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Pippa Mattinson is a zoologist and the founder of The Gundog Trust – the UK’s first gundog training and welfare charity. She is a keen supporter of modern, science-based dog training methods, and is passionate about helping people to enjoy their dogs. Visit her website for more information: www.pippamattinson.com

About the Book

With over 200 breeds to choose from, how do you know which would be right for you? In this book you will discover:

MOST OF US accept that owning a dog will change our lives, but many of us are not aware of just how different things will be once a puppy arrives. Even the smallest and least demanding of dogs will alter your everyday routine in some respect, and some dogs will disrupt your life in ways you may never have imagined. Living with a dog should be fun. Things will change, but they should change for the better. This is much more likely to happen if your puppy is a good match for your family and your lifestyle: both in terms of his personality and in the physical impact he has on your home. It is also more likely to happen if your puppy grows into a healthy dog who is around for at least the next decade – hopefully more. Not every type of dog is suited to every type of family; fortunately, there are many different breeds of dog to choose from.

But we also need to consider that not every family will be at a place in their life where a dog will bring them joy. There are both good and bad times to get a puppy. For that reason, I don’t think we can really get down to the important business of finding that perfect puppy until we are quite sure that right here, and right now, is a good time for you to bring a puppy into your life.

So, let’s just spend a few minutes looking at what is involved in owning a dog generally, and at what a small puppy will need from you over the next few weeks and months if he is to grow into a well-adjusted and likeable adult dog.

How owning a dog will change your life

Puppies grow up very quickly, and you’ll soon have a fully grown dog to share your home and leisure time with. We’ll begin by looking at how life with an adult dog will be different from the life you have now. Then we’ll look at the financial costs of raising a puppy, but keeping a dog doesn’t just affect your bank balance. A dog eats into the hours in your day and burrows into your heart, and we’ll look at the emotional cost and the demands on your time, too.

We’ll also consider the impact a dog can make on your home and garden. Some dogs take great pleasure in digging, and if yours is an excavator, you can end up with a yard that looks more like a lunar landscape than a pretty garden. There are ways around this, but they usually involve money, effort, or a combination of the two. There will be some changes indoors too. Like babies, dogs come with their own paraphernalia, and not everyone is comfortable with the hair, and mess, that comes as part of the package with some of the larger, shedding breeds.

The financial costs of keeping a dog

People often ask how much they will need to pay for a puppy of this breed or that breed. But the initial cost of buying a puppy is almost insignificant compared with the costs involved in looking after him in the long term. This is especially true of some of the less healthy breeds. Some routine costs you might want to consider are health insurance, boarding or pet-sitting fees and food.

Unless you have very deep pockets you will need to insure your dog against medical problems. Modern veterinary treatments are amazing, but they can be extremely expensive. An operation to repair cruciate ligament damage (knee injuries) in a Labrador, for example, could set you back by several thousand pounds/dollars. Buying a good pet health insurance policy can take the pain out of paying the vet if your dog gets sick, but it will make a dent in your monthly salary.

If you want to holiday without your dog, you will need to factor boarding kennel fees or pet-sitting into the cost of your annual vacation.

Good-quality dog food isn’t cheap, and obviously a larger dog will cost rather more to feed than a small one.

Where costs can really mount up is for those who are raising a dog while holding down a full-time job. Most dogs simply cannot be left alone all day, every day. I am often asked questions by concerned dog owners about problems they are having with their dog while they are at work, and these are difficulties caused by long hours of isolation. In many cases, these are serious issues that the owner hadn’t anticipated. Apart from the fact that the dog needs access to a toilet area, he also needs company, and many dogs will become very destructive or noisy if left alone for long periods of time. So if you work, you will probably need to pay for some form of doggy daycare.

A major, initial cost for some families, when bringing home their first dog, is fencing. Many new dog owners do not realise that adult dog won’t necessarily ‘hang around’ the homestead in the absence of a boundary or supervision. You can’t expect a puppy or even an older dog to respect invisible boundaries, or to have any understanding of traffic and the need to avoid it. If you haven’t done so already, you will probably need to secure your backyard or garden, or build some kind of secure outdoor run for your dog to use for bathroom purposes. Fencing contractors can be expensive, so if you are able to do this work yourself you will save a lot of money.

