27/02/2020
Most people do not understand this and it causes them to get bit and the dog pays the price.
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PROXENY IN DOGS.
AGGRESSIVE OR VICTIM?
About 15 years ago a group brought to me a neutered male dog that had disfigured the face of a woman deeply related to animal protectionism, the question was that the dog for a recommendation of several trainers and veterinarians should be euthanized.
When I started to work with him, the first thing I discovered was that it was not aggressive at all, only that he was very insecure when we approached directly towards him, but as we always respected him in his personal spaces and made him come towards us, his aggressiveness was always shown at zero, therefore, my diagnosis was that the dog could not be sacrificed for aggression,
I made an interview with the âvictimâ, I asked her at that moment and circumstance the dog had bitten her, who confessed that in her deep love for dogs she had only wanted to give to our canine patient a hug and a kiss and that he had responded by biting her face wildly. then my question was whether after the first bite he had continued the "attack", she replied no, that the dog rather took distance.
The dog in question that bit the face of the protectionist, was not aggressive, he defended himself, since she abruptly pe*****ted his private spaces and this is an act of aggression, and obviously that the dog responded with a defensive bite that it cannot be taken with flagrant aggression, hence one of the main divisions of aggression is defensive or offensive, both are very different.
For a better understanding, we need to know about Space Bubble or also known as Proxeny or Proxenia, these different words do nothing but a reference to the study of the use and perception of social and personal space. Analyze how people use and respond to spatial relationships in the establishment of formal or informal groups, although it is a treatise between humans, we can very well take it to the plane of the rest of the animals, and that is the reason for this article, that you learn to respect the space of all the beings with whom you share the environment, so as not to attack and less to be attacked.
These unwritten laws stablish the spaces to be respected when we interact with another person obviously that is not the same if these people are unknown or familiar, and that is reflected in the distances we drive between one body and another, so rules can be established generally when a person exceeds that space, therefore, would be invading this "Space Bubble" that belongs to us and we can feel that he/she violates our territory, which means an aggression.
According to the proxeny, there are four zonal instances:
1) Intimate distance: It is a foot long, this distance is what the person takes care of it as his private property like body and belongings, this zone only can be crossed by relatives and close friends.
2) Personal distance: It is between 1 foot and 4 feet long. It is the distance between known and trusted people, but with lower emotional feelings, such as a co-worker or a classmate.
3) Social Distance: It is between 4 feet and 10 feet. It is the distance that separates us from strangers. People with whom we have little or no relationship. It is used by formal conversations.
4) Public Distance: It is given over 10 feet and has no limit. The tone of voice is high and is used in public areas.
These distances are not applicable to all individuals, as there are cultural and demographic factors that can influence, and
In animal behavior, these territorial issues are even more marked and are evidenced in more aggressive responses.
It is outstanding how humans understand these social rules and respect them when they interact with other humans, but at the same time, they are not conscious about them when they interact with animals, even more with dogs, and this mistake is more frequent between animal lovers. Love and respect go for the same way!
For instance, whether a person surprise us with a hug and a kiss being a member of our family, we take it as something nice, but if the person is a complete strange we will take it as an attack, and we will response aggressively because this person has not our authorization to pe*****te in our bubble personal. It is a lack of respect!
Why is it so easy to understand this between humans and not when we interact with dogs?
when you meet a dog, which so far is strange, do not pounce on him/her, just thinking that because you are a dog lover, he/she will understand you. You must think that he/she does not know you and that your behavior is being a threat, then he/she will surely think that you want to hurt him/her, therefore he/she is going to respond aggressively bitting you in a âdefensive aggressionâ because the real attack is coming from you for your lack of the respect of his/her bubble space.
The best way to interact with a unknow dog, it will always be to respect distances, reading the calming signals that the dogs give us when he/she shows us them, it is for the stress that we cause them with our presence, being signs of authorization the open mouths with tongues outside, and when he/she come towards us, whether on the contrary, he/she refuses to come us, or closes his/her mouth, licks his/her face, yawns, looks away, is telling us âplease, stop threateningâ. If you think that you can reach all dogs, hug them, and kiss them, just because you are a dog lover that just want to help them, is a conceptual error, which can cost us dearly and even more to the dog that after biting you will be called âaggressiveâ without really being it.
Learning this is an excellent way to prevent dog bites, and topic that should be of a state politics, and even more school matter since in children it is essential because can prevent more than 50% of the bites in them.
Aldo Cecchi.
