Open Writing

The other Sunday my wife Sandra and I visited a new “Open Air” shopping mall. A mall where the stores stand alone on a street, just like the old days – fancy that! I remarked on the number of dogs there, all on leashes, and in response she told me that it was a “Dog friendly mall.” I didn’t see one of them with a purse or a wallet, so assumed the owner would have to pay for any pooch purchases.

OK, so having got that bit of silliness out of my system, I can turn to the serious business of commenting on “dog friendly” anything in the US. That it would be worth commenting on at all is probably a mystery to my British readers, who are accustomed to man’s best friend being allowed to accompany their owners just about anywhere.

It’s not too many years ago that American tourists returning from a visit to the UK, told horror stories of seeing dogs in pubs and restaurants. Well, no more. Americans have become “doggy” people. Like just about any new trend in the US, people have gone overboard with their desire to own a canine or two - or three.

I’m not sure why this has come about, except possibly that dog shows have become prime-time TV offerings, attracting huge audiences for top shows like the Westminster, held at Madison Square Garden in New York, and the legendary Krufts show in London, England. To further hype the joys of dog ownership, American TV’s Animal Planet channel features any number of programs on ownership, training, and even canine psychology.

Generally due to ignorance, potential owners here often make bad decisions about a selecting a breed. The working dogs are a big favorite, ignoring the fact that working dogs need to be worked. People with more money than sense just have to have an Irish Wolfhound or an English Setter, or a Golden Retriever to live with them in a one bedroom apartment in the middle of a big city.

Another group of owners that is destined to have second thoughts are those drawn to lap dogs of various breeds, especially the miniature varieties. Many of these strains are intensively bred, even to the extreme of incestuous mating. This results in breeds that at best have congenital weaknesses such as respiratory deficiencies, back and hip problems, but layered on those, degenerative disorders that result from a limited gene pool.

The last thing most new owners are willing to do, apparently, is train their pooch. Obedience training is readily available, but either through laziness, or reluctance to be firm with their pet, the masters and mistresses don’t avail themselves of the opportunity. So we have to endure dogs that bark continually, pull on their leash when being walked, and jump up on anyone they get close to. A well-trained dog is a joy to see, but here it’s a rarity.

Of course there are some breeds that are so independent and single minded that training is all but impossible, and should only be owned by folk who will utilize their innate qualities. Terriers are a good example, and some hunting dogs such as the Brittany spaniel. These breeds probably have never been pack animals, so don’t understand the concept of the Alpha Male, a role that any effective owner must take on.

Breed societies in America have become so concerned about mismatches between dogs and owners who are ignorant of a breed’s innate characteristics, that they have created web sites where a prospective owner can not only learn of the breed’s qualities, but also the challenges they pose. That way, hopefully, the dog won’t ultimately be rejected and end up either wandering the streets or in the local pound, later to be euthanized.

With the rapid increase of “dog-lovers” in America, it’s surprising and distressing to learn of frequent cruelty. Dog fighting contests are prevalent, as revealed by the recent scandal involving footballer Michael Vick. Other dogs are starved and beaten. In the case of the Greyhound racing community, dogs that can’t perform to a required level are euthanized, unless they are fortunate enough to be adopted by a rescue society.

But most US owners are what they themselves think of as kind and loving to their charges. They sleep with them, kiss them on the lips (Ugh!), over-feed them, give them human food, and dress them in jackets and hats, and even bootees. It used to be that “A dog’s life” really meant that, but anymore in America, dogs are having a human life, as much as they are able to.

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