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Golden retriever Echo with her pups and the kittens which she was willing to adopt after they were abandoned
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Our maternal instincts have gone to the dogs
Vic Barlow11/ 6/2008
AS I read that wonderful front-page story in the Macclesfield Express of the golden retriever nursing a litter of kittens I though about our own dog Bustle.
She’s had 30 pups over the last five years and they have each been well-balanced, confident little dogs and it’s all down to her.
Bustle prepares well in advance for the arrival of her pups constantly cleaning and preparing her ‘nest’.
Once they arrive she watches over them leaving her whelping box only for toilet duty.
When they start to run around Bustle insists they show respect and will not tolerate petulance in her proximity.
She’ll nudge the errant pup with her nose and if it doesn’t listen she’ll administer a little nip or whatever it takes to gain respect.
As they grow Bustle takes regular leaves of absence preparing her pups for independence. Even under pressure from her exuberant litter Bustle is always calm, nudging and sorting her pups whenever the need arises. By the time her puppies leave home they are confident, sociable little dogs ready to face the world.
Like the golden retriever nursing kittens Bustle allows her instinct to dictate what’s best for her puppies but parents today aren’t allowed to follow nature.
Discipline has become a dirty word and respect is something children expect to receive but not give. Traders at Parsonage Green shops in Wilmslow are asking for a police presence to protect them from gangs of marauding school children and Sainsbury’s on Alderley Road will not serve kids at all during school hours.
What does that say about our parenting skills?
Of course there are lots of sociable, well-mannered children but we have far too many who are not and an increasing number who are simply feral. The schools dare not handle them, the police can’t and the parents won’t.
Somewhere along the line in our indulgent, politically correct society we’ve arrived at a point where our dogs make better parents than us.
The views expressed on this page are Vic Barlow's and not necessarily those of the Express
Most recent 2 of 6 user comments
I am sure i am not alone in being bored by Vics obsession with dogs. If that makes me bitter and jealous then let me make it clear, i am extremely bitter and extremely jealous of Vic Barlow!
The Satisfied Customer (AKA Jealous&Bitter, Australia)
18/06/2008 at 04:26
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