Most of the other costs involved in owning a dog are less significant. You can, of course, spend a fortune on dog sofas and fancy duvets, but these are not essential. Your dog will be just as happy snoozing on an old blanket in a basket on the floor, or relaxing on your sofa if you don’t mind the hairs.

Of course there are many benefits to owning a dog, and many pleasures in store for you when you bring a dog into your life. If owning a dog means you can no longer afford to eat out in fancy restaurants, your long walks together may more than make up for that. And the joy of having a dog sleep by your feet each evening may be more than enough to help you give up one of your two annual holidays. But only you can make that decision, and you do need to be confident that the benefits you anticipate will stand a reasonable chance of outweighing any loss of enjoyment you may suffer in other respects. It is well worth spending a few minutes sitting down with a pen and paper and adding up just how much your new friend is going to add to your monthly bills.

The emotional costs of owning a dog

The emotional benefits of owning a dog are widely recognised. We place great value on the companionship, affection and loyalty that dogs give to their families. But there are costs to consider as well. Most people get deeply attached to their dogs and miss them when they are apart. For many of us, owning a dog means an end to some of the carefree activities we used to enjoy before dog ownership came along. Not just because we may have to pay someone to care for our dog when we go trekking in the Himalayas, but because we would miss him too much to really enjoy it.

While there are things you can do to help make sure your puppy is healthy, well behaved and lives a long life, there are no guarantees. Dogs may get sick and need nursing, or have ongoing health problems. And because we love them, we worry about them. Some dogs have behavioural issues, and some of these can have a major impact on your family. Dogs grow old all too soon and eventually leave us, and we mourn them. All these eventualities can turn your life upside down.

For most of us, these costs are a worthwhile price to pay for years of friendship and joy, but if your life is already tough, more things to worry about and care about might just be too much for you at the moment. Responsibility is stressful and loving means hurting sometimes. Bringing more love and more responsibility into your life is best undertaken when your own life is on an even keel. That way you will be able to offer your dog your full attention, and give him the love and care that he needs.

The demands a dog will make on your time

Spending time with a dog can and should be one of the great joys in life. All adult dogs place some demands on your time, because they need feeding, exercise and a certain amount of company. Puppies place quite heavy demands on your time because they need to be toilet trained, obedience trained, socialised, and because they need a lot of your company and attention if they are to thrive and be well adjusted.

One of the biggest time commitments in owning a dog is exercise, and training is a close second. There are dogs that don’t need much exercise, but unfortunately they tend to come with serious health problems. We’ll be looking more closely at that later on. Essentially, healthy dogs need to walk and run every single day, rain or shine. This can be a great thing for you if you are ready for it. Many people have become very fit as a result. It makes sense, though, to ensure you will have the time to exercise your dog morning and evening.

Dogs, even little dogs, should not be shut indoors alone all day. If you intend to come home at midday to exercise and play with your dog, don’t forget to factor in the journey time as well as the time you spend with him. Some people anticipate that they will see to their dog in their lunchbreak, but find it much harder than they anticipated. Do some dummy runs before you get your puppy to make sure this is something you’ll be able to cope with. It’s also a good idea to make sure you can actually bear getting up an hour earlier each day to walk and train your dog before work. It is harder to do than it is to say.

Training takes time and commitment. People often write to me and say that their puppy doesn’t ‘listen’ or doesn’t like them. By this they mean that they give the puppy instructions and he ignores them. This is normal behaviour in puppies. We need to teach puppies the kinds of behaviour we want from them and help them learn to respond to the right cues or commands. With small puppies, this takes only a few minutes two or three times a day, but as your puppy grows you will need to teach him to respond to your commands outdoors and in different locations. This can be time consuming, because it often involves travelling and getting help from other people. Most new puppy owners will need to join a dog training class to get their dogs to a good standard of obedience.

Modern dog training is actually a huge amount of fun, and for many of us the daily dog walks and training sessions are some of the best moments of the day. They only become a problem when we simply don’t have the time required to devote to them, so it is worth scheduling this in in advance.

The way a dog will change your home

Dogs can be very messy. Especially larger, hairier dogs. And some dogs have a distinctive body odour that doesn’t appeal to everyone. If your home is immaculate, it is definitely worth asking yourself if you are ready to let your standards slip, just a little. Will you mind if the rooms where your dog spends much of his time are dustier, muddier and hairier than before?

