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?

*Does Greece still have free range dogs?"

Ha! My village has free range dogs! They roam freely, seem to avoid getting run over, meet up with each other, and go home for their dinner. There's maybe five or six of them. It's always been like that here.

Generally OP, I agree with PP who say that as dog ownership becomes more widespread, people get dogs who didn't have them growing up, so they don't know how to train them properly. This probably leads to an increase in behavoural problems. There are also way more inbred 'pedigree' dogs now, so more health problems. More breeds around which are not made to survive in the UK, so people have to put coats on them to keep them warm - I mean, a hairless dog in the snow, come on!

My dogs have always chewed raw bones, and eaten all manner of other animals' poo. They are collies, so they do not complain even if they are in serious pain. Admittedly not always a good thing, but they sure are hard as nails!

Haha I'm not into frilly clothes or photoshoots but my dog wears a coat in winter and sunscreen in summer. I did loads of pet/house sitting pre covid in Thailand and Australia and lots of those dogs roamed free or were purely outside dogs. That comes with its own problems though, like having to check the free roamers for ticks every evening.

In the old days, when dogs got ill, no one would have dreamed of spending ££££ to have surgery or chemotherapy or any other expensive medical treatment. You had them put down. Because they are not people. They are not children. They are not babies.

I think a lot of dogs these days are just really bloody bored!

My neighbour has dogs that she leaves for about 8 hours a day, coming back at lunchtime for half an hour. She obviously loves them, and walks them a lot when she's home and spoils them, but it doesnt really make up for the fact that they're bored shitless most of the day, barking and going mad in the house. It's not a natural life for a dog, they need mental stimulation and to feel like they have a job imo. Some of the happiest dogs you'll meet are farm dogs, sniffer dogs, guide dogs.

If you want a pet to spoil and pamper and leave on their own, get a cat!

Smolgoose,
Get a cat, wash you’re mouth out with soap and water

My working strain labrador poos white, eats bones and raw meat, stays downstairs, is being trained out of being an arse (18 months so ongoing). Won a grooming session but smells okay generally and doesn’t need more than a rub with a towel to get the mud off. Tho’ I am wondering if it would get rid of some of the hair. Is pretty hard and does fit it around the family generally. We have a maltipoo nearby with a cutesy nickname on its dog tag and a range of seasonal coats. Am embarrassed for it.

@AmberRoseGold I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a lab of healthy weight. Beautiful!

Do you ever get people telling you he's too thin? He isn't, of course, but they look like completely different dogs when they're healthy!

My friends lab is beautiful. Not a big eater at all and has supermodel legs : a gentle soul.

We have plenty of people asking if dog is pure bred or part collie as skinny- yes, even some FTCH in there but tbh more just a nice low inbreeding coefficient! But breeder has the same issue. I grew up with show line labs but they weren’t like the absolute barrels I meet. Dog can outrun most and is just a joy to watch bound around or swim. I would love to be that fit!

This is absolutely true . Latch key dogs did not have all social problems so many dogs suffer from now . I was always bringing home wandering dogs who were fairly friendly . We humans do create most of the problems dogs suffer from . On the plus side it has been many a year since I have seen dogs chasing cars and shagging on the street on my way to school .

My dogs are left for most of the day. They do nothing but sleep, get up, drink water, play a bit, go back to sleep.

The same when I was on maternity leave, the same when the helper is there tidying up or cleaning. In fact I think they don’t like anyone there trying to get them to move from their sleeping spots.

They bark at the chickens, and random cats out the window and are anything but destructive.

I think we’ve gone the other way in the “a dog is for life” mantra. Yes, when you get a dog, your responsibility is to keep it fed, warm, loved and socialized. But not at the cost to your own sanity or financial circumstances.

Our 13 year old dog has liver disease, bladder issues and what we think might be Cushings. The testing is circa $700 (for first round of tests), not including ultrasounds. The drug therapy here is $300 a month and we cannot justify spending that on a dog to prolong a life he’s reaching the end of. If they told us he had cancer, we’d PTS straight away.

Dog owners now are having their hands forced by pet insurance (which doesn’t exist here), and the message that you should do everything you can for your pet at all costs which is absolutely wrong.

One big change since the 70s is that most male dogs are routinely neutered - hence far less likely to be running off and/or hanging around in search of bitches in season.

