Dog Umwelt

“The idea that a dog owner must become the dominant member by using jerks or harsh words or other kinds of punishment, she writes, “is farther from what we know of the reality of wolf packs and closer to the timeworn fiction of the animal kingdom with humans at the pinnacle, exerting dominion over the rest. Wolves seem to learn from each other not by punishing each other but by observing each other. Dogs, too, are keen observers — of our reactions.”” I liked this passage because it’s very true. Most humans do try to dominate over other animals, never even giving thought to the idea that there is another, more peaceful, way to go about things.I also found this interesting:“In one enormously important variation from wolf behavior, dogs will look into our eyes. “Though they have inherited some aversion to staring too long at eyes, dogs seem to be predisposed to inspect our faces for information, for reassurance, for guidance.” They are staring, soulfully, into our umwelts. It seems only right that we try a little harder to reciprocate…”I know my dogs have looked at me like that before. Often when I’m angry and my dog looks at me she’ll lower her ears and look scared. I never really thought to try to understand them too. Not beyond the obvious anyways. One thing I didn’t like about this article is that it was more like a review of a book than an article written about the author’s ideas on the subject. The author referred to the book a lot and for the most part just went off that. Which is fine, I was just expecting something a little different.
-Kelly Dickens