Not all dogs were bred for “jobs”
In a Western context, we often see discussions about dogs with a focus on their breed and “what they were bred for”.
We forget that a large majority of dogs on this planet are free-living dogs, not bred by humans, and that a certain breed of dog being “what the breed was bred for” would have to suggest that we are talking about a dog whose breeder specifically looked for those traits and history, which may not always or often be the case.
The old photos of the beautiful dogs in this reel are of the Singapore Specials that lived with my mum and her family when she was a child growing up in the old days of the “Kampong” (village) in Singapore.
They had free roam of their spacious farm, slept indoors at night, and ate good home cooked food, including some fresh tofu which was what my family made and sold at the Kampong.
These dogs were not there to guard the place. Perhaps their presence was enough to deter intruders, but it wasn’t their job or what they were there for. The dogs were simply companions and part of the family.
This always makes me think of how my own Singapore Special, Dave, has a life in the modern day that’s not too dissimilar to theirs, which is lovely.
Look harder at different cultures and our history with dogs and you’ll find that back then, many dogs were able to just be dogs and have value by simply being part of then family and community. They were not created to “work” for us nor did they “need jobs”.
It is sad to always think of dogs with their value being only about how useful they are to us, when they are so much more.
It is also dangerous to have blanket statements about dogs being “warriors”, “protectors”, (insert macho sounding role here), etc. It leads to damaging breed stereotypes which leads to harmful BSL, it leads to people thinking dogs need to be “dominated”, it leads to the weaponisation of dogs, and it leads to people thinking their dogs should be “tough enough” to endure pain, amo
Dogs don’t need more stress in their lives
Here’s the sad truth: Dogs are already stressed enough and face enough stressors in their day to day lives.
There is no place in our human-centric world where a dog is completely free of stress. From having a lot of their agency removed from them, to experiencing unavoidable scary moments from stimuli that worries them or is unknown to them, our dogs experience enough stress as it is and they absolutely do not need more stress deliberately added to their lives.
Creating stressful and aversive situations in training, like flooding a dog by making them be in close proximity with something they’re worried about with no way of escape, or using aversive, punishment-based training methods, will NOT help in general but especially in highly stressful moments because:
- not only is the environment in the moment unsafe to the dog, but their human is potentially unsafe to be around too.
- they have no way to seek comfort or communicate their needs due to a negative learning history with those behaviours.
- they may take longer to recover, not knowing when they are safe or when they can feel safe.
Resilience is built through our dogs having a safe learning history, a strong reinforcement history, having more agency in their lives, and being able to engage in natural behaviours like sniffing that help them decompress.
When working with clients, it has been clear for me that showing them how to help their dogs feel safe, how to meet their dog’s needs, and how to provide their dogs with more choice and agency has resulted in their dogs being more able to recover from reactions to stressful situations more quickly.
In stressful moments, it helps so much if we are our dog’s safe space to begin with. It’s hard enough to be a dog living in a human-centric world, so be that safe space for your dog, be a predictor of safety and reinforcement. That way when unavoidable stressful or scary events happen, your dog can bounce back from it quicker knowing they can feel safe wi
Responding to “Your dog is spoiled”
At the vet clinic the other day, while I was treating Dave and doing the Up & Down Pattern Game with him, someone said to me “Your dog is so spoiled, just like my cat.”
I replied, “Just as they all deserve to be!” just as the vet called me in.
I’m sure this person didn’t mean it negatively at all, although some people might when they say your dog is “spoiled” or that their dog is “spoiled”.
But all you have to remember is that saying a dog is “spoiled” or that we are “spoiling our dog” really just means that we are giving our dog the freedom they need, meeting their needs, and making them happy. This includes:
- Letting them be on a bed or sofa with us
- Sharing your food with them
- Comforting them when they’re afraid
- Giving them affection whenever they ask for it
- Giving them treats and meals without making them work for it
- Letting them walk ahead of us and lead the walk
- Letting them sniff and engage in other natural behaviours like digging and marking
- Not punishing them or being “firm” with them
- Making changes and accommodations in our lives to make sure they’re happy, feel safe, and have their needs met
- etc.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and there is also no correlation found between our actions of “spoiling” dogs and the likelihood of “problem behaviour”.
On the contrary, this all helps with whatever behavioural challenges we might be having with our dogs too, such as fearful or aggressive behaviours because we’re
- responding to their communicative behaviours and requests
- becoming a predictor of great things for them
- being a safe person for them
- and improving their overall wellbeing as they have their needs met and have more agency in their lives.
So start responding to comments like “Your dog is just spoiled” in a way that simply reminds yourself, and perhaps others in the process, to be unapologetic about “spoiling” your dog and to reframe it as “Your dog is well
Preventing Your Dog From Escaping
Having a dog who may appear to try to escape on walks or have escaped in the past is certainly stressful. However, it doesn’t mean we have to use anything aversive and that tightens around their neck to keep them safe.
Our recommendations of triple-strap harnesses include the @nonstopdogwear Rock Harness Long, @ruffwear Flagline (shown in the video) and Webmaster, @haqihana Double H harness, @warsawdog’s Anti-Escape Harness, amongst others. These are also helpful for tripawd dogs.
Safety straps reduce the chance of escape but also help if a clip fails and breaks as you have another attachment for back up. You can find them at @hightailhikes or approach any small business that makes collars/leashes and ask if they would custom make one for you.
While we can of course reduce the chances of our dogs escaping, no equipment is ever 100% failsafe but we can. As a backup, we like having a GPS tracker, like the @pawfit_tracker, on our dog Dave so that if anything goes wrong, we can easily track his live location. If someone were to find him when he’s lost, they can also press a button on the device to easily get our contact details.
But ultimately, the MOST important thing is to understand WHY your dog is trying to escape.
It’s not just about the equipment we use, but how our dogs are feeling. A dog that feels comfortable and safe with us and in the environment they’re in would be less likely to try to escape. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
- Why is our dog trying to escape in the first place?
- What in the environment scary or overwhelming for our dog?
- Is our dog often being forced to be in environments they find scary?
- What is our relationship like? Does our dog enjoy and feel comfortable around us?
While it’s important to make sure our dogs are safe and won’t get into dangerous situations, it’s crucial to ensure they FEEL safe too and that way, they’ll less likely to want to escape when out on walks.
P.S.: If you’d like 10% o
Rachel Forday | VSA-CDT
