Too many people adopted dogs during the pandemic because they were stuck home and needed some distraction as well as realized they had the time to devote.
Now that things are returning to normal, people don't want to spend the time.
> Maisie howled at any stimulus. She paced all night and pounced on anyone who came to the house.
Your dog is some combination of bored and scared. You don't need a vet, you need a dog trainer.
Dogs can be incredible amounts of work. I probably spend on average 2 hours a day on dog work of some kind and I have a dog walker come twice daily too (30min/2x day).
There are times when I'll admit it's not convenient. The last vacation I took had an extra ~3k tacked on for a house/pet sitter, but, I (knowingly) made a commitment when I adopted/purchased them.
The whole concept of drugging your dog just seems, frankly, abusive to me.
People need to do far more research when adopting or buying dogs. Animal rescues are commonly not honest about a dogs history (to make it easier to adopt the dog out) and the vast majority of breeders are not honest about the amount of work required with particular breeds and particular dogs.
I could tell that you knew this as well! I mostly just wanted to explicitly state it because of how strongly I feel about it, and I honestly held back how strongly I wanted to state it as well.
My much more raw take is that barring abuse or specific training to be aggressive, most dogs are actually predisposed to try to please people because they've literally been bred for hundreds of generations to be friendly and value human companionship. If a dog is acting out, it's much more likely to be fixable by changing human behavior because it's easier to communicate with them. If a dog acts out, it's not because of some deep, inscrutable reason; they act out because some need of theirs isn't being met, and their needs are straightforward enough that a good trainer will be able to see their environment and tell the humans involved what they need to do to rectify it.
Virtually none of them have innate drives to attack or harm humans, but for some, they can definitely enter what I will call almost akin to a fugue state where they revert to much more primal instincts.
For example the greyhounds are like this if you wake them from sleep. My first greyhound slept on my bed precisely once -- when I kicked her in my sleep in the middle of the night I got woken up by a dog clamped on my leg, fortunately through a comforter so there was no real damage. Within seconds she was incredibly apologetic. But, it's a known thing with that breed.
Dogs absolutely want to please their owners. Most of the training I've done as a dog owner is around communication to let my dog know A) what I want and B) that they did it right. For the vast majority of dog owners, if they are just careful with selection, it's not a huge amount of work to train yourself and your dog.
Yeah, I think the larger point is like you said, the main exception to just doing what they can to please humans is "primal" instincts, which aren't something that can be changed with some basic training. It's _far_ easier for people to just be taught how not to trigger those, which very often tends to be following some simple rules.
One of my cats gets very feisty when she's playful, and she often will bite my hand somewhat hard once she gets into the "chase" mode (which sometimes can happen from her just noticing my hands move a lot when I type or something). She's extraordinarily sweet otherwise though, to the point where I can literally pick her up and hand her to people the first time she meets them, and she happily purrs and will continue to seek out their attention after they put her down, and I've continued learning in the few years since I adopted her how to avoid triggering her instincts like that (and to make sure to give her ample play time where she can direct her aggression towards toys instead of my hands). I think a lot of people would just see a cat who bites sometimes and assume she's unfriendly or mean, but she's so sweet the vast majority of the time that I know her temporary "reversion" to her primal instincts doesn't indicate any actual malice.
As somebody who has put a dog through training, that tracks with my experience. As I recall, the first lesson did not involve our dogs at all. It was just a long list of all the ways we had failed our dogs. Everything after that was addressing those issues.
I walk my Golden Retriever an hour a day. I also put her into doggy day care for a day or two every week so she can have the enjoyment of non stop chaos for 8 hours. She comes almost everywhere with us.
I'm never worried leaving her on my leather couch unattended for a day. She knows she'll get a walk or run.
But you're totally right about picking the right breed. I see people picking collies and heeler breeds and I just feel sad for the dog because they arn't going to get the levels of work they really need from a household family.
> I see people picking collies and heeler breeds and I just feel sad for the dog because they arn't going to get the levels of work they really need from a household family.
It's really hard when it's someone I know and they either don't ask my advice or they ignore it. I know in 6 months or a year they will come ask and I'll have to explain to them how that aussie line was bred on a working cattle ranch where it would spend 6 days a week, 8-12 hours a day, herding cattle.
