When did owning a dog become so stressful?

[fankino04]

As title really. I remember as a kid walking the family dog with no issues. Letting them off lead in areas away from the road and having friendly chats with other dog owners while the dogs said hello etc. Now it seems you can't even trust that an off lead dog is friendly so am always keeping an eye out to put ours back on the lead, if I don't do this I may get a mouthful off some chavvy owner even though my dog hadn't bothered theirs, when a loose dog approaches you don't know if it is dog aggressive or not as you are always hearing horror stories about random attacks. Then add to it the panic about where it's safe to walk due to potentially poisoned sausages etc or alabama rot 😢

 

[Cinnamontoast]

It is very stressful now, I think and a lot of it is due to people's feeling of entitlement. A classic example: my dog is very dog aggressive, but won't run across to other dogs to attack. He'll have a proper go if another dog comes right up to him. I asked a husky owner who had zero control to take her dog away from mine. She complained, saying she wanted to let her dog off. I asked who her was stopping her, I just wanted hers away from mine who was being trained and I was using ten feet of a massive park. She left, because she couldn't keep her dog away, he just kept bounding back to me. I will put mine on a lead, but he needs exercise too and he is never out of my control.

I think people don't train their dogs now and refuse to believe that their little darlings would be nasty, although four different dogs attacked all of mine within a week one summer and every owner claimed their dog 'has never done this before'. Yeah, sure.

Oops, personal rant, but untrained dogs are the bane of my life, or rather their owners.

 

[CorvusCorax]

More dogs out there, more dogs that wouldn't have been bred from years ago, being bred from (some will disagree but I firmly believe some aggressions are inherited as well as made...breeding for looks and colour and money rather than character and purpose), breeds that would have been in specialist homes years ago and not pet homes as they are now (people thinking 'I want one of those' not 'can I cope with one of those'), change in outlook on dog training, and because there are more dogs out there, it's easier for disease to spread. Just my thoughts.

Although do bear in mind a lot of the poisoned sausages stories are urban myth. Great reason to teach a stop/leave it command though!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I think people don't train their dogs now and refuse to believe that their little darlings would be nasty, although four different dogs attacked all of mine within a week one summer and every owner claimed their dog 'has never done this before'. Yeah, sure.
.

from what I remember there was precious little training of family dogs in the 70s either, and a whole lot less neutering-a lot more roaming. I think there were far fewer dogs around and certainly less pedigree dogs (does anyone remember those ubiquitous black and tan shorthair mongrels? Would love to find one but haven't seen one in years).

 

[fankino04]

My first dog was an rspca mongrel, a proper heinz 57 variety and she was a total pet, not much more training instilled in her than to come when she was called but never had issues when she met any other dogs, we would always put her on a lead if another dog was on a lead as it seemed polite to make sure she didn't approach it but other than that left her to be a dog with other dogs, just wish we could get back to those days.

 

[bonny]

from what I remember there was precious little training of family dogs in the 70s either, and a whole lot less neutering-a lot more roaming. I think there were far fewer dogs around and certainly less pedigree dogs (does anyone remember those ubiquitous black and tan shorthair mongrels? Would love to find one but haven't seen one in years).

I agree with this, any of us over a certain age can remember when most dogs were just family dogs of uncertain breeding. I can't remember anyone ever going to training classes, feeding treats, dogs just got on with it and I can't remember any real problems that arose. I think we have massively overcomplicated things, same with horse ownership and a lot of the common sense has gone.

 

[{97702}]

I don't find owning dogs stressful? Maybe because it is such an ingrained thing, it is just part of life for me, I adore my dogs and cannot imagine life without them. Other than when they are ill, or have accidents, they rarely cause me stress

I am constantly astonished at the way other people seem to think it is OK to look after dogs nowadays - for some dog owners it seems to be all about the "status" of having a rare or unusual breed, which they clearly know ****** all about before taking it on. I appreciate that social media means it is a LOT more reported than ever before, but I am also constantly amazed at the number of people who "lose" their dogs or report them "stolen" from their gardens (e.g. someone left the gate open....) - I would be going absolutely mad if I managed to lose one of my lot, and I wouldn't rest until the dog was home.

 

[AmyMay]

I don't find it stressful either - maybe due to where I live?