If your home is already a bit chaotic, you may think a dog won’t make any difference. But keeping a dog in a messy home can be a challenge, too, especially dogs that chew a lot and love to carry things around.

Your backyard or garden is likely to be a place where your dog will spend some of his time. Depending on the breed, and the individual dog, this can have quite an impact on your landscaping. If you are a keen gardener, you may need to consider making some adjustments to your garden area. You might find it helpful to provide a special toilet area to protect your lawn. Fencing off a puppy play area and providing a sandbox for him to dig in will help keep your lawn and flowerbeds safe, while you wait for your puppy to outgrow the destructive stage. This might seem like a lot of trouble to go to, but being well prepared can make the whole experience a lot more fun.

The special needs of a puppy

A puppy’s needs are somewhat different from those of an older dog. Obviously, your puppy will grow into a dog quite quickly, but for a while he will be quite demanding of your time and attention. You have to be confident that you can either provide for his needs during the next few weeks, or pay someone else to do that for you. Asking for someone to care for a puppy as a favour is unlikely to work out for more than a few days, unless they really owe you one!

Puppies, like babies, can interfere with your sleep and impose demands on you that can make you feel stressed and irritable. This isn’t anything you won’t be able to cope with, provided you are not already under a lot of stress for different reasons, but it is something to bear in mind when you are choosing the right time to get a puppy. The most time-consuming tasks that face the new puppy owner are socialisation and housetraining, and most of the effort you’ll need to put into these tasks has to be squashed into the first couple of months.

Puppies all need to be socialised. We tend to think of dogs as being naturally friendly, but actually this isn’t strictly true. Dogs that are deprived of social experiences during early puppyhood become extremely fearful of anything unusual, and this can lead to aggression. This means that new puppies need to meet lots of new people and be placed in lots of new situations. Socialisation is time consuming but it can be very enjoyable. It isn’t difficult to achieve in a busy sociable family; those living in more isolated situations will have to work harder at it.

Housetraining is another process that needs a lot of input from you, or from a substitute provided by you. Puppies can only last a very short time without bathroom breaks for those first few weeks, and though you can teach your puppy to empty himself on puppy pads or newspaper, it is very helpful if someone is present to help your puppy pee and poop in the right place from the very beginning.

You’ll also need someone to be around partway through the day to feed your little one. Your puppy will need to be fed four times a day for the first three months, then three times a day until he is six months old. You can’t just divide his rations into two and give them to him before and after work, because puppies get upset tummies if given too much food at one time.

Most importantly, puppies need company. A well-adjusted adult dog will be happy to be left alone for stretches of time. But to get to that point he needs to have an appropriate upbringing. Puppies that are isolated for long periods may be noisy or destructive. They may also become fearful of being left, which can cause long-term problems including soiling, howling and destructive behaviour, not to mention great distress to the dog.

Puppies are hugely appealing and they fulfil a very basic human need to love and be loved. Yet despite their appeal, the idea of bringing such a vulnerable and helpless little creature into your life can be daunting. If you are feeling apprehensive at this point, that is not such a bad thing. If you are worried about the responsibility of owning a dog, it shows that you are taking that responsibility seriously, and suggests that you may well be just the right person to give a dog a loving home.

Raising a puppy while you work

Holding down a full-time job and raising a contented and well-adjusted dog are not mutually exclusive. Many people do it. But if this is what you are hoping to do, you will need to plan in advance because you will need help. Most people that work away from home take a few weeks off to coincide with the arrival of their puppy. This, together with some form of daycare once you return to the office, can work well.

During the very early weeks, your puppy will need plenty of company and socialisation outings. He’ll also need to be taught how to be alone for short periods of time by people who understand, or are willing to learn, the principles of basic puppy training.

It is well worth finding out in advance of buying your puppy what kind of daycare facilities or professional dog walkers are available in your area – find out exactly what their terms and condition are, and what daycare will cost you on a weekly basis. The terms and conditions will specify at what age they will take your puppy. Not many will take a pup before he has completed his full course of vaccinations, or before he is three or four months old; they may also specify whether or not your dog must be neutered and at what age.

If you need to go back to work before the daycare centre can take your puppy, you’ll need help from a willing friend, neighbour or family member to spend time with him each day, taking him out and about, and helping with potty training.

