Pantops Pet Salon & Spa
Charlottesville's Professional Dog Grooming

I would estimate that 60% of our customers are women and they are comfortable with what they want.  They can discuss bows, cologne, conditioner, and spa treatments quite freely and with enthusiasm.  The men that come in are usually more of a challenge.  They often don’t know much more than the dog’s name.  The conversation goes like this:  “What kind of haircut do you want?” — “I don’t know, it’s my wife’s dog.”  Oh boy, here we go.  He stands there in his jeans, baseball cap, unshaven and with a chew in his cheek.  As far as he is concerned, you could shave the dog bald–it means more to his wife than he does anyway!

I know that when I was younger, my dogs had to reflect my machismo.  I had a German Shepherd, Irish Setter, and Collie–see a pattern?  When we owned our Scottie Margaret, I found her to be too small to romp around the way I like:  “Want to jump in the car and go to Lowes?”  Probably not.  She became more my wife’s dog.  After a lot of complaining, I got my first of three Great Danes.  Now I could grunt, spit, and be thoroughly disgusting with my bad-ass dog.

Reminds me of the time I was admiring my granddaughter when she was born.  We were having a family dinner and I held her in my arms and said, “She is just precious!”  My son Michael looked at me in disbelief:  …Precious?  He said, “Dad, what is that, your feminine side?”  You have to understand that having been raised as an Army brat and then putting in 5 years myself, my personality reflects an atmosphere of male dominance and discipline.  Real men don’t say “precious,” and I think working in a female dominated industry for 32 years was having its effect on me!  The first three years of business I operated only a boarding kennel, and that certainly was manly enough.  But then I needed to expand my ability to make money so I added grooming.  It took me a long time to adjust to putting bows on poodles and spraying them with perfume.

One of my favorite customers is a guy who weighs about 300 lbs., shaves his head and has tattooed arms the size of my waist.  Occupation?  Tow truck driver.  Pet?  Toy Poodle named Midnight.  His hands are the size of a baseball mitt — much larger than his poodle.  I couldn’t help but ask him what he was doing with such a little dog.  He just smiled and grunted that it was his wife’s dog.  “Got a problem with that?”  I took another look at his arms and said, “Nope, how do you want him cut?”  His answer?  You got it.  “Shave him down all over and no foo-foo stuff.”

I just watched a fascinating program on National Geographic Explorer called “The Science of Dogs.” It covered the evolution of the dog—a “must see” for dog lovers. I can’t do the program justice here, but I will relay some of the highlights.

Dogs originated from the wolf about 15,000 years ago. Archeologists speculate that early hunters were interested in having animals around as company and wolves responded the best.

Studies show that dogs still have 99.8% wolf DNA—that leaves only .2% for all their varied behavior, sizes and shapes! This .2% of genes has a remarkable amount of plasticity unique in the animal kingdom. Cow genes only allow for slight variations—you won’t see a cow the size of a mouse nor one the size of an elephant.  Plasticity means that dog genes are much more flexible thus we are able to breed dogs from one end of the spectrum to another-compare a Newfoundland and a Chihuahua, for example!

The first time a dog was bred for a purpose was 5,000 years ago in Egypt. Today’s Saluki was originally bred to be a sleek, swift hunter. Over the next 4,000+ years, man guided the breeding of a few select mongrels that exhibited qualities he felt would be useful for hunting, herding, and guarding.  The TV program called this selective breeding “eugenics” which means the forced direction of evolution, something that has been heavily debated in regards to human genetics.

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, the upper-middle class began to fancy their dogs just as they did their gardens and architecture. The “companion dog” became a status symbol for the well to-do and breeding reflected the dog’s new purpose. Over the past 100 years, 320 of the 400 recognized breeds were created (80%).

Because small dogs can be bred as often as twice a year, a new breed can be developed in less than 20-30 years. Aggressive manipulation of the breeding process to design and shape the perfect pet led to more sizes, shapes, and colors than any other species of animal. That’s what dog shows are all about– a public measuring of the success of breeders. Hunting dogs have their trials, scent dogs theirs, and earth dogs too.  Research has also been conducted to explain a dog’s affection for us—which has been heightened through selective breeding. Dogs look to man for guidance and imitate our behaviors. We have become a team and man serves as pack leader. 

Unfortunately, careless breeding in small gene pools has caused a sharp increase in genetic diseases such as cancer, blindness, hip dysplasia and epilepsy. Most dog books will list the health problems that have a higher incidence in certain breeds like hip dysplasia in German Shepherds and blindness in Dalmatians. There is an ongoing effort by professional breeders to “accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.” The best breeders are knowledgeable about the genetic defects that have come up in the breed so they keep thorough health records and refuse to breed any dog with defects.

As we continue to selectively breed dogs to our standards I do not see comparing them to wolves anymore than we compare man to monkeys!  The underlying biology may be similar but the behavior and physical appearance are very different.

National Geographic often repeats its programs—look for this one under the explorer series.

There is an on-going debate on whether animals and humans are born with “what you see is what you get” or if they can be developed through environmental factors.  Which is more important?  Let the scientists argue.  I think we can agree that both the nature and nurture sides of the debate play an important role.

Those of us with children know that each is born into the world with a certain personality and it is up to us to shape it.  My son Michel owns the Pet Motel and Salon—an apple that didn’t fall far from the tree.  My daughter Laura is a mother of three and helps in the business—she said she could care less about attending college.  My daughter Rebecca was a gifted swimmer and as parents we encouraged that through college—and it paid off.  Our son Carl on the other hand was born with cerebral palsy and no amount of love or education was going to change that.

