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I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

theguardian.com

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Re: I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

#61

Post by _yb2s »

rootusrootus wrote: post #12
INTPenis wrote: post #5

I like the author's positive outlook on life. Because when I see a dog act like that, especially in a family where a child has taken focus, I mostly see a prisoner longing for freedom. Me and my dog have been exclusive for almost a decade now. We have traveled across europe, always by my side. Off leash even, I have always wanted to give my dog the most freedom possible. To heck with human rules. I've mostly worked r…

> Off leash even, I have always wanted to give my dog the most freedom possible. To heck with human rules. I regularly meet people like that when I'm camping. I find it pretty frustrating. So many rules like that have basis in reality, they are not just meant to annoy.

I adopt older rescue dogs which tend to be anxious and reactive with strange dogs. Sometimes when I go to a public place where dogs are required to be leashed, an unleashed dog will charge or approach my leashed dog who reacts violently and I have to intervene- often lifting my dog in the air while trying to fight off the unleashed dog with my legs. These off leash dog people are creating a huge hazard, and making it unsafe for people to walk reactive or anxious dogs. There are also many people that are terrified of even a “friendly” off leash dog, and are being terrorized and unable to escape. They will chant “he’s friendly, he’s friendly” instead of getting control of their dog.

Even the most friendly and easygoing dog becomes violent when they approach another dog and it lashes out.

If I have to kill or harm your “friendly” illegally unleashed dog to keep me and my dog safe I will- luckily I have not had to. Please leash your dog.

Re: I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

#62

Post by danielschreber »

mock-possum wrote: post #55
rootusrootus wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Off leash even, I have always wanted to give my dog the most freedom possible. To heck with human rules. I regularly meet people like that when I'm camping. I find it pretty frustrating. So many rules like that have basis in reality, they are not just meant to annoy.

Unfortunately these rules punish dogs and good owners, while they’re smugly ignored by bad owners. A well behaved dog off-leash is not a problem - but the rule isn’t against badly behaved dogs or inattentive owners - the rule is against off-leash, period . It isn’t fair to the good ones.

A good dog prefers to be on a leash.

c.f. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Bark

Re: I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

#63

Post by INTPenis »

rootusrootus wrote: post #12
INTPenis wrote: post #5

I like the author's positive outlook on life. Because when I see a dog act like that, especially in a family where a child has taken focus, I mostly see a prisoner longing for freedom. Me and my dog have been exclusive for almost a decade now. We have traveled across europe, always by my side. Off leash even, I have always wanted to give my dog the most freedom possible. To heck with human rules. I've mostly worked r…

> Off leash even, I have always wanted to give my dog the most freedom possible. To heck with human rules. I regularly meet people like that when I'm camping. I find it pretty frustrating. So many rules like that have basis in reality, they are not just meant to annoy.

I think we treat dogs wrong. Dogs are capable of resolving out most situations on their own, unless they're leashed. The leash changes everything and makes dogs more aggressive. Probably because they're scared about being attached to something when encountering a stressful situation like meeting other dogs.

The only reason we emphasize the leash is because any idiot is allowed to get a dog and mistreat it. So we leash them for the owner's sake really, not for any inherent fault of the dog.

So I can't argue with the rules to keep dogs leashed, I just refuse to do it.

Mine is tiny, it flies in the cabin on planes even because it's under 8kg.

But I've seen people with huge belgian malonois off leash, and they make a point of showing everyone around them how well trained it is. It walks next to them the whole time, they regularly give it commands to follow on their walk. So you have a responsibility with a big dog, because it can do more damage, and I think it's a good idea to demonstrate to any doubters around you that you can control it.

But if you just let a pittie go and then stare at your phone, you shouldn't be allowed to handle an animal.

But yeah this is a very hot topic because why should responsible people and good dogs be punished collectively because there are morons? I want more regulations in getting an animal. I see sooo many of them mistreated, neglected, when a child is born for example, now they're just being dragged along after the pram. Common human condition to be short sighted and get a dog as a fun item, but it lives for maybe 15 years. It's a huge commitment.

