Loving to Distraction

Loving them as they are!

It's just that lack of understanding that led Desmond Morris to publish Dogs: The Ultimate Dictionary of over 1,000 Breeds.

For centuries, until we became an urban culture, dogs had real jobs. The need to work is still genetically programmed into them. So what happens, for example, to Border collies who can't herd sheep, and who live in apartments? Or retrievers who can't retrieve? Huskies who have nothing to pull?

 "It's been a problem since television came along," says Morris. "People see a Dalmatian or a collie, and think it's adorable. They adopt spaniels because they're smaller, so they think it can live in an apartment. But spaniels are genetically programmed to work hard, and they can't bear to do nothing, so they can become neurotic and difficult."

So Morris set about classifying dogs by the breed, the work they do, and how they need to live. "If you can't provide your English sheepdog with large spaces and animals to herd," he says, "perhaps the better decision is to not get an English sheepdog!"

Morris is blunt about how some people treat their dogs. "They're pig ignorant about dogs, and treat them like funny little people. This means the dog gets medical care and huge benefits in some ways, but it also means that they get the wrong diet and are badly exercised. There is no excuse anymore. Maybe Marie Antoinette didn't know any better when she was spoiling the royal pets. But today, in the 21st century, we know what dogs need. People just need to take the trouble to learn about them."

So how do we balance our relationships with our animals? We love them, shower them with affection, and spend billions on the perfect beds and squeaky toys and gourmet treats. But what's going to happen - to them and to us - if we keep trying to turn them into the ideal spouse or loving child?

For Graviele-Gold, Katz, and Morris, it's all about loving animals for who they are, rather than projecting our own needs onto them.

"We do a heck of a lot for dogs," says Morris. "And they do a heck of a lot for us. We have a contract with them, and a responsibility. But if you start imagining that the animal is a human in dog's clothing, then eventually there's going to be trouble for both the human and the dog."

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