We walk, rarely on the lead. Meet lots of lovely friendly people and their lovely friendly dogs and enjoy every walk we go on.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I agree with this, any of us over a certain age can remember when most dogs were just family dogs of uncertain breeding. I can't remember anyone ever going to training classes, feeding treats, dogs just got on with it and I can't remember any real problems that arose. I think we have massively overcomplicated things, same with horse ownership and a lot of the common sense has gone.

None of our dogs walked well on the lead but all were walked a lot (mainly so dad could go and have a smoke!). Both parents were working full time mostly too. I am not sure if it was better but I do think the breeds available were perhaps less complicated. I am not sure many back then would have contemplated paying the best part of a months wages for a puppy back then, we didn't even have a phone in the house!

 

[twiggy2]

from what I remember there was precious little training of family dogs in the 70s either, and a whole lot less neutering-a lot more roaming. I think there were far fewer dogs around and certainly less pedigree dogs (does anyone remember those ubiquitous black and tan shorthair mongrels? Would love to find one but haven't seen one in years).

roaming dogs will socialise with out human intervention, so dogs learnt the rules from other dogs without human hysterics, they also spent less time isolated and had more exercise, dogs were often out playing with the kids off lead-this meant physical exercise, mental stimulation and the opportunity to move away from a stressful situation. most dogs these days lack all of the above and are just poorly bred status symbols.

 

[Clodagh]

More dogs out there, more dogs that wouldn't have been bred from years ago, being bred from (some will disagree but I firmly believe some aggressions are inherited as well as made...breeding for looks and colour and money rather than character and purpose), breeds that would have been in specialist homes years ago and not pet homes as they are now (people thinking 'I want one of those' not 'can I cope with one of those'), change in outlook on dog training, and because there are more dogs out there, it's easier for disease to spread. Just my thoughts.

Although do bear in mind a lot of the poisoned sausages stories are urban myth. Great reason to teach a stop/leave it command though!

So true, as my OH says, if you worked full time you didn't have a dog, a mongrel was just that, not a designer crossbreed, we were all less precious and dogs learned social graces. It is much the same wirth children!

 

[bonny]

roaming dogs will socialise with out human intervention, so dogs learnt the rules from other dogs without human hysterics, they also spent less time isolated and had more exercise, dogs were often out playing with the kids off lead-this meant physical exercise, mental stimulation and the opportunity to mo0ve away from a stressful situation. most dogs these days lack all of the above and are just status symbols.

We seem to have gone from a lot of people simply letting the dog out to do it's own thing for the day to owners never letting their dogs off leads and keeping them caged in the house. We are so paranoid now about everything, for our dogs, horses and children and reality has got lost along the way !

 

[splashgirl45]

I must be lucky as I walk locally off lead apart from the road, meet loads of lovely people and friendly dogs and my dogs have their particular friends who they play with....when I was young in the 50's there only seemed to be mongrels about, my parents took me to petticoat lane ,a market in London, and bought my dog from a stall which had lots of different types of pups...I cannot remember her ever being ill or being a problem, she got lots of exercise with me on a daily basis and lived till she was 15....the trouble is people seem to get puppies without having any idea of how to look after them properly, and their idea of exercise is round the block on a lead and not necessarily every day, then they wonder why the dogs are hyper!!!!!

 

[MurphysMinder]

Well I may remember things from a slightly different perspective as my mum and gran bred dogs, and ran a boarding kennel, so did see quite a few pedigree dogs. There certainly were training clubs around in those days, I was in a club demonstration team in the late 60s, and dare I say it I think maybe dogs were better behaved because they were treated more firmly (a bit like children).

There were far less dogs bred then though I think, certainly just because a bitch had a uterus people didn't immediately think it was a good idea to breed from them. Dogs learned better "social skills" because many did wander around on their own, and they also had enough exercise for the same reason. I believe so many of the problems with dogs nowadays is they don't get enough mental and physical exercise.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Baaaa to MM. We always had pedigree dogs and kept them kennelled/under control as it was the responsible thing to do and took them training, as they are a breed who do best when they're doing a job, and were away showing nearly every weekend.
There was less of a split between show and working types. Now some breeds have separate gene pools.
I often think I'd give my right arm for a dog like the bitch we had when I was growing up.

