{"id":10234,"date":"2013-04-21T15:35:18","date_gmt":"2013-04-21T22:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thedoginc.com\/dogs-and-humans-treating-a-dog-like-a-human"},"modified":"2013-04-21T15:35:18","modified_gmt":"2013-04-21T22:35:18","slug":"dog-human","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/dog-human\/","title":{"rendered":"Dogs and Humans &#8211; Treating a Dog Like a Human"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Dogs are amazing!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They seemingly give us <a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/do-our-dogs-love-us-unconditionally\">unconditional love.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>They have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/canine-corner\/201206\/canine-empathy-your-dog-really-does-care-if-you-are-unhappy\">great empathy<\/a> and know when and how to give us emotional support.<\/li>\n<li>They are always ready for adventure and fun.<\/li>\n<li>They don&#8217;t nag and they accept us for who we are.<\/li>\n<li>They act as if it is <a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/christmas-dog-gifts\">Christmas morning<\/a> every time we come home from work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We interpret our dog&#8217;s behavior through our very human lens. It is therefore not too surprising that we would want to humanize our dogs and make them into one of us. <\/p>\n<p>However, <a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/dogs-are-not-human\">dogs are not humans<\/a> and treating them like a human can sometimes bring disastrous results. Similarly, humans are not dogs. When we try to <em>bite<\/em> a dog with our fingers, it does not work out very well either.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Men and dogs are not alike, although some men try to make them so. White men.&#8221; Oogruk had laughed. &#8220;Because they try to make people out of dogs and in this way they make the dogs dumb. But to say that a dog is not smart because it is not as smart as a man is to say that snow is not smart. Dogs are not men. And as dogs, if they are allowed to be dogs, they are often smarter than men.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>~~[<a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=nApzHxZxXvoC&#038;pg=PA60&#038;lpg=PA60&#038;dq=%22Men+and+dogs+are+not+alike,+although+some+men+try+to+make+them+so%22&#038;source=bl&#038;ots=rNPIEyAhNO&#038;sig=af3VqFF8MbQ1iUeW7dIdruzLmcg&#038;hl=en&#038;sa=X&#038;ei=iMd1UdbAHIPKigKaxYDwAQ&#038;ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&#038;q=%22Men%20and%20dogs%20are%20not%20alike%2C%20although%20some%20men%20try%20to%20make%20them%20so%22&#038;f=false\">Dogsong by Gary Paulsen, pg 60<\/a>]\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div id='6019' class='wp-caption frame3 aligncenter' style='width:520px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:520px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/IMG_4667-520x390.jpg\" alt=\"Siberian Husky puppy kisses.\" width=\"520\" height=\"390\" class=\"size-large wp-image-6019\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>Dogs and Humans &#8211; Treating a Dog Like a Human<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"alignspace\"><\/div>\n<h2>Treating a Dog Like a Human<\/h2>\n<div id='3051' class='wp-caption frame3 alignright' style='width:280px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:280px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/IMG_1942-280x210.jpg\" alt=\"Shiba Inu wearing a Christmas Santa hat, while licking his chops (tongue out picture).\" width=\"280\" height=\"210\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3051\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>Treating a Dog Like a Human.<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n<div id='5992' class='wp-caption frame3 alignright' style='width:280px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:280px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/IMG_4683-280x210.jpg\" alt=\"Shiba Inu rolling on the grass with stick in mouth.\" width=\"280\" height=\"210\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5992\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>Dogs are amazing *because* they are not human.<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>We dress our dogs up to look like humans.<\/li>\n<li>We feed our dogs human food.<\/li>\n<li>We project human motives and human emotions onto our dogs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There is nothing wrong with dressing our dog up, as long as we are careful not to cause him any physical harm, and as long as he is tolerant of wearing human type clothes.<\/p>\n<p>There is nothing wrong with feeding our dog <em>some<\/em> human food as long as we make sure that <a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/feeding-your-dog-a-healthy-diet\">what we feed him is balanced<\/a>, not too rich for a dog&#8217;s digestive system, and does not contain any ingredients that may be poisonous to dogs.<\/p>\n<p>My dogs love boiled chicken, turkey, and sardines. However, some <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aspca.org\/pet-care\/ask-the-expert\/ask-the-expert-poison-control\/people-foods.aspx\">common people food<\/a> including chocolates, onions, coffee, grapes, spices, and macadamia nuts, are not appropriate for dogs and can cause them great harm.<\/p>\n<p>We run into the most problems when we project human motives and emotions onto our dogs. <a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/how-dogs-learn-how-dogs-think\">Dogs just do not think like us<\/a>. If they did, they wouldn&#8217;t be the amazing companions that we love so dearly.<\/p>\n<div id='5960' class='wp-caption frame3 aligncenter' style='width:520px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:520px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/IMG_4830-520x390.jpg\" alt=\"Husky puppy Lara (on-lead) playing with adult Husky and Shiba Inu in the backyard.