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Anxious dogs, like anxious people, need help managing and reducing distress

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Re: Anxious dogs, like anxious people, need help managing and reducing distress

#21

Post by rowanG077 »

misja111 wrote: post #18

I love dogs, but aren't there bigger issues in this world that we should focus on first? Millions of children on this planet are malnourished or suffering because of wars, climate change or just bad government. Is it ethical to pay a fortune for magnetic brain stimulation of your dog, if somewhere else in the world several people's lives could be saved with that money?

This is whataboutism at its finest. You aren't wrong that there are other problems. Do you really think that a pet owner taking better care of their dog instead is going to make an impact on child hunger thousands of miles away?

Re: Anxious dogs, like anxious people, need help managing and reducing distress

#22

Post by logifail »

Tade0 wrote: post #5

> If evidence suggests that many dogs, like many humans, misbehave because they are struggling with emotions and anxiety, why do so many pet owners and trainers look to punishment as the solution, rather than addressing the emotions directly? Same reason why so many people do the same to children - they're set in their views and are unwilling accept that they might be wrong. Also, it's less work (at lesst in the shor…

> Same reason why so many people do the same to children - they're set in their views and are unwilling accept that they might be wrong

There are plenty who believe that withdrawing privileges is an entirely normal and appropriate response when children misbehave.

This isn't punishment, although some children consider it to be.

Re: Anxious dogs, like anxious people, need help managing and reducing distress

#24

Post by jacksnipe »

bradleyjg wrote: post #20

Is there a direct connection between falling birth rates and treating animals as if they were beloved children? It seems like these animals evolutionary strategy is akin to that of the cuckoo bird.

The only evolutionary strategy at play here is dog breeders.

Also, it’s important not to overly anthropomorphize evolution. It’s not as though animals are choosing their evolutionary strategy, so I find this language misleading.

Re: Anxious dogs, like anxious people, need help managing and reducing distress

#25

Post by jraph »

misja111 wrote: post #18

I love dogs, but aren't there bigger issues in this world that we should focus on first? Millions of children on this planet are malnourished or suffering because of wars, climate change or just bad government. Is it ethical to pay a fortune for magnetic brain stimulation of your dog, if somewhere else in the world several people's lives could be saved with that money?

Textbook (caricatural) whataboutism [1], that's why you are probably getting downvoted.

One of the problem with this argument being that it's not the same set of people that can/will work on these separate issues, and solving one does not prevent solving the other one. Also, the money spent for one issue would not necessarily go to the other issue anyway: they are not linked.

Structural issues with our worldwide distribution of wealth system are causing climate change and poverty, not taking care of the dogs, and this is what needs to be fixed.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

Re: Anxious dogs, like anxious people, need help managing and reducing distress

#26

Post by cm2012 »

misja111 wrote: post #18

I love dogs, but aren't there bigger issues in this world that we should focus on first? Millions of children on this planet are malnourished or suffering because of wars, climate change or just bad government. Is it ethical to pay a fortune for magnetic brain stimulation of your dog, if somewhere else in the world several people's lives could be saved with that money?

Lol 99% of what people buy is not as valuable as the marginal dollar spent on third world malaria nets or whatever. Don't worry about it.

Re: Anxious dogs, like anxious people, need help managing and reducing distress

#27

Post by paulcole »

misja111 wrote: post #18

I love dogs, but aren't there bigger issues in this world that we should focus on first? Millions of children on this planet are malnourished or suffering because of wars, climate change or just bad government. Is it ethical to pay a fortune for magnetic brain stimulation of your dog, if somewhere else in the world several people's lives could be saved with that money?

Yes, obviously there are bigger issues in the world to focus on than dog anxiety.

But if this is your acid test for ethical living then you’re going to quickly discover that everyone with disposable income lives unethically. Which is honestly probably true but nobody wants to hear it.

Re: Anxious dogs, like anxious people, need help managing and reducing distress

#28

Post by bradleyjg »

jacksnipe wrote: post #24
bradleyjg wrote: post #20

Is there a direct connection between falling birth rates and treating animals as if they were beloved children? It seems like these animals evolutionary strategy is akin to that of the cuckoo bird.

The only evolutionary strategy at play here is dog breeders. Also, it’s important not to overly anthropomorphize evolution. It’s not as though animals are choosing their evolutionary strategy, so I find this language misleading.

Is it important to not overly anthropomorphize dogs and cats? Because that’s far more common than doing so for evolution.

Re: Anxious dogs, like anxious people, need help managing and reducing distress

#29

Post by gadders »

A lot of this just sounds like... dog training? Gradually getting them used to things with positive reinforcement.

I do think though that dog's can pick up on their owners emotions. If you're thinking "Oh no, I'm going to leave Fido alone for three hours I'm really worried he's going to rip the house up or be really upset when I'm gone." rather than "I'm just nipping out. Fido sleeps most of the day anyway and will be fine." then the dog will pick up on that and become anxious.

Re: Anxious dogs, like anxious people, need help managing and reducing distress

#30

Post by nordsieck »

bradleyjg wrote: post #20

Is there a direct connection between falling birth rates and treating animals as if they were beloved children? It seems like these animals evolutionary strategy is akin to that of the cuckoo bird.

> It seems like these animals evolutionary strategy is akin to that of the cuckoo bird.

Animals have a dual strategy.

They can be part of the family or they can be a working animal.

> Is there a direct connection between falling birth rates and treating animals as if they were beloved children?

I could see treating animals as children being caused by falling birth rates. The opposite seems unlikely, since people have kept pets for a very long time.

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