It’s a dog’s life — and it’s not cheap
Linda just got married last December, but Percy takes precedence. If he’s not feeling up to scratch, new husband Paul is expected to vacate the marital bed so Linda can keep a close eye on her pampered pooch.
A Labernese — half Labrador, half Bernese Mountain Dog, Percy enjoys a prescription diet (“he has a sensitive stomach,” Linda explains) — glucosamine supplements for his joints, top-of-the-range cleaning products for his ears, and no fewer than three specialist ‘puffy’ beds and two comfy car-nests for when he travels.
One of the €50 beds is in Linda’s kitchen, one in the hall, and one in her parents’ house — just in case Percy fancies a nap while he’s visiting.
He also has a car nest in Linda’s car and one in her brother’s.
Linda took out pet insurance when she got Percy four years ago — just as well, because, it recently cost €600 to have his anal glands syringed.
“He’s the light of my life. People think I’m nuts, but he’s so loyal! I get the best for him,” says the Cork city woman.
The last 15 years has seen a swing in attitude to the treatment and care of pets, says Tralee-based vet Danny Holmes, a small animal clinician and chair of the Veterinary Ireland Companion Animal Society.
Until the late nineties, when the first big wave of small animal clinics opened, sick pets were brought to vets who worked mostly with horses or farm animals.
But new ideas on pet-care promoted by young vets returning from abroad, combined with a preponder- ance of TV programmes featuring vets, created greater awareness of the need for specialised pet care.
“The pet industry has been transformed since I graduated in 1995,” says Holmes.
“It’s changed from an industry that focused primarily on farm animals and horses to one where the pet is now an important family member who is entitled to proper medical care and good feeding and exercise.”
The booming pet food industry is testament to this — pet food is now in the top 10 categories of food purchased in the main grocery aisles.
“It’s way bigger than coffee or tea,” said one industry source, boasting that the sector is burgeoning and appears to be recession proof.
“Although people are tightening their belts, the pets don’t seem to be suffering.”
Far from experiencing a fall in demand as a result of the downturn, the pet food industry — conservatively estimated to be worth at least €150m in this country — is rapidly expanding, with industry sources predicting a rise of 50% in overall sales in the next three to five years.
“The Irish pet food market is ripe for growth. It’s an exciting time,” said one industry expert.
Food is certainly a big issue — Holmes warns that a lot of canine medical conditions like obesity, diabetes or arthritis, are lifestyle linked.
The kind of food you give your pet really makes a difference, he says.
It is important to realise that there’s a “considerable” difference in the quality of commercial dog foods, he says.
Although containers must describe how much protein, carbohydrate or fat is contained in the food, they don’t have to explain where the nutrients come from, he says.
“Premium foods will guarantee the source of the protein — for example, beef or chicken.
“Non-premium foods will guarantee the level of protein but they won’t say where the protein is coming from and this could vary.
“This matters because lots of dogs can suffer from mild skin allergies or other protein-related diseases.”
One way to determine the quality of your pet food is to look at the amount of stool your dog passes because this is an accurate reflection of the ‘digestibility’ of its diet.
“The less stool your dog passes, the more it’s getting out of the food.
“If your dog is passing large amounts of stool, he may not be digesting what’s in the food,” explains Holmes.
Pet food prices range enormously — a 10kg bag can cost anything from €10 to €65.
Pet food is better value if your dog is not producing large amounts of stool, says Holmes.
Food isn’t the only issue — owners are increasingly concerned with other aspects of their pet’s overall well-being such as their social skills or even their levels of psychological stress.
Corporate training specialist Roz Sheridan spends around €60 a week to ensure that her fluffy Maltese Terrier Oscar is properly socialised.
“Oscar goes to Creedon’s Doggie Daycare three times a week.
“I wanted him to be socialised with other dogs, and he’s the happiest little dog since he started going there,” she reports.
“He goes three days from about 9am to 6pm. He does activities and socialises with other dogs.”
Oscar’s other costs are not high, says Cork-based Sheridan, who took time to research the breed, invested in puppy training, and bought him a special coat for the rain because she keeps his hair tightly clipped and he can get “really cold”.
“I don’t buy into the whole thing of excessive toys and treats,” she says, adding that she plans to invest in further dog training and sign up for a course in Canine First Aid.
Owners are also more accepting of new pet therapies — Trish O’Riordan, manager of the Pet Stop on Cork’s Kinsale Road is a master instructor of integrated energy therapy for pets.
IET involves working with the body’s energy flow and channelling energy to alleviate blockages which can cause problems such as depression, stress or trauma:
“Years ago this would have raised eyebrows — it still does but people are definitely more open to the idea now.
“It’s a fantastic complementary therapy and the animals respond well to it,” says O’Riordan, who says she has successfully practiced the therapy on several animals including a rabbit.
Pets are increasingly seen as very much part of the family — even to the extent of being included in the domestic policy on food.
Rudy, a mixed breed terrier — who was found by the gardaí with a broken leg on O’Connell Street about four years ago — has a 100% vegetarian diet.
“I’ve been a vegetarian for more than 20 years and I didn’t want him eating the commercial dog food,” explains his owner, Dublin-based computer engineer Gerard Harrington. “I came across a place that sold organic vegetarian dog food and I said I’d give that a go — apparently dogs can have a vegetarian diet without any ill effects.
“I tried the vegetarian dog nuts and he’s been on them ever since.
“However, if there’s ever any meat around he’ll go for it — he was on the street for a while and I think he’d go for any kind of food as a result!”
And if anything highlights the changing public attitude to pets, it’s the range of services offered at Creedon’s Doggie Daycare on Vicar’s Road, Cork.
Owner Nanci runs grooming sessions and dog training classes as well as operating a canine day care centre — plus she’s planning to establish a college for would-be dog trainers, groomers and owners who want to learn more about their animal.
Demand is so strong that she plans to open a second day care centre in Little Island next June.
Irish dog owners are willing to learn more about pet care, believes Creedon, who holds a string of qualifications in animal care, including a degree in Zoology from UCC, a diploma in canine psychology and qualifications in dog grooming and dog training — she’s due to start a Master’s degree in Animal Behaviour in the UK next September.
“Irish dog-owners can be quite uneducated about their pets. They tend to spoil their dogs — many dogs are overweight and not properly socialised.”
Ironically, however, indulgent owners can forget to check for basic problems like ear infections or thorns in the paw.
“You’d be surprised by how few dogs are up to date with the vaccination and health checks.
“People should bring their dog to the vet at least once a year for a vaccination and health check.
“We often find that when we groom pampered dogs, their ‘dew’ claw or thumb has become so severely overgrown that it is curled backwards and has pierced through the paw. ”
“There’s a lack of owner- education. People don’t understand how their dogs tick.
“Irish dogs tend to be out of control and I’m surprised we don’t have more serious injuries from dogs.
“Many people just acquire a dog without ever investing in understanding how it communicates,” Nanci explains.
“This is a major problem. If people could understand what their dog’s telling them they’d avoid a lot of grief.”
When a dog growls, she says, he’s often punished — yet he’s only trying to warn the owner that something’s upsetting him.
Nanci says: “[By punishing] you’re teaching him that it’s futile to warn that he’s unhappy — and the next day that dog may go straight to bite.
“Irish owners are not as in tune with their dogs as they should be.”
