Episode 59: My Biggest Pet Peeve With Dog Ownership
Owners leaning into compulsive behaviour because it suits them, while the fallout lands entirely on the dog. One of the better indicators of good welfare is behavioural diversity — a wide range of behaviours. A very narrow range indicates the opposite. So a dog who can only play fetch is not a dog with a hobby. In this episode I get into what the compulsion is actually doing. Often it is escapism — the world is too much, so the dog finds one predictable, endorphin-rich thing to focus on in order to cope with being there. That is tolerating a place rather than being in it. I also take on the working dog defence, because working dogs were bred to think and problem solve, not to chase mindlessly. And I cover the physical bill, the social cost, and why compulsion and antisocial behaviour so often travel together. Then the part I most want people to hear — why a dog still doing the activity is terrible evidence that they are not in pain, and how owners can accidentally make an injury worse. Plus what to do instead, including why your dog is not bad at sniffing, they just have not been taught.