Canine Social Behavior – It’s the Same in the Wild

By Amy Fernandez

Life has become really weird here in NYC now that everything is closed. Nobody is going to work. Of course, school was redlined days ago to the enormous delight of children. Parents…that’s another story and thankfully not one we need to cover here at CC.

So, let’s get to the pertinent COVID-19 breaking news. Owners are spending unprecedented quality time with their dogs.  All that mundane stuff normally relegated to dog walkers, dog groomers, dog minders….to put it bluntly, those days are over.

And although I’m not sure how the unexpected human-family interaction is going, this dog/owner revival  seems to be one of the few perks in this strange new world.

This is the first day of Spring, the weather is lovely, and contrary to normal protocol, you can actually snap the leash on FiFi and take a stroll around the neighborhood. This sounds alarming, but two people actually told me how much fun this is! Who would’ve ever guessed that walking your dog is such a mutually rewarding simple pleasure?

Who knew?

That aspect of the situation has come into keen focus since regular recreational diversions are getting a whole new reckoning. Dining out, drinking, workouts at Soulcycle, shopping, movies …you get the point.  All those instinctive options are off the table.

In that respect, I admit that it’s been jarring to suddenly have so much company on normally solitary dog excursions.  But it’s also an unprecedented opportunity for upfront research into the current state of dog/owner relationships without seeming too psycho.  You can really ask personal questions when dogs bump up on a public thoroughfare.

So, here’s my takeaway. People are discovering that their dogs are truly clever and interesting housemates.   I’m never gonna be one of those “little red ball” people chattering on about the cute thing that little Otto did today, but this jolt of newfound knowledge pervading the dog/owner paradigm is heartening.

Who knew?

Actually, the dynamics of canine social life have always been an open book. They put it right out there. It’s just that we don’t bother paying attention. Here’s what I mean. A few weeks back, the NYT Science section reported on new communication discoveries in the animal world. Amidst the reports on bugs and bees, there was some interesting news, “Just like pet dogs, African wild dogs spend some of their time enthusiastically socializing and some of it lazing around. “

Who knew?

Dogs are dogs. True to form, “members of a pack jump up and greet one another in high energy ritualsnwhich scientists describe as “rallies”. Around here we call it acting like a bunch of fools when you get home from the show.

Field research on this increasingly rare species also revealed something else kind of interesting. Just like regular dogs, pack dominance appears to be somewhat fluid. Although that concept is broadly descriptive of most canine behavior, it’s very intricate, nuanced, and at times almost democratic. Those of us living with a 24/7 pack under the kitchen table already know this.

That was the big discovery in this case. It was based on a study in 2017 that observed some voting involved in the pack’s decision to shop for food or flop on the sofa. (Interestingly, I have personal experience with this same dilemma.) Here’s the adorable part. “To cast a vote for hunting (going to the store), the dogs sneeze.”  Lots of sneezing means… okay, gotta get dressed…where’s the keys?

A dominant dog could get things rolling with about three sneezes. But even low-ranking pack members got some action with about ten sneezes. Don’t know how it goes at your house, but Chinese Cresteds usually work with sharp pokes and howling when they are intent on directing attention to the state of our personal resources. But this really is a universal language and hey, a lot of people will bone up on it in quarantine.

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=181309

Posted by chesliepickett on Apr 1 2020. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.