DOG PROS

With the dawn of the “pet” concept in modern society, we have lost some critical pieces of the puzzle about dogs. Though we preserved the hundreds of working breeds as we romanticized their origins & cherished their beautiful differences, we came to treat them all as “pets” as their jobs became increasingly obsolete. It seemed a kindness to them to provide the spoils of an easy life, & it likely never occurred to most of us that they might suffer in such conditions of sedentary indoor luxury. In the last century, we have become totally disconnected from the natural history of dogs- the remarkable integral roles they have played in human survival over thousands of years in countless ways as we partnered our lives & instincts with their own. We humans had changed because of them – successfully improving our methods of hunting, settlements, and agriculture over our own evolution. But they had changed even more than we had for the partnership.

But most of us were born into a world that no longer needed dogs to do these once essential jobs. We kept the breeds, but lost the niches for which they were created. They found themselves fish out of water – judged, punished, and pathologized for the very same behaviors we once prized them for. This dissonance of modern understanding is at the very heart of the chronic behavioral dysfunction increasingly observed in the pet population, & we as professionals have so far been ill-served by the narrative that genetic heritage or breed play no part in understanding & treating behavior problems. In order to truly help dogs & their families, our industry must evolve to reflect a more comprehensive appreciation & standard of care.

We will need to change the keys, or we will need to change the locks we have to fit them. It will take a village of professionals to create the solutions on both ends.