You are also likely to be returning to work before your puppy can last more than a couple of hours without a wee, so you’ll need to use the paper training methods of housetraining. This means that you will need to provide your puppy with a large sturdy playpen lined with puppy pads or newspaper, or to provide a puppy-proof room to keep your little one safe from hazards while he is alone. Once he is older, you may be able to replace daycare and help from friends and neighbours with a daily midday visit and exercise from a dog walker. If you cannot arrange these things, then you are likely to struggle.

Picking the right time to get a puppy

If you are confident your family is ready for a puppy, it’s a good idea to think about the best time to bring your puppy home. Avoid major life-changing events and large family celebrations if you can. In many cases it is easier to cope with a puppy – especially with night-time toilet trips – in the warmer summer months, and fortunately this coincides with the time of year that the majority of puppies are born.

Raising a puppy and a baby together might seem like a great idea and a good way to capitalise on maternity leave, but it can be harder than you think. The puppy and the baby will each have their own separate needs, which will pull your heartstrings in different directions and might leave you feeling frazzled. Raising a puppy when you have a toddler around can be challenging, too. Small puppies bite very hard and half-grown puppies are very clumsy, especially with some of the larger, bouncier breeds. Toddlers can end up spending half the time flat on their faces while the puppy scampers around them, and the other half in tears because the puppy is chewing their toes.

Ideally, you need to be able to focus on your puppy for those first few weeks and to enjoy his puppyhood, which is all too short.

SUMMARY

I have spent a little time exploring how a dog will change your life, not to put you off owning a dog, but to help ensure you are in the right place to set off on this wonderful journey of discovery. One way to find out if you are ready is to borrow a friend’s dog and look after it for a few days. You’ll hopefully enjoy the early morning walks, discover how you feel about a dog’s presence in your home, and your friend will enjoy a few lie ins. If more people did this, I am convinced that there would be far fewer dogs in shelters.
The next step is to make sure that you are matched with the right type of dog. A dog that will fit in with your way of life, and bring joy and happiness into your home. If you are confident that you are ready for what lies ahead, it’s time to start looking for your new best friend.

THE VARIETY OF different breeds and crossbreeds of dog that we have created in the last hundred years or so is nothing short of breathtaking, and choosing between them is quite a challenge in itself. You may have a pretty good idea already of the type of dog you want to bring home, or you may be completely bewildered by the choice and variety available to you. Perhaps you are undecided whether or not to buy a puppy from a breeder, or whether to try to rescue one from a shelter. Maybe you are unsure whether or not a purebred dog is a good idea, even though you like them. Perhaps you fancy a designer dog but are worried that there could be risks involved; such dogs might have poor temperaments, or be unhealthy. These are all issues we are going to tackle in this book.

I’ll begin by looking at what draws us to particular breeds or types of dog, and why it may be important to research more deeply, and perhaps step outside our comfort zones, before making up our minds. We’ll also look at the different roles that dogs play in our society. We’ll explore how the wider role of dogs as human companions has changed over the last hundred years or so, and at how those changes have created the bewildering diversity of dogs you see today. I’ll also help you to think with your head a little, because choosing a puppy with your heart alone can lead to trouble.

Following your heart

What makes people attracted to one dog over another? Why do some of us have our heart set on a Golden Retriever and nothing else will do? Why do some of us find the Bulldog so appealing, while others are convinced their lives will never be complete until there is a St Bernard on their couch.

Very often these attractions have their roots in our childhood. Dogs we remember from when we were little, family dogs, nice dogs, and nasty ones too, all make an impression which influences our future choices. And, of course, each generation has its own canine media heroes, dogs that appear in feature films, books, newspapers or children’s television. From Lassie the Rough Collie, a television superstar in the 1950s, to Winston the Boston Terrier in the animated film Feast, dogs in popular culture have always enchanted children and adults alike. Celebrity dog owners can be a powerful influence too.

Sometimes a dog with a particular appearance is favoured for reasons that are more fundamentally human. Young animals are particularly attractive as they evoke our maternal and paternal instincts. Over the generations, we have bred some dogs with shorter snouts, floppy ears and bigger eyes, and these baby-like features have been shown to be very appealing to many of us. You may of course ask, What is the problem with simply following your heart and choosing a puppy based on what appeals to you? Let’s have a look.

