Kids and Canines

Topic: Child-Dog Psychology

In this week's dialogue, James, Alexia, and Sundance will discuss how children relate to dogs.

Ethan & Sundance

Sundance: These small humanoids running around, what are they? Why are some so good at understanding dogs, and some are terrible at relating to dogs?  

Ethan & Skuzum

James: These are children. The puppy version of humans. Some are more in-touch with nature, and others, despite their young age, have already been de-natured: they've been re-programmed to think that animals are quite foreign and unnatural to humans. 

Sundance: That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. Humans would be extinct without animals. And it's been a very long time since humans haven't had domesticated animals, well, besides the last few confused decades. So that's why some children approach me without any common creaturely courtesy?

James: Yes. It is sad, and dangerous. 

Sundance: I saw a child putting her hands in a dog's face, and the dog looked very uncomfortable. 

James: I would too! That's as close to slapping a person upside their head, instead of giving a proper handshake. There is an etiquette to everything we do, but unfortunately this has been lost somewhere like a child in the woods.

Sundance: And one time I saw two boys grabbing a dog from behind, and the dog thought they were other dogs mounting, and the dog was so uncomfortable. The boys didn't respond to normal dog-language, so the dog had to growl. How is it that these puppy-humans don't know about polite behavior?

James: It is because their parents don't know about polite behavior. The parents are afraid to preform natural human-child versions of the growl-and-snap; they are afraid of hurting the child. What they don't know is that love still shares consequences. 

Skuzum and Sundance

Sundance: Of course love shares consequences! Who would ever think it doesn't? My dog-mama taught me from as far back as I can remember not to nurse too harshly, and my puppy-siblings yelped terribly loud when I played too rough, so I learned fast. And Skuzum, my cat brother, didn't hesitate to share his boundaries with me. I learned cat-language very quickly: a hiss does not mean play, it means go away. All my dog friends and I have boundaries, and we help teach each other what's out of line through simple communication. 

Lesson learned!

James: But you dogs stay in the moment. You don't hold on to the uncomfortable moment, you let it go. That makes confrontation easier for you. You live in the moment, so there are never hard feelings, grudges, or fear. You move on. Humans on the other hand dwell on the discomfort, nurture it, punish themselves with it, and then what was once simple communication turns into an ordeal and ends up on the internet, where it becomes viral for all to see and comment on.

Next day.

Sundance: I'm so glad I'm a dog. What should people do to make human-puppies that know dog language? 


James: One solution that was brilliantly recommended to me was to conduct puppy-human/puppy classes. A sort of human-kinder-canine course for children. Since parents either weren't taught themselves or are too busy to recognize when a child may be a bit rough with a puppy or adult dog, you and I can offer some assistance and consultation.  

Alexia, Sundance and infant