Threatening to rehome the dogs

[Paul&Muttley]

I recently read "All Creatures Great And Small" by James Herriot, who was a country vet in Yorkshire around 1938. He tells the story of a rich woman with a very spoiled little dog to whom she gave bowls full of rich food and even cake, until the poor thing was so fat he could hardly move. He kept him for a while with his own pack of dogs, and soon they were running around and playing and the dog got much healthier.

The book was highly entertaining and gave a good perspective on life and animal behavior 70 years ago as compared to today. It is mostly humorous, and probably many of the stories are exaggerated, but it does show how most animals will gladly submit to human interaction in an appreciative way, even when in terrible pain.

A vet must be able to be calm and assertive in order to handle animals, especially those such as cows and horses that may weigh over 1000 lb. The worst problems are usually with small pets who have been "spoiled" and allowed to engage in unwanted behavior, much like tantrums, which are often rewarded by treats and affection which reinforces it.

This may be true for babies and small children as well. All creatures are essentially selfish and will emit behaviors that result in satisfaction of their needs and desires. But at some point they become able to understand and learn to accept limits, unless they have usually been successful in getting what they want. Result = spoiled brat (human or canine)

[Mattie]

A vet must be able to be calm and assertive in order to handle animals,

Not when you play tricks on them the way that we do, he gets his own back.

[spydre]

I've read almost all of the James Herriott books. Yes, they provide some insight into animal behavior - they were much more on the human story level - how the humans interact with each other, back in the time when country vets made housecalls, even for pets rather than livestock - it was much more about how he would interact with clients, and even when he went to war.

One particular story I remember was finding a dog and owner at the side of the road, with the dog choking. The dog had attempted to swallow a ball, and it got stuck. After Dr. Herriott tried to get the ball out with his hand, he then started doing doggie mouth-to-nose. Then finally the ball was dislodged with a doggie heimlich maneuver.