By Fran Jewell
I love my dog so much she is my fur baby! This is anthropomorphism. What is anthropomorphism? It is humanizing dogs. Dogs are NOT furry humans. The media and pet suppliers, the dog-training community and dog-care specialists have begun to refer to dogs as “fur babies” or “fur children.” Not a day goes by that we don’t see dogs in clothes that make them look like little children. I posted a photo on the Positive Puppy FaceBook page that had a Weimaraner with painted toenails and a bracelet on its leg. A Weimaraner is a hunting dog with huge energy and the need to run and hunt. In order to paint this dog’s nails, her “guardians” had allowed the nails to grow especially long. As a result, this dog will end up with health issues with its feet that could result in pain for the rest of its life and the inability to run. For what purpose? So her “guardian” can enjoy their dog looking like a human “princess.”
Anthropomorphism is incredibly dangerous, not only to a dog’s physical health, but also to its mental health. Many of the aggression and severe separation-anxiety cases I work with are a result of dogs being treated like fur babies, or beings that have feelings like people, without any rules or structure. I love my dogs as much if not more than anyone on the planet, but I love them enough to respect that they are dogs and of a different species. I LOVE that they are dogs, NOT humans!
I am not here to argue that dogs don’t have feelings. They do, but they do not have feelings the way that we humans do and they do not respond the way we humans do to certain situations.
So, how do we honor our dogs? First, we do some research to find out what our dog was bred to do. Even mixed-breed dogs have an innate purpose. Humans originally selected wolves that were the most sociable and trainable in order to help primitive man with living. Over time, humans domesticated those wolves into dogs. Dogs were originally intended to help herd livestock, hunt to help humans find food, pull carts, protect families, kill vermin in the barn, and yes, even be our companions. But, dogs did not lose their day jobs to sit at home and sleep on the back of the sofa. Our first job should be to understand the ancestry of our dogs, which will help us to understand who they are today.
In many ways, dogs have taken the place of human companions. Nowadays, our families may live on the other side of the country instead of across town. Even in our high-rise apartments, many of us don’t even know our neighbors anymore. A huge part of the time, once we get to know our neighbor, they move away to take a job in Alaska or India. We look for those warm fuzzy dogs to assuage our loneliness. In doing so, we put enormous pressure on our beloved dog to be only a companion instead of a dog intended to work to help people.
How many times have you heard that a dog loves to obey? What we humans perceive as work is usually FUN for our dog and helps it maintain a healthy body and mind. Dogs LOVE direction and are mentally and physically healthier when they are given direction. Honor your dog for who it is and you will see amazing things in your relationship with it.
Fran Jewell is an IAABC Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, NADOI Certified Instructor and the owner of Positive Puppy Dog Training, LLC in Sun Valley. For more information, visit positivepuppy.com or call 208-578-1565.
