between animals and elderly people, particularly single ones, has been recognised by some retirement villages that have pet zones, enabling people to continue dog ownership.

Earlier studies had found that people’s blood pressure dropped when stroking animals, or from simply being in the presence of animals. The ACAC 2010 report confirms that dog owners benefited both physically and mentally from having an animal. Dog owners are physically more active than non-pet owners and report greater satisfaction with their physical fitness. They visit the doctor less often, and are less likely to take medication for high blood pressure, sleeping difficulties, high cholesterol or heart problems.

The health benefits of dog companionship were found to be greatest among those people who would be most likely to visit the doctor, such as older men and women. People living on their own, such as divorcees or widows, were also shown to derive special benefit from dog ownership. It’s very easy to be alone and lonely, and clients have frequently told me that having the dog to talk to when they get home has saved their sanity. With family units becoming smaller, the dog becomes more important because we’ve made them fill the emotional gaps in our lives.

The first worldwide study on the links between improved health and pet ownership was conducted in the early 1980s by American researcher Erica Friedmann, who was investigating whether a person’s social life and their degree of social isolation might influence their ability to survive a heart attack. She conducted extensive interviews with 92 convalescing male patients, and after 14 of the men had died within a year, she tried to discover the differentiating features between those who had survived and those who died.

Friedmann found that socially isolated people were more likely to succumb to heart disease, and that those with pets were more likely to recover. She concluded that there was a slight fall in the probability of death among pet owners recovering from heart disease. I can support the conclusions of this study from my own experience in practice, as I see many clients who say their recovery from heart disease was helped by going for walks with their dog.

In 1991 an English research team under James Serpell found that the acquisition of a pet was associated with a reduced incidence of minor health problems and an improvement in psychological wellbeing. A year later Professor Warwick Anderson, Deputy Director of the Baker Medical Research Institute in Melbourne, led a team which reported that pet owners had significantly lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including lower blood pressure. One reason may have been that pet owners took significantly more exercise than non-owners.

In 1992 the Petcare Information and Advisory Service commissioned a report ‘What Australians Feel About Their Pets’, and it concluded that in this ‘Age of Anxiety’, people were turning to their pets for comfort to overcome their feelings of isolation, loss of control, and loss of confidence. The report also suggested that in this politically correct world, when everyone has to think twice about what they say about anything, it was an immense relief to be able to say what you liked to the dog, without fear or inhibition: ‘Pet owners appreciate the fact that, in relationship to their pets, there is no pressure to act in a certain way.’