DOG OWNERSHIP

This year in particular, it seems, emotions are running high about political events here in the U.S. as well as about conflicts in other regions of the globe. And sometimes those emotions spill over into discourse that might not be relevant or appropriate to a partic-
ular setting.

The COVID pandemic led to more Zooming and FaceTiming, including for veterinary care. And it may be easy to assume that most people have come to prefer such virtual vet visits because it’s more convenient than taking your dog to the doctor. But they don’t.

People often think that if a dog has wound up at a shelter after living in someone else’s home, it’s because he didn’t make a good pet. Maybe he kept soiling the carpet, they assume, or was aggressive, or just didn’t know how to get along with people. Or maybe he’s a wallet emptier due to ongoing health problems. In other words, the dog is believed to be damaged goods. But that’s very often not the case.

Taking a shelter dog for an outing of just a few hours or fostering the animal for a night or two significantly increases the dog’s chance of being adopted — and not by you. When dogs are seen in the community and their short-term caregivers share these animals’ stories, people step up to take home the canines as permanent pets.

Walk the dog before or after meals?

Q: We are going to have to put down our dog very soon. We have two children, ages four and six. How do we talk to them about this?

If you haven’t yet met a dog named Cookie, Honey, or Mochi (a Japanese dessert), you will soon. One in nine dogs is now given a food-themed name, according to a database of more than 50,000 pet names. It makes sense. Foods are delicious, and we find our dogs deliciously captivating. Here are the top 10 food names given to dogs in 2023, according to the 2023 Pet Names Study released by trustedhousesitters.com.

As many as one in 10 dogs is deaf in one or both ears, according to the American Kennel Club. And many dogs that are not completely deaf don’t hear as well as a dog should. People often assume it’s only white dogs that can be deaf, but a dog doesn’t have to be all white, or even mostly white, to be genetically predisposed. The merle gene, present in collies, dappled dachshunds, American foxhounds, and other colorful breeds, increases the odds for deafness. So does the piebald gene, found in Samoyeds, greyhounds, beagles, and Dalmatians.