Dogs' Place in Society

There is a long article in the current New York magazine (don't ask why I read it) entitled "A Dog Is Not a Human Being, Right?". The author, John Homans, subtitled it "The increasingly twisted relationship between man and his best friend." Inside, it's titled/subtitled "The Rise of Dog Identity Politics: Dogs are increasingly rootless souls, country bumpkins in city apartments. But is a vegan pup still an animal?" I started reading with some trepidation, but it turned out to be a fairly balanced article. Mr. Homans lives in the city, and wonders if that is an appropriate life for his Lab mix Stella. "Guilt, along with plastic bags of dog poop, is pretty much a constant in an urban canine-human relationship. Is this any kind of life for a dog?" he asks.
He quotes James Serpell, of the University of Pennsylvania, with whom I've had some interesting conversations. Serpell notes that, as detailed in the book Bowling Alone, people are living more isolated lives, marriages break down regularly, and all of this coincides with a sharp upswing in the pet population. He says we're using animals to fill the gap in our lives.
Serpell also cites research from Japan that showed an owner's oxytocin levels rise when their dog gazes at them. Oxytocin is a majorly important social-bonding hormone, and a great stress reducer.
Homans notes the industry that has built up around dogs, and notes the financial empire of Cesar Millan (though he refers to his view as "an elaborate fantasy"). He backs that up with a quote from Patricia McConnell that Millan's is a very simplistic view. Then he goes on to reference Peter Sing'ers Animal Liberation, and from there to Ingrid Newkirk and peta. He says plainly that peta dreams of a world in which pets have been abolished, and brings in Nathan Winograd, a no-kill advocate, to debate her. He sees the animal rescue movement as an offshoot of the civil rights struggles of the sixties, a final frontier for universalist ideals. He also notes that despite all the bluster about the need for mandatory spay/neuter laws, euthanasia figures are well down. In a year in the mid-80s 12 million dogs and cats were euthanized, according to ASPCA figures. Now the figure is 3-4 million a year, about half of those dogs. Of course that's still far too many, but look how far we've progressed. Homans reveals Wayne Pacelle and the HSUS as animal rights, calling Pacelle "the silky pony of the animal-rights world, a Yale graduate who looks tremendous in a suit."
Back to Serpell, who notes "The thing about mandatory spay-neuter is that those who are most willing to have their dogs spayed or neutered tend to be responsible people. And often, their dogs also happen to be nice animals in temperament. So what you're doing essentially is taking those dogs out of the breeding population."
Homans notes that the AKC's breed rules are strictly visual, having drifted into the vagaries of fashion rather than usefulness. And he wraps up with a look at euthanasia and the extreme measures that can be undertaken to keep a dog alive.
It was quite an interesting piece of reading, and I commend Mr. Homans for a thorough and thoughtful piece of writing.

What Makes a Doggie Dog Person?

I get asked this question a lot, often on my radio show. I'm very involved with my dogs, I talk about them on the air, and I confess how I often adjust my own life to make things better for my dogs. But I do stop short of where some other people go. So where is the dividing line?
Well, a recent article in our local paper helped with one answer to that - "Dog matrimony draws a crowd." This was about a canine "wedding," complete with bridesmaid dresses and tuxedoes. Granted, there is some ulterior motive, as the owner of the bride and groom makes and sells pet clothing. But this is somewhere I would never go with my dogs. I find it somewhat humiliating just reading about it. So here is where I think the dividing line lies.
I will bend over backward, adjust my schedule, rework my home to make my dog's life the best dog life it can be. But note that I am talking about a DOG'S life. I do not view my dog as my child or human companion or anything other than a dog. This isn't to say that I don't greatly value our association. I do. I think I would have a much sadder life if I didn't live it in the company of dogs. But they are still dogs.
So I don't dress them up, I don't perform human ceremonies for them, and I don't call them my "fur-babies," or whatever other supposed terms of endearment are floating around out there. They are my dogs. I own them. They answer to me, but at the same time I am responsible for keeping them safe, in good heath, and happy.
I think the failure to treat another species AS another species is lamentable. Dogs are wonderfully forgiving, so humans get away with doing things such as holding doggie weddings. But I don't believe it is good for the dogs, or really for the humans. We can get a lot more value out of observing and attempting to emulate the finer qualities of dogs than we can by trying to make them into small furry humans.

Where Should Dogs Live?

Amazingly, this is a topic I've never written about in all my articles and books about dogs. Perhaps that's because the answer seems to clear to me, but it obviously isn't to everyone, or at least everyone isn't arriving at the same answer.
Dogs are a social species. They want to be with others of their kind. But we often make that impossible by having only one dog. So the second best option becomes being with their humans. And that means living in the home with the people. Indoors. In the living room, kitchen, dining room, bedroom. . . wherever the people may be.
Yes, I acknowledge that there may be some reasons for excluding the dog from a particular area. People with allergies are often instructed not to let the dog sleep in their bedroom, so that at least a third of their time is spent away from the allergy-causing dog. But I just don't see it. I myself am allergic to dogs, and I much prefer to live with a stuffed-up nose than to ban my dog from my presence.
Then there are those people who get a dog solely as a "watchdog" and tie the dog in the yard so he can keep an eye on things. Well, he may be keeping an eye on the yard, but if he's never allowed in the house, why should he protect something in which he has no stake? Dogs have a well-developed sense of "property," and if they haven't lived in it, chewed on it, or marked on it, it likely isn't considered theirs.
And don't get me started on the clean freaks. A clean house is nice. I wish mine were cleaner. But I'm not going to exile the dogs to achieve that level of cleanliness. Yes, there is dog hair serving as a door sweep under some of the interior doors, and the doggie dust bunnies behind the bathroom door are truly impressive. And sometimes there are muddy footprints or food dropped on the rug or burrs and twigs carried in from outside or even (horrors!) the occasional accident. None of it is going to kill me. In fact, studies have shown that children kept in super-clean environments have a much greater tendencies to develop allergies than those kids who are reguarly exposed to dirt and, presumably, germs.
Dogs outside on their own can get into too much trouble, bring down the wrath of your neighbors upon you, and generally lead an unhappy life. Dogs belong in the home. . . with their family. . . who chose to have them in the first place. So no excuses.

Fun little ditty on YouTube

First off, I have to admit that I know little about the world of YouTube. I only look at things that friends send me. I've never actually gone to YouTube looking for videos to view. So I'm definitely not the one to tell you how to get there or do that.
But given that, I think it's worth the effort to find this one. It's called "God and Dog" by Wendy Francisco, and is a song accompanied by animation. Most dog people have long been amused or bemused by the fact that "dog" is "God" spelled backward. Does this make dogs divine, or brothers of the devil (that whole backwards thing gets involved in Satanism somehow)? Personally, I don't see how you can get a lot more divine than the unwavering love of a dog, so I don't think there's any doubt about that one.
And in the interest of full disclosure, I will say here that I don't subscribe to any particular religion. I do believe in morality and doing good, and don't think religion is necessary for either of those things. While I know many people for whom religion is a great comfort, it has also done much damage in the world. And whole religions use their holy books to foster anti-dog sentiments and actions. . . which puts the lie to the whole thing in my book.
Anyway, wandering off topic here. I hope you enjoy the YouTube effort. But beware. . . the song has been running in my head after viewing it twice.