\" width=\"520\" height=\"390\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5960\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>We run into the most problems when we project human motives and emotions onto our dogs.<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"alignspace\"><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Max pooped all over my carpet because he wanted to pay me back for leaving him alone all day.<\/p>\n<p>Susie growled at me today when I tried to pet her during meal-time. She must not love me anymore. What an ungrateful bitch.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Dogs do not take revenge on us for leaving them alone. Max likely pooped because he was unused to being alone and became overly stressed. This is also <a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/separation-anxiety-dog-why-how-reduce-dog-stress\">known as separation anxiety<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Dogs growl as a form of communication. They are telling us that they feel uncomfortable or threatened by our proximity. Dogs may growl when people approach their food, toys, or other resources because they have learned through constant repetition that people usually take their <em>stuff<\/em> away. This is also known as <a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/why-dogs-get-aggressive-over-food-toys\">food aggression or resource guarding<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>By assigning human motives and emotions to our dog, we miss the true source of his misbehavior; and miss our chance to properly help and retrain him to live well with us.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/how-to-deal-with-bad-dog-behavior\">Bad dog behavior<\/a> has nothing to do with revenge, ungratefulness, or lack of love.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id='6006' class='wp-caption frame3 aligncenter' style='width:520px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:520px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/IMG_4981-520x390.jpg\" alt=\"Shiba Inu sitting on a grassy hill (facing side).\" width=\"520\" height=\"390\" class=\"size-large wp-image-6006\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>By assigning human motives and emotions to our dogs, we miss the true reason for their misbehavior.<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n<p>The main reasons for bad dog behavior include &#8211;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/dog-obedience-training-facts-and-myths\">Improper training<\/a> or no training.<\/strong><br \/>\nDogs do not come with a human-rulebook. They do not know which behaviors are viewed by <em>us<\/em> to be good, and which are viewed to be bad. It is up to us, to properly teach them our rules.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Boredom.<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a dog is locked up all day with nothing to do, he will become frustrated. He may bark at shadows, charge the fence, chew up our house, or escape.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fear or stress. <\/strong><br \/>\nDogs may become fearful or anxious of objects, dogs, people, or situations that they perceive to be threatening. Because they are dogs and not humans, what they perceive as threatening may seem silly or surprising to us. However, if we want to <a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/how-to-calm-a-fearful-reactive-dog\">rehabilitate a fearful dog<\/a>, what matters is <em>his perception<\/em> and not ours. <\/li>\n<li><strong>Physical pain or ailment. <\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a dog is in pain or otherwise feeling unwell, he may feel more vulnerable. As a result, he may strike out in situations where he is normally tolerant or calm.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div id='5782' class='wp-caption frame3 aligncenter' style='width:520px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:520px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/IMG_4499-520x390.jpg\" alt=\"Big Siberian Husky playing with Husky puppy in a Yin-Yang symbol.\" width=\"520\" height=\"390\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5782\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>Dogs are not human but they have needs including the need to exercise, explore, and be with members of their family\/pack.<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"alignspace\"><\/div>\n<h2>Dogs Are Not Human But &#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>It is true that dogs are not human. However, this does not mean that we should treat them poorly, neglect them, ignore their needs, or cause them pain and stress.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Dogs need medical care.<\/strong> It is true that in the wild, animals have little or no access to medical care. However, it is also true that animals who receive medical care, have a longer life span than their wild brothers. It is a good idea to take our dog in for regular vet examinations, teeth cleaning, as well as vaccination shots. This ensures that he will not only have a longer life, but also a better quality of life.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dogs need exercise, and the freedom to explore, dig and play.<\/strong> Our dogs may not think or act like us, but they have needs and goals, just as we do. When a dog&#8217;s needs are neglected or left unfulfilled, he may try to meet some of them on his own. This is when he starts jumping over fences, digging up our prize roses, and tearing apart our designer shoes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dogs need routine, consistency, and training.<\/strong> Routine and consistency are important because they help a dog understand what he can expect from us, and what we expect from him in return. This reduces uncertainty and stress, as well as helps our dog build confidence. We also need to teach a dog our human rules, so that he can be safe, living in our very people oriented environment.