Pet Dog

COMMON NAME: Dog

SCIENTIFIC NAME : Canis familiaris

DISTRIBUTION : Probably originating in the Middle East, the domestic dog can now be found worldwide

HABITAT : Close association with man

ADULT SIZE : 45 cm-1.90 m(18 in-6 ft) in length

GENERAL : It is thought that domestication of some sort of wild dog first took place between 10,000 and 35,000years ago. The first domesticated dogs undoubtedly served some specific purpose though no one is sure whether they were bred for hunting, to be eaten, or for some other purpose. In due course different types evolved and today there are about 200 distinct breeds available.

Though dogs, as pets, have many advantages they are by no means ideal and nobody should buy one without carefully considering the implications of adding a dog to the family. It is obvious not to take on a large, active dog if you live at the top of a tower block, as it will need far more exercise than most people realize. Equally, there is no point buying a tiny Yorkshire terrier if you are the sort of person who loves to spend the weekends tramping across hills. A final point to bear in mind is that dogs are pack animals and, as part of a human household, the family must be the rest of the pack. Most things that a dog does are directly related to its position in the pack and it is vital that members of the pack are with it all the time consequently, if every member of the family is out all day at work or school, it is useless thinking of a dog as a pet. How often have you known someone come home from work only to find chewed carpets in the sitting room and puddles in the hall and shout at the dog for doing these things? Yet it is the fault of the owner, not the dog, although dogs will do their utmost to fit in with your life style, they are not human. Furthermore, it must be realized that dogs are not cheap to keep. As well as cans of food, there are the veterinary bills, the cost of kennels while you are on holiday, essential insurance premiums, dog grills in the car and the many other bits and pieces needed to keep a dog.

Having decided that a dog really is for you, the next stage is to think about whether to buy a pedigree dog or a mongrel. If the dog is to be a pet, pure and simple, I would suggest a mongrel every time as they tend to be more robust than a pedigree dog, they are not generally prone to all the inherited defects that bedevil many breeds these days and they are frequently of individual appearance. Another point in their favor is that nobody is going to steal a mongrel, whereas thefts of valuable pedigree dogs are by no means rare. If you do decide to choose a mongrel, a good place to look for it is the kennels of the local animal welfare organization - you might well save the dog from a premature death. On the other hand, if you want a pedigree dog you can be pretty sure in advance what it is going to look like, how big it is going to grow and what its temperament will be like. Do some research on the different breeds of dogs at first you will be bewildered by the variety but you can start by eliminating the dogs you do not want, because they need too much grooming, or are too big or too small, and then it is up to you to decide on a conventional or less conventional breed. When every member of the family has agreed on the type of dog, think about whether to get a puppy or an older dog. If you decide on a puppy, you will have to make sure it has its injections - against canine distemper, canine viral hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus, and rabies, if endemic. Most dogs join a household soon after weaning and there is much to be said in favor of this, but there are advantages to getting an older dog. It will have acquired a temperament and a personality and you will know that it is neither neurotic nor snappy, and it should already be housetrained.

Whatever type of dog you decide upon, do think carefully about holidays. You will have a responsibility to the dog and it really is not fair to leave it in kennels for a fortnight each summer.

FOOD: Canned food is the commonest constituent of a dog's diet, but do look at the cans carefully. The majority of canned food
available is not a complete diet - it is meant to be supplemented with biscuits or something similar. If that is the case it will say soon the label. Either choose a complete canned diet (which is expensive) or buy the necessary carbohydrate filler to complement the canned meat. Do not feed your dog the bones from poultry or chops, as these can splinter when they are chewed and cause allsorts of problems. If you want to prepare all the food yourself this is perfectly possible, if somewhat tedious, and further information’s contained in the chapter on feeding.

Finally, never feed your dog tidbits in the form of sweets or biscuits or alcohol. That is simply cruelty and you could kill your dog as a result of obesity or any one of a number of other ills.

HOUSING: Most dogs are kept in the home, so for a pet a cage is not required. Do not keep the dog in a kennel in the garden or on a running lead. Dogs are intelligent animals which need to be part of family life. If you are interested in keeping two or three bitches with a view to breeding from them you will almost certainly want to keep them outdoors in a breeding unit. You should be aware that you will then be required to have the unit licensed by the local authority who will come to inspect it.

Breeding. If your dog is a mongrel, take it your vet to be neutered. It is almost impossible to give away unwanted mongrel puppies, and if your dog gives birth to any they will probably have to be killed.

If your dog has a pedigree and you want to breed, make sure that the mate is registered with the Kennel Club as well, check that it has the characteristics that you want the puppies to have and arrange a time with the owner to mate the dogs. If your dog is a male the mating is the end of it and you will come to some agreement with the owner of the bitch with regard to the offspring. The owner of the mother has to think about the pregnancy, the birth and the puppies.

Ensure that the bitch is free of any internal or external parasites before mating and then follow the information in the chapter on breeding and you ought to have no problems. When the puppies are born, check them to see that they are as they should be, and have enough strength of character to refuse to mutilate them by chopping off tails and ears and so on. Never mind what the show standards are: only by enough people standing against these barbaric practices will the standards be revised.