Pets are not human, but Christmas gifts are OK
WITH less than a week to go until Christmas, the pressure is on: the present list needs to be completed, and nobody can be left out. And in twenty first century Ireland, that often includes the dogs and cats in the household.
It’s now common for pets to be seen as family members. One of the big recent changes in our pet-keeping culture has been the terminology used to describe human:pet relationships.
It’s now common for people to call their pets “fur babies”, or “boys” or “girls”. And instead of owners, people now refer to themselves as “pet parents”, or “Mummy” or “Daddy” when referring to their pets.
As a vet who qualified over thirty years ago, I find this trend difficult to accept. I guess I tend to take things literally, and it’s obvious that pets are not children, however much people care for them and treat them like little humans. And I do have concerns that over-humanising pets can cause problems, in three main areas.
The first problem caused by overhumanising pets is right at the start: when people choose their puppies and kittens. It’s so tempting to choose an animal that looks “cute” to humans, rather than choosing a dog or cat that has a more natural, healthy physique. The best known example is the current trend for brachycephalic (flatfaced) dogs and cats. These puppies and kittens have circular “faces”, with flattened button-type noses, and large, bulging eyes. Psychologists tell us that they resemble human babies, and as such, they exert a strong emotional pull on humans. Most people think they are gorgeous, and it’s natural to feel protective and sentimental about them. The problem is that the cute appearance is often linked to health problems later in life. Snuffling, choked-up breathing is common in many of these breeds. Some dogs even collapse because they can’t get enough oxygen, and they need emergency surgery to widen their airways. It’s true that many individual dogs of these breeds are healthy, active, contented individuals who make great pets. But the incidence of health problems is so high in the breeds that it can’t be ignored. Overall, it would be better for dogs and cats if people chose pets that looked like dogs or cats, rather than selectively bred creatures with squashed faces.
The second problem linked to over-humanising pets is behavioural, and this affects dogs in particular. In many cases, it doesn’t affect a dog’s behaviour badly if you over-humanise them. But sometimes, real problems are possible. One example is dogs that are prone to being aggressive in a dominant way. A dog may growl, and even snap at an owner, and they may react by saying “oh, he doesn’t like that, so I won’t do it again”. Soon, the dog learns that it can do anything it likes in the home, and nobody will stop it. When such dogs come to the vet, it can be impossible to examine them: their owners say “he doesn’t like it when anyone touches him”, and the dog will growl (and try to bite) when the vet tries to check him over. An injection of sedative is the only answer in these cases, and when the animal is safely sleepy, it’s easy to examine them. The lives of these animals – and owners – would be immeasurably improved if people realised the importance of treating dogs like dogs, not like people. I always recommend dog training classes to new puppy owners, so that they learn about the best way of interacting with their new dogs from an early age.
The third and final issue caused by treating pets like people is over-feeding, leading to obesity. Affected pets struggle to move around, blighted by arthritis and a constant sense of unwellness. Obesity is state of inflammation, with high levels of toxic metabolites in the bloodstream. When an animal loses weight, they are often far happier, because they feel better in themselves with the removal of these toxins from their circulation.
Owners know that they ought to just feed their dogs and cats the standard ration of food, as suggested by the vet who is trying to help them slim down their pet. But if their pet refuses to eat this food, many owners offer extra tidbits, like bread, pieces of meat and other delicacies. And even if the animal isn’t particularly hungry, they will happily munch up the treats.
I tell owners that the reason that their pets don’t want their standard rations is because they aren’t really hungry, and that feeding treats to pets is like giving sweeties to children: they’ll never turn them down. But my comments are often disregarded by owners: they can’t stop themselves giving extra food to their obese pets because they have overhumanised their animals, and they think that they are suffering by not being given the treats that they obviously enjoy. The truth is that the biggest suffering of these animals is the obesity that their owners inflict on them. But it is astonishingly difficult to get owners to understand that this is the case.
So what’s the answer? It’s simple: pets should be treated like pets, not like people. Yes, they should be looked after kindly, with love and affection. But we just need to remember that they are not human, and they will be more contented if we treat them like the dogs or cats that they are. And of course, there’s still nothing wrong with giving them Christmas presents!