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What is a Dog?

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Re: What is a Dog?

#31

Post by cableshaft »

elysian_eunoia wrote: post #30

The argument against this article reminds me of the notoriously tear-jerking Futurama episode in which Fry tells his dog to wait outside the building for a moment. Fry accidentally cryogenically freezes himself while in the building and wakes up in the future, but his dog had waited there for his owner for the rest of his life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XECQApj9IJs

Yeah, I teared up like crazy during that episode. So sad yet so loyal. Kind of like the legendary dog Hachiko in Japan that waited every day for his dead owner to return, for many years.

Re: What is a Dog?

#32

Post by [deleted] »

Radim wrote: post #10
tragomaskhalos wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you: if we are going to be so reductive, we could make the case that any animal species, humans included, is only in it for the food.

only in it for the food. Reproduction. Or, going one step further, universal optimization by means of more efficient use of energy. The end game is the heat death of the universe (maximum entropy, no more energy differentials), after all ;)

[deleted]

Re: What is a Dog?

#33

Post by arkades »

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #26
arkades wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any trainer can tell you some breeds just care more about food than others. My German Shepherd would do anything for a piece of chicken. He would suddenly seem to understand English. My boxer couldn’t care less for treats as a motivator - positive attention was the absolute only way to mold behavior. Having had the GSD first, it took some adjustment for me to learn to train a dog that just didn’t care about food. The…

Some dogs care more about food than others. There are lots of counterexamples. I grew up with a boxer that was almost completely food motivated. The neighbor's GSD was almost completely play motivated, and would skip meals in the hopes that someone would just. throw. the. ball. Your breeder's statement is like stereotyping human personalities by ethnicity or gender - something may show up strongly in the statistics,…

The existence of counterexamples isn’t that notable here. OPs position is “dogs are only in it for the food.”

Dogs that are not only in it for the food are a useful counterexample, because it trumps the sweeping “only.”

That -some- dogs are in it for the food doesn’t move the needle in the debate one way or the other.

Re: What is a Dog?

#34

Post by 1_player »

tragomaskhalos wrote: post #5
albertgoeswoof wrote: post #4

I'm not sure I fully agree with the article's takeaway that dogs are only in it for the food. It's a bit of a crude summary. In addition to food, humans provide shelter, protection, love, attention, play time, and companionship - I don't think food is the only driver of the relationship. My dog will hide behind me if he's scared, and enjoys attention from people he doesn't know - irrespective of whether they provide…

I agree with you: if we are going to be so reductive, we could make the case that any animal species, humans included, is only in it for the food.

I've heard the quote that says, paraphrased: "the main reason we do anything is to have sex, and to feel great amongst our peers."

Which is very reductionist yet has a shadow of truth behind it.

Re: What is a Dog?

#35

Post by cableshaft »

brndnmtthws wrote: post #9

This doesn't seem quite right. My Shiba Inu (her name is Doge, check her out: https://www.instagram.com/brndnmtthws/ ) is generally quite disinterested in food. I often have to trick her or keep her leash on and attach it near her bowl to make her eat. When she gets excited, she can't be bribed with treats (she just ignores them). She likes food, but it seems like her main interest is playing. She'd rather run around…

Our Shiba, Kubo, loves human food and treats, and will bark and get up on his hind legs to try to get bits of our meals, but he's not super excited about dog food and we have to leave it out all day for him to eventually get around to eating it (he will though).

At first we actually thought he wasn't food motivated, but that was before we started feeding him human food. He goes into full scavenger/hunter mode whenever he's outside too, and manages to find all sorts of junk on the ground that I swear isn't there until he has it in his mouth.

He actually slipped his harness and ran away for a week earlier this year, and we were able to catch him again with the help of hot dogs and fried chicken (and a lot of hard work and a lot of help from local volunteer organizations).

You can check him out here: https://www.instagram.com/kubotheshiba/

Re: What is a Dog?

#36

Post by elboru »

brndnmtthws wrote: post #9

This doesn't seem quite right. My Shiba Inu (her name is Doge, check her out: https://www.instagram.com/brndnmtthws/ ) is generally quite disinterested in food. I often have to trick her or keep her leash on and attach it near her bowl to make her eat. When she gets excited, she can't be bribed with treats (she just ignores them). She likes food, but it seems like her main interest is playing. She'd rather run around…

I think a lot of people who interact with dogs in a regular basis will disagree too. My girlfriend has a little female Chihuahua, and even though I never feed her she will go crazy every time I enter the house. Why would she do that if I'm not a food source?

Re: What is a Dog?

#37

Post by cableshaft »

dcw303 wrote: post #3

As a dog owner, I smirked when the author described dogs as only interested in humans because we supply the food. Yeah, that's probably true, but I don't care if my beloved pet only thinks of me as a meal dispenser, it's actually kinda funny. > But when they murmur and pump their legs while sleeping, they’re dreaming of freedom. But ouch. That really hurts.

My dog got free and was lost for four days earlier this year. It was one of the most scariest experiences in my life, although nowadays from time to time I feel happy he at least got to experience a little freedom, especially when I neglect to take him out to an off-leash dog park for a few weeks.

Re: What is a Dog?

#39

Post by brndnmtthws »

cableshaft wrote: post #35
brndnmtthws wrote: post #9

This doesn't seem quite right. My Shiba Inu (her name is Doge, check her out: https://www.instagram.com/brndnmtthws/ ) is generally quite disinterested in food. I often have to trick her or keep her leash on and attach it near her bowl to make her eat. When she gets excited, she can't be bribed with treats (she just ignores them). She likes food, but it seems like her main interest is playing. She'd rather run around…

Our Shiba, Kubo, loves human food and treats, and will bark and get up on his hind legs to try to get bits of our meals, but he's not super excited about dog food and we have to leave it out all day for him to eventually get around to eating it (he will though). At first we actually thought he wasn't food motivated, but that was before we started feeding him human food. He goes into full scavenger/hunter mode wheneve…

So handsome! I love him!

Re: What is a Dog?

#40

Post by creep »

dboreham wrote: post #16

Even cats aren't only in it for the food. Although they will eat you if you die and they have access to your corpse..

I have two cats. My two year old maine coon is the most playful, intelligent cat I have ever met, and he knows when I'm sad. He runs to the door when I come home (and then pretends that he wasn't actually there to see me). The only time he wants food is when I take it out of the cupboard. Yes, he's manipulative, but he's so god-damned smart about it, even I get tricked. He mostly manipulates the other cat to leave the room so that he can get more attention.

I think cats get way more flak than is deserved. My friend has a very intelligent Siberian. When that fucking cat looks at you, you know it can see into your fucking soul, I don't know how to describe it. And the way they play with lasers, it's amazing how quick they are. I mean, they know it's just a laser, but they put all their skills into hunting it down.

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