All dogs are not equal

When we buy a car or a refrigerator, we often scour the internet for reviews first. We know that some cars are more dependable, more long-lived than others. And we know that some fridges are much more likely to stop working in the first year. These are expensive purchases, so we do our homework. But with dogs, many of us rush out to buy the first one we come across.

There is a natural reluctance to make intrusive enquiries into the background of a living thing. You may have been told that you need to check health certificates for the parents of your puppy, but you wouldn’t grill a future spouse on the diseases their uncles suffered from or on the behaviour of their mothers and fathers, so why would you do so with a dog?

‘My dog is not a fridge!’ you cry, and rightly so. However, unlike your spouse, your future dog is almost definitely a purchase, and one which involves a contract of sale, even if no paper exchanges hands. A dog is also a purchase for which you are legally and morally responsible for the rest of his life. Most important of all, your future dog’s happiness is at least partly dependent on his health, so if it is possible to influence that, then you owe him to put a little time and effort into your search.

Perhaps the most frequent reason that people buy puppies on impulse is because they are unaware that there are risks in doing so. They may believe that the term ‘pedigree’ carries with it some guarantee of good health or that dogs are all essentially equal in pretty much every respect. Their assumption is that health is generally a question of taking good care of your dog, together with a generous portion of good luck. Sadly, this is not the case.

While all dogs may be equally valuable and special, dogs are not equal when it comes to health and (perhaps more controversially) temperament. Nor is every dog equally suited to every family. There are in fact large differences between the health and longevity of different dog breeds, and some of our most popular dogs come with a lot of baggage.

You may not be aware, for example, that some breeds have a life expectancy of just five or six years, while others may live three times as long. Many new puppy buyers have no idea that some types of dog have severe problems just breathing and cooling themselves. This startling fact, and others like it, are often swept under the carpet when pedigree dogs are being discussed, yet there is a mountain of evidence and literature to confirm that they are true. In other words, your choice of puppy will help to decide whether your dog is likely to have a long and fun-filled life, or a troubled and short one. It’s quite a responsibility.

When we consider the impact a dog has on your life, it makes sense to exercise your right to choose one with a healthy future. But you can only do that if you put some thought and planning into purchasing your new friend. Luck should not feature anywhere in this decision.

The diversity of dogs and how that diversity arose

Most of the time, when two animals are strikingly different in appearance, it is because they belong to different species, and have evolved for different roles or to take advantage of different environmental niches on our complex planet. This general rule falls apart when it comes to domesticated animals. The protection offered them by mankind has freed them from the forces of natural selection. Once an animal does not have to fight for survival, some interesting and varied body types are free to appear. Nowhere is this more apparent than it is in our modern-day dogs.

When we look at the massive Newfoundland or Great Dane and compare them with the tiny Chihuahua or the Shih Tzu, it is hard to believe that our giant dogs came from exactly the same ancestors as their miniature cousins. Although we now know through DNA testing that our domestic dogs are all directly descended from the grey wolf, generations of selective breeding have created the vast diversity of dogs that we see today. The origins of much of this diversity lie in the different roles we created for our dogs.

The changing role of the dog

When humans first began to influence the structure and the temperament of the dogs they shared their lives with, it was largely to improve those dogs for the roles they had in mind. We kept dogs to guard us, help us hunt, herd and protect our livestock, and to keep us company. And we began to select the dogs that performed the best at these jobs and to breed them with other suitably able dogs.

Early dogs would have been general hunting companions, capable of helping to pull down prey and willing to help protect their families. Later, as man moved from hunter gatherer communities to agricultural settlements, and to hunt for sport as well as necessity, the diversity of dog roles increased. Pack hunting dogs were bred for their amazing scenting ability, their capacity to run for long distances, and to kill, or hold their prey at bay until their human partners caught up and finished the job for them. Dogs intended to care for livestock were bred for both their herding and their guarding abilities. From tiny dogs that could run inside a turnspit, to powerful dogs that would fight one another to the death, there was no shortage of inspiration for the new roles man dreamed up for his best friend.

