Exercising and Enhancing the Senses - Touch

Touch, like the other senses, has many facets. In this chapter, we consider touch very broadly, so that it includes not just dogs’ physical contact with the world but also their interactions with their physical environment and with other dogs and people.

Dogs touch the world, quite literally, when they walk, run, play, and sniff. Part of our exploration of touch, then, involves physical activity, such as going on walks, romping around a dog park, and riding in a car. Dogs touch noses when they say hello, they may touch nose-to-butt to gather information about one another, and they touch us when they rub against our legs or curl up next to us in bed. And, of course, we touch them when we pet, groom, and hug our canine friends.

We know less about the canine sensory experience of touch than we do about their sense of smell or taste. We know little, for example, about how dogs perceive human touch and why some dogs seem to like being touched while others don’t. Does an aversion to touch develop during the socialization process, and what kinds of early experiences might lead dogs to feel uncomfortable rather than soothed by human touch? Why do some dogs simply seem to dislike human hands? In cases where a dog has an aversion to being touched, this needs to be honored, and we should always touch dogs on their terms, not ours. As with human-human touching, consent is important.

Touching often accompanies close encounters between and among dogs, and it’s possible that it can add or detract from the messages that are being shared. We’ve seen a dog slowly walk over to a stressed dog, lie down next to her, and lay a paw over her back as if saying something like “all’s well” or “I’m here, so relax.” On occasion, dogs will groom one another, and often they sleep belly to back, feeling comfortable as they spoon. Touching can also lead to potentially explosive encounters, such as when, for example, one dog roughly puts his feet on the back of another and gets a quick and forceful rebuke. If you watch dogs playing at the park, you can see just how unique each dog is in how they touch other dogs, other people (friends and strangers), and their surroundings.

COLLARS AND LEASHES: THE BALANCE BETWEEN CONTROL AND FREEDOM

We mediate and control access to the physical and social worlds of our dogs quite a bit. We do this by deciding when, where, and for how long dogs get to be outside each day and, perhaps more subtly, by imposing the physical constraints of collars and leashes, which guide the speed and direction of a dog’s movements. These tools of control are often necessary, but we should remain alert to the diverse ways in which they can inhibit a dog’s freedoms and the ways these devices can themselves be harmful. Our goal should be to use these tools to facilitate access to a wide variety of positive physical and social experiences and to allow our dogs as much agency as possible.

Let’s consider collars first, as they make direct contact with a dog’s neck. Many different types are available, and the type of collar makes a difference to a dog. Flat collars are by far the most common. They are what most dogs wear around their necks with ID tags attached. Flat collars can be okay for walking with dogs who never pull and don’t unexpectedly try to chase or bolt when on leash. But it is a rare dog who never jerks or pulls. A dog’s neck is delicate and can be injured by violent jerks on a neck collar and even, presumably, by sustained hard pulling. Most of us have seen dogs straining so hard against their collar in their excitement to move forward that they can hardly breathe and sound a bit like Darth Vader. For this reason, more and more trainers and veterinarians are recommending that a dog be walked or run on a chest harness.

Choke collars and collars with sharp prongs, which are designed to make pulling painful, can also do serious damage if not used with extreme caution and under carefully controlled conditions. Many trainers advise against these types of collars altogether, in part because the risk of injury to dogs is significant. Contrary to popular belief, dogs don’t have really thick skin on their necks, nor does their fur protect them from pressure on the neck. The San Francisco SPCA’s website points out that the skin on a human’s neck is ten to fifteen cells thick, whereas the skin on a dog’s neck is only three to five cells thick. “So,” they write, “if you think wearing a prong collar would hurt, imagine how your dog feels.”1 Along these lines, Dr. Zazie Todd, who runs the Companion Animal Psychology website, notes, “We tend to think that since dogs have fur they must be more protected from these things than us with just our skin. But a dog’s neck is a very sensitive area. If you think about the anatomy of the neck, it contains essential things like the windpipe. Applying pressure to the windpipe is not good for any dog, but can be especially serious in brachycephalic dogs that already struggle to breathe.”2 Prong and choke collars are typically placed on dogs with serious pulling issues. Many dogs will still pull, despite the discomfort, and are at risk of injury to their necks. Chest harnesses that clip in the front are thought to be a better choice for hard-pulling dogs, since dogs generally dislike the sensation of being pulled to one side.

Shock collars that allow a human to administer an electric shock to a dog’s neck from a remote controller are widely considered problematic and are coming under increasing scrutiny by veterinarians, animal protection activists, and trainers. Especially as “e-collars” become increasingly cheaper and more available in pet stores and online, the concern is that dog owners will use these collars without sufficient background in dog training techniques or dog behavior, and so these collars will be used in ill-advised and harmful ways. In the hands of novice users, these collars are very bad news for dogs, though arguably, shock collars are bad news for dogs no matter what. In February 2018, Scotland announced a ban on the use of electric shock collars, citing concerns about the wide availability of these devices and the growing consensus that use of these collars is both ineffective and cruel.3 Scotland joins a growing list of countries — which includes Germany, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Wales, and some states and territories in Australia — where the use of shock collars has been banned. We hope more will follow.

Collars and leashes are usually used together, since most collars can be attached to some sort of leash. One of the compromises dogs make to live in human environments centers on this tether, and to one degree or another, the leash will probably remain an enduring aspect of the human-canine relationship. In fact, leashes may have always been part of this relationship, though we may wistfully long for a previous time when dogs were allowed more freedom to run, and leash laws and ordinances were a thing of the future. In one of the earliest cave engravings depicting dogs, found by archaeologists in a sandstone cliff in the Arabian desert and likely dating back about eight thousand years, a hunter with thirteen dogs holds his bow drawn and ready. Two of the dogs in this engraved image have a thin line running from their neck to the waist of the hunter, representing what appear to be leashes and suggesting that humans trained hunting dogs much earlier than previously thought. Archaeologists aren’t sure whether the thin lines depict an actual rope or leash or are merely symbolic of the bond between hunter and dog.4

Ultimately, a leash is simply a tool, a kind of umbilical cord between human and dog that can be used well or poorly. Used well, it gives dogs access to their world and can be a critically important freedom enhancer. Without leashes, dogs wouldn’t be able to go many places with us. Used poorly, the leash can become a source of severe physical and sensory deprivation and harm. We need to be responsive to what’s happening on both ends of the leash, and a walk should involve ongoing negotiations and mutual tolerance between dog and human. Leash pulling is certainly one of the most frequent points of contention between human and dog, and it may be one reason that many dogs don’t get walked: It can become a real headache for someone to try to walk a dog who constantly tugs and pulls and strains. Walking on a leash is not a natural behavior for a dog, and indeed it goes against their natural instincts to run and explore. This is why we often need to devote considerable time and attention to training dogs how to walk nicely when on lead. This leash training is extremely important for puppies, but even adult dogs who haven’t been properly schooled in polite leash walking can learn to accommodate their human. For their part, humans will be well rewarded for time spent helping their dog understand the how and why of leashes with many happy miles of walking together as a team.

WALKING THE DOG: ON EXERCISE, SHARED TIME, AND POWER STRUGGLES

For humans who live with dogs, walking is both good exercise and a good way to develop and maintain strong social bonds with their canine companion. Yet it can also become a power struggle with negative consequences for both.5 When such a struggle ensues, it’s usually the dog who gets the short end of the leash.

People often want to know how much physical and sensory exercise a dog needs each day, as if one could write a prescription: “Walk dog 30 minutes a day, morning and evening, x 7.” While it’s a good question, unfortunately there’s no gold standard for how much walking a dog needs because this will be different for every dog and at every life stage. Puppies typically need a lot of play and exercise time, but they shouldn’t be walked or run excessively, since their muscles, tendons, and bones are developing. Older dogs still need to stay active, and it’s extremely important for them to get exercise that’s appropriate for them. Of course, as they age, some dogs may need shorter and easier walks, with perhaps even more time for sniffing, and it’s wrong-headed to assume that older dogs don’t have much zest for life or don’t need any walks.

Obviously, dogs need physical exercise, but there are limits. Yes, too much of a good thing can be harmful. We both live in Boulder County, an area with an extremely high census of superathletes. You can see their wiry, sweaty bodies rolling into the coffee shops on weekend mornings, just having completed a swim or a bike ride, followed by a ten- or fifteenmile trail run with their dog. Dogs love to run, and some might enjoy a fifteen-mile run, but our canine companions want to make us happy and will often continue running or hiking well beyond what is comfortable for them. We need to set safe limits and pay close attention to what works for them. There’s no shame if a dog balks at a long hike or run and simply wants to rest. If a dog with their behavior tells us, “Honey, not today. I’m tired,” we should respect this request.

Notwithstanding the overexercised dogs of Boulder’s superathletes, one generalization is safe: Most pet dogs don’t get enough exercise and don’t get to spend adequate time outside of their homes and yards exploring the world. A common figure thrown around by dog trainers is that an hour of exercise in the morning and an hour in the afternoon or evening is a good goal. Yet very few dogs are lucky to get this much walking or running time. A recent survey of dog owners in the United Kingdom, for example, found that, on average every day, 20 percent of dogs are walked for an hour, 43 percent of dogs are walked for thirty-one to fifty-nine minutes, 34 percent are walked for eleven to thirty minutes, and 3 percent are walked ten minutes or less. These percentages only refer to dogs who actually get walked. Believe it or not, the survey found that about ninety-three thousand dogs in Britain are never walked at all, ever.6

However, for many people, sharing your life with a dog means taking some sort of daily walk, and this often becomes a set routine: same time, same place, same route. That said, despite this sense of routine, the walk itself can be many things, and each day it can be something different. There’s always far more going on than simply snapping on a leash and heading out the door. Sometimes we may treat the dog walk as a necessary chore, and sometimes as a chance to get some exercise ourselves. Sometimes we hurry our dog to do their business quickly, and sometimes we let them linger. Sometimes we may walk with our dog, treating the activity as sacred time together and a chance to enjoy each other while enjoying nature. Other times we may only walk for our dog, letting our dog do whatever they want while we daydream, send texts, talk to friends, and are mentally elsewhere.

How we view a dog walk may suggest certain things about how we perceive our relationship with our dog. For instance, consider for a moment these questions: Who is the walk for? Is it for our daily exercise or the dog’s? And what is the walk for? Is it intended to get somewhere, to get out into nature, to poop, to let the dog experience dogness by sniffing wherever they choose? Whatever our perspective, the walk is an arena where the power relations between a dog and their human companion are negotiated. As an example, the tightness of a dog’s leash during a walk may tell us something about that particular human-dog relationship in that moment. A slack leash may indicate that human and dog are walking in harmony, whereas a tight leash may suggest conflicting “agencies,” that is, conflicting ideas about where the walk should go, how quickly they should be moving, and who is leading the way — in other words, who’s controlling whom.

Thomas Fletcher and Louise Platt, two researchers working in the field of animal geography, have recently published an interesting study, “(Just) a Walk with the Dog? Animal Geographies and Negotiating Walking Spaces.”7 They suggest that a dog walk is far more than it first appears: It’s a complex activity in which the personalities of both the dog walker and the dog are brought into play, and where the two are involved in a complex negotiation and even, at times, a power struggle. Walking, Fletcher and Platt write, is both an expression of the human-animal bond and a key activity through which that bond can be either strengthened or potentially weakened.

For their research, Fletcher and Platt conducted in-depth interviews with people in northern England who regularly walk dogs. Most of the dog walkers they interviewed felt a strong commitment to “listen” to their dogs, and they thought that the walk was an opportunity to allow dogs a degree of agency and freedom. Dogs were seen not as objects to be moved around by their owners but as agents and companions in the walk. The walk, including its timing, length, and location, was chosen based on what the respondents felt best suited the needs of the dog. Most of the respondents spoke of the walk as essential for their dog’s health and well-being, and they believed that two walks a day of thirty minutes were sufficient. Although most respondents spoke of the walk as something they were obligated to provide as a part of responsible caregiving, they also viewed walking with their dog as something they wanted to do and enjoyed. As Fletcher and Platt note, this contrasts with the general tone of the literature on dog care, which tends to frame dog walking as an unpleasant chore.

Fletcher and Platt also found that people perceive their dogs to have subjective experiences, to feel emotions, and that the walk is about making dogs happy. “There was widespread belief,” they write, “that dogs are happiest when out in the open, and it is here that they are able to best demonstrate their ‘dogness.’” For example, dog owner Jane spoke about walking her dog, Copper:

One of the biggest joys for us is when one of us stands at one part of the field and the other, and he just runs. And we’ve managed to time him. He does thirty miles an hour. And he looks like a cheetah, he looks like a wild animal. And it just makes your heart, I mean, I feel a physical change in my body when I watch him run, which has never been created by anything else, really.

Again and again in their interviews, Fletcher and Platt found people referring to the individual characteristics of their dog, listening to their dog’s unique preferences, and expressing a commitment to making space for their animal’s agency. This is the ideal we suggest striving for: Treat the walk as a way to help dogs be dogs within the constraints of human environments — to take them to wild places and to give them space to run, sniff, chase, roll, mark, and interact with other dogs and people (or not, as they prefer).

However, just as a walk can be a way for dog and human to share experiences and strengthen their bond, a walk can also be a time of anxiety, stress, power struggles, and unpleasant interaction. Stress can arise between dog and human, which can be expressed through what we might perceive as “bad behavior” on the part of the dog: lunging at other dogs or at people, barking and growling, acting distressed or obnoxious, pulling hard on the leash. When a walk becomes a power struggle, with the dog pulling one way and the human pulling the other, no one really enjoys the experience.

When this happens, our advice is to ease up on the leash and negotiate a peace settlement. Recognize that there may be conflicting agendas, and take some time to reflect on what you want from the walk versus what your dog, through their behavior, is telling you they want. When there is regular conflict, before you head out the door, try to adjust your goals and expectations so that the walk satisfies both of your needs as much as possible. This will help make sure that walking the dog strengthens your bond and gives you both the most enjoyment possible.

UNLEASH YOUR DOG: GIVE AMPLE OFF-LEASH TIME

While leashes can be a meaningful symbol of the human-canine connection — both tethered together, body and soul — leashes are also, in their literal form, one of the most important constraints we place on our dogs’ freedom. The leash restricts a dog’s movement and reach, their pace and speed, to what their human prefers or demands. There are places we don’t want dogs to go, things we don’t want them to touch or bite, and places they shouldn’t dig. The leash is also meant to restrict a dog’s ability to engage in social interactions, whether with other dogs or people. We don’t want to allow dogs free access to others when that encounter might be unwelcome, inconvenient, or otherwise undesired and unasked for.

Thus, off-leash time provides dogs with a rare opportunity — the freedom to explore the world at will, physically, mentally, and socially. We recommend trying to find places where your dog can run free every day on their own terms. If this isn’t possible, make certain days their days and do your best to accommodate their needs.

A prerequisite of giving a dog off-leash time is adequate and appropriate training. Dogs need to know when and how to return to their human to be safely allowed off leash; in some cases, this is a legal requirement. Many of the hiking areas in Boulder County, for example, have “voice-and-sight” regulations: Your dog must come when you call and must always remain within your sight, or else you can be charged a fine and will be given a stern lecture by a ranger. The purpose of voice-and-sight regulations is to balance and accommodate the needs and well-being of everyone who shares the mountains: wildlife, Boulder residents, and other dogs. Despite the fantastic off-leash possibilities near Boulder, we see many dogs who are never unclipped. One of the most common things we both hear is, “Oh, Buddy would love to be able to run free, but I can’t let him. He won’t come back.” A dog’s freedom is directly related to how much time and energy their human is willing to devote to training. It’s unfortunate when a dog is denied the opportunity to be off leash simply because their human is unwilling to dedicate this time.

That said, it’s also the case that some dogs simply have difficulty with recall, no matter how much their human guardians work to improve their recall skills. Some dogs have a very strong prey drive, some have difficulty focusing attention, and some are just downright stubborn (often like their humans). For these dogs, a leash may always be necessary when out in the world. When this is the case, and in general, consider other options to allow off-leash freedom, as well as to increase a dog’s range of choices and thus their own sense of self-determination. For instance, if you have a fenced yard, consider installing a dog door. This is a great enhancement that expands a dog’s environmental milieu. They can choose to relieve themselves on their own schedule instead of having to wait to be let out, and they can be outside, breathe fresh air, and watch and listen for other animals.

Another opportunity for off-leash time, of course, is the dog park. Dog parks can be great places for dogs. Dogs can run free, interact with other dogs and humans, and play. Dog parks are the fastest-growing part of city parks.8 In 2010, there were 569 off-leash dog parks in the hundred largest US cities, a 34 percent jump in five years, while overall parks increased only 3 percent.9 Some dog parks also are making accommodations for special-needs individuals, and some cities are offering places for dogs and humans to interact that are in between homes and dog parks.10

Like so many other things, the appropriateness of a dog park depends on the dog, the park, the humans who frequent it, and all of these combined. Dog parks can be very stressful for some dogs, and each dog park develops its own personality, one defined by its particular population, much like human neighborhoods. Plus, some dogs find dog parks overstimulating or scary, so listen to your dog. Bella doesn’t really like the dog park unless it is empty, in which case she enjoys sniffing here and there. Jethro loved dog parks and loved everyone he met there, human and nonhuman. Maya likes to go into the park, but there is one dog she dislikes in her neighborhood and who shares her feelings. They have come very close to getting in a fight, so Jessica doesn’t take Maya into the park if “the enemy” is there. As with so many other topics, listen to and get to know your dog, and then honor their likes, dislikes, and choices.

Dogs are highly social, group-living animals, yet they’re rarely allowed to engage in group activities (like play) that aren’t contrived and controlled, since their social interactions are often constrained by leashes, fences, and humans. As such, it’s difficult to know the importance of giving individual dogs the opportunity to interact with groups of other dogs, particularly groups that are stable over time.

At least at dog parks, dogs get to interact with groups of dogs, though often these are not stable groups, since on any given day, you don’t know who will show up or if new dogs might arrive. Indeed, sometimes people are hesitant to allow their dog to romp and zoom around with dogs they don’t know. However, dogs can learn lessons about social etiquette by interacting with strange dogs, just like we can. When these sorts of interactions aren’t allowed, a dog might miss out on meeting some important behavioral needs. More research in this area would surely be of interest, and it could have important practical applications that could benefit dog-dog and dog-human relationships.

An example of research that bears on the social dynamics of groups of unleashed dogs is a study conducted by Zsuzza Akos and her colleagues, who observed a group of six dogs belonging to the same household as they went on unleashed walks with their owner. The question the researchers wanted to explore was how a group of dogs decide the direction of their collective movements: Is there a leader, and how is this leader chosen, or is decision-making egalitarian? Researchers watched “leader-follower” relations and decision-making and tried to determine how each dog’s position in a social hierarchy was based on developed social networks and personality differences in the dogs. These social interactions took place during off-leash walking, and the study would not have been possible, or would have been significantly influenced, by the presence of leashes. The researchers write, “Groups that are not able to coordinate their actions and cannot reach a consensus on important events, such as where to go, will destabilise, and individuals will lose the benefits of being part of a group.”11 Because leashes significantly impact group dynamics, further research involving groups of off-leash dogs (outside of dog parks) may help us better understand canine social dynamics.

Finally, we feel there is a desperate need for more research on the topics of leashes, off-leash time, and dog walking. We know that leashes influence dog-human and dog-dog social dynamics. But we don’t know all that much about how and why. For instance, many people report that their otherwise amiable dog gets aggressive or unfriendly toward other dogs when on a leash. Several books have been written on what is called “leash reactivity,” and leash reactivity has even become a category of behavioral diagnosis for dogs. But we don’t have a good handle on why leashes trigger this behavior in some dogs and not others, nor about a whole range of other possible ways in which being tethered influences how dogs feel and how they behave.

NURTURE YOUR DOG’S FRIENDSHIPS

One reason dogs like to go to dog parks is to touch, see, and sniff friends or to meet other dogs who might become future friends. This is a wonderful enhancement we can offer them. One activity that dogs love is play. In addition to freedom, play requires two other important ingredients, namely, fun and friends. And dog parks are a good place for dogs to have all three. Dogs show preferences for certain individuals. Marc knew two dogs — Sadie, a small hairy mix of lots of different genes, and Roxy, a lean boxer mix — who were best friends. When Sadie arrived at the dog park, she immediately peed and then checked out who was there by lifting her head and sniffing, and then almost invariably she ran back to the entrance to wait for Roxy, who, if she was already at the dog park, raced up to Sadie around 95 percent of the time (according to Roxy and Sadie’s humans). Then they would play as if they were the only two dogs in the world.

However, an interesting thing happened on the days when Roxy didn’t show. Sadie would pace along the fence line and look around, clearly wondering where Roxy was, even as other dogs came up to say hello and ask her to play. Sadie usually paced for around twenty seconds or so, which is all the time she needed to establish that Roxy was absent. At that point, Sadie went off and found other dogs to play with.

How did Sadie know so quickly that Roxy wasn’t there? We have no idea, but when Sadie chose to give up waiting and go find other friends with whom to romp, she was correct 99 percent of the time; Roxy wasn’t coming. Is it safe to say that Sadie and Roxy were friends, and that they preferred to hang out and play together? Yes, it is, and their humans agreed. Using her senses, and perhaps even a sense of time, Sadie displayed an uncanny knack for identifying Roxy’s presence or absence. And if Roxy was missing, did Sadie ever let her freedom in the dog park go to waste? Never. What dog would ever do that? She simply went off to find other dogs, familiar or unfamiliar, with whom to romp.

Playing with friends is a lot of fun because friends know one another’s personality and play style and can jump right in without having to formally ask if they want to play or to negotiate the details. When old friends aren’t present, dog parks allow dogs to make new friends and expand their social circle. A few years ago, Marc was thrilled when Alexandra Weber, an eighth grader at a Boulder middle school, emailed him to ask if he would help her with a science fair project on play in dogs. After enlisting her mother, Lisa, and her younger sister, Sophia, to become her field assistants, Alexandra and Marc decided to focus on the question of whether familiar dogs play differently than unfamiliar dogs. Alexandra thought that simple question had been studied extensively, but it hasn’t. There are tidbits of ideas scattered about in the research, but no one has really studied this question in depth. Concerning this topic, dog trainer Patricia McConnell had previously written, “My observations suggest that dogs who are less familiar tend to play bow more to each other than familiar dogs do.”12 This might be because they must tell the unfamiliar dog what they want to do, since they don’t know one another’s style of playing and it could be risky to jump right in. However, we don’t know if that really is so.

In Alexandra’s study, which is an excellent example of citizen science, she used her two dogs — Tinkerbell, a highly social dog who loves to play with any dog, and Huggins, who is pickier about his playmates — as confederates in her study, which she conducted at a local dog park in Boulder. Alexandra discovered that play was more rough-and-tumble when familiar dogs played. When they knew the dog with whom they were playing, dogs weren’t as worried about formalities, and they jumped right into play. All dogs in the study showed similar behavior. Overall, dogs who knew one another played more roughly and didn’t take the time to sniff and greet one another. Dogs who didn’t know one another were more formal and respectful. They took the time to get to know one another before starting to play by sniffing and nose bumping more than they did with familiar playmates.

Obviously, this question needs further research, but Marc was proud that Alexandra and her family became ethologists to help answer it, and her father also became much more interested in dogs. To top off her efforts, Alexandra won a science fair award for her research.

KNOW YOUR DOG’S PETTING PREFERENCES

You may not sit around thinking about what it means to have a pet dog. But the origin of the term pet captures something important about the human relationship to companion animals. The word pet, first recorded in 1508, is from the Middle English pety, meaning small. The term has been applied to both nonhuman animals and women and can mean (as a verb) “to stroke or pat affectionately” or (as a noun) “something one feels affection for” and “an animal kept in the domestic setting whose function is personal companionship or entertainment.” Although the word may have insulting connotations, it also points to one of the positive components of our relationship with dogs: the physical touch that brings us together and forms the glue in the human-animal bond.

You don’t have to be a scientist to know that many, if not most, dogs like to be petted. There is a scientific explanation for the positive role of touch in our human-animal friendships. The importance of touch has been well established for decades, beginning with Harry Harlow’s famous (and famously horrifying) studies on infant rhesus monkeys. Monkeys who were raised on wire “mothers” suffered deep psychological trauma because of the lack of maternal touch. Touch is essential to normal mental and emotional development, not just for human babies but for all mammals (and perhaps other animals as well). Touch feels good. It can reduce blood pressure, lower cortisol levels, lower heart rate, and increase levels of oxytocin in humans and dogs alike.

Hairy-skinned mammals (which includes humans and dogs, among others) have a group of sensory neurons called C-tactile afferents. Gentle stroking of these neurons stimulates the release of oxytocin, often called the “love hormone” because it is associated with feelings of trust and affection in mammals. These neurons don’t respond to rough touching, pinching, or poking. Petting feels good to both parties, the one who pets and the one being petted. What quality and quantity of touch feels good varies from one individual to the next, and different dogs have different thresholds for when and what kind of petting feels good and for when petting begins to feel invasive and uncomfortable.

Some dogs simply don’t like being touched, while some don’t like being touched by strangers or certain types of people. Such dogs are often labeled as “cranky,” “mean,” or “standoffish,” but this isn’t fair. These dogs may have good reasons for not liking to be touched, such as having had negative experiences with rough touching or physical punishment, or this may just be who they are. We should respect their desires, either way.

Sometimes dogs who have always enjoyed physical contact will withdraw. This can be because they’re in pain and being touched doesn’t feel good. It can also be a sign of anxiety or stress. A noticeable change in a dog’s tolerance for touch should prompt a visit to the veterinarian to make sure everything is okay.

Touch should always happen on the dog’s terms and with the dog’s consent. We need to practice reading a dog’s body language for cues about consent and about when, where, and how they want to be touched. For example, if a dog moves away from you or their body stiffens, this is a good sign they do not want to be touched. The better we understand the behavioral repertoire of dogs in general, and our own dog in particular, the more we will be able to respect their choices. To this end, closely observe some interactions between your dog and new people (and even make an ethogram) and watch for signals the dog gives about their interest in meeting and being touched by an unfamiliar person. What do you see happening to the tail, the ears, the eyes, the facial expression, and the position of the body?

The language of “personal space” is often used to teach children about respecting other people and to explain why it is rude and intrusive to touch other people or even get extremely close without first asking permission. Personal space is a term developed by anthropologists, and according to the English Oxford Living Dictionary, it is defined as the “physical space immediately surrounding someone, into which encroachment can feel threatening or uncomfortable.” The study of personal space is called “proxemics,” and researchers in this area have found that the amygdala is largely responsible for determining how much personal space an animal needs and why invasion of the space activates a fear response.13 We can use the same basic principle to guide interactions with dogs: Don’t touch without consent, and don’t enter personal space without asking first. What constitutes “personal space” will vary from one dog to another.

It’s worth noting that personal space is a two-way street, and dogs don’t always respect our individual human boundaries. For example, some people are uncomfortable when a dog (especially an unknown dog) jumps on them or rubs all over their legs, and at times dogs will ignore human signals. The human-animal bond can suffer when preferences related to personal space differ, such as when a very touchy-feely dog is adopted by a human who doesn’t like touch, or when a standoffish dog is adopted by a human who wants constant physical contact. Keep this in mind when adopting a dog: Consider your own needs for personal space and those exhibited by the dog. Naturally, some give and take will always be necessary.

SIGNS OF AFFECTION: HUGGING AND LICKING

Our love for dogs often gets expressed in hugging, and dogs often return that affection by licking. These two intimate gestures translate our feelings of emotional closeness into physical closeness. Many dogs are hug magnets, and children seem particularly drawn to throw their arms around the furry neck or torso of a dog.

That said, as with petting, remember that some dogs find hugging uncomfortable, even frightening, and all dogs might have moments when they do not want to be hugged. Since hugging requires even more closeness than petting, an unexpected hug might make a dog nervous, and they may respond by snapping or even biting. Again, hugging is usually okay if it’s done on the dog’s terms, and the best advice is to err on the side of caution: When or if you’re unsure, don’t hug. As always, pay close attention to the personality of the dog. Understand their preferences and signals of consent.

Of course, dogs can’t hug us in the same way, though they can certainly climb into our laps, lean in, and snuggle close. They also probably lick as a sign of affection, and being licked vigorously by a loving dog is a source of (sticky) joy. But here again, not all people like being licked, and dogs may not always lick to express emotion. It’s also possible a dog will lick to use taste to get information about what we’ve recently eaten or who we’ve kissed.

