Adopt a Mutt...the Perfect Family Pup!

Hello again!

 

Yes, I know it's been a while since my last post and I sincerely apologize for my extended absence.  I've been dealing with a lot of health issues and complications related to my surgery back in June, but I think I'm FINALLY past the worst of it...YAY!  So now I'm back and, thanks to all of this idle time recently, I've got lots of new ideas for future blog topics and I'm ready to write!  

 

Do you know what doggy-related awareness day is soooo necessary that its celebrated on both July 31st and December 2nd?  Since 2005, National Mutt Day has been observed to raise awareness about all of the mixed breed dogs in shelters and to remind potential pet parents that it’s the personality and not the pedigree that truly matters when adopting a family pet.  Of course purebreds are attractive because they tend to have distinct traits and physical characteristics, but mixed breeds may offer more benefits that are appealing to the average family.  So before forking out big bucks to a fancy breeder for a purebred pup, please consider the following reasons to be pro-mutt!       

 

1.  Feel good about saving a canine life.
If you adopt a mutt from a shelter, you're literally saving a life.  Even if you aren't adopting from a kill shelter, you've just freed up space for another homeless canine to come in instead of being shipped to the pound or worse.   

 

2.  Mixed breeds are truly unique.
You can look a purebred dog owner in the eye and say with complete confidence that they will never be able to find a dog that is exactly like yours!  Mutts are truly one-of-a-kind!  Even littermates can look very different from one another. 

 

3.  Mixed breeds are full of personality.
Mixed breeds tend to have lots of personality!  Even more importantly, many are easy to train because they have a blend of characteristics rather than all traits of just one breed.

 

4.  Mutts usually have fewer genetic health risks and are healthier overall.
Most purebred dogs include a list of potential health problems in their breed profiles.  These conditions are less common in mutts because they are mixed breeds and are less likely to carry the defective genes.  The average lifespan of a mutt is longer than that of most purebred canines.  Of course the difference will vary by breed, but it is still something that gives mutts an advantage in the eyes of potential adopters.  If you'd rather have a loving companion with fewer health concerns, then a mutt is a great way to go! 

 

5.  Mutts are more affordable compared to purebred pups.
It’s been mentioned before, but it’s a significant factor to consider.  If you adopt a purebred pup, expect to pay for it - and that’s only for adopting the dog and not the vet checkup or puppy shots he or she may need.  Along with that adoption fee, purebreds also tend to have specific needs that make them rather expensive to own.  This will vary based on the individual breed, but grooming and vet care can get well into the hundreds or even thousands.  In most cases, you'll spend less on a mutt over it's entire lifespan.   

 

6.  No need to analyze breeders when adopting a mutt.
Families searching for a purebred must spend a lot of time investigating breeders to make sure they are up to par.  With a mutt, all you have to do is go to your local dog shelter and you have a variety of quality pets to choose from without the extensive breeder background checks!

 

7.  You don't need a show dog. 
Unless you want a show dog, there’s no sense in shelling out a lot of money for a purebred pup.  Some communities have started hosting casual mixed breed shows, so you may still have some opportunities to participate even if you do own a mutt.

 

8.  Fewer preconceived notions about dog behaviors.
Some people see a pit bull or German shepherd and immediately become fearful.  Others see a toy breed and assume the dog is friendly and huggable.  It is harder to make these assumptions with a mutt, which means your dog gets a clean slate when meeting new people!  There are also fewer preconceptions about specific breed features and attributes.  No one will ever tell you that your dog’s posture, fur pattern or ears are “wrong” based on breed standards.  Your mutt sets his or her own standards! 

 

9.  Dog theft is far less likely.
Some purebred dogs are considered very valuable which attracts the attention of thieves.  Fortunately, mutts aren’t viewed this way so they are far less likely to be stolen for monetary gain.  

 

10.  Mixed breeds tend to have more intelligence and common sense.
Since they get the best of both worlds, mixed breeds tend to be trainable, intelligent and have a generous amount of common sense.  While these traits will vary from one dog to the next, this is the general rule in most cases.

 

The purpose of National Mutt Day is to embrace, celebrate and help save the lives of mixed breed dogs.  There are soooo many of these lovable creatures in shelters who are waiting patiently for a family to take them home, so let's help them out by raising awareness about how awesome mutts truly are.  Adopt a mutt - the perfect family pup!  

 

Happy tails to you until we meet again! 

Do Our Pets Understand Us?

     As some of you may know, I’ve been away from Pet Pal for the past month or so while recovering from surgery. During this time, I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with my parents’ 1-year-old yellow lab name Cooper and I’ve been wondering just how much of what we say he actually understands. It seems as though he comprehends just about everything we say, but I think every pet owner probably says that about their furry friend. So, with all of this free time on my hands now, I decided to do some research on this topic and share what I’ve learned with all of you.
    Pet owners all over the world use words to get their pets to perform commands and, although they can't speak in the human sense, dogs and cats do display varying degrees of understanding and they associate our verbal sounds with actions. It's not so much what we say but how we say it. Cats and dogs don’t actually understand the meaning or content of individual words; they learn through operant conditioning which is a method of learning through rewards and punishments for different behaviors. Associations are made between a particular behavior and the consequence of that behavior. They simply hear a sound and know that a certain response is required. Animals respond more to the energy of the person speaking than to what they’re actually saying. For example, you could yell “good boy” in an angry-sounding tone and your dog would think you’re mad at him, or you could say “naughty girl” while holding a piece of fish and your cat would think she’s being rewarded.

    With that said, our pets can learn to identify and understand many common words used in training exercises. On average, dogs can learn about 100 words whereas cats can understand about 25 to 35 words. This often leads people to believe that dogs are smarter than cats, which would be wrong if you only base their intelligence on understanding. Some people believe cats understand plenty, but choose to ignore us anyway. Maybe cats are just frustrated because their humans don’t listen very well! Cats have been proven to be pretty wordy too when they feel like it!

   Here is what we all need to know about the difference between dogs and cats and their communication skills. Dogs might be better listeners and capable of grasping more words, but cats are better talkers and capable of communicating more with their human friends. Dogs may know 100 words, but they can only vocalize about 15 different sounds. Cats may only understand 25 to 35 words, but they can make about 100 different vocalizations. Perhaps cats are desperately trying to make first contact with us, as they only make these sounds around their human friends and not around other cats. And since very few of us even try to train our cats, how do we know what they are truly capable of?

   Interestingly, cats and dogs are also entirely capable of understanding more than one language. For example, dogs may be required to understand commands in more than one language if they are to have more than one handler. In military scenarios, dogs are required to understand commands in more than one language. In fact, many English-speaking handlers choose to teach their dogs in German because the language contains more hard consonants than English. Using different languages is also a neat way to differentiate between work and play for the dog.

    So I guess it’s a combination of training our pets and really listening to what they are trying to say to us that will help us best connect with them. They are certainly trying to understand our language, so we need to listen more and try to understand their “language” a little better too! And speaking of listening to and understanding our pets, I’m understanding that Mr. Cooper is ready for some playtime now as he’s bringing toy after toy to me and dropping them at my feet! Guess I can’t really miss that hint!


Happy tails to you until we meet again!