Because we were living in such close proximity to these powerful predators, it was also important that only dogs that were friendly towards family members were bred from. As soon as humans took over the decisions about which dogs would breed, and began selecting dogs for docility as well as ability, a whole range of other characteristics that would never have had the chance to be expressed in their wolf ancestors began to appear. A fascinating study of wild foxes began in Russia in the 1950s and shows us how the variety we see in our modern dogs may have started quite early on when wolves were first domesticated. The foxes in the Russian experiment were captured and selectively bred on the basis of their friendliness or docility. The experiment ran for many decades and many of the features we see in domestic dogs appeared in these foxes within just a few generations. Floppy ears, curly tails and different coat colours all rapidly appear when animals are selected for docility rather than survival. This variety may or may not have been important to our Stone Age ancestors, but as our urban society has developed, we have become increasingly interested in the appearance of our canine friends.

From function to form

Society’s attitude towards dogs has changed immensely in the last 150 years. With that change has come a shift in our priorities with regard to the kind of dogs we want to share our lives with. With a few exceptions, we are no longer concerned with speed, agility, tracking ability or courage. We are now much more focused on appearance and general temperament. You probably don’t intend to rely on your dog to help you catch your supper, or guard your sheep. Nor, I suspect, are you intending to keep him to bait bulls or fight other dogs to the death. We have a gentler purpose for our dogs these days.

However, it is only human nature to want to compete with others, and it is certain that ‘who owns the best dog’ has long been a topic of conversation around our hearths. Since the need to make dogs earn their keep has subsided in most parts of the world, most of us no longer compare or compete with our dogs in terms of performance or ability. Instead, we have found another way to match dogs against one another and win accolades for the best dog. That way is of course the show ring, and exhibiting dogs is a hugely popular pastime in our modern world.

The rise of dog fancy

The first ever dog show took place in 1859 in Newcastle, England. Field trials, or competitions to assess Gundogs, arose around the same time, but interest in shows soon eclipsed the sporting activities of the rural community and were appealing to a much wider section of society. For the first time, dogs were being judged and, more importantly, selected for breeding on the basis of their appearance rather than on their performance in the role for which they were originally intended. This was to have a far-reaching effect on the structure of some of our future pedigree dogs.

For a while, dogs were grouped into breeds or types by the jobs they did and by the way that their owners described them. If you called your dog a Spaniel, and used him for flushing game, then he was to all intents and purposes a Spaniel. People often kept records of the animals they bred so that they could learn from their experiences and improve on things the next time around. It was not a very big leap to formalise this record keeping nationally.

The development of pedigree registers

The separation of dogs into individual pedigree breeds, and the isolation of those breeds genetically, began in the late 1800s. The Kennel Club was formed on 4 April 1873 by a group of 13 British men led by Sewallis Shirley. The aim of the club was to ensure that dog shows and field trials were run fairly. The club also began keeping birth records of individual dogs within each of the popular breeds, and published their first monthly register of dog names in 1880. As time progressed, once each dog breed was recognised by the Kennel Club, and the names of the individual dogs within that breed listed on their register, the registers were closed, and crossbreeding between the breeds was outlawed. The aim was to produce a pure strain of dogs that bred true to type, generation after generation.

No one then could possibly have anticipated the significance of that step. At that point in time, all the genetic material that would ever be available to that particular breed of dog was contained within the register for that breed. The ‘purebred’ pedigree dog had arrived.

What a pedigree certificate can’t tell us

It wasn’t long before the terms purebred and pedigree took on a significance and status that made them sought after. Owning a pedigree dog was for many years a symbol of quality and prestige. Things have changed a little in the last few years. You will doubtless have heard some of the arguments currently raging about the health of pedigree dogs, and we’ll be taking a look at the health of some of these breeds later in the book. For puppy buyers, there is sometimes confusion over what a Kennel Club pedigree can tell you about a puppy, and I think it is important to address this first.

A while ago, I was chatting to a friend I hadn’t seen for some time and they were delighted to tell me that they would soon be collecting their new pedigree puppy. The dog was from a breed known to suffer from a particular type of heart condition that can lead to exercise intolerance, fainting and even death. This disease is detectable through a screening programme and all breeding stock from that breed needs to be tested before mating, in order to ensure no puppies in a litter can develop the disease as they grow. Not only had my friend not asked the breeder of his puppy if its parents had been tested, he had no idea that such a question was necessary. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said to me, ‘I’ve seen the pedigree.’

