Mar 12, 2019

What is a Dog?

This is an honest question!  After 25 years of working with all sorts of dogs I am still mystified by them.  They are so common and familiar, yet they are still so unexpected and amazing. I’ve been thinking about this quite a lot lately.  My guess is that different people have vastly different answers to this question. Why does it matter? I think that’s what I’m even more interested in exploring!  It matters because our vision of dogs shapes our treatment of them. And our treatment of them is vital to their mental and physical health.

For more than 20 years I taught Child Psychology to college students.  One of the concepts that I always felt applied as much to dog owners as to parents of human children is parenting styles.  There are 3 main styles: authoritarian, permissive (indulgent & neglectful), and authoritative. While I do NOT believe that my dogs are human babies I do think that my perception of who they are informs my primary style of interaction with them.

I believe that dogs are sensitive and intelligent creatures.  I believe they have rich emotional lives and form strong bonds with others.  They are a social species who seem to need and enjoy companionship. I believe that they deserve to be treated with thoughtfulness and respect.  I’ve had many dogs in my life and each has had a truly unique personality. But I do not believe they are my babies any more than I believe they are wild beasts.  The truth of them is somewhere in between. I am well aware, however, that other people have very different views of dogs.

Read full article here What is a Dog? by Deb Jones

This article is so good, it should be must read for every dog owner and anyone who is thinking about dog ownership. It’s a big responsibility, not for everyone.

Deb Jones was gracious to give me permission to share this with my readers. Please pass on this valuable insight.