Wrong choices by dog-owners, shrinking living spaces invite trouble

Lucknow, March 5 Dogs can be deadly and dangerous.
This fact was painfully driven home when an 80-year-old woman was mauled to death by her pet Pitbull in July 2020. The three-year-old Pitbull mauled the old woman and she died due to excessive loss of blood.

The irony of the incident is that the woman's son still does not believe that the dog Brownie could have killed his mother.

The municipal authorities took away the Pitbull to a shelter for one week and then returned it to the owner, despite protests from neighbours.

After this incident, several other incidents were reported from across the country where Pitbulls had fatally attacked people.

Pitbull terriers have been the subject of controversy over the years. The breed is banned in Canada and the United Kingdom. Strict guidelines over ownership of Pitbulls are also in place in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, Denmark, Poland, Finland, and Norway.

Pitbull Terrier, Rottweiler, Siberian Husky and Malamute, Wolf Hybrid, and Doberman Pinscher are among the dogs listed in the dangerous category.

Veterinary experts said that people tend to adopt high end breeds because they feel it is a status symbol.

"Living spaces are shrinking and these dogs like Pitbull and Doberman need adequate exercise and freedom of movement. Their owners give them adequate food but not enough exercise which either makes them dull - in case of Labradors- or violent," said a veterinary officer.

Though dogs as a species are considered social, many factors could contribute to a dog's aggressive response to an unfamiliar dog.

For example, some dogs miss being socialized during the sensitive period for socialization, which ends by 14 weeks of age. Without this early comfortable exposure, some dogs develop aggressive behaviour when they encounter new dogs.

When socialization does not go as planned, a puppy is unexpectedly frightened by another dog. A long-lasting fear of other dogs can result, and this fear can trigger an aggressive response.

Because genetic and early environmental factors contribute to behaviour, even well-socialized dogs can develop aggression towards other dogs.

The aggression that develops in a dog is rooted in frustration and can include components of both territorial behaviour and reinforcement-related or learnt behaviour.

Radhika Suryavanshi of PETA said that people should also stop buying dogs with debilitating deformities like Pugs.

"We all know that Pugs look like they cannot breathe, as they huff and heave with their tongues hanging out, but that is because they genuinely have difficulty breathing because they have been bred for abnormal features," she said.

Pugs, popularised by Vodafone commercials, and other breathing-impaired breeds like French bulldogs, English bulldogs, Pugs, Pekingese, Boston terriers, Boxers, Cavalier King Charles spaniels, and Shih tzus suffer from a debilitating and sometimes fatal condition called brachycephalic syndrome.

This can make even going for a walk, chasing a ball, running, and playing the things that make dogs' lives joyful and fulfilling difficult.

PETA India has also warned that most pet shops and breeders are illegal, as they are not registered with their state animal welfare boards. They typically deprive dogs of proper veterinary care and adequate food, exercise, affection, and opportunities for socialization, in addition to fuelling the animal overpopulation crisis.

Besides, there is also a growing tendency of abandoning pet dogs once the owners decide that they do not want to keep the pet.

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