Something that has become apparent to me lately is the amount of dogs that seem to be anti-social. Not with humans but with their doggy friends.
Daily walks with Harry is something we all look forward to - at 4pm he rounds us up to get the lead, do-do bags and we're off! We, wee on every lamp post, tree, bush and life is good. It only takes half to an hour, depending on the weather but the benefits for our collective aches and pains is apparent.
I enjoy the sense of community during the afternoon walk, stopping to talk to people doing the same thing, creates a feel-good, friendly, by-chance meeting that makes for a joyful experience.
It is however, becoming more noticeable that some people wont engage because "their dog needs space" "he thinks is human and doesn't like other dogs" is the common excuse! they smile and pass by as quickly as possible. How can this be? Dogs, after all are closely related to the wolf and naturally live in packs, don't they?
I have a theory about this phenomenon. As a baby-boomer, during the 50's and 60's our dogs used to live in the back-yard with a kennel as shelter, some had the occasional privilege of coming inside, but mostly kids went out the back to play, and the dog was an integral part of the fun!
These days kids find their entertainment inside or away from the home altogether. Backyards are generally much smaller, and rather than leave pooch out the back all alone we have invited them in to our human lives, to live as we do. Whether it's on a bed or lounge watching TV, in the car or at at cafe they now live a more 'human' life. Perhaps our doggy friends no longer see themselves as dogs but as humans. Still part of a pack but now it's human. Just maybe another dog (and his human pack) creates an instinctive protective mentality.
I don't have any researched animal psychology on this subject but it does occur to me that our doggy friends have changed their behaviour, and it is reflective of a entirely new situation.
How do we or do we need to fix the issue? well that's up to you. We take Harry to a good caring Kennel for a day-stay where he get to socialise with a dog-pack on a regular basis.
...and remember...have a fabulous retirementLIFE....
