The Urban Sextipede – LB outline 11/19/08
THE INVISIBLE PAW – Dog keeping in the modern world
Perceptual – We still rely on the dog’s senses.
Casual: dogs attend to human-relevant sounds and smells
Alert
Guide
Rescue
Assistance
Detection – drugs, explosives, cadavers,
Apprehension – police and military assistance
Hunting
Herding
Guard
Psychological - The presence of a dog has profound effects on human experience
Mood
Control
Status
Social support
Nurturing
Loss of control leads to relinquishment – another assertion of control
Physical assistance of dog allows human to feel safe at night, on unfriendly streets, talking to strangers
Social – instant recognition between dog owners
Conversation starter
Dog affects how people see each other
Therapeutic settings – dog in counseling setting helps patient to relax and talk
Children, autistics, elderly show communication breakthroughs with dog
Physical – short and long term
Exercise and activity
Short term reduction in stress indicators
Long term health benefits
Where would we be without dogs? We could get along, many people do. Yet dogs play a very central role in human activity.
Dogs as pets: humans are flexible and would redirect their attention to other companion animals. Yet for all their benefits, other species can’t replace dogs in terms of social cognition
Dogs as partners: who would we talk to?
EXPERIENCE OF THE MODERN DOG
Dogs, like humans, are individuals, with quirks, personalities, and faults. Generally speaking, the traits below are typical of dogs, especially in comparison with wolves and other wild animals.
Perceptual
Varies by breed, but
Every species lives in its own perceptual world
Dogs don’t see the world the way humans do
Smell is central
Color vision muted
Hearing better at different frequencies
Pain – nonadaptive to respond too strongly to painful stimuli
More than the number of receptors, the relative importance of different modes or stimuli may be quite different for dogs. Movement outweighs shape, for instance.
Psychological
Seeks help from humans
Standby mode – human-guided activity
Reconciliation – shared w/ other species
Cooperation – giving prey to human, sharing food
Gesture and pointing – chimps & elephants have trouble learning this, but for dogs it’s innate
Attention to humans & respect of human space (manners)
Social
Dogs are meant to live with humans
They don’t really need other dogs for social interaction
Depriving a dog of ANY social opportunity is probably worse than for humans – little or no abstract thought, no stories to fall back on.
Depriving a dog of human interaction is also cruel, and contrary to NATURAL behavior
Dogs are not wolves, and do not survive well outside of human habitation.
Where would they be without us? The most aggressive and least human-oriented would survive, and revert to wild dog status.
THE URBAN SEXTIPEDE
Striding off together, independent and interdependent into the future.
How can we live better with our canine colleagues?
Society level:
Green space and public areas friendly to the sextipede – e.g. benches and easy cleanup for humans, plus safe running space and interesting terrain for the dog
Disseminate training and manners info, not just spay/neuter
Breed for companionship, not show. May require a new look at juvenile spay/neuter, and new ways to promote friendly mutts.
Integrate shelters with human institutions. Correctional facilities sometimes have programs for rehabilitating shelter dogs and horses. Why not universities? Dogs need human companionship – isolated dogs quickly become unadoptable. Teens far from home are starved for canine companionship. Take advantage of segregated communities and bring them together.
Reward well-mannered dogs – allow certified Good Citizen dogs into public places. (e.g. sticker on storefront indicates Good Citizens are welcome)
Individual level:
Select a dog responsibly: promote responsible breeding, not breeds
Recognize the animal side of your dog – his response to external events is not the same as yours.
Provide outlets for your dog’s wonderful talents.
Understand the power of emotional communication – dogs know what you’re saying more because of tone of voice, posture, breathing, than vocabulary.
Understand basic learning principles
Train the dog to have whatever manners are necessary to live with you. Never mind “heel” and “roll over”. Do command obedience if you enjoy it. Seek training to increase and improve the natural human-dog communication and awareness.
Encourage “standby mode”, via crate training or consistent non-response. The dog is more comfortable knowing when it’s “off duty”
Attention is rewarding – even punishment or anger. Many behavior problems come about because the owner unwittingly rewards bad behavior. To show disapproval, turn your eyes and head away, or turn your back.
Don’t be afraid to say “uh-uh” to bad or annoying behavior. The dog wants to be part of the family, and allowing bad manners to avoid “hurting the dog’s feelings” will lead to irritation and isolation.
Keep your dog near you. All of the above are ways of making that easier. Fenced-in yards are great, but leaving the dog outside alone for long periods is not kind. Invisible fences are handy, but putting the dog in the front yard, without visible “protection” is putting the animal in a scary position, required to guard the property without any assistance or company. Do you really want to train your dog to bark at every passerby, every child riding a bike, every potentially friendly sextipede?