I would be interested to see researchers ask whether the dog-owners lived in an apartment or a detached house (that is, not an urban row house but a house at some distance from the neighbors that would provide the dogs room to act, exercise,and develop more or less naturally and lessen the impact of the noise and other canine concomitants).
Asking this question might not lead to any fundamentally different conclusions, but it might help to clarify the factors that determine whether a person regards dogs as pets or as fellow-humans.
Dogs that stay inside or in postage-stamp backyards (except for the daily walk) require much more attention and tolerance from both their owners *and their neighbors*, and are thus arguably less suitable for keeping in apartments, and in cities generally.
When young and newly-married, both of us found out that taking care of a puppy (and eventually an adult dog) functioned as something of a parental-training device -- a warm-up to parenthood, so to speak. Now that the kids are long out of the house, our dogs are company and an unavoidable reason to get outside and walk each day.
The Boss Baby is vindicated.
We spent the first 9 years of our marriage coddling a dog. I still miss that dog but we should have had more kids.
As for saving a dog or a person. I’m gonna need more information.
Good post.
I would be interested to see researchers ask whether the dog-owners lived in an apartment or a detached house (that is, not an urban row house but a house at some distance from the neighbors that would provide the dogs room to act, exercise,and develop more or less naturally and lessen the impact of the noise and other canine concomitants).
Asking this question might not lead to any fundamentally different conclusions, but it might help to clarify the factors that determine whether a person regards dogs as pets or as fellow-humans.
Dogs that stay inside or in postage-stamp backyards (except for the daily walk) require much more attention and tolerance from both their owners *and their neighbors*, and are thus arguably less suitable for keeping in apartments, and in cities generally.
The way I model it in my head is three parts with causal arrows running in all directions:
Dogs as therapeutic para-relationships > Poor social skills > Perverted valuations of people
Perverted valuations of people > Poor social skills > Dogs as therapeutic para-relationships
Both directions are prima facie correct.
When young and newly-married, both of us found out that taking care of a puppy (and eventually an adult dog) functioned as something of a parental-training device -- a warm-up to parenthood, so to speak. Now that the kids are long out of the house, our dogs are company and an unavoidable reason to get outside and walk each day.