When Paris Hilton’s chihuahua peered out of the socialite’s Gucci handbag as she walked down Hollywood Boulevard, was the dog thinking of the pampering to come? Or was it pondering what it would be like to roll in some fox poo?
Was Damien Hirst’s dog happy being transported in a Louis Vuitton carrier? Or did a bit of its wolf DNA recall what it was to tear apart deer on the Arctic tundra — a predator its owner would consider worthy of cutting in half and pickling in formaldehyde?
Dog experts have argued that too often we treat our animals like human babies, and their mental health may be suffering.
“Are we smothering our dogs with love? Yes, without a doubt,” said Jessica Pierce, a Colorado bioethicist and author of Who’s a Good Dog? “The dog in the handbag symbolises something bigger: we are treating dogs like babies, and even like toys, and it isn’t good for them. Pet dogs are not really thriving in our midst.
“I don’t question the depths of human love for our dogs, but we can love them abundantly and still not be giving them what they really need to be happy. Our ways of caring for dogs are actually causing them distress. Our love can get misdirected or unmindful if we forget that our dogs are dogs, if we treat them like furry humans.”
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She said that while dogs have evolved to find pleasure in human company, they are not humans and need more freedom. “[They] very much enjoy the chance to chase a deer, scavenge for tasty scraps of garbage or goose poop, and roll in something repulsive.”
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Experts fear there are signs it is getting worse. For £90 you can buy a Maxbone Quilted dog sling in Selfridges. “Let’s face it, that doe-eyed, tail-wagging fluffy pooch is the true leader of your pack, and Maxbone rightfully believes that you should treat them as such,” the luxury department store informs purchasers.
On Doggie and Moggie, a pet accessory website, it is possible for a dog pram to cost more than most human versions. One review, written on behalf of Lulu, a Jack Russell-pug cross, stated: “Lulu say she like very much. Hopped straight in with proud look on her little face.”
But was Selfridges apprised of the ethological research on pack leaders when extolling the virtues of a pink quilted carrier? And had the dog parents of Lulu considered the works of Thomas Nagel before writing their assessment of the pram?
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The philosopher famously asked: what is it like to be a bat? His answer was, we don’t know. We cannot possibly understand the consciousness of another animal that sees the world so differently. While the desires of a dog — especially when it comes to begging for table scraps and sniffing bottoms — might be easier to discern, the point remains.
“Being carried out in a pram or wearing baby slings are things that are very far from dogs’ natural needs and may be either annoying for dogs or not letting them express their natural behaviours,” said Claudia Fugazza, from Eotvos Lorand University’s Department of Ethology in Hungary. “The welfare and needs of dogs should be more taken into account.”
Dr Elena Ratschen, a human-animal interaction researcher at the University of York, said that one difficulty was insufficient research. She said: “We want human-animal interactions and relationships to be mutually beneficial. We want to adopt an interspecies-orientated perspective. But we know very little about the welfare, cognition and behaviour of some species.”
Even if a dog’s mind is something of a mystery — the human one is not, said Daniel Mills, from the University of Lincoln. Through our understanding of the human mind we can understand why we turn dogs into babies — and how damaging it has been that we have succeeded with some species.
Mills said: “The problem isn’t the pram. The problem is we are breeding these dogs that can’t walk or breathe effectively. They have big eyes, childlike features and they are — dog-wise — useless.
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“The way a toddler walks from side to side we find endearing. So we might actually be attracted to the features of a crippled animal.” This helps explain some lap dog breeds, he said. “We are breeding something helpless, something baby-like.”
However he concedes that even as an animal behaviourist, he is not immune to the allure of a pair of wet eyes. “I have a life-size model of a pug. I think: ‘You’re really cute’. And then the next breath, I think: ‘You’re manipulating my mind with your cuteness’.”
