People need training as much as the dogs
FULL disclosure – I am not a dog person.
That’s not to say I don’t care for man’s best friend. It’s just that I have never owned one, preferring the lower maintenance demands of a cat or a goldfish.
I understand their appeal, though. The waggy-tailed excitement when you come through the door, the companionship, the unconditional love.
You don’t get that with any other domestic animal. If I dropped dead at home a dog, I know, would stay by my side until help came.
The cat would eat me.
But two stories about our fourlegged companions struck me this week and neither was exactly good news for dog lovers. Or indeed any of us.
The first was a report about an ‘epidemic’ in the number of dog attacks. According to NHS figures the number of people admitted to hospital as a result of a severe dog bite has doubled in the last 20 years.
Perhaps more worryingly, there were 1,516 cases of children under the age of 15 having to attend hospital for dog-related injuries between April 2021 and March 2022 in England alone.
This year, five people have already been mauled to death by dogs, four of them children aged under three.
How has this happened? Well, there has been a well documented boom in dog ownership over lockdown. Suddenly, people who had previously never been home enough or had busy lives saw an opportunity to get a pooch.
But just because you want something , it doesn’t mean you should have it. Dogs need time and effort. They need training and socialising and regular exercise. They are not a gadget or a toy to be picked up and put down.
Now lockdown is over and we’ve all – mainly – gone back to our previous existence, many of our furry friends are being abandoned at home for hours on end, leaving them with no idea how to interact with other dogs or humans. And a bored, confused, untrained dog can be dangerous. Meanwhile the RSPCA is bracing itself for a tough summer as those feeling the cost-of-living pinch abandon their pets.
The charity saw a 29% increase in people relinquishing their furry friends last winter and are predicting things will get worse.
And the common denominator here? – It’s not the animal’s fault.
Breed is not an important or reliable predictor of aggression in dogs. It’s all about human behaviour and making sure the dog’s welfare is prioritised.
As hard as it is, at least those giving up their pets are doing just that.
I would bring back dog licences. They were abandoned 30 years ago but if ever there was a time when we needed more control on who should own a dog – and how they should keep it – it’s now.
It would act as a check on those who regard a dog as an accessory rather than another sentient being and should be granted only after a would-be owner has been thoroughly assessed.
It’s time we realised that people need training as much as dogs.