Thread: "Humanizing" Our Pets

Dogs are dogs, cats are cats, horses are horses, birds are birds. They all have emotions, but they are dog, cat, horse and bird emotions respectively. They also think, anything above the level of a single cell organizem thinks to some extent, but they don't think people thoughts. Once again, they are dogs, cats, horses etc, not people. Once you understand this, you can begin to understand animal behaviour; until you understand this, you will always get it wrong.

I concur. Many people try not to hurt the feelings of a dog. However, you don't have to hurt their feelings when you establish boundries and limitations. Dogs are pack animals, period. The pack leader does not ask fellow dogs if they want to move to another spot, take a rest time, or seek a democratic vote on anything. They just do and the rest follow. I love dogs, and miss mine terribly (my ex has her). But my dog was happy because she knew I was the pack leader and enjoyed her place within our pack. She was in a loving environment and her needs (as a dog) were met.

Originally Posted by dward

I concur. Many people try not to hurt the feelings of a dog. However, you don't have to hurt their feelings when you establish boundries and limitations. Dogs are pack animals, period. The pack leader does not ask fellow dogs if they want to move to another spot, take a rest time, or seek a democratic vote on anything. They just do and the rest follow. I love dogs, and miss mine terribly (my ex has her). But my dog was happy because she knew I was the pack leader and enjoyed her place within our pack. She was in a loving environment and her needs (as a dog) were met.

Exactly. I've had a dog or two all of my life and I have no qualms about being top dog. The rules are very clear about that between the dog/s and I.

My first wife was from a family that bordered on worshiping their dogs and humanized them to such a degree it was beyond bizarre. Commissioned pet oil portraits, pee pads all over the house because of pet's refusal to be house trained, eating off of their owners plates with their owners as their owners sat on the couch, on and on. When we were married, she brought home a stray male 1-2 year old completely untrained Dalmation without my consent or my input. He would vie for more space in our bed than I'd have and that dog actually believed he was the alpha male. Once when she was gone for a weekend, the dog was on our bed. I told him to get off the bed and he growled at me. I dove on him, as he growled feverishly, flipped him over on his back, pinned his front legs down while straddling him and stared at him right in the eyes about 12" from his snout for a good five minutes. He was full grown at the time probably 50-60#. He peed a little, finally yielded and looked away. Although he would test me at times in her presence, he obeyed me after that. He probably thinks he won in the end though since he stayed and I left!

I love dogs and coudn't see not having one as a part of the family. Still I am king and top dog with them. I can't have it any other way.

Chris L

I like this thread. My dog (see him in the first post of the "Show me yours - DOGS" post) was an untrained stray that was already a year old when I got him. He had no name and knew no commands, but being a street dog, it didn't take much for me to housebreak him. He gladly and quickly handed over "pack leader" status to me, and he now looks to me for approval for everything (to eat, to go outside, etc). I found it amazing that a dog who had previously been a loner for over a year was so adept at learning how to live in a house with people. But when you realize that the "pack" instinct is ingrained on their DNA, it makes sense.

If you treat your dog like a human, then he/she will take over the household. This does not mean you can't treat your dog with human affection -- it just means that within the boundaries of "doghood", giving your dog what he/she needs is more important: leadership, balance, routine, and the ability to roam (take long walks). Once you establish that, dogs respond to human affection the way we love them to: excitement and loyalty. I will always have dogs in my house for as long as I can handle them.

I believe my dog, I guess even the cat to some degree have decided that it is okay that I am the boss. The dog exhibits what I can only interpret as trust. I leave him in the car with the widows all the way down, sometimes for hours at a time, sometimes with groceries (including meat) and when I return, he is always there and so is the meat. When I leave him, he has no way of knowing I will ever return but he stays and waits patirently. He is usually asleep when I return so he must be pretty comfortable being alone. It must be faith in me.

Mabe its with dogs as it is with most humans.
They better like to follow than to carry all the responsibility of making decisions.

Originally Posted by 0livia

Mabe its with dogs as it is with most humans.
They better like to follow than to carry all the responsibility of making decisions.

Maybe you're being too hard on the both the dogs and the humans. It's a group survival strategy. We both have a better chance of survival in a group and, in a group, you need one individual to decide and the others to follow. Having everyone make their own decisions which way to go is not the best survival strategy when there's danger. For example, when one of us starts to run, our dog runs, assuming there's danger.

Originally Posted by fccexpert

Once again, they are dogs, cats, horses etc, not people. Once you understand this, you can begin to understand animal behaviour; until you understand this, you will always get it wrong.

BUT... You also need to understand that domesticated dogs:
A) Never mature emotionally beyond puppy stage. They can think of their owners as replacement parents.
B) They treat the family that owns them as their pack.

For these reasons, although they may not think of themselves as humans, they may view us as dogs. Or at least they feel they are the same as us in many ways.

Cats on the other hand aren't quite so daft, which is why they sometimes don't make such good pets as dogs do. The cat I have now is a good 'un, he does act like a dog in some ways, and he is always happy to see me even when he isn't after anything.