Musings on the dog culture in America - Page 4

Er, rather than being 'vermin', surely the street strays in societies
without infrastructure ARE the sewage & refuse disposal system  ?

C/F  Coppingers' research into 'Village Dogs' ...

I think the dog culture in America reflects the people culture in America.  People are very separate from the natural world, therefore dogs become the same way.  Living in a crate seems much like living in an apartment to me; locked in, barred against the outside world, eating processed,.artificial food, drinking treated water, walking on cement instead of dirt.  All this adds up slowly over time. 
Dogs are carnivores, meant to kill..  People are the same, but we are removed from the act of killing and eating what we kill, therefore we are shocked, offended, disgusted when our dogs are simply being dogs. 
I love my dog, would not have any other kind than GSD.  He is my 'baby'.  Yet his job is to protect me and my home,, kill certain types of animals that predate on my domestic animals, and be able to discern the difference, to be gentle with children, tough with intruders.  He watches my every move, takes hand signals, reads my moods and facial expressions, loves to play, to be hugged and petted.  But he is rough, tough, and a killer.  I never forget it. 
One day he will die and I will be as heartbroken as if he were my son. Yet death too is part of nature, a part we are sheltered from and led to believe only happens to someone else.  Artificiality is the norm in America.  Dogs do not belong at the dinner table with us.  Yet in this world, everything goes because we have lost our connection with nature.  Dogs may be the last tiny bit of that left for many people.

Thanks for topics- I will try to look them up.....

GK1,

I have been deployed to afgan. Ferrell dogs are there.

But a ferrel dog that lives with the turmoil of life is no less stressed than the little fear aggressive worry wart dog in a freaking cart or on a retractable trying to eat everyone in public. That dog is stressed 24/7.
How were dogs domesticated. most likely the same way the dogs live in iraq and many 3rd world countries.Strived off the remains of humans trash/food. In korea they breed a dog specifically for consumption. its call KAGOGI. and quite honestly its not bad.

When 99% of dogs that are stray, in rescues, hsus, animal shelters are there from pure ignorance of the owners not training and improperly conditioning their dogs I would say thats a real freaking issue. Tell me thats not a societal problem. You say im glad we can push a dog in a cart. then if we are so well off and so well educated why cant we take care of our own dogs and not let them develop these stupid issues with training or management to not need hsus,rescues,stray,etc.....

Even though it was a while back, I'm interested in the posts on crate training.  We put Shelby in her crate at night, and then when we are both at work.  However, when we are at work, she's never home by herself for more than 6 hours, and even then this is only about 4 days a week.  When she is with me in the house, she sometimes likes to get into mild mischief of chewing, jumping onto the coffee table, jumping onto the couch, and trying to pull things off of the counters and dining room table. When I see her about to do such things, I get her attention and play with her or do some training or give her a puzzle toy to try to get treats out of.  If I weren't at home, and let her wander around, I'd be worried about the state of my house and the state of her health if she did eat some of the things I've seen her try to eat before I removed them from her mouth. We also don't leave her outside by herself for extremely long periods because we don't have a dog house outside for her to shelter in if needed. She was the dominant puppy in the litter, has some decent prey drive, and hates being bored. So we will keep using the crate until she earns her privileges, and is old enough to go up and down the stairs to be able to sleep in our room. 

There was a post earlier about military bases, and people PCSing but not bringing their pets. I'm on a base, and while I've never seen dogs, there are tons of cats that wander around, some feral and some friendly.

Marjorie, Hundmutter perhaps said it better than I did- breeders breeding dogs to be pets, and only pets. I also envy you your dog that didn't have any 'destructive' tendencies as a puppy- we haven't been as lucky with Shelby, who loves to chew absolutely anything and everything if we let her. We know that she needs more mental stimulation, and she's the kind of GSD that needs A LOT of mental stimulation, which we are ever working to improve. She's the kind of GSD that needs a job. The way it seems to me, a lot of GSD's do need a job of some type (please note, I don't mean that a job could only be Schutzhund, SAR, police/military work, cadaver work, etc.  The way I see it, any way that your dog will feel useful to you is a job for the dog).

@scarreddecoy - it is clear you are emotional about the clothed dog in cart example. However, it's doubtful the calculus exists to equate the stress of stray to clothed dog in cart, other than your personal, emotion based judgment of this practice.

Correct spelling is feral, not ferrell...  Yes, feral dogs exist in Afghanistan as they do in the US. Fact of life.

No society's dog culture is ideal for all.

Not a chance.

----
Er, rather than being 'vermin', surely the street strays in societies
without infrastructure ARE the sewage & refuse disposal system ?
  C/F Coppingers' research into 'Village Dogs' ...

hundmutter - got it. You read an article/book on the topic. 

I observed the societal attitude toward the canine infestation not as an ad hoc system to eat human sewage in the absence of infrastructure, but as an unfortunate public health and safety concern in a struggling society..approaching a level of pestilence, in certain areas.  

In this particular case I used the word vermin specifically.








 

Gk1 - actually there is a comparison. please allow me to explain that statement. im not concerned with dogs in clothes or carts. though its not something i do i could care less.  however as a generalization of the people whom do this tend to humanize dogs and as a result there dogs arent trained or balanced. most have many psychological issues. Most people whom express themselves in this manor with there dogs do not understand the dogs nor do they address these issues. and a dog that is not balanced mentally is always stressed. and with the inappropriate conditioning the owner gives it only worsens there psychological state and increases the animals stress levels. This stress is an issue for the dog obviously. Their mental state, can manifest in self destructive behaviors, health issues, etc..... which effects the dogs quality of life as well as the owners which in turn also effects the dogs quality of life.

So which is worse-

a dog that has the natural pressures of life. search for food. fights disease, parasites, etc..... as does every other living being animal, insect, plants etc....  (not saying it isnt an issue)

or a neurotic mess that is very mentally unstable that has self destructive tendencies, or behavioral issues that lead to its demise, etc........


to me both are very similar. both dogs are under a ton of constant pressure and are suffering.   in my opinion just because a dog has food and water and vet care doesnt mean its a healthy happy dog. These two examples are under the same pressure. both in a struggle to survive the just have the pressure originating from different points. one food,or (ex: fearful dog) the other scared for its life of everything.

 

gk1 I do agree there is a big problem in 3rd world countries especially in some  of the middle east the dogs and scavengers have many diseases and parasites. especially with the health care issues for humans it is a real problem for both dogs and humans.  so I dont think im making lite of that.

and i just hit the auto correct on spelling. and dont proofread like i should.