\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dogs feel pain and stress.<\/strong> Dogs may not be human, but just like us, they feel pain and stress. When we apply shock corrections, collar corrections, <a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/dog-discipline-punishment-beat-hit-dog\">finger jabs, and muzzle slaps,<\/a> our dog will feel pain. When we alpha roll a dog and loom over him threateningly, he will get stressed and fearful. These techniques are not magical &#8211; they <em>work<\/em> precisely because they apply pain. They can <em>work<\/em> on people as well, depending on our definition of &#8216;work&#8217;.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id='6752' class='wp-caption frame3 aligncenter' style='width:520px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:520px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/IMG_5155-520x390.jpg\" alt=\"Siberian Husky puppy grazing grass in the backyard.\" width=\"520\" height=\"390\" class=\"size-large wp-image-6752\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>Dogs need exercise, and the freedom to explore, dig and play.<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"alignspace\"><\/div>\n<div id='5387' class='wp-caption frame3 alignright' style='width:280px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:280px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/IMG_0189-280x210.jpg\" alt=\"Shiba Inu digging, with Siberian Husky watching from behind.\" width=\"280\" height=\"210\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5387\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>More on-leash digging fun.<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n<p><em>Dogs are not human.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>All this means is that we should not project human emotions or motives onto their misbehaviors. Rather, we should try to understand them based on <em>their<\/em> needs, and not ours.<\/p>\n<p>Differences are good, differences are healthy, and differences make us stronger. We should not try to make our dogs be like us, nor should we try to make ourselves be like our dogs. Instead, we get the best results when we take the time and effort to understand our dogs, as they have taken the time and effort to understand us.<\/p>\n<div id='6265' class='wp-caption frame3 aligncenter' style='width:520px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:520px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/IMG_5051-520x390.jpg\" alt=\"Three dogs playing with a rope toy in the living room.\" width=\"520\" height=\"390\" class=\"size-large wp-image-6265\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>Dogs are not human.<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"alignspace\"><\/div>\n<div id='5973' class='wp-caption frame3 alignright' style='width:280px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:280px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/IMG_4950-280x210.jpg\" alt=\"Whole pack hanging-out and singing Kumbaya in the backyard (group shot).\" width=\"280\" height=\"210\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5973\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>Just because dogs are not human does not mean that they react better to pain and aggression.<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Dogs <strong>do not<\/strong> react better to pain and aggression, just because they are dogs and not men. In fact, this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.upenn.edu\/pennnews\/news\/if-youre-aggressive-your-dog-will-be-too-says-veterinary-study-university-pennsylvania\">study from the University of Pennsylvania<\/a> shows that pain and dominance based rehabilitation methods frequently <strong>encourage aggression in dogs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Dogs are not humans, but neither are we dogs. We may try to bite our dogs with fingers, alpha roll them, and <a href=\"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/dominance-bad-dog-behavior\">physically dominate them<\/a>. However, this will not convince anyone, least of all our dogs, that we are of the canine persuasion. Unlike us, dogs <em>know<\/em> what they are, and that we are different.<\/p>\n<p>What these techniques <em>do<\/em> is apply pain and stress to a dog, which in turn causes an aversive response. This may discourage our dog from repeating a behavior, because he wants to avoid further pain and stress. In this way, dominance based techniques may &#8216;work&#8217;, for some values of <em>work<\/em>. However, pain and stress also lead to a lower quality of life and a bond that is based on fear. <\/p>\n<p>We earn a dog&#8217;s respect and become a true pack leader by protecting our pack; not by inflicting pain on our pack members.<\/p>\n<div id='6018' class='wp-caption frame3 aligncenter' style='width:520px' ><div class='shiba-outer shiba-gallery' ><div class='shiba-stage' style='width:520px'><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/IMG_4665-520x390.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up of Siberian Husky puppy sitting with man (hand on her chest).\" width=\"520\" height=\"390\" class=\"size-large wp-image-6018\" \/><div class='wp-caption-text shiba-caption'>We earn a dog&#8217;s respect and become a true pack leader by protecting our pack, not by inflicting pain on our pack members.<\/div><\/div> <!-- End shiba-stage --><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dogs are amazing companions. That is why we are tempted to treat a dog like a human. However, humanizing a dog can often bring disastrous results. Similarly, when humans pretend to be dogs, the results are just as bad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[65,113],"tags":[373,375,1439,1440,377,378,379,1441,1442,1443],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shibashake.com\/dog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}