by Jennifer Bishop Jenkins
he religions that arose in the arid and ancient Middle East—Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam—all share some negative and ancient scriptural pronouncements regarding dogs and human interaction with them.1 Scholars speculate that these monotheistic traditions developed these religious teachings denouncing dogs for practical reasons.
Dogs were mostly free-roaming and may have represented an issue regarding the spread of disease, or as a consumer of limited food and water supplies. There are also references to dogs licking the sores of the sick and dying (perhaps of leprosy). Religious texts written a millennium or two ago describe dogs eating their own vomit, and refer to them as low, vile and unclean.
We know the feral dogs from that region of the world are an ancestor breed known as Pariah dogs, perhaps forerunners of the Canaan Dog of today. The word “pariah” has come in our modern language to mean outcast, rejected by humanity. There are statements attributed to the Prophet Mohammed from the 7th century C.E. that dogs are only to be kept outside and only for hunting, herding or guard purposes. We still have some of the remnants of these feelings in our language today; insults such as, “You dog, you,” “Go sleep with the dogs” or “Sick as a dog,” reflect millennia-old cultural views that dogs were reviled.
There are other references in Muslim texts against allowing the “haram” or “unclean” dogs in one’s home, as well as similar prohibitions in early Abrahamic and Mosaic Law in early Judaism. Much of the Middle East today still carry these cultural views. A study of pet ownership done in 2022 in the bustling, modern capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, found that “[t]he most common pet types were cats (77.4%), followed by birds (24.6%) and dogs (9.7%).”3 To contrast that statistic, in the United States in 2024, 60 million households (almost half of all American households), owned a dog, with 40 million households owning the still second-most-popular cat.
Attitudes towards dogs in Middle Eastern culture seem to be finally changing, especially among the younger and educated and in larger cities. One website says of the growing popularity of dogs and the subsequent rise of dog ownership, especially since COVID, “Dog ownership in the Middle East was historically very low, not only because of cultural restrictions, but also due to the hot climate and small living spaces making it challenging to own a dog. Social media has been playing a pivotal role in the rising adoption rates in the Middle East as influencers posted about themselves adopting a dog during the pandemic and their followers then followed suit. The dog population in [the] Middle East recorded 5% year-on-year growth in 2020 and 2021, with large breed (20 to 50lbs or 9 to 23kg) dogs dominating the pet population.”4
At the end of January I returned from an amazing week with pet industry professionals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from all over Europe, Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere. I was privileged to teach a large group of groomers online and a small dedicated group of Riyadh groomers on site. They were caring professionals and curious to learn everything they possibly could, from scissoring techniques to de-shedding. They marveled at some of the tools I had brought from home.
I spoke to a few articulate young Riyadh grooming professionals about the dominance of cat ownership versus the growing popularity, at least in the big city, of dog ownership. They reported that the view of cats as a blessing and dogs as “unclean” still dominated, especially among the most conservatively religious families. They say that dogs are “haram” or “taboo” in those communities. But they also pointed out that dogs, especially toy-sized dogs such as the popular Pomeranian, are increasingly popular as Saudi Arabia draws more and more outside residents to its massive international economy.
These Saudi Arabia-based groomers also reported that the hardest part about the slowly increasing acceptance of dogs as pets is that some families are actually facing intra-familial conflict. New dog owners have sometimes been distanced by their own family members as “haram” over this issue. But they were hopeful and happy to report that these views are clearly lessening.
COVID was certainly a force multiplier in advancing dog ownership worldwide—not just in the Middle East. And while that dog population “bump” is now largely behind us, it is exciting to live in a time where such old customs are being re-examined. Modern influences like social media, shared globalized culture, and the open hearts and minds of younger people have driven this social evolution. We can be proud in this industry that the desire of caring pet groomers in the Middle East to embrace and learn about dogs is helping to bring an end to an ancient prejudice against man’s best friend.
References:
- Bible, King James Version. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-idx?type=simple&format=Long&q1=Dog
- Wikipedia contributors. (2024, December 17). Islam and cats. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Islam_and_cats&oldid=1263623373
- Alrukban MO, Alekrish YA, et al. Awareness of Pet Owners in Riyadh Regarding Pet-Related Health Risks and Their Associated Preventative Measures. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2022 Aug;22(8):419-424. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2022.0017. Epub 2022 Jun 24. PMID: 35749135. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35749135/
- Du Plessis, Anje. (2021, September 6). Emerging Market for Dog food in Middle East and Africa. Euromonitor International. https://www.euromonitor.com/article/emerging-market-for-dog-food-in-middle-east-and-africa