In the UK, 25% of households own a dog, with the total number of dogs in homes being 8.5million. We are a dog loving nation and most owners would do anything for our beloved pets, however what happens to those dogs that do not have a home. What happens to the dogs that do have a home but their owner was not well informed on their purchase or adoption? What happens to the 345 stray dogs that are picked up every day?
Well according to the BBC, 1 in 20 of the stray dogs picked up each year, a total of 7571 dogs, are destroyed due to being unable to rehome. In 2008, 9000 dogs were destroyed in shelters, as stated by the Hope Rescue website.
The problem with being given these numbers is that numbers are cold and easy to ignore. Numbers do not have soft adoring eyes or excited wagging tail. Numbers do not truly portray the individual dog that they are meant to represent. In 2008, the Telegraph reported that 1.2 million puppies are born a year in the UK. The BBC report that 120,000 dogs are picked up as strays a year and found a position with the DogsTrust, however this doesn't take into the account the number of strays in the other animal charities across the UK, or those dogs surrendered by their owners or born into rescue.
Most rescue dogs enter centres through no fault of their own. The reasons a dog enters a rescue ranges from lack of knowledge of breed characteristics when buying a puppy, to changes in circumstances, to lack of understanding of natural dog behaviour which results in behaviours seen by owners as 'negative' and in some cases can turn into dangerous behaviours.
It is unreal how many dogs come through the Boarding Kennels, where I work, that still mouth the hands, or in some cases try to mouth the faces, of the people working with them. Mouthing can be as gentle as a slobbery jaw covering your fingers without any pressure from the teeth, to a gentle nip or bite that can become more painful with increasing levels of excitement. It can be quite daunting when you enter the kennel of a 12 month old Siberian Husky that jumps up and tries to mouth your nose, teeth at the ready and all. My general reaction when entering the kennel of an exciting dog nowadays is to either quickly grab the collar to hold the wriggling bundle of excitement down, or in some cases body blocking the bumbling fluffy mass that is jumping up. It would be so much easier if these dogs were trained the basic manners they should know.
As many owners do understand, one of the first behaviours to modify in our puppies and young dogs is mouthing or 'puppy biting'. Dogs often do not realise their own strength, as dogs themselves are much more resilient than their human counterparts. It only takes one slightly out of place mouthing movement to seriously harm a child or unsuspecting adult. People don't realise that the cute bouncy puppy will one day turn into a large bouncy adult. Many dogs retain their puppy like characteristics way into adulthood, and at the very least up to about 2 years old - by that point the dog is fully grown and has fully grown teeth to match! This is the same principle as realising that a small child giving their parent or sibling a little playful slap, or even a kick or hit, will be much less appealing when the child is a full grown adult.
A dog that has a mouthing problem can quite quickly become a 'problem dog' and enter the rescue environment, where some rescue officials will deem this behaviour as making the dog un-rehomable. This happens in so many cases when the dog is a big breed or is a 'bully' breed and the puppy biting has carried on into adulthood. The worst part of this is that simple knowledge given to the new owners could prevent mouthing ever becoming a problem as mouthing is one of the simplest behaviours to change. Dogs stop other dogs mouthing them by sharp squeals as a puppy, to let other dogs know what is too hard. If you have an 8 week old puppy it is still in that learning process - one of the most effective things to do is squeal/scream when your puppy nips you, even when the nip isn't painful. In older dogs you can simply teach the dog that mouthing is wrong by saying 'No' and rewarding the dog the moment it stops. I would say big breeds especially need to be taught this basic command from puppyhood but the most painful dog I have worked with at the Kennel had to be a mini poodle that would nip you constantly as you tried to put her lead on - often reaching the inner thigh due to her size! She ripped my leggings on more than one occasion!
There are several things that need to change in both British dog owner mentality, such as the basic training, mentioned above, necessary to create a well balanced, great natured family pet, but also British law. In the future posts of this blog I will go into more detail of the problems dogs are currently facing in the UK and the legalisation that can help them, as well as the basic little things every owner should know and do to own the perfect pet to suit their lifestyle!
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