Humanizing our Dogs - Page 2

If you treat a dog like a human, it will treat you like a dog.

I am surprised to learn that there are human mothers in some cultures who call their babies "mommy". Makes no sense to me. Well, maybe for a narcissistiic mommy.

I still call my dogs puppies! Time for my own head shrinking? :)

Before this topic gets unhinged, I'd like to suggest to everybody to keep their religious opinions to a minimum/to themselves so nobody gets offended or we get off the original topic.

I like to baby my dogs, to some degree, and when I talk about them to my family, I do jokingly refer to them as my kids. However, this doesn't mean that they aren't well trained, and I don't see why it's an issue. Some dog breeds are smart enough to have toddler level intelligence, and to say that animals don't have emotions is incorrect.

For example, orcas have a larger part of their brains that is associated with social connections, and this leads scientists to believe they have even more complex social structures and emotional connections than humans.

One example is when a young, captive orca was separated from her mother because she was beginning to be a trouble maker for her human trainers, the mother began using a long range sonar that had never been heard before. The baby was shipped to another zoo, though, so the mother became an emotional wreck, just floating in the corner, obviously depressed. The other orcas tried cheering her up, but she'd just get hysterical, so they gave her space.

When I said that about 'hurting the dog's feelings' I by no means meant to imply dogs don't have emotions! What I am talking about is treating the dog as if it were a human. I know people whose dogs are totally out of control because they never correct them, never tell them 'no'. They seem to think that raising their voice to the dog will scar it for life. And of course, any sort of physical correction, however gently done, is considered physical abuse.

That's a horrible way to treat dogs, and come to think of it, it doesn't work at all well for human children, either!

Let me give you an example...

I have a former friend who owned 3 large dogs, all at least 100 lbs. When I came over, the dogs would stick their heads in my lap and drool on me. Didn't matter what I did or what I said, they wouldn't leave me alone. My pants would be covered with wet spots. If I tried to push them away, their owner would get angry at me. The would usually listen to her, and lie down for awhile if she told them to, but more often than not, they'd be back again within 10 minutes.

One day, I was trying to block the youngest dog from drooling on me, just holding my arm up as a barrier. The dog fastened his teeth on my arm.

"Look at this," I told her, "He's got no respect for me whatsoever. He thinks I'm his playtoy!"

"Well, of course he doesn't," she replied. "You're not his owner!"

"That's not my point," I said. "Why isn't the person he DOES have respect for doing something to stop him??"

I'm sure you can guess why we're no longer friends. And no one ever wants to come over and visit her house...

Reliya, I've watched the film Blackfish, and read a lot about orcas, and really wish these Marine Land type exhibits would be closed down. Now, due to the outcry about orcas, they are capturing and training beluga whales instead. Just because they are smaller and need less space doesn't mean keeping them captive isn't just as stressful for them as it is for the orcas.

There are two sides to this situation. Whether you are on the inside looking out as opposed to being on the outside looking in. Meaning the truth lies on both sides. Dogs are not people but they are incredibly similar to people at the same time.
I think a lot of this started years ago in our modern society when we distance ourselves from nature in the animals.Years ago the biggest fad was to point out how humans treat their pet animals as if they were human. The fact of the matter is that a dog is a dog, a cat is a cat, and the human is a human. Even though we are all quite different species we nevertheless are a lot more alike than that previous statement could even reflect. And there is a biological base for this likeness /similarity. Goodness between a chimpanzee and a human is only 2% difference in genetic makeup.
The biggest mistake i have seen from years ago, is the complaining that humans anthropomorphize their pets overlooking the fact that they are very much like us. I have seen people treat their dogs as they would their children in the sense of coddling and spoiling them in at the same time I've seen train is in sport people alike in the dog world, that have no regard for the thoughts and feelings in the emotions of a canine. Both positions are off based.

Canines have thoughts, feelings, and emotions as do humans. Although They are very different, they do communicate. They can also deductively reason, problem solve, and make choices. Even in the pack they develop emotional attachments. As a matter of fact one of the biggest things I teach to people is that every little thing they we do , or don't do, is a direct communication to a dog. Quite often I'll train my dogs without ever uttering a word.
I think the confusion lies in our inability to understand animals and that interferes with our ability to best relate to , and live life, with them. Every day we as humans are learning about our dogs and cats. For example , in proven studies, it has been shown that even though you are at a distance in your workplace while your dog remains at your home knows, your dog knows exactly when you leave for home from your work place. Even departing from other locations too , our dogs know when we are heading to home. Sounds impossible, but this has been proven through tests.
So the point is our dogs are not human, but they are very much like humans and there is a lot more to the animals that we completely don't understand. So, now I guess, we let wisdom take over as to how we should really be treating them.

Some people substitute a puppy for a deceased child, going so far as to push the 'baby'- dog in a stroller. Seems like that is a set up for the puppy to not live up to expectations....

For example , in proven studies, it has been shown that even though you are at a distance in your workplace while your dog remains at your home knows, your dog knows exactly when you leave for home from your work place. Even departing from other locations too , our dogs know when we are heading to home. Sounds impossible, but this has been proven through tests.    

~quoted from above by Centurion

This common occurrance experienced by many pet owners is usually attributed to associative learning.

 

The following quote is taken from the comments section of the link to an NC State News article, that I have provided for everyone, that explains this phenomenon. 

https://news.ncsu.edu/2011/06/wms-dogs/

“Some years ago, there was a series of papers in the ‘alternative’ press by an author named Sheldrake about a single dog named Jaytee who was documented on video tape of anticipating the owner’s arrival more than 10 minutes in advance. More recently, there was a paper in which a similar protocol was used but with the addition of a pager with a single dog named Kane (Sheldrame R, Smart P, Testing a return-anticipating dog, Kane, Anthrozoos, 2000;13(4):203-212). Although interesting and heuristic, I don’t believe the results constitute a database of evidence at present. However, the human-animal bond is powerful and I suspect there is much to learn about the amazing capabilities of dogs.”

Hope that’s helpful for you!

Years ago, when my work had me on the road, I was told that my huskies which I didn't take with me on the road would begin their pack - regroup-howl about fifteen minutes before I drove my truck and trailer up the driveway, usually late at night after driving six or seven hundred miles to get home. Obviously the huskies could sense my return....and they were outside dogs I trained and worked as sled dogs, not babies with fur.

I have a book by a well-known service dog trainer. I can't recall her name or the name of her organization, but it's one that's been featured on TV with a movie-length special tracking the training of several service dogs.

One of her dogs had a special bond with a particular person. He knew in advance when this person was coming to visit, and his owner assumed he was picking up on cues like overhearing his voice and name in telephone conversations prior to these visits.

He was scheduled to visit, but phoned to say there had been a change of plans, and he couldn't come. I think it was likely due to a problem with his flight.

Still, later in the day, the dog was acting the way he usually did when this person was about to arrive. His owner/handler tried to explain to him that he wasn't coming, but how do you get that across to a dog?

Well, guess who phoned a short time later to say he had been able to book another flight, and had just landed at the local airport?

When I was in my teens, we had a half-Burmese cat that was extremely intelligent and very bonded to his family. When we were out, he'd lie on the chair by the living room window, and wait for us to come home. My mom drove a white VW beetle, and our neighbour 2 doors down the street had an almost identical car. At first, Blackie would jump off his chair and run to the door when the neighbour's car went by, but very quickly, he learned to distinguish between the two vehicles, and would only run to the door when he saw my mom's car. He'd then greet her with a series of meows, the length and volume directly proportional to the length of time he'd been left alone....