This is the start of a series. An ethnography, if you will, of Cheeru and the free-living dogs around my farm – Chaita, Dude, Iti, Yaya, Elvis, Rita and Biscuit.
First, there was Elvis. He was Cheeru’s first friend in this place and I suspect he is still her favourite. Or perhaps Dude is her favourite. Do dogs have “favourites”?
At first, she was called the “site dog”, who then became Sita or Syta and then the S softened to a Ch, just as our hearts softened for her. Thus she became Chaita and this is her story.
What does respectful disagreement look like in dogs. Do we give our dogs opportunity to learn this? We focus so much on teaching dogs how to play, that we forget that healthy social relationships are also about knowing how to decline play and how and when to walk away from it.
L’histoire de Chaita révèle que la vie sociale des chiens est très complexe et nuancée. La domination, si elle existe, n’est qu’un aspect mineur de leur vie sociale.
This is the start of a series. An ethnography, if you will, of Cheeru and the free-living dogs around my farm – Chaita, Dude, Iti, Yaya, Elvis, Rita and Biscuit.
First, there was Elvis. He was Cheeru’s first friend in this place and I suspect he is still her favourite. Or perhaps Dude is her favourite. Do dogs have “favourites”?
At first, she was called the “site dog”, who then became Sita or Syta and then the S softened to a Ch, just as our hearts softened for her. Thus she became Chaita and this is her story.
Here we have a lovely video of three of the farmies engaged in play. How about a close examination and an analysis.
What does respectful disagreement look like in dogs. Do we give our dogs opportunity to learn this? We focus so much on teaching dogs how to play, that we forget that healthy social relationships are also about knowing how to decline play and how and when to walk away from it.
The dog who is barking is Madonna. Is Madonna a ferocious dog? Is she angry? What do we know about animal anger? What do we know about our own anger?
L’histoire de Chaita révèle que la vie sociale des chiens est très complexe et nuancée. La domination, si elle existe, n’est qu’un aspect mineur de leur vie sociale.
Do our “captive or pet dogs” have the opportunity to have such relationships with fear? I often find that the bar is a little high high for them.
The BHARCS Blog 