A WORD WITH THE VET
CARING FOR YOUR PETS
Paisley vet Neil McIntosh, who has more than 36 years experience of tending to sick and injured animals, shares his views with you every Thursday.
Harry is a nightmare - nine months old and getting worse by the day.
His owner is at her wit’s end.
She has read every book, trawled the internet for advice and consulted numerous specialist behaviourists.
Even if some of them weren’t as special as they thought they were.
It all started from day one. That fluffy bundle of puppy arrived just in time to coincide with her retirement. Harry was to be a playmate and the dog to grow old with.
He would get her out walking and keep her occupied. Oh and he would get hugs too.
But it just hasn’t turned out that way.
First of all, he just would not relent. She would play with him, throw a wee ball for a while, teach him to sit (took about five minutes), stay (teaching time two minutes) and roll over (about six minutes), then she would try and sit with her feet up and have a wee cup of tea.
That is when the trouble would start. Harry would pace a while, then chew her feet. Those baby teeth were sharp.
She would yelp and Harry would scurry away with absolute glee.
Then he would select an item at random. It could be a shoe, a magazine, a sock or even an ornament. These were never damaged but would be carried enticingly in front of his owner, prompting a chase and a screaming match.
Sometimes the game would continue into the early hours, leaving her exhausted, but this didn’t affect Harry much. He was still up howling at first light.
Exercise was a nightmare too.
The car journey to the park was nothing short of dangerous. Harry would leap around, watching the cars go by and chasing shadows.
Then there was the constant pulling on the lead to put up with and the obsessive attempts to race at every dog that appeared. Even three hours of this did not suppress his enthusiasm.
They would return to the house, she exhausted, frustrated and bad tempered.
He was still bursting with energy, frustrated and completely incorrigible.
Barry, however, is the perfect dog. His owner is teaching him new tricks every day. He can sit, come, stay, roll over, give a paw, fetch numerous items on command and he can even recognise the name of the room the things have been left in. He can remove washing from the machine and put it in the basket and he can collect discarded clothing from the floor and place it in the machine.
With his canine seat belt on, he looks forward to his walks in the park, where, being a socialite, he runs free with his pals, playing chase relentlessly.
He can outrun them all. Being food motivated, his recall is perfect; a simple treat pulls him back every time. His owner loves her agility classes, at which he excels, picking up the routine quickly and negotiating obstacles easily.
When not competing, his attention is taken exclusively by his favourite ball, which he will fetch continuously.
Harry and Barry are the same dog.
Different owners. It’s all horses for courses.