>I see people picking collies and heeler breeds and I just feel sad for the dog because they arn't going to get the levels of work they really need from a household family.
I babysit my friends Red Heeler when he goes on vacation. And he is a bundle of energy, they need a lot of stimulation and exercise.
This was a lifetime cat owner trying to raise a dog during the pandemic. Perfect storm of bad husbandry for a dog. I’m not surprised this is the outcome.
> The whole concept of drugging your dog just seems, frankly, abusive to me.
Perhaps inadvertently in many cases, but it’s incontrovertible to me.
Dogs are sentient creatures and plying any animal with drugs to get a desired result, especially if it’s completely under your control, denies them the moral and ethical alternatives they likely need to live functional and healthy lives.
I’m not criticizing dog owners who do this, though; I think the vast majority of them are in over their heads, made a huge mistake, and likely don’t have the resources to do better. It’s awful for everyone involved. I wish more people understood that dogs are complex creatures with diverse wants and needs, requiring a lot of thought and care on a frequent and ongoing basis.
>I wish more people understood that dogs are complex creatures with diverse wants and needs, requiring a lot thought and care on a frequent and ongoing basis.
I wish society in general actually taught people this before they got the idea of adopting a dog. Instead, society and the media pushes the idea on people and make it look like it's easy and fun.
Dogs do require work and attention and care, but there’s nothing in the article to suggest that the owner wasn’t giving the dog the exercise or attention it needed. A vet behaviorist, like Dr. Pike referenced in the article, is only going to prescribe medication for clinically significant abnormal behavior.
Medicating dogs to ease their stress or pain (physical and mental) is not abusive when practiced appropriately but should be considered compassionate. No one balks at the idea of giving melarsomine to a dog with heartworm and appropriate treatment for diagnosed behavioral issues should be the same.
It is possible it’s overprescribed though I don’t have info on that.
Dogs are super empathetic and often reflect the emotional state of their owners. So in addition to lack of exercise, etc, their anxiety and strange behaviors are often a way to react to or support you.
I’ve had many Labrador Retrievers in my life, as hunting dogs in my youth and now as family pets. They’ve always been calm, and a big part of that is that we’re calm people.
Every dog is different, but their loyalty and empathy serve us in many ways. They are great at telling us things, if only we would listen.
My dogs (especially the Parson I raised from a puppy) knows when I'm stressed and is super affectionate and can also have negative behaviors sometimes too.
70% (approx) of dog behavior problems are solvable via sufficient exercise. In the dog's opinion, not yours. Get a chuckit and a kong soft frisbee and run the shit out of your dog.
Think very hard before you get eg a cattledog, border collie, jack russel, or even a corgi, etc.
Working dogs especially require work to feel satisfied. I grew up around red heelers (bred to herd cattle by nipping at their legs, which ours never did) and that instinct easily translates to herding kids or people. They are very bite happy on legs and take serious training and socializing before they are safe to introduce people to. One dog in particular bit most of the people who met him in general. My wife is the only girlfriend of mine he immediately loved when I introduced her. The one before that he was leery of, and the one before that he outright bit. Both ended up cheating on me, while my wife and I have been married 11 years...so honestly he seemed like a good judge of character.
1000% this. Another 10 or 20% would be helped with proper use of crate training (the dogs are scared and the crate can be their safe space).
I actually have a Parson Russell Terrier (AKC breed standard name for a jack) and while mine is easily in the lower half of energy, it was only because of some very extensive pre-purchase work to find a dog with the correct temperament.
Found the responsible dog owner. Even small dogs require large investment. And to forget this, adding another dog doesn’t “tire the other out”. Two dogs is >2x the work of one.
They are great when they’re great. Greatness requires investment.
Thanks. I try very hard to be a responsible dog owner.
I only have 3 small dogs now (all under 14, 20 and 23lbs about) because I realize as I age (I'm 39) and considering that a dog might live 15 years, I don't want to deal with a geriatric 60 lb dog at 50 years old. I've dealt with immobile dogs,t with a 40-50lb greyhound (twice) and a 18lb terrier mix and it's a world of a difference.
