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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/08/depressed-dogs-bad-weather-owning-pet-expensive-responsible
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| Lessons in looking after your dog should be compulsory | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| It’s been a tough year for some dogs. The weather has been so wet and ghastly, their owners just can’t bear to take their pets out for a walk, and so, according to animal behaviourists, more dogs than ever have been stuck mainly indoors and are now “chronically” bored, depressed, unsettled and “in need of therapy”. | It’s been a tough year for some dogs. The weather has been so wet and ghastly, their owners just can’t bear to take their pets out for a walk, and so, according to animal behaviourists, more dogs than ever have been stuck mainly indoors and are now “chronically” bored, depressed, unsettled and “in need of therapy”. |
| Thank heavens the owners have managed to get their dogs to the therapist, probably by car, or most of us wouldn’t even know this was going on. I don’t want to show off, but I knew this already, and so did the more robust dog-owners, because if you go for a dog walk in the rain, sleet, wind and mud, the parks are almost deserted, but if you go out on a sunny morning, they’re like Oxford Street in the sales. | Thank heavens the owners have managed to get their dogs to the therapist, probably by car, or most of us wouldn’t even know this was going on. I don’t want to show off, but I knew this already, and so did the more robust dog-owners, because if you go for a dog walk in the rain, sleet, wind and mud, the parks are almost deserted, but if you go out on a sunny morning, they’re like Oxford Street in the sales. |
| Related: Dogs are infinitely social and share their space. Humans aren’t always as good | Jo Haylen | Related: Dogs are infinitely social and share their space. Humans aren’t always as good | Jo Haylen |
| What are those crowds of fair-weather owners up to with their dogs? Perhaps just doing a quick trek around the mud-free pavements so that their dogs can at least relieve themselves, and then it’s back indoors to go stir crazy. Or perhaps they let their dog out into the garden, or out into the street by itself for a crap, like the bad-tempered, hefty chap who passed my front gate last week, clutching a big studded leather harness. Had I seen his dog? He asked. “It’s a white staffie. I let him out, he hasn’t come home.” He couldn’t be fagged to take his dog out, and it wasn’t even raining. I pity that dog if it does go home. How I longed to punch that man in the chops, but I didn’t, because he was much bigger than me, and anyway, violence is never the answer. | What are those crowds of fair-weather owners up to with their dogs? Perhaps just doing a quick trek around the mud-free pavements so that their dogs can at least relieve themselves, and then it’s back indoors to go stir crazy. Or perhaps they let their dog out into the garden, or out into the street by itself for a crap, like the bad-tempered, hefty chap who passed my front gate last week, clutching a big studded leather harness. Had I seen his dog? He asked. “It’s a white staffie. I let him out, he hasn’t come home.” He couldn’t be fagged to take his dog out, and it wasn’t even raining. I pity that dog if it does go home. How I longed to punch that man in the chops, but I didn’t, because he was much bigger than me, and anyway, violence is never the answer. |
| Did he and all those sunny-day walkers have a little think before they got a dog? Did they find out anything about dogs? Forget the compulsory parenting/citizenship/English-for-Muslim-women lessons. Compulsory how-to-look-after-your-dog lessons would be much more useful. Then we might not have pavements littered with excrement, or thousands of bored, wretched, pent-up, disturbed and maddened dogs, or 7,227 hospital admissions for dog bites, like we had from March 2014 to February 2015. | Did he and all those sunny-day walkers have a little think before they got a dog? Did they find out anything about dogs? Forget the compulsory parenting/citizenship/English-for-Muslim-women lessons. Compulsory how-to-look-after-your-dog lessons would be much more useful. Then we might not have pavements littered with excrement, or thousands of bored, wretched, pent-up, disturbed and maddened dogs, or 7,227 hospital admissions for dog bites, like we had from March 2014 to February 2015. |
| I don’t mind lecturing at mandatory classes for future dog owners. I could tell students how wonderful it is having a dog, how forgiving, loving, loyal, sensitive, clever and amusing they are. And that a major plus about having a dog is that they encourage you to get fresh air and exercise, which is good for your mental and physical health. If you wake up and see grey skies, drizzle and dreariness, you’ll find once you get out, it’s not as bad as it looks. There are birds still singing, romantic mists, shrubs and plants looking and smelling lovely, you have space and relative peace, or company if you want it. It is all rather bracing and uplifting, as long as you wear lovely warm gloves, boots and a raincoat. | I don’t mind lecturing at mandatory classes for future dog owners. I could tell students how wonderful it is having a dog, how forgiving, loving, loyal, sensitive, clever and amusing they are. And that a major plus about having a dog is that they encourage you to get fresh air and exercise, which is good for your mental and physical health. If you wake up and see grey skies, drizzle and dreariness, you’ll find once you get out, it’s not as bad as it looks. There are birds still singing, romantic mists, shrubs and plants looking and smelling lovely, you have space and relative peace, or company if you want it. It is all rather bracing and uplifting, as long as you wear lovely warm gloves, boots and a raincoat. |
| Best of all, you can watch your beautiful dog, racing and gambolling about, because that’s what dogs like to do: sniff everything, exert themselves, track and chase things, or stand under a bush and scratch their backs (like mine does), play with other dogs, have a varied, interesting and sometimes thrilling life, and feel happy, which is almost guaranteed to perk you up too. | Best of all, you can watch your beautiful dog, racing and gambolling about, because that’s what dogs like to do: sniff everything, exert themselves, track and chase things, or stand under a bush and scratch their backs (like mine does), play with other dogs, have a varied, interesting and sometimes thrilling life, and feel happy, which is almost guaranteed to perk you up too. |
| Related: 25 ways you know your dog loves you (and that they’re better than cats) | Bella Mackie | Related: 25 ways you know your dog loves you (and that they’re better than cats) | Bella Mackie |
| But there is a downside. Dogs are not always sensible. Mine adores eating fox excrement, others like to stab themselves in the throat playing with sticks, or swallow stones, and need costly operations. They tend to vomit, slobber, empty their bowels several times daily, sometimes messily, and have the odd fight. And you must robustly mop up and deal with all of it. While I’ve been writing this, and not paying attention, mine has just torn her bed to pieces, and now she’s crying because it’s time for her afternoon walkie. | But there is a downside. Dogs are not always sensible. Mine adores eating fox excrement, others like to stab themselves in the throat playing with sticks, or swallow stones, and need costly operations. They tend to vomit, slobber, empty their bowels several times daily, sometimes messily, and have the odd fight. And you must robustly mop up and deal with all of it. While I’ve been writing this, and not paying attention, mine has just torn her bed to pieces, and now she’s crying because it’s time for her afternoon walkie. |
| And she has a tumour on her liver, is on steroids, drinks and wees gallons, has a sore chin and sore toes, has to wear boots in the mud and needs eye drops twice daily, because she’s very old now, and when dogs get older, like us, they need more and more care. They cost a fortune in food, vets’ fees and insurance, and minders if you’re away. Even when they’re well, they need an awful lot of your time, attention and love, and walkies every day, rain or shine. If you don’t fancy any of this, get a cat. Dog owning is not for cissies. | And she has a tumour on her liver, is on steroids, drinks and wees gallons, has a sore chin and sore toes, has to wear boots in the mud and needs eye drops twice daily, because she’s very old now, and when dogs get older, like us, they need more and more care. They cost a fortune in food, vets’ fees and insurance, and minders if you’re away. Even when they’re well, they need an awful lot of your time, attention and love, and walkies every day, rain or shine. If you don’t fancy any of this, get a cat. Dog owning is not for cissies. |