Doggone Etiquette —

Life Without A Dog

By Bardi McLennan

A Word to the Dog:           

Have you always had a special person to call your very own? If so, you are a lucky dog. You probably can’t even imagine what life would be like without having your own person, or maybe a whole family of your own. Pretty sad, I can tell you! No taking that person for walks on a leash so you could trot proudly down the road. No meeting other dogs and telling them how wonderful your special people are. Worst of all, you wouldn’t share people’s feelings of being happy or sad. Nor would you have the satisfaction of being told over and over again that you are a good, much-loved dog. Every dog needs a home for all these reasons, and a whole lot of others.

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:

Do you remember even slightly what your life was like before a dog came to share it with you? Boring, dull. Maybe a tad self-centered. Before you had to teach the dog to be your obedient pal, you probably thought “bait” was something just used by fishermen. You had a lot to learn. No doubt you also thought a “vet” referred only to a retired serviceman, that is, until the doggie vet (care, bills and all) came into your life.            

There were all the normal changes in your life that you knew were coming when you acquired your first dog, so you were able to cope with them one by one as they came along. (Remember when your sofa didn’t have dog hair all over it?) Once again, we’re on a two-way street, this time it is life without a dog, and life with a dog. You may never have thought how some of the basic care given a dog benefits the owner. That’s because much of that care – feeding, training, grooming – soon becomes routine.            

Here’s a short list of the benefits a dog owner gets from the normal, ordinary, daily life with a dog, which you probably didn’t realize when you were not sharing your days with a dog. There are the little things such as housetraining which makes you more observant, quick to act, and (let’s hope) more patient. Then there’s the dog’s need for regular exercise which quickly becomes your primary reason to add a daily walk to your health regimen. Stooping and bending over to put down (and pick up) food dishes and water bowls, and to pick up the dog’s numerous toys, and to give on-the-floor pats and belly rubs, are all great for whittling the waistline!

It’s easy to see that life without a dog could go so far as to be considered a detriment to your physical well-being. In addition, there’s the social angle, for example all the people you meet and chat with when walking the dog, as well as the conversations held one-on-one with the dog. Without a dog your own personal health may be a primary concern, but with a dog, you share (along with that “vet”) the importance of the dog’s well-being.               

For those of us who have always (or almost always) had one or more dogs in our lives, it is sometimes very difficult to imagine what life without a dog could be like. A desolate existence, I’d guess. So if you don’t have a dog right now, give some thought to changing that status. Man cannot live by bread alone; he needs dog biscuits.

Until next time – BE GOOD!

- Bardi

Bardi McLennan bred, trained and showed Welsh Terriers for 30 years, during which time she wrote a monthly column on canine behavior in Dog Fancy Magazine. In addition to contributing to numerous dog publications, she has written 15 books on dogs, the latest being Rescue Me!, which received the ASPCA Humane Issues Award in 2008.