If any more evidence is needed that people see their dogs as part of the family, we need only look at what we name them.
File image. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Continuing a well-established trend of man's best friend coming with a human name attached, Max came out top dog in Whanganui this year with 101 pooches being registered in the district with that moniker.
But it was a close run thing with Bella coming in second on 93 and Ruby trailing in third on 82.
The district's head of animal control, Andre Claassen, said dog names appeared to say more about their owners than the canines.
"Max, Bella those names, human names. It's probably just they're part of the family. Part of who are the people who've obviously got dogs and that they treat them like part of the family, treat them like kids.
"I think mate it's just easy on the tongue and human names ... shorter versions of human names Max, Bella, Ruby those kinds of names come up."
Claassen admitted he was as guilty as the next dog owner in following the phenomenon.
"A name that rings a bell for me is Charlie. A family dog I've grown up with, so we've had about two or three Charlies in our family."
The top 10 dog names registered in Whanganui in 2021 were rounded out in descending order by Poppy, Molly, Charlie, Jack, Honey, Buddy and Lucy.
Working dogs were the most popular pooches registered in the Whanganui district this year.
The tireless but somewhat loud huntaway had the highest number of registrations at council with 550.
Its more stealthy cousin, the heading dog, came in second on 513.
Claassen said the fact that those two featured so prominently would come as no surprise to those who knew the district well.
"Whanganui is quite rural and they are working dogs and there are a lot of farms around, so they're used as working dogs herding cattle and sheep around the area. There's a lot of large stations that have sheep and stock on so they're working dogs."
There was a downside to having a huntaway too close to town of course.
"Yeah, they have got a bit of a bark on them and a scary bark at times. but they're very good natured. Of the larger breeds that and the labrador are very good natured dogs," Claassen said.
Rounding out the top four were the ever popular family breeds - the labrador and labrador cross on 421 and 410 respectively.
Claassen said fox terriers, staffies, shihtzus and border collies were also popular in the district.
Meanwhile, with the holiday season upon us, he was eager to offer some dog safety advice.
"Everybody's got the mindset it's the Christmas holidays and the last thing on their minds is what are we going to do with the dogs."
Claassen said people needed to consider where their dogs would be housed, either with a family member, friend, boarding kennel or perhaps at home with someone looking in on them.
"If you're going away a property inspection is important. Make sure there is no way the dogs can get out because dogs get bored at home, so make sure there is a toy for them and someone is popping in on a regular basis and taking them out for a walk.
"And if there's no alternative to leaving them at home and you've just got someone coming around, make sure there's adequate shelter and there's food available and water."
People also needed to be aware there would be more dogs out and about, he said.
"Make sure your dog is on a lead generally. And if it's off the lead in an exercise area that it is under control at all times and it listens to you and if doesn't, keep it on a lead."
Claassen said people also had to take special care of dogs around children at this time of the year.
"Especially around feeding time, make sure there's no kids around while you're feeding dogs. And kids love jumping on dogs and pulling their ears, try and avoid that. Dogs can be temperamental and they can change [behaviour] at any stage."
Top dog names in Whanganui 2021
Number Name
101 Max
93 Bella
82 Ruby
81 Poppy
70 Molly
62 Charlie
56 Jack
53 Honey
49 Buddy
45 Lucy
Most popular breeds:
Number Breed
550 Huntaway
513 Heading
421 Labrador
410 Labrador Cross