Sociology of Dogs

By Attila Márton

“OVERHUMANIZATION”

IT HAS NEVER BEEN THIS EASY TO BOOST THE CUTENESS FACTOR BY OVERLOADING THE WORLD WITH PICTURES AND VIDEOS OF FURRY ANIMALS. DOGS HAVE BECOME ENTERTAINERS. THERE IS TONS OF DOGGIE MATERIAL ON YOUR SMARTPHONE YOU CAN SCROLL THROUGH WHILE SIPPING YOUR MORNING COFFEE. DOES THIS NEW ROLE OF DOGS IN HUMAN SOCIETY DO EITHER OUR BELOVED PETS OR US AS OWNERS ANY FAVORS? CAN WE SAY THEY ALSO BECOME HAPPY BY MAKING US HAPPY?

CUTENESS OVERLOAD

Dogs have been the center of attention for quite a while. Everyone who works in the marketing industry knows pretty well that any commercial advertisement will perform much better with a child and a dog in it. Somehow we react more emotionally.

The everyday dog has been presented many ways and thousands of times, and we probably get bored with that approach after awhile. This is especially true now when we receive more infor- mation through social media channels and applications than ever before. We have seen it all, and new ideas are needed to satisfy our hunger for emotional satisfaction.

It is absolutely commonplace now for pets to have their own pro- files that allow anyone to take a look at their everyday doggy lives. You would generally presume they do some sort of everyday, real doggy stuff connected to playing, fetching, doing something with bones, etc., like dogs usually do.

However, you will more often find pictures of dogs represented as perfectly fitting into our human world… but not as dogs. They are posing and behaving exactly like humans.

One video I saw recently presents two dogs with colored fur on their legs, joyfully sitting and playing in a swing. The majority of viewers say these dogs have a happy and playful life. Some com- menters even claim they can see a smile on their muzzles based on the curve of the faces.

Another family dog has numerous followers on Instagram and, to add to the cuteness level, it is posing most of the time with the toddler of the family or holding a teddy bear in its paws just like a human child does. Both the family dog and the little toddler are dressed up the same way in matching clothes. To additionally em- phasize how much he fits in the human environment, most of the time this four-legged canine celebrity of the internet is standing on his back legs.

Another cutie luckily has put its dark past at the shelter behind it and started a brand new life in the light, regularly visiting mum’s favorite restaurant while happily posing with pancakes, fries, burg- ers or a cappuccino. If you read articles about it, you get to know that he certainly (and luckily) does not eat all of these. These are just accessories to demonstrate what a happy life he has now.

These are just three simple but different examples of dogs pro- moting their happy life to the public via social media.

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=119796

Posted by Alex on Feb 16 2017. 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.