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No dog
is an island; they're social animals
October
30, 2008
I've been seeing a lot of television commercials that include dogs
while selling everything but dog products. Whether they are
promoting credit cards, house-cleaning products or even beer, many
of these ads portray dogs as family members, often romping around
the living room or lounging in the bedroom.
It's surprising to me that some folks hold to the belief that dogs
belong strictly outdoors. Granted, that often was a way of life
during past generations, but there's been a cultural shift or
progression. We've gained a better understanding of what makes our
pets well-balanced and healthy, both physically and mentally.
Our canine companions love to experience the outdoors on a daily
basis, but living outdoors, especially without any human contact,
makes a dog's life a miserable and even painful existence. Our
canines may have descended from wolves, but they evolved into social
creatures that we've domesticated over the years. They thrive on
being part of a pack, and when we take them into our lives, we
become their pack and their pack leader.
Some people get dogs to protect their property and confine them to
the backyard, but what occurs is a territorial sense of a very
infinitesimal world. This is compounded when a dog is used to guard
a business, for example. There's no pack, no family and no ability
to bond.
You'll also find that these dogs become aggressive, fearful of
others and have no ability to learn or be trained. Often times, when
animals are brought to animal shelters because their owner says they
have behavior problems and can't be trained, we discover they had
zero interaction with their family and lived exclusively outdoors
and alone. This is not to suggest that dogs should become couch
potatoes who live solely indoors. The key factor is to remember that
our dogs are social creatures, and without interaction and
socialization with humans they will not thrive.
-
Gloria Dauphin
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