Hungarian Vizslas are among many dog breeds who have complex social and medical needs, and it is important that owners of dogs meet these requirements to ensure that their dog lives a fruitful life. I spoke with the Vice Chancellor Quintin Mckellar about his experience being a veterinarian before his academic career at the university of Hertfordshire. Initially I asked Mckeller if a dog’s temperament can be influenced if they’re a part of a socially docile household, such as having younger children present within their lives. Mckellar informed me that “I think dogs have particular characteristics, and children can have either a positive or negative influence. Of course if young children start pulling their ears or tails, dogs can become anxious as a consequence, quite often dogs and young children bond very effectively, but it’s dependent on the dog, and dependent on the child.”
Visits to veterinary clinics are crucial to all animal welfare, but more specifically dogs. I inquired about how often dogs should be seen by professional veterinarians. The Vice Chancellor stated “When you initially get a puppy, or adopt a dog at an older age, I would suggest taking them to the vet and inquiring about vaccinations, but it also depends on how healthy your dog is. As dogs get older, they develop more age related diseases, and will thus need to be taken to the vet more often.” After Mckellar said this, I spoke about my own dog, Rigby. Rigby will be turning twelve in August of this year, and I have noticed some fatty lumps forming under his skin. From research and advice from local veterinarians, usually these ‘lumps’ are benign lipomas, which in most cases are harmless and are common on senior dogs. I informed the Vice Chancellor of this and asked him if he has owned a dog which also suffered from lipomas, to which he responded “I did have a dog which had lipomas historically, and generally speaking lipomas are not a big issue. But of course you need to get them checked because it might not be a lipoma, as it could be a much more invasive cancer.”
Mckellar then began informing me about certain medical issues one of his dogs began presenting during her final years of life, the dog breed he owned was a border collie. “She started to experience a little bit of arthritis, which quite often happens in older dogs, and I’m not sure if it’s particularly common in collies, because of course they’ve been bred for rounding up sheep, so their locomotor function is usually pretty good, but because she was so old, alongside arthritis, she started to develop cataracts right at the end of her life. There are of course operations that can be performed to remove cataracts, but she was so old I was certainly not going to get her operated on. We just had to be more careful. She could get around ok, but just wasn’t able to see things as well once upon a time.
Due to Mckellar’s comments regarding the risk of putting senior dogs under general anesthetic, I informed him about my own precautions around putting my own dog, Rigby, under for operations. Due to Rigby’s lipomas, my parents used to consider having them removed, but due to his older age, they fear the risk of putting him under general anesthetic could cost him his life. I then asked Mckellar if older dogs are more at risk of being put under general anesthetic, to which he responded, “Of course, yes, absolutely. But then you’ve got to balance that against the severity of whatever disease they’re being anesthetized for, and whether the chances of a period of recovery is worth it for the animal, and outway the potential risks. But the veterinarian will obviously advise on that based on the clinical examination of the dog, however, there will be other factors involved, such as if the dog is overweight, or has any underlying cardiac disease or any respiratory disease is more likely to be at risk of being put under anesthesia.”
I then started a conversation regarding the physical fitness of older dogs, and more specifically if senior dogs being overweight is a hindrance to their health. Mckellar responded stating “Well, being overweight for any animal is a risk, of course, and with all the things we’ve been discussing, like lipomas, arthritis all these sort of things, being overweight is less beneficial to the animal if it’s lighter and in good condition, with what I’d call a healthy condition. But yes, it’s always a risk. Even overweight young dogs suffer more medical diseases than non-overweight dogs. It exacerbates some of the issues as they get older as well. It’s not specifically an issue with older dogs, it’s an issue with any animal.”
Lastly, I was intrigued to know if dogs truly are able to recognise different family members that they regularly either live with, or see quite often. Due to Mckeller previously owning a collie that was trained to round up sheep, I was curious to hear his professional opinion. Mckellar stated “Oh, absolutely. My dog was incredibly differential, and liked being with certain people. You could tell she was a one person dog. If I was to go out she would always follow me. We’ve also had dogs that would follow my wife, rather than me. But yes, absolutely. My friend also had a dog which liked women but not men.” I then responded by informing Mckellar of my own dog’s behaviour towards men he’s not familiar with when they’re in the house, and how sometimes he can become aggressive towards them. I then asked Mckellar if it’s common for dogs to become protective of familiar family members when they’re in the house, to which is stated, “Definitely, but you have to be careful with that, because when a dog is protective over someone or something, you have to very careful that they don’t harm someone.”
Interview with Vice Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire, Quintin Mckellar, previous veterinarian.
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