Yes

My parents had dogs in the 80s then one in the 2000s and now have one from mid 2010s

The development of the cushy lifestyle and the items available to buy for the dog has been very noticeable

1980s dog had a collar lead, bed, bowl and food and a couple of toys

The current dog has more toys than I did as a kid, more coats than I own currently, the food is more nutritious and probably ok for humans if desperate. More stimulation everything

Middle dog it was all on the market but was only really brought by Uber wealthy handbag dogs

I actually miss seeing true mongrels , a cross breed is just not the same as mongrel .

No idea what you are talking about.
Pickle here is raw fed and produces nostalgic white poo's.

My mum's childhood dog (she's in her 80s btw) was never allowed in the house, had a kennel in the garden, never had dog food and it just ate scraps but she adored it and I've seen photos of it dressed in clothes! She was an only child and didn't have any toys so the poor dog became a living doll!

My mum's childhood dog (she's in her 80s btw) was never allowed in the house, had a kennel in the garden, never had dog food and it just ate scraps but she adored it and I've seen photos of it dressed in clothes! She was an only child and didn't have any toys so the poor dog became a living doll!

Yeah. I have a medium sized white terriorist. Bouncy, people loving little thug.

When it is cold I get "Why isn't he wearing a coat?"

• "cos he fucking eats them" doesn't go down well as a response!

Ooh he is skinny

• no, he's just the right weight for his age and breed

Ooh he's dangerous

• no, he's a Bull Terrier

Does he bite

• Yes, that's how he chews his food

And my favourite (sarcasm) from just this morning "Oh, so you give him a treat for doing nothing?"

• yes mate. He is sat looking at me, closer to me than he is to you, waiting to be rewarded for being calm. He is not chewing your fucking shoe laces or jumping up at you. He is definitely being treated for doing fuck all!

All of that whilst off lead and playing with his ball.

Fucking hell, I've seen a gajillion threads about how the youth of today are snowflakes, but not one about dogs!

I'm a cat person myself, but my cat is a right bastard. He's engaged in a turf war with a nasty ginger.

Also, dog fighting is still a regular thing. Why do you think so many staffies and other bully breeds end up in dog homes?

@KevinTheGoat

Also, dog fighting is still a regular thing. Why do you think so many staffies and other bully breeds end up in dog homes?

Yes, sadly. We are considering fostering a bully that was rescued from a fighting life. He likes other dogs, so was a bit of a failure as far as his last owner was concerned.

We are having a controlled introduction this weekend.

I think a lot of it is down to people not knowing how to train them, understand their communication, and yes the move back to purebreds. I wish there were more mutts about - I would much rather have a healthy dog than a pretty one but in response to some pop’s my dog is definitely part of the family and as a general rule I much prefer them to people. You are right they aren’t people who by nature are a power hungry, greedy and ultimately destructive species. In comparison to dogs who bond quickly and strongly, protect and love freely I don’t think we come off as the superior species in many ways.

A lot of people are just clueless about dog breeds and their needs as well. Like Liz Jones and her four border collies in a flat. Or the idiot who gained notoriety on Something Awful a while ago for wanting to buy a Maremma sheepdog as a pet, despite not living on a farm, and refused to listen to the many posters - including farmers who owned livestock guardian dogs - telling her that it was a bad idea, that Maremmas are NOT PETS. Same with Caucasian ovcharkas and Central Asian shepherds (I'm guessing those were the dogs in Kazakhstan?), who are bred purely for work. Likewise, there are some terriers who are pure ratters.

And then you get people like that awful woman on It's Me or the Dog who had that evil Pomeranian from hell because she spoiled it rotten, and it was so vicious her kids couldn't have friends over, and I think she genuinely loved the little bastard more than her own husband.

@jellybeansforbreakfast one of my friends has a young bulldog and she's terrified of him being nicked by dog fighters. I get people think that making dogs fight is tough and macho or whatever but it's immensely cruel to the dog.

@Sittingonabench

I think a lot of it is down to people not knowing how to train them, understand their communication, and yes the move back to purebreds. I wish there were more mutts about - I would much rather have a healthy dog than a pretty one but in response to some pop’s my dog is definitely part of the family and as a general rule I much prefer them to people. You are right they aren’t people who by nature are a power hungry, greedy and ultimately destructive species. In comparison to dogs who bond quickly and strongly, protect and love freely I don’t think we come off as the superior species in many ways.

mutts are underappreciated. There are some gorgeous ones out there!