To think that dogs in the past were well 'ard compared to dogs now?

[Antiqueanniesmagiclanternshow]

Dogs of yore...didn't wear coats, ran around unsupervised a lot, ate crap they found on the street, chewed on bones, had fights, did white dog poo.

Nowadays i am also seeing friends having to take their dog to the emergency vet because they ate a bit of chocolate, dogs in fluffy jumpers etc

Is it because many more dogs were mongrels and so they were just tougher? Or or is there another reason dogs seem much wussier these days?

We were having a chat over the weekend about a similar thing, why is there so many dogs with problems nowadays, reactive, resource guarding etc, is it just a case of numbers, far more dogs about, bad breeding, designer breeds, dog owners themselves being to soft on their dogs not letting meet, not letting older dogs tell the other dogs off for bad behaviour.
People not so tolerant nowadays,
I’ve had dogs for over fifty years and have noticed a big change in that time

I think you have a point. I treat my dog like a second child, am always fussing him, kissing him and if he seems off, I fret he's depressed. I know I need help ! My husband grew up in Jamaica and tells me how dogs there were pretty much left to their own devices and still survived. I argue at what cost ? You're right though, there's a balance needed, as with most things !

It's because people treat them like children and not animals.

Yes, I'd never heard of anxious dogs with attachment issues until fur babies were the thing. Some people treat their dogs like children and babies - just odd. They must be lacking in something.

The poor dogs.

Well chocolate is toxic to dogs so I don't agree with you on that bit. You don't see any white dog shite around these days either. Plus as pp said designer breeds have more health issues. Embrace the mongrels I say

It's because now they are furbabies instead of dogs

Totally worth you on that.

Dogs of yore were bred for a purpose, whether that was terriers for catching rats, foxes, herding, retrieving game kills etc. Bull terrier, fox terrier,
Fox hounds, wolf hounds, the clues are all in the names for many.
Working and fighting in all kind of conditions and weather, eating whatever crap they can get hold of or what their masters gave them.

Without a doubt they had a shorter and harder life than dogs of today, but they were bred for a function, not aesthetics. And I think you are right, they were just harder, because they had to be, and they were bred to be!

Nowadays it's about how the dog looks and if it's a "breed standard" some of this standard is not good for the health of the dog. Hip problems, breathing problems are known issues in certain breeds.

Look at old photos or dogs from 100 years ago, and see how much breeds have changed, it's quite shocking really.

White dog shit is because there used to be bonemeal in food.

This sounds a lot like the people who complain about 'kids these days' and bringing back the cane etc. Yes, there are people who indulge/cosset their pets (and kids) but for the most part, things have changed for the better.

People seem reluctant to train and discipline their dogs now. The dogs become neurotic because the owners aren't confident enough to train properly, which involves guidance and discipline. Treating them like 'fur babies' leads to mollycoddling. I don't think owners have the time to train them properly either. My neighbours have had to get the dog trainer in to train their neurotic and vicious shitzhu which can't be allowed near their child.

I also think the move away from keeping mutts hasn't helped because pure breeds can have neuroses and inbuilt behavioural problems. Back in the day the 'mutts' tended to be more even tempered and easier to train I suppose.

The same can happen with children. You can see the increase in neurotic uni students who are triggered by having to do laundry and can't boil an egg. That's down to the parents mollycoddling them.

It’s because for many the line between dog and child/baby has become so blurred it’s become non existent. I’ve always had dogs they are treated like …. dogs. I leave mine (not for hours but occasionally for 5 hours) they seem perfectly happy, I feed then bog standard dig food, I walk then daily and occasionally they scavenge and eat crap literally and figuratively, they are exceedingly well behaved, they understand the the word “no” and know what is expected of them. No coats resource guarding separation anxiety issues no healthy issues all have been happy and healthy well adjusted easy to live with and have lived long lives for their breed. They are not my children and never will be I do love them but my now grown up children mean everything to me.

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

White dog shit is because there used to be bonemeal in food.

This sounds a lot like the people who complain about 'kids these days' and bringing back the cane etc. Yes, there are people who indulge/cosset their pets (and kids) but for the most part, things have changed for the better.

ETA - apart from overbreeding, designer dogs and the trend for brachycephalic dogs, obvs.

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

White dog shit is because there used to be bonemeal in food.

This sounds a lot like the people who complain about 'kids these days' and bringing back the cane etc. Yes, there are people who indulge/cosset their pets (and kids) but for the most part, things have changed for the better.

I didn't know this jesusinthecabbagevan thanks! Was more just popped into my head when thinking about 80s dogs

Does anyone know why there is no longer bonemeal in food? Was is it a bad thing?

I blame pet insurance, the vets find a problem the dog goes to the specialist vets or hydro
Therapy pool ( as my friends dog did ) , then it's exempt on the insurance at renewal for its legs etc so the owners are then mega concerned about dog getting poorly again and having a huge vet bill, so the dog is pampered to make sure it doesn't get ill or have any other problems , dog and owners stressed out. Then they see a meme about dogs walking in the heat ( which is a worry in summer ) and then have to try and walk it early morning or in the evening on grass, so dog has to go out in the car to the park or wherever it's safer for for it's paws. Then you hear of ' dog napping ' in the area so you have to pay out for security lights for your house ( because your out later with your pet when it's cooled down) then you discover that kennels or dog borders are a fortune if you want a holiday without the dogs with you and nobody can have the dog for you for free! They can't eat the cheaper own brand foods as they are ill, so you have to buy the more expensive brands for them and it goes on and on! I know people love their pets, but I have resisted getting a pup as I've seen the stress it can cause ( and the costs involved) from my friends who are mad animal lovers but still have a bit of a moan about the work / costs involved!
It's a big commitment these days. People were more laid back years ago , but then you did see more poo around too, which was a bad thing!
I think it's just become like weddings, more things to buy for your pet, so more to pay out for I think. Plus people tend to mother them more too.

