Dogs are allowed
Only small dogs: an answer that alone contains and tells one of the great problems of the human-canine world, namely the common belief that small dogs are good and large dogs are bad .
An idea to which the color variable is often added: light = good; dark = bad, so small and light, a priori, is good. The assumption is already wrong: the human concepts of good and bad cannot be applied with such simplicity to dogs. Our ethics and morals are not dogs.
Index
- Goodness and wickedness in dogs
- A question of race
- It’s not easy to be small
Goodness and wickedness in dogs
Dogs have, among other things, characteristics of breed and genetic predisposition, character, individual histories, personalities, a very rigorous code of behavior, a very articulate communication, tastes, desires, likes, dislikes. They can feel good or bad, they know stress, anxiety and fear, they care about their things and are constantly judged by humans according to human criteria.
The question of the goodness / badness of dogs is extremely complex and is very different from what is commonly thought. But above all, it has nothing to do with the size or color of the dog. That said, a group of leading US researchers have been studying dog breeds and their behaviors and what they found, well, let’s just say it should make a lot of people think. A question of race
Aggression towards unfamiliar people or towards other dogs and persistent barking are among the criteria humans use to judge dogs as bad. Good. Scholars led by James Serpell have found that in terms of aggression towards unfamiliar people, aggression towards other dogs, and a tendency to excessive and persistent barking, Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, Maltese, Miniature Schnauzers, and Yorkshire are well above average (James A. Serpell and Deborah L. Duffy, Dog breeds and Behavior in Domestic Dog Cognition and Behavior by Alexandra Horowitz, editor).
And towards the ownersDachshunds, Chihuahuas, Maltese, Toy Poodles, Shih Tzu and Yorkshire have the dubious honor of being above average even for aggression towards their owners (James A. Serpell and Deborah L. Duffy, Dog breeds and Behavior in Domestic Dog Cognition and Behavior by Alexandra Horowitz, editor). What is a strikingly apparent aspect that unites breeds with above average aggressive manifestations seen above
The small size . It’s not easy to be small
The world is large, the dangers so many, the risk of insecurity high, and even the owners contribute to complicating things. In fact, it is scientifically proven that in the face of the same little appreciable behavior, the owners of large dogs tend to intervene to improve while the owners of small dogs tend to underestimate and / or condone.
How many cases are there of people who take small and light dogs thinking of putting a soft toy at home: they treat them as if they were puppets, make them live inadequate lives, laugh at any behavior and then find that the former wad is actually a monster that mounts and / bites family members, does not let anyone into the house , does not let anyone out of the house, mounts the guests, bites the guests, attacks the other dogs.
Among those who have had the strength to get this far, very few of the very few who read I imagine, there is certainly someone who is insulting by saying that we do not understand anything, that we do not know anything because their Dachshund / Chihuahua / Maltese / Poodle / Shih Tzu is very good / a very good / a. Here, this is a typical mistake that many dog ​​owners have in common: Claiming that one thing is not true because their dog is different.
And scientifically wrong: dogs havebreed characteristics and genetic predisposition , but then each dog is an individual in itself so, for example, if even in terms of breed the dachshunds are prone to aggression towards those they do not know, it is very possible that there are some more than friendly ones , just as there are Labradors who do not report, Newfoundlands who do not like water or fearful and nervous collies… individuality does not refute.
