Pet-â-porter

But the breeds they favour go through image crazes which then trigger breeding frenzies for financial gain, to satisfy the market demands.

Jock of the Bushveld promoted Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Snow Dogs incited a Siberian Huskies craze – of purely on their appearance, Frasier led people to believe that Jack Russell Terriers are obedient and calm in city apartments. And Paris Hilton started a world-wide craze for Chihuahuas, Miniature Pinschers and Papillons transported in sling bags and under armpits.

About seven decades ago, Rin Tin Tin popularised the German Shepherd Dog. Lassie, the Rough Collie, became a household name.

The ignorant image-addicted public never consider the fact that canine celebrities are exceptionally well-trained dogs handled by experts. When purchasing a puppy of one of these fashionable breeds, members of the public will find that they have not been cloned to behave in the way they appear to do on screen.

It takes work, time and effort to develop these disciplined characters. A Dalmatian is designed to run alongside horse carriages twelve hours a day. A Jack Russell Terrier has the energy needed for hunting – if necessary, twenty-four hours a day.

Now that cute dog that you bought because you saw it in a movie is destroying the children’s toys, digging up plants in the garden, jumping all over the furniture, barking excessively and messing in the house,

The novelty of owning a fashionable dog can soon wear off. Humans are inherently lazy. Disillusionment and other fashions soon intervene. So the dog winds up in animal welfare shelters.

Either that, or the new owner consults with animal behaviourists, veterinarians and canine obedience instructors – itself a fashion statement. The fact that the pet dog and its owners are in counselling and therapy generates social attention, not to say a topic for lengthy conversation when they see their rent-a-crowd friends on a Saturday night at a restaurant.

So, the dog starts going out on walks and is able to emerge from its townhouse prison. The owners are receiving regular sessions on understanding canine behaviour and the psychology of human-animal relationships.

Dogs with obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety behaviour patterns and owner-interpreted depression may have Prozac prescribed by their resident veterinarian – usually the same drug the owners are taking anyway.

Thirty to forty years ago, if a pet owner admitted to having their animal diagnosed with a behaviour problem, this would have been regarded as indicative of their integrity and care. Today, people catch a thrill when their pet has been diagnosed with a behaviour disorder. After all, so has the whole family.

Dogs take after their owners, even if they happen to be an image statement. Women may think it cute if the spayed bitch toy dog in their handbag licks itself from separation anxiety and is being treated with psychotropic drugs. “She takes after her ‘mother’.”

Although dogs may serve to reinforce an image, having a number of dogs in the house is not really conducive to establishing a strong personal relationship with each of them. As the numbers increase, the amount of time that can be spent with each decreases.