I don't think dogs were harder, more they weren't valued in the same way.
Except my aunt's dog Pedro the poodle.
Totally spoiled in the 1960's.

I lived in the UK for a few years (I don't now) and I have to say that I found that dogs were treated very differently there to my own country.

Here our dogs live outside in the garden. They have a kennel and that is where they sleep. In the winter I bring them indoors if it is a really cold night, but my Lab hates being indoors and more chances than not he will cry to be let out in the night, and will go to his kennel.

We have white poo because once a month when I do a run to the butchers they get a huge bone each and will gnaw on that for days.

And essentially they are working dogs and pets, as in they are guard dogs. We live in a high crime country and so they are the best first line of defence. When all the dogs in the street bark, we take note and alert the necessary to check it out.

I am not sure if it is because our properties are bigger, but our days are not planned around taking our dogs for a walk. They don't go out every day if there isn't time. I got slated for this before, but here the dogs live around us, and not the other way around.

Apparently it's because bone meal can often contain slaughterhouse waste, toxic metals and other nasties (though there are also some health benefits).

A real shame, as it did make dog shit so much easier to spot!

Yanbu! They're not allowed to be dogs anymore, they're "furbabies" and it's embarrassing.

We have a friend from Pakistan who is an experienced vet. When he started looking at working in a vet practice here he was shocked by the way vet medicine is practised and monetized. He could not believe it when he heard of dogs being medicated for depression. He would have prescribed exercise, brain work and a good diet.

He has decided that he could not happily practise here in the UK and is retraining as a teacher instead.

He is like the vet we visited with our dogs when we were first married - relied on his hands and stethoscope with the occasional x-ray if he was unsure.

I think dog ownership has become fetishised in the same way 'parenting' was before it. It's all kongs and doggy daycare.

My late mil spoiled all her dogs in the 70s and 80s, but mostly with the food they ate ( steak and chicken , they ate better than the adults did !)
However, they were trained well and wasn't allowed on the furniture and well behaved mostly , just a bit pampered at times and never ever left for longer than an hour or two.
She was a bit fanatical though. It honestly put me off as I know I wouldn't have the commitment you seem to need to have a pet dog (plus she would have only told me I was doing it all wrong anyway !)

I've had dogs all my life, I love them, but I'm seriously considering not getting more when my current dogs pop their clogs.
I am sick of seeing badly trained, spoiled dogs, bad owners spoiling the reputation of decent owners, dogs dressed up and treated as toys/babies. Not to mention the lack of dogs with character, everything seems to be a neurotic pedigree or ''something ' poo.

Does Greece still have free range dogs?
Sorry for the random segue but it was one of the best things there for me.
The dogs weren't strays just outside in friendly packs

My friend's dad is from Kazakhstan and he finds modern dog keeping very strange. Like a PP, his dogs in Kazakhstan lived outside and only came in in bad weather. They ate leftovers and cheap meat/bones. He said they were rarely ill and seemed to live long enough. He thinks the main difference is the breeding, their dogs were big woolly mutts whose job was to guard the house, not look pretty or be cuddly. This was prompted as my friend's dog had grabbed chicken bones and shared them with my dog and we'd both freaked out at the danger!

@the80sweregreat

I blame pet insurance, the vets find a problem the dog goes to the specialist vets or hydro Therapy pool ( as my friends dog did ) , then it's exempt on the insurance at renewal for its legs etc so the owners are then mega concerned about dog getting poorly again and having a huge vet bill, so the dog is pampered to make sure it doesn't get ill or have any other problems , dog and owners stressed out. Then they see a meme about dogs walking in the heat ( which is a worry in summer ) and then have to try and walk it early morning or in the evening on grass, so dog has to go out in the car to the park or wherever it's safer for for it's paws. Then you hear of ' dog napping ' in the area so you have to pay out for security lights for your house ( because your out later with your pet when it's cooled down) then you discover that kennels or dog borders are a fortune if you want a holiday without the dogs with you and nobody can have the dog for you for free! They can't eat the cheaper own brand foods as they are ill, so you have to buy the more expensive brands for them and it goes on and on! I know people love their pets, but I have resisted getting a pup as I've seen the stress it can cause ( and the costs involved) from my friends who are mad animal lovers but still have a bit of a moan about the work / costs involved! It's a big commitment these days. People were more laid back years ago , but then you did see more poo around too, which was a bad thing! I think it's just become like weddings, more things to buy for your pet, so more to pay out for I think. Plus people tend to mother them more too.

Yes I agree, im on a dog facebook group and people pay an extortionate amount to insure their dogs, then don't claim for smaller things as it will affect their premium. People post panicking because the dog ate a square of chocolate and taking them to the vet, obviously a large amount is different. I also think dry dog food is playing a part. If you mention feeding old style tinned food you get rounded on even though a lot of tinned foods score higher nutritionally. I feed an expensive dry food myself as it is more convenient but the carb levels are high for an animal that does not need carbohydrates and I do worry. Dogs today seem to have a shorter life span than they did in the 80s too.