When you select a puppy, be aware of the traits that that puppy is born with.  It has been established that selective breeding over generations increases the likelihood of offspring that resemble their parents.  Proven race horses can demand top dollar to become part of a breeding pair because their offspring are likely to have the same racing ability.  The science of animal husbandry is mandatory education for farmers who deal in livestock as well as for breeders of dogs.

While not guaranteed, your chances of getting a dog that closely resembles the traits of the breed are much higher with a conscientious breeder who only breeds the best.  In a litter of 8 pups, a breeder may determine that 1 or 2 have a fault they don’t wish to be passed on.  It may be as minor as some white on a dog that must be totally black to something more serious.  These pups are usually sold as “pet quality” (rather than show quality) for substantially less money than the others.  My second Dane, Belle, was from such a breeder.  Belle was extremely shy.  She was by far show quality in appearance but required special care from me in unfamiliar situations or with strangers.

After selecting your pup, you must rely on nurturing the traits.  What we bring to the table to form, change, and reinforce the behavior, appearance, and health we desire of our dog.  We have several articles that go into detail in these areas.  Where nature claims that “what you see is what you get,” nurture says that with emphasis on the environment, we can shape the behavior and well being of our pet.  I think we have to make a concerted effort in both areas—pay close attention to breeding when selecting a pup but realize that your dog won’t meet its full potential without regard to how we train and care for it.

Our fourth child was born with cerebral palsy and is now 27 years old.  He recently became a resident of the Wiseman house here in Charlottesville which is owned and operated by the ARC of the Piedmont.   We make an effort to visit him at least once a week—I like to leave work in the early afternoon and take him home to play with Lizzie in the backyard.  I don’t have any scientific proof, but I’ve always felt that all of our dogs, past and present, had a particular relationship with Carl.  It’s almost as if they could sense his innocence—they seemed calmer in his presence and formed a unique bond with him.  I know Lizzie is good therapy for me and I can see that same effect in Carl.  He laughs and enjoys hugging her, throwing her sticks and watching her play.  Sometimes, just being in the presence of a good loving dog is all that we need to make this hectic world an OK place.

Jenna adds:
When I worked at The Virginian, a retirement community in Fairfax, there was a regularly scheduled visit from a group of therapy dogs.  That day was always the most cheerful for our residents.  At Cedars-Sinai, a hospital in California, there is a similar program called POOCH.  The creator, licensed social worker Barbara Cowen, notes that after the therapy dog visits, the patients have slower heart rates and require less pain medication.  The July issue of “Journal of Gerontology:  Medical Sciences” describes a recent test using the UCLA Loneliness Scale.  After half an hour a week with a therapy dog for six weeks, 45 patients reported that they were significantly less lonely compared to a control group.  I’m sure that research will continue to prove the benefits of therapy dogs.

Roberta Taylor, LPN compares the use of therapy dogs to the use of medication including recommended dosage and potential side effects!   Click here to read what she has to say.
 

Dealing with Doggie Anxiety

Breeds We Don’t Do

Cats and Dogs

Archived from “The Paw Report:”  Issue #10, April

Put your dog in the back yard and watch his behavior—more often than not his nose will go up in the air and you can see him work his nostrils and begin identifying what’s out there.  Their olfactory bulbs (scent decoding centers) are four times larger than that of humans.  Depending on the breed, it has been estimated that dogs can identify smells between 1,000 and 10,000 times better than humans can.  This ability is not an accident.  Their nose and muzzle is designed for such excellence.  With this in mind, we have trained our canine friends to sniff out drugs, bombs, cancer, lost children, escaped prisoners, and the list goes on and on.  It is what is behind what I call the “Butt Check.”  Feces, urine, and associated secretions not only provide an identity between dogs but also indicate a state of health, what was for dinner, am I pregnant?, size (how high on the tree did he hike his leg?), etc

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Understanding the Dog — Introduction and Focus on Touch

The Gustatory Sense (Taste)

The Sense of Hearing

The Sense of Sight

The Sense of Smell

My in-laws have lived with Loretta and I for the past seven years and Pop would often spend his late afternoons sitting on our back deck with my Great Dane Molly.  He always marveled at Molly’s ability to differentiate my car coming up the drive from any other.  When she heard my engine, she would get up and come around to the front of the house to greet me.  She didn’t do this for my wife, our kids, or anyone else for that matter—she was my dog.  She learned the sound of my car engine and could identify it.  This experience is not unique.  It can be attributed to the canine sense of hearing.

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In researching the senses through various books and on-line articles, I have discovered such a wealth of information on each sense that it could comprise a book in and of itself.  My aim with these articles is to deliver a summary and the bottom line, not necessarily the detailed physiology and testing which led to the final conclusion.  For more detailed information, please see our reference materials listed in the library of our website:  www.pantopspetsalon.com

Through educating ourselves about the five senses in dogs compared to our human capabilities, we develop a much greater understanding of the world our canine companions experience.  Sight is our bag!  It is our keenest sense and in most aspects, it is far superior to that of dogs.  Our visual system has a greater portion of the brain devoted to it than to any of our other senses—not true for dogs.  The amount of light taken in by the pupil and the amount of light interpreting structures within the eye (cones and rods) are markedly different between man and dog.  Since dogs originally hunted and were usually very active during dawn and dusk, they are more sensitive to levels of brightness but their ability to perceive color falls by the wayside.  When compared to other animals, though, the dog has relatively good vision.  Based on current research, here is what we know:

Archived from “The Paw Report:”  Issue #7, January

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In evolutionary terms, the sense of taste helped dogs differentiate harmful, indigestible or poisonous substances (bad taste) from that which was nutritious and digestible (good taste).  Because it is essential for survival, taste is one of the earliest senses developed in dogs.

Archived from “The Paw Report:”  Issue #6, December

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