Then that simply means that the statement I was challenging (the idea that dogs ‘go for you if you show fear’) is, as I suspected, likely to be groundless folklore, repeated generation after generation. There’s no obvious scientific basis for making a statement such as that about dogs as a class.
I’m allowing that it would not. That’s why I’m asking. By the way, to suppose I find such behaviour objectionable would be to suppose I found that it even existed in the first place. Have you stopped beating your wife sort of thing.
To repeat, I can’t understand why what seems commonly stated by dog-owners (this ‘fear’ thing) makes any sense at all. It seems to imply that dogs are natural bullies. I’ve only ever seen bullying behaviour in humans.
Where do you think we got the terms “Top dog” and “underdog” from? “Alpha Male”?
Check out some nature documentaries showing pack mentality and acknowledge studies (yes, scientific studies) that observe that a domesticated dogs see their owner family as their extended pack.
With that in mind, hopefully you can start to see why exhibiting dominant behaviour in the face of someone exhibiting submissive behaviour is a natural trait in pack animals (which yes, also includes humans).
Also, be aware that posturing aggressively is not necessarily a lead-up to any actual attack - the power-play dynamic is not bred to encourage pack animals to actually hurt each other. Actually lunge at a domestic dog in most non-territorial situations and he’ll take off. (actually don’t do that)
No, I’m not a behavioural scientist and am not going to do your research for you, but in the spirit of genuine enquiry, I think that there are real answers to your fair question, and it’s not just “folklore”.
Otherwise, I sympathise with you, and generally do agree that you should be able to get as much behavioural compromise from dog owners as you give them. Compromise which occasionally does mean modifying your own behaviour a little also For instance, I’ve often find I have to take my hat off when in the presence of a few dogs whom it disturbs, or avoid staring them directly in the eye. I don’t find that a great imposition.
Well, they’re pack animals, and ‘fear’ should more be ‘submission’, if you done arx me.Mind you, I like dogs, so If one comes lolloping along barking its head off I’ll either tell it what a good, brave dog it is and get it to play, or if I actually don’t like the look of the creature, point at the general direction of ‘away’, and tell it to fuck off there. Usually works. If they try and actually bite you, kick the fuckers. All dogs understand ‘good dog’, ‘fuck off’ and being kicked up the bum in my experience.
It doesn’t mean that any more than my not doing your astronomy homework means Jupiter doesn’t exist. Good try though. Dog have behavior. there aren’t ‘types’ of dog that you can visually assess. There is dog behavior though. Like pursuing a goal despite the reward being imagined, and being dumb about what might hurt you, and only having a nose and mouth to interact with the world with.
Ahh,I see. Yeah, it does. Some dogs are bullies, but that is anthropomorphizing whatever the dog’s intent is, which is probably more driven by the amygdala, as shaped by nature and nurture. Protect the pack is a big drive, i think.
I don’t know where that leaves us. It’s not as if I invented the “show fear and they’ll attack” deal out of thin air (I hope you’ll agree). It seems to come from dog owners. As an assertion it’s either true or it isn’t (or of course it’s simply not even a testable hypothesis, not even wrong). I’m pretty sure the existence of Jupiter is at least testable.
I think ‘anthropomorphizing’ might be taking it a bit far. I don’t think you need to be a human to have the capability of overwhelming an unthreatening-perceived-submissive fellow member of your species for no other reason that you can, rather than the (anthropomorphic) ‘kinder’ approach of simply leaving them alone. But I had not considered that this behaviour might be indistinguishable from how you might behave if your motive is to emphasise the superiority of your pack. So - good one there!
Mind you, that may give a free pass to human bullies so it might not be such a good idea to spread it around.
I generally wear my Trilby with jeans and an oxford cloth dress shirt while walking to work on pleasant days.
Add in that I’m a balding middle-aged guy, and hopefully I do not look like that certain kind of idiot, but rather my own particularly kind of idiot, which I greatly prefer.
Modern culture is so wonderfully, delightfully confusing, I appreciate the tips.
