Pets With No Manners Embarassing Their Owners Says Charity
February 19, 2008 by Freelance Writers
A distinct lack of ‘pet-iquette’ is leaving pet owners red faced says PDSA!
It’s usual for your children to embarrass you at inopportune moments by saying or doing something, usually in public, that makes you want to crawl under the nearest rock! However, according to leading veterinary charity, PDSA, our pets are leaving us equally red faced when we least expect it. The charity for pets in need of vets has surveyed pet owners* to compile a list of ‘pet-iquette’ moments that have left owners more than a little lost for words! Around one in eight pet owners had embarrassing pet stories to share**.
The anonymous survey, in which pet owners lifted the lid on their most embarrassing pet stories, found that a pet’s natural bodily functions give owners the most cause for humiliation, with calls of nature (29%) and vomiting (5%) top of the list.
Equally embarrassing antics include pets mounting other people, animals breaking wind, either loudly or melodiously in public, and pets being a little too familiar when checking out friends and family!
PDSA Senior Veterinary Surgeon, Elaine Pendlebury, explains: “We think of our pets as members of the family, but these embarrassing situations serve to remind us that our pets are animals and occasionally they will give in to a call of nature at inconvenient times!
“However, it’s important to stress that in some cases medical problems could be the reason for ‘paw’ behaviour. For example, pets may urinate more because they are diabetic. A lack of training and behavioural problems could also be the cause. If owners are at all worried about their pet’s bad manners they should most definitely seek veterinary advice to find out the true cause of their pet’s ‘paw’ etiquette!”
To help owners learn more about their pet’s behaviour, copies of the charity’s responsible pet care leaflets, Consideration for Others and Training, can be downloaded free of charge from the PDSA website www.pdsa.org.uk. Both leaflets offer invaluable advice on teaching pets good manners.
Elaine adds: “Our dog training leaflet, gives a step by step guide on teaching our canine pals to behave well in public and could certainly have helped to prevent some of the embarrassing moments etched in the memories of pet owners across the UK!
“Owners must not take for granted the important role they have in ensuring their pets behave appropriately. They give us so much and provide such wonderful joy and companionship. We owe it to them to ensure they are well behaved and a joy to be around.”
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I have a sticker on my car which says “A Trained Dog is a Happy Dog” I take them everwhare I am allowed - hotels, my optician, the bank etc and I’m happy to say that people comment that they are better behaved than many children. I took them with me the other day when I was doing a poetry reading for Help the Aged. The poetry bombed but the dogs were a great success.
A trained dog is confident that it will be told what is going to happen next.
Kind regards
Veronica
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[...] need to see the questions, sampling methodology and treats used to entice the responses. Since the following story doesn’t provide this, I’m skeptical of the survey results depicted. A distinct lack of [...]