Like so many new puppy buyers, he had assumed that his puppy’s pedigree certificate was proof that the puppy’s parents were fit for breeding. Sadly, this is not the case at the present time. Anyone can register a litter of pedigree puppies provided they meet the Kennel Club’s requirements with regard to the registration of the parents and the age and number of litters previously born to the mother.

We’ll look later at the various health screening certificates that you’ll need to check up on when you are purchasing a puppy. These vary from breed to breed, but, for now, it is very important to be aware that a pedigree certificate in isolation is not evidence of good health.

So are crossbreeds best?

But while a pedigree may not be a promise or guarantee of good health or good breeding, rushing out to buy a crossbreed isn’t necessarily the answer. Being crossbred or of mixed breeding isn’t a guarantee of health either. But don’t worry! We’ll be going into this topic in more detail and looking at the pros and cons of buying a pedigree dog compared with a mixed-breed dog in Chapter 6. There is a great deal of information in this book to help make sure that you don’t end up with a puppy who has avoidable health problems.

SUMMARY

Aside from health, the other most important feature of your dog is his temperament. In the next chapter I will give you some tips on how you can influence this, not only by the breed of dog you choose, but also by choosing the breeder carefully, and by simple actions you can take when you bring your puppy home.

THE TEMPERAMENT OF any dog has the potential to affect his life, and the lives of those around him, more profoundly than most new puppy buyers could ever imagine. No one ever notices the dogs that have a wonderful nature, because this is what we expect from a dog. Owning a dog of uncertain disposition can pervade every aspect of his family’s life, whereas owning a dog with the right personality for a companion dog will bring endless pleasure to all those who come into contact with him. This is what we are going to help you to achieve. We’ll look at what we mean by good temperament, at the factors that influence it, and at how you can improve your chances of bringing a friendly, confident puppy into your life. Later, in Chapter 7, we’ll look at some of the differences in personality between the different breed groups. But let’s begin by defining exactly what we expect from a good-natured dog.

What do we mean by ‘good temperament’?

We all have different expectations of a dog, but, for most of us, a dog with a good temperament is one that moves comfortably in human circles and is unruffled by the hustle and bustle of our urban world. He gets along well with adults, children and other dogs. He is friendly towards strangers and tolerant of being stroked, cuddled and fussed over. He rides happily in cars, boats and trains, and doesn’t fear the hiss of a lorry’s air brakes or the clang of unfamiliar machinery. He isn’t inclined to obsessively chase joggers, vehicles or livestock, and he greets the postman with a wagging tail.

It sounds fairly simple, but, sadly, many pet dogs fail to meet these standards and, as a result, some are abandoned even before their first birthday. Every day I read sad emails from people whose dogs’ behaviour is ruining their lives, and the comments on my website and the posts on my forum are full of questions from owners whose dogs embarrass or even frighten them. It doesn’t need to be like this. There is much we can do, before you even meet him, to ensure that your dog is the dog that everyone would love to take home.

Why some dogs are unfriendly or aggressive

At one time, dangerous or aggressive dogs were thought to be born, rather than made. Dogs were often classified as ‘mean’ or ‘friendly’ by their breed alone. ‘Don’t go near the Alsatian’ mother would say, while completely ignoring her toddler’s attempt to cuddle an obviously irritated Labrador. Breed-specific legislation (BSL) was borne out of these beliefs in the inherited nature of aggression.

BSL involves the banning of specific breeds or types of dog, or placing conditions on who can own them and how they should be managed. Breed-specific legislation is hugely controversial because implicit within it is the assumption that certain types of dog are inherently more dangerous than others, and it involves making decisions about a dog’s right to life based purely on his appearance.

Contents

About the Author

About the Book

How owning a dog will change your life

The financial costs of keeping a dog

The emotional costs of owning a dog

The demands a dog will make on your time

The way a dog will change your home

The special needs of a puppy

Raising a puppy while you work

Picking the right time to get a puppy

Following your heart

All dogs are not equal

The diversity of dogs and how that diversity arose

The changing role of the dog

From function to form

The rise of dog fancy

The development of pedigree registers

What a pedigree certificate can’t tell us

So are crossbreeds best?

What do we mean by ‘good temperament’?

Why some dogs are unfriendly or aggressive