Re: I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

#65

Post by _yb2s »

INTPenis wrote: post #5

I like the author's positive outlook on life. Because when I see a dog act like that, especially in a family where a child has taken focus, I mostly see a prisoner longing for freedom. Me and my dog have been exclusive for almost a decade now. We have traveled across europe, always by my side. Off leash even, I have always wanted to give my dog the most freedom possible. To heck with human rules. I've mostly worked r…

I doubt your dog actually values or desires unlimited freedom in that way… most dogs seem to value family connection and are comforted by an owner calmly directing them and spending time with them. They usually prefer exploring outdoors with their family rather than alone.

A lot of country/ farm dogs for example, who have limitless land to explore, will still follow their owners all day, and if the owner is gone tend to just sleep until they return.

Re: I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

#66

Post by imoverclocked »

jjtheblunt wrote: post #23
gretch wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a dog owner, I agree with you. I KNOW that my dog would never hurt anyone. But I also know that no one else in the world has spent hundreds of hours with my dog, and to them he is a strange and large animal. Inevitably some of these ppl probably have some kind of childhood trauma related to dogs. So I always have him leashed where the rules are to have a leash.

My un-favorite is the people with dogs on the spring loaded extending leashes, who let their little crazy dog come running at my feral-parents dog from a distance, announcing "don't worry...my dog is friendly.". The people _never_ ask if my dog on her 2 meter leash (the law in Arizona, btw) is friendly, dangerous, anything. They just announce that their dog isn't dangerous to us. So often the small dog runs up to my…

Just yell back “Mine isn’t!” Then you both get a little bit of an adrenaline rush…

On a serious note, I miss the wide open spaces I could bring my dogs to in AZ. Where I live in NorCal it’s practically impossible and even if I could let my dog off leash in some places, the poison oak often stops me from even considering it.

Re: I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

#67

Post by spike021 »

INTPenis wrote: post #5

I like the author's positive outlook on life. Because when I see a dog act like that, especially in a family where a child has taken focus, I mostly see a prisoner longing for freedom. Me and my dog have been exclusive for almost a decade now. We have traveled across europe, always by my side. Off leash even, I have always wanted to give my dog the most freedom possible. To heck with human rules. I've mostly worked r…

> Off leash even, I have always wanted to give my dog the most freedom possible. To heck with human rules.

All it takes is one time to ruin that for you and probably other people too.

Re: I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

#68

Post by amanaplanacanal »

mhb wrote: post #52
Fomite wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. As a dog owner, my dog remains on a leash. I don't know you. I don't know your dog. More than once, I've been put in the position where my dog is getting agitated because they're on leash, their dog can't be controlled because they're off leash, and we're rapidly approaching the "Swift kick or risk injury" stage. "My dog is off leash because I want them to have freedom" is a profoundly selfish decision if you'r…

I realize this question is likely not to be appreciated by many, but do you not know whether your dog is male or female?

I must be stupid. Try as I might, I can’t figure out what prompted this question. What am I missing?

Re: I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

#69

Post by wizzwizz4 »

darby_nine wrote: post #58
bartread wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "My dog is off leash because I want them to have freedom" is a profoundly selfish decision if you're in a place to encounter other dogs. This is cultural, I think. In the UK at least it’s often the norm for dogs to be off leash in open areas like commons (public land, usually grassy or wooded, or a mix of the two), or in other settings where they’re away from roads and won’t encounter livestock. On public footpaths…

Interesting that livestock is the primary concern—I'd imagine interactions with other dogs (which can be highly stressful, though this varies a lot from dog to dog) would be the primary issue these days.

Livestock haven't gone away.

Re: I wag, therefore I am: the philosophy of dogs

#70

Post by causasui »

dbg31415 wrote: post #40
nirmel wrote: post #33

I would just like to comment that if you love animals, you should hate pets. The amount of animal factory farming (killing of animals often more intelligent than your canine) required to nourish a domesticated animal over the course of their lives is gross in all senses of the word gross.

Mate, if ever there was someone who needed to spend an hour rolling around with a bunch of puppies, it's you. (= I hope you can at least understand that pets bring joy into the lives of their owners. It doesn't all have to make perfect sense. In the grand scheme of things, we're all just temporary cosmic dust, right? And dogs are a great daily reminder to focus on the small moments of happiness whenever you can find…

This response to the point made by the person to whom you're responding is the philosophical equivalent of plugging your ears and going "la la la can't hear you".

> In the grand scheme of things, we're all just temporary cosmic dust, right?

What else would you be able to justify using this platitude?

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