Help Me Love Your Dog

Note: So what does helping me love your dog have to do with creativity? Well, it's an example of how someone who's never owned a dog can sell an article about dogs to the top dog magazine in the world (long story). How's that for creativity?
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The love you have for your dog is a beautiful thing, but not everyone shares your instinctual urge to commune with man’s best friend. Gilda Radner said, “Dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.” If you agree with Gilda, you may wonder why in the world anyone would not enjoy dogs. The Royal Canin Scientific Library lists numerous advantages to dog ownership including:

• added social stimulation within the family
• companionship from the dog, which is especially important for persons living alone
• relaxation that comes from walking the dog, playing with him and petting him
• the sense of protection that the entire family feels in the presence of a dog who guards the house, and understanding and sympathy from the animal, which at times are apt to transform human beings.

However, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association (APPMA), only thirty-nine percent of U.S. households value these advantages enough to own at least one dog. This means that sixty-one percent are dog-free. Approximately 74.8 million dogs have owners. Meanwhile, 4-5 million cats and dogs enter shelters each year with 25% of those dogs being purebred. The most significant issue impacting these statistics is animal population control, which garners strong attention from the dog lover camp.

But what about the untapped issue of the dog lover population?

There are varying degrees of animal interest and love. It’s important for dog owners to understand that while many non-dog owners think puppies are adorable, too, they choose not to own dogs for highly specific and personal reasons. Can dog-lovers change their minds and subsequently place more dogs into loving homes? Can you help increase the dog-lover population? It may be possible in some cases.

You can personally impact the situation by making a few simple alternations to your typical dog-loving behaviors. To do this, you must better understand what motivates those living without dogs, and value their choices as relevant and important. Some common behaviors of die-hard pooch lovers do little to influence us in a positive way, which is counterproductive to the mission of dog owners everywhere.

There are numerous factors that influence the decision not to own a dog including: fear, cost, general responsibility, time, scratches and chew marks on the furniture, dog walking in rain and snow, unwelcome licks to the face, picking up “messes,” barking, allergies, and shedding. Louise Kemper of Shreveport, La, says her main reason for not owning a dog is the cost and added responsibility. “I like dogs and have owned one in the past, but now that my kids are grown, I enjoy not having the added responsibility. My time is more my own now. I do think dogs are great company for people as they get older, so I’ll never say never. But for now I prefer not to own a dog.”

Here’s this writer's story. When I was seven years old, someone accidentally bounced me off a trampoline. My tiny body flew through the air, eventually landing on the grass four or five feet away. As I recovered from the shock and struggled to catch my breath, the trampoline owner’s large dog jumped on me, most likely thinking I was a new toy being tossed his way. Fetch! I scrambled to my feet and raced to the swing set, barking dog close behind. As I climbed the slide ladder, the dog grabbed my leg with his teeth. Needless to say, it was a stressful day, one that stuck with me long after the initial trauma subsided.

Looking back, I wonder, where were the adults? I don’t recall being asked when I arrived if I had a dog, or if I was comfortable around them. I had no understanding of typical dog behaviors. To this day, I’ve never owned a dog, largely based on my trampoline experience. There are some common dog-owner behaviors that discourage Louise Kemper, other non-dog owners, and myself from crossing over. These include:

• not mentioning their dog before we show up at their home
• not properly controlling their dog when we come over, or
• failing to remove their dog when we reluctantly confide that we’re uncomfortable.

Once I was given a piece of pizza at a dog-owner’s home. Within seconds, their Doberman scooped the pizza off my plate and into his large, sticky mouth. The owners laughed and said they’d get me another one. This coupled with their large dog aggressively bolting around the house, sniffing me, and essentially trying to climb on me all night, discouraged my openness to dog ownership.

According to Samuel Gosling, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, an expert who studies dog personalities to better understand human personalities, “Any social interaction is affected by both the dog and the human with whom it is interacting so both individuals play a role. However, it's certainly true that some dogs are generally more aggressive towards strangers than others.”

Lynne Sabo of Florham Park, NJ, has owned dogs her entire life, often several at a time. According to Lynne, “There is a pecking order for dogs. They naturally seek to establish dominance. If they sense intimidation, their nature is to take charge. They want to show that they are the dominate one in the situation, which creates added discomfort for the person. It’s the responsibility of the dog owner to make sure people are comfortable in their home. I always initially put my dogs out when people are coming over. I absolutely love my dogs but I value friendship and human relationships over those with animals, something I’ve seen other dog-owners fail to do.”

Many of us would like to cross over but need your help. Please help me love your dogs. It may not always be obvious, but every time I see a cute, fluffy pup, I feel a natural urge to try.

Help Me Love Your Dog

Top 20 Tips for Dog Owners

20. Tell me you have a dog before I come to your home.

19. Ask me if I’m uncomfortable, and if I am, remove the dog. Don’t just smile and keep repeating, “He won’t hurt you. He won’t hurt you,” while he’s jumping on me.

18. Don’t let your dog eat my pizza.

17. Don’t assume everyone shares your love for dogs.

16. Don’t judge me for being uncomfortable around dogs or for not owning one.

15. Pick up after your dog so that I don’t find souvenirs in my yard.

14. Acknowledge that dogs are not humans when we’re chatting about our kids.

13. Give me gentle advice if I want to pet or hold your dog, realizing that it may be a big deal for me.

12. Don’t let your dog jump on me. If he does, don’t act like I should be enjoying it when you can clearly see me sweating bullets.

11. Don't treat your dog better than you treat people.

10. Help me feel comfortable in your home; it’s not always easy to tell someone you’re uncomfortable with their beloved dog.

9. Don’t let your dog lick my face; although it may be an irrational fear, it exists because I was bitten by a dog as a child.

8. Keep telling me wonderful stories about your dog. Focus on those instead of how your dog had diarrhea all night and how much you had to pay the vet.

7. Please, please, take special care with your dog when my child is coming to your home.

6. Recognize that owning a dog is a huge responsibility that some people are not up to for various reasons.

5. Keep your dog clean!

4. Realize and accept that barking dogs can cause headaches, fear, inability to concentrate, inability to sleep, and can, at times, seem like torture.

3. Do not expect the same attention for your dog’s death as your co-worker received for the death of their mother or child.

2. Keep posting pictures of cute puppies on the Internet!

And the number one thing you can do to help ...

1. Don’t allow your pooch to sniff me in places I choose to keep to myself. (-: