Pony pooches
Why are they so darned cute?
Ben Poggemiller. Staff
How much love can a dog handle? Most dog owners would say there is no limit. After all, dogs are part of the family now, almost as beloved as children. Dogs have also been imbued with human emotions and feelings as if they were exactly like children. Small dogs in particular are spoiled and treated as small children. Owners can now be found carting their dogs to flyball practice or a playgroup. Is this a good thing?
Out of the Doghouse is a free-membership playgroup, started in spring 2007 by Renee Morin, in which miniscule canines can get together and have a good time. Why is there a group just for small dogs? Off-leash parks are too dangerous and, as Morin said while stroking her schnoodle Chloe, “It wouldn’t take much for a big dog to hurt a little dog.”
“People who own small dogs are also different than people who own larger dogs. The small dogs tend to be a bit more babied and coddled,” she added. This proves to be true when observing dozens of small dogs and their owners. On dogs’ cognitive capability, Morin said, “they learn to read our signs and body language more than our actual vocabulary.” She added, “Dogs are like children. They can understand you, they know what you want and sometimes they’ll do it and sometimes they won’t.”
It’s hard to argue against child-like behaviour in dogs, since many dogs simply behave like children. Dogs that have recently been introduced to Out of the Doghouse are timid and hide behind their owners’ legs, much like a toddler. After a few exposures to the group, however, they start come out of their shell and socialize more. J.J. Armour had such an experience with her shitzu-poodle. “He was very leery, and didn’t want to interact with the other dogs, so we came two or three times and he finally found a dog that he liked.” It sounds like the first few days of kindergarten.
Morin’s dog Chloe had a birthday party and there’s an upcoming Halloween party, too. The group also supports the pet community: they were the top fundraising team at Paws in Motion this year. Calli, a mixed poodle owned by Kathy Miller, is a certified search and rescue dog. “But she doesn’t go into any burning buildings and pull out any dead bodies,” Miller said. Out of the Doghouse is a wholesome environment and breeding is not allowed. So ladies can’t come while they’re in heat and gentlemen can leave their pheromones at the door.
The owners feel there is a special bond between themselves and their dogs; that a certain understanding exists between them. This is true to an extent. According to a study in Science Magazine, dogs are more skilled at reading human communications than most other animals, including primates. On this note, writes journalist Jon Katz, “It’s disturbingly common to hear [women] say their dogs understand their moods better than their boyfriends.” They might not be far off, however, since the primates scored quite poorly. Dogs were also tested against wolves that were raised by humans, and even the dog puppies, who have limited human contact, proved superior. This is a testament to the human creation of the domesticated dog.
“Dogs are the world’s longest self-serving, ecologically reckless genetic experiment, perpetrated by the world’s first genetically engineering species: us,” claims Katz. “We made small dogs,” as Renee Morin more delicately puts it. But just because we created them, it doesn’t mean that we don’t love them and don’t take care of them. Dogs need affection and no longer have the survival instincts of their wild counterparts, the wolves. But it remains a mystery as to how smart dogs really are. Do they have as many emotions and thoughts as we perceive they do? Probably not, but it is fun to think they do. It’s difficult to knock a fun-loving group of good-hearted people like Out of the Doghouse just because they love their dogs more than most other people. After all, we made dogs to be loved. Plus they are incredibly cute. How much love can a dog handle? For genetic and psychological reasons, as much as we want them to.