WHISKERS ARE SENSATIONAL

Dog whiskers are undeniably cute, but they’re not simply cosmetic. Whiskers, or vibrissae (from the Latin vibrare, “to vibrate”) as they are technically known, are specialized hairs that help mammals interact with others and with their environment. Whiskers are different from pelage hair. Pelage is the hairy, woolly, or furry coat of a mammal, which serves its own important functions: It insulates, conceals, signals, and protects. Whiskers are longer, thicker, and stiffer, and they are exquisitely sensitive to touch. Each vibrissae follicle is distinctly represented in the sensory cortex of the brain, and each follicle has its own blood and nerve supply. In dogs and some other mammals, vibrissae are localized to the facial region, but some animals have vibrissae on other parts of their body, such as the forearms. Dogs have four sets of vibrissae: on their upper lips, their lower lips and chins, above the eyes, and on their cheeks. Take a moment right now to get a good look at your dog’s whiskers and find the four different sets.

Vibrissae are an important part of the sensory apparatus for nearly all mammals, with the notable exception of the naked ape (that’s us). Because we don’t have whiskers, we may underestimate their importance to other mammals. These delicate sensory tools help wild mammals sense danger, find food, and navigate their environment, particularly during times of low light. Whiskers also pay a role in the social behavior of some species, such as rats. We don’t know how whiskers function in the social lives of dogs, but it is likely that they play some role.

Research conducted in the 1970s on tactile sensation in rats, mice, and cats established the central role of whiskers. One classic study, for instance, involved removing the whiskers of rats and measuring performance in a maze test. Not surprisingly, rats deprived of whiskers had more difficulty completing a maze than rats with intact vibrissae. In fact, the deprivation of whiskers was found to be more significant than the deprivation of smell, hearing, or vision, which also makes clear just how cruel these vibrissae-removal experiments were. Although whiskers seem to be less critical to dogs than to rats, they’re still an important part of a dog’s sensory interaction with the world.

Dog groomers will often trim whiskers, if not specifically asked to leave them intact. Dogs used for show will often have their whiskers trimmed to achieve “clean lines” on the face, but the American Kennel Club discourages whisker trimming in most breeds. They recognize that whiskers serve important functions and, as in the case of the Pekingese, “add to the desired expression.”14 Because vibrissae are made of keratin, like pelagic (dense) hair, cutting them isn’t physically painful to a dog, though plucking them is. Nonetheless, trimming the whiskers removes or blunts an important sensory modality for dogs. Hopefully, breed and grooming standards will continue to evolve to embrace the beauty and functionality of dog whiskers.

DOGS DIG TOGETHER TIME

By “together time,” we mean the quality time that you and your dog spend together each day. Together time isn’t just about petting your dog, but it refers more generally to all forms of social, emotional, and physical closeness. “Together time” is one of the most important enhancements in our book because what dogs most need from us is us, and that’s the one thing many dogs don’t get enough of. As with children, dogs enjoy new toys and special treats and a fancy new bed, but these aren’t what they really care about. What they really crave is the company of their human companions.

Dogs are social animals, and they form strong attachments to their humans. Indeed, selection pressures on domestic dogs have favored the “hypersociability” gene. Dogs don’t just tolerate human presence; they actively seek it out. It’s safe to say that companion dogs need social closeness with humans, and deprivation of this social contact poses wellbeing concerns.

The UK government recently appointed a Minister of Loneliness to address the growing crisis of loneliness among the human population of the island nation.15 We could very well also use a Minister of Loneliness for the pet dogs in the world. While Britain has data on the scope of its human loneliness problem — more than nine million people often or always feel lonely, according to studies done by the health ministry — we don’t have good research on the problem of loneliness in companion dogs. But more and more veterinarians and trainers are starting to talk about canine welfare problems associated with social isolation and are connecting the dots between loneliness and growing numbers of behavioral and psychological disorders among pet dogs.

Millions of dogs are left home alone for long periods of time. Some are lucky enough to have access to the full house and a fenced yard through a dog door. Many others are locked in a kennel or basement or bathroom while their owner is gone, presumably to protect the house from destructive behaviors. A survey of UK dog owners found that more than a quarter of dog owners believe it is okay to leave a dog at home for over five hours a day.16 Many dogs are stressed when left alone. Levels of cortisol in the blood increase, and they sometimes spike the entire time the dog is alone. Dogs may resort to