The truth about dogs

As arookie dog owner, Cotswolds writer James Fair was overwhelmed with advice and dire warnings about how to care for his puppy. But how many of the often-repeated truths about canines are really myths?

- James Fair

The leg of a roe deer, a sparrowhawk carcass, a bloated dead frog, poo... these are just a few of our Australian shepherd's favourite things.

 It's hard to stop our dog Dakota scavenging while out on a countryside walkthere's often something dead or decomposing in the next hedgerow. When, a few months old, Dakota picked up the wing of a pigeon still attached to some grisly vertebrae, she carried it proudly around the valley like a glittering gold medal. I mentioned this to a seasoned dog owner friend. "Never let them eat bones," he warned. "They can cause all sorts of problems." Really? I thought that was just cooked bones.

I also wondered what the fuss about chocolate was; when I was a kid, our retriever once snaffled the Easter eggs and suffered no ill effects.

It got me thinking - what was true and what was a myth when it came to dog care? I spoke to a local vet and researched the science. I learned that while the myths mostly have some basis in fact, the truth - as ever - is more nuanced.

"DON'T OVER-EXERCISE YOUR PUPPY"

The standard advice is to walk your puppy for five minutes for every month of age they are and no more than twice a day. So a four-month old puppy could have two lots of 20 minutes' exercise. The reason for this is the ends of their bones are still soft and growing, and too much pressure on them causes damage, leading to conditions such as arthritis in later life.

But our experience was that Dakota needed more than was 'allowed' or she would have what dog-people call 'zoomies' - careering around and crashing into walls. Surely, we reasoned, a gentle walk would be better? Dr Max Cory, who works at our local practice, George Vet Group, says the five-minute rule is for people who want clarity and isn't hard and fast.