> adding another dog doesn’t “tire the other out”
No, it doesn't, but they definitely do provide each other companionship for each other especially when you're not there.
> Two dogs is >2x the work of one
Personally, 2 dogs was about 2.5x the work but adding the 3rd dog only brought things up to an even 3x the work.
I disagree with this. I’ve had 2 dogs the past 20 years (2 sets of 2 dogs) and they absolutely tire each other out. The chase squirrels together, they chase each other around the house, they play fight. Dogs are used to being part of a pack, I personally think having 2 dogs gives them a more meaningful (doggy) life
You missed the part where you indicated they have the opportunity to chase squirrels. Dogs on Prozac aren’t going out to chase squirrels and expel their energy.
>People need to do far more research when adopting or buying dogs.
It would help a lot it society didn't encourage people to adopt dogs, and normalize dog ownership. It's really something that only rich people should do, so they can show off their disposable income (e.g., 3k for a house/pet sitter to go on vacation, hiring a dog walker, etc.). Regular people have no business owning an animal that requires this much care and attention, when they're already busy with their work, social lives, their own kids, etc.
I don't agree that you need to be rich to properly care for a dog, but you do need to understand and accept the commitment it takes.
One thing that can help a lot is remote work. That means you can avoid expenses like hiring a dog walker or sitter because you can be there with your dog. As for the vacation part, my wife and I solve that by simply taking our dogs with us. That does restrict what you can do; we personally don't care because we don't take the kind of vacations where having dogs along would be a problem.
Other people handle that situation (vacation) differently.
They may board with friends. They may board the dog in a facility. There are many ways to reasonably handle that situation that doesn't cost 1000s of dollars but keep in mind I have three dogs (3x the cost), had a relatively long trip (3 weeks), was traveling internationally (needed someone who I had impeccable trust in), and I am determined to disrupt their lives as little as possible (so no boarding).
We should totally encourage people to adopt dogs (adopt, not buy)! We should just be totally honest about what they are getting into and what resources are required (mostly your time) to do it properly.
> It's really something that only rich people should do
Not at all, you don't have to do it how I did it, I am fortunate enough to be able to choose a path which optimizes my time (hiring a walker) and their lives (hiring a home pet sitter).
> so they can show off their disposable income (e.g., 3k for a house/pet sitter to go on vacation, hiring a dog walker, etc.)
Honestly, that statement just offends me for reasons I can't articulate at the moment. That so misses the mark of why I have dogs and why I wrote that comment.
I think it was 125/night for someone to spend 12-16 hours a day in the house with my dogs. Technically under minimum wage (15/hour in NJ!) for full time care of all 3 dogs.
I think I paid reasonably but generously, I didn't have any interest in hiring the cheapest possible person.
Edited to add that I just checked wag (pet walking/sitting app) to see how much I "over" paid.
Wag charges 40-60/night depending on location; I assume North NJ and wanting a highly verified and qualified sitter and 3 weeks and me generally being absurdly picky) would put me easily at or above that range, plus, they charge 25/night/extra pet so I'm at 110/night with Wag.
Not that I think the average Wag walker is bad, but, I'm much happier paying a bit more for someone I know and trust.
Too many people adopted dogs during the pandemic because they were stuck home and needed some distraction as well as realized they had the time to devote.
Now that things are returning to normal, people don't want to spend the time.
> Maisie howled at any stimulus. She paced all night and pounced on anyone who came to the house.
Your dog is some combination of bored and scared. You don't need a vet, you need a dog trainer.
Dogs can be incredible amounts of work. I probably spend on average 2 hours a day on dog work of some kind and I have a dog walker come twice daily too (30min/2x day).
There are times when I'll admit it's not convenient. The last vacation I took had an extra ~3k tacked on for a house/pet sitter, but, I (knowingly) made a commitment when I adopted/purchased them.
The whole concept of drugging your dog just seems, frankly, abusive to me.
People need to do far more research when adopting or buying dogs. Animal rescues are commonly not honest about a dogs history (to make it easier to adopt the dog out) and the vast majority of breeders are not honest about the amount of work required with particular breeds and particular dogs.