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Dog Activities and Training: Puppy Play Groups, Doggy Daycare and Dog Parks - The Best of Canine Times or the Worst?

http://www.mmilani.com/commentary_1003.html

A couple of lines caught my attention while reading this thoughtful and thought-provoking commentary by Myrna Milani, DVM, like "the human species has spent more than 10,000 years domesticating dogs so dogs would prefer human over canine companionship", and "do we really want to encourage dogs to play by canine rather than human rules at the same time we demand more of them in their intimate interactions with us?"

The article begins, "Until about 5-10 years ago, the idea of socializing a pup referred to accustoming that animal to a variety of different people under different circumstances. We wanted to do this because domestic dogs live in a human world and those who get along well with people fare better than those who don't. However, in the past decade or so, there has a been a shift in emphasis from socializing dogs and people to socializing dogs and other dogs.

I suspect multiple reasons have contributed to the shift. Almost certainly guilt plays a role. As human lifestyles have become more and more complex, our dogs mean more to us. The more they mean to us, the more we feel obligated to atone for our complex lives. What better way to do this than to allow our dogs the opportunity to romp with their own kind, to become one with their inner dog?

Although that sounds idyllic, this approach ignores several realities that I find increasingly troubling. First, the human species has spent more than 10,000 years domesticating dogs so dogs would prefer human over canine companionship. This serves as the hallmark behavior that separates domestic from wild canines. Do we really want to encourage dogs to play by canine rather than human rules at the same time we demand more of them in their intimate interactions with us? (For a nice overview of how complex the typical human-canine relationship has become, read Jon Katz's The New Work of Dogs published by Villard.)" Read more...