 

[fankino04]

I just don't understand why so many people you meet have an issue with your dog socialising with theirs, it never used to be like that and therefore there were less dog aggressive dogs because they were socialising and also they weren't being clung onto by neurotic owners who are terrified there might be a fight. I walk my 2 really early so don't meet many others but then on my days off I am out at more sociable times and I just wish people weren't so crazy.

 

[RunToEarth]

I just don't understand why so many people you meet have an issue with your dog socialising with theirs, it never used to be like that and therefore there were less dog aggressive dogs because they were socialising and also they weren't being clung onto by neurotic owners who are terrified there might be a fight. I walk my 2 really early so don't meet many others but then on my days off I am out at more sociable times and I just wish people weren't so crazy.

There are a lot of odd people who own dogs these days. I don't walk where anyone else walks so I don't find owning a dog remotely stressful, I suspect I might if I had to walk around a park and couldn't let them off of their leads. Mine socialise out shooting with other like minded people and haven't had a fight yet..!

 

[Hanson]

I think it not just about dog owners but people in general. People seem to be altogether more agressive, full of anger and just plain rude now.

I had a recent incident walking my two dogs on the green at the end of my road which is circled by a a fairly busy road. I had my two off the lead and they were playing happily together, I saw a small dog come racing acroos the green towards me, so I got hold of my two as this dog seemed to be making a beeline to us and my JRT can be a bit 'gobby' at times. Turns out the dog was actually a puppy and just wanted to join in the fun. The owner was some way off and I waited for her to come to collect her dog. She made no attempt to do so and eventually I called to her to ask her to collect her pup - to which I got a mouthful of abuse about how she can let her dog go where it likes etc. I cant be bothered with people like that so walked off . Puppy followed and it wasnt until I had got to the road (having waited again for her) that she made any attempt to get hold of the poor pup.

Its the same with drivers, Ive lost count the amount of times Ive been given verbally abuse and hand gestures for something that was thier fault, not mine.

 

[Llanali]

For me the strange part is that these threads always seem to hinge on letting your dog off lead, or not as the case may be. Mine never go off lead in public, it's a complete non issue for me. My dogs don't lead any less of a full life, just because I don't let them hoon on public land or other people's land.

 

[splashgirl45]

For me the strange part is that these threads always seem to hinge on letting your dog off lead, or not as the case may be. Mine never go off lead in public, it's a complete non issue for me. My dogs don't lead any less of a full life, just because I don't let them hoon on public land or other people's land.

you may be lucky and have a big garden for yours to have a good run. I have a small garden and therefore feel it is important to my dogs to have as much off lead exercise as possible and I make sure that they don't bother anyone else or their dogs..

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I confess we lived in quite a 'posh' street while I was growing up, we had a pedigree, a Keeshond and the neighbour had an Airedale and there were GSDs down the street. I don't remember loads of mongrels roaming round! Ours occasionally did a runner at fireworks.

 

[pinball]

when i was a child we had pedigree dogs we had a red setter and an old English Sheep dog in a 2 bedroom terrace house but they were always walked alot off lead as we lived by a huge park,My one nan had a mongrel who was an escape artist and was really well socialised dog, my other nan had a cardigan(sp) corgi he was always kept on the lead as he had selective hearing.But now a days people cross the road when i walk the dog he rarely goes off the lead but only because his recall is a bit hit and miss i dont mind dogs approaching him as he is really friendly.

 

[blackcob]

I find dog ownership infinitely less stressful when I don't attempt to second guess other people's level of training or control and just stay away from the hordes of under-stimulated, under-exercised, walked once a week on a Sunday teatime type dogs. We do our race training at night, other training via clubs and only go off-lead in the horse paddock. This probably makes me one of the uber paranoid over-complicated type of owners... bit of a catch-22!

 

[Llanali]

you may be lucky and have a big garden for yours to have a good run. I have a small garden and therefore feel it is important to my dogs to have as much off lead exercise as possible and I make sure that they don't bother anyone else or their dogs..

