Does your pet have the edge? Is A Dog Human?

As a pet owner, I treat my dog like a king. I want my pet to have the pet edge. We have all been guilty of trying to relate to our dogs or other pets the way we relate to other humans. One must ask themselves if your pet can have complex emotions similar to humans, or are there actions based on instinct? The article gives a brief discussion on the author's insights to your pet's physicological make-up.

Trying to treat a dog like a human is called "Anthropomorphism" the dictionarystates that this means "Attributing human characteristics to things that are not human" . Your pet is not a small hairy person, he is of another species known as a "Canine."

Humans are capable of complex emotions like love, sadness, despair, jealousy, sympathy, hatred and loyalty. A dogs emotional state is more reactive, instinct driven, and survival orientated. Instinct is something which is either there or not there, and it covers survival, maternal, hunting, guarding, pack, and self-preservation.

Dogs are living in the present, they react to the immediate smell, sound, and movement. Dogs experience aggression mostly from their "Owners" who do not understand that the dog does not understand what they are talking about. Most weeks I have a client informing me that their dog is only able to understand Spanish, French, Swedish and the other day I was well informed that a dog could only understand Japanese!

Logic is alien to humans, all animals have an ability to communicate with eachother . I am able to communicate with a dog, since I am able to think like a dog, thats why I am called "The Dogman ! Dogs are unable to reason and when they lay on the floor are not capable of thinking "I wonder what mum is making for dinner", the dog will react only to a sound, smell, and to the immediate situation.

Many owners of pets will punish their pet after an event just like a child. This is non productive, and is called "Anthropomorphism." Try asking a dog what one and one equals? or simply deduct one from two, I bet he cant work it out!

In summary, if you are trying to give your dog the "pet edge", relate to your pet on a dog's terms...after all, even if we want to treat them like family, they are still an instinctive creature.

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