I don't have an issue with people who do Want to have theirs off, just I don't see how it is a deal breaker for many

And no, I have a postage stamp garden on a new build estate, it has no grass. I pay YO to let my dogs run in the ménage when everyone is gone, and have previously rented fields etc. For them. I also cycle with them both, and we going running with them.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

More dogs out there, more dogs that wouldn't have been bred from years ago, being bred from (some will disagree but I firmly believe some aggressions are inherited as well as made...breeding for looks and colour and money rather than character and purpose), breeds that would have been in specialist homes years ago and not pet homes as they are now (people thinking 'I want one of those' not 'can I cope with one of those'), change in outlook on dog training, and because there are more dogs out there, it's easier for disease to spread. Just my thoughts.

Although do bear in mind a lot of the poisoned sausages stories are urban myth. Great reason to teach a stop/leave it command though!

Agree with this.....it can also be transferred to horses these days too

 

[4Hoofed]

We got our poor pooch off a "rescue", un-socialized, under weight, and mistreated. And the owners before hadn't be much better if you catch my drift. He was raised in a high rise (nothing against this if you make the effort to do what is best for the dog), and exercise was the balcony. He is a lovely dog, but it has taken us a 14 months to really bring him out of himself. But do other dog owners get on my nerve! Most are lovely people, doing what is best for the dog, fab times. But when we see another dog loose, we recall ours, nothing against them playing but he can be a bit funny, just seems to send all the wrong body language, all the hair goes up on his back, so we prefer he plays with dogs that aren't inclined to take offence... but so many owners do. Never had a dog react badly once we've asked if they are okay, but a lot of owners have said less then pleasant things about our boy.

On the other hand loads of other people are dead friendly and sit and chat about dogs etc., while they play, but I've had people the other side of fields walk up to me and complain that my dog was being aggressive to someone else's dog! And that he shouldn't have been in the park let alone off the lead! (He wasn't aggressive, and the other owner laughed but still!) She argued that she knew all about dog body language and as his hair was up he was about to attack. I think these days everyone thinks they are an expert and that dogs are made of glass! Never mind we have a very good, very trusted/respected dog trainer who has known him nearly a year, when he would shake, twist, jump, bark, hang himself trying to run off from other dogs, till know where he just fluffs up as he plays said he was confident it wasn't aggression, just miscommunication and excitement! He does the same when he and the cat are playing and they share a bed, food bowl, blankets and toys and he's not eaten it yet!

So I do pick his play mates carefully, but it's as much about checking the owner as the dog.

 

[Moobli]

More dogs out there, more dogs that wouldn't have been bred from years ago, being bred from (some will disagree but I firmly believe some aggressions are inherited as well as made...breeding for looks and colour and money rather than character and purpose), breeds that would have been in specialist homes years ago and not pet homes as they are now (people thinking 'I want one of those' not 'can I cope with one of those'), change in outlook on dog training, and because there are more dogs out there, it's easier for disease to spread. Just my thoughts.

Although do bear in mind a lot of the poisoned sausages stories are urban myth. Great reason to teach a stop/leave it command though!

Absolutely spot on imo. I also believe many behaviours are inherited rather than learned.

 

[Moobli]

Well I may remember things from a slightly different perspective as my mum and gran bred dogs, and ran a boarding kennel, so did see quite a few pedigree dogs. There certainly were training clubs around in those days, I was in a club demonstration team in the late 60s, and dare I say it I think maybe dogs were better behaved because they were treated more firmly (a bit like children).

There were far less dogs bred then though I think, certainly just because a bitch had a uterus people didn't immediately think it was a good idea to breed from them. Dogs learned better "social skills" because many did wander around on their own, and they also had enough exercise for the same reason. I believe so many of the problems with dogs nowadays is they don't get enough mental and physical exercise.

Completely agree again. I am constantly amazed (and appalled) by how few dogs are walked even just once a day!

 

[jrp204]

I think years ago people had more time, fewer households had 2 working adults. A dog shut in for 8/9 hrs a day without adequate training and exercise is going to be more of challenge.

 

[Alec Swan]

…….. . I also believe many behaviours are inherited rather than learned.

You're right, but that rarely fits in with the arguments which are all so often proffered whereby the dog's problems are believed to all so often a result of previous abuse. There is no certain way of predicting a dog's likely demeanour simply by looking at the parents. Sometimes the makeup of a dog, and they can vary in a litter, is made up or 'created' and accidentally, at the point of mating.

Conversely perhaps, I also think that there's a great deal of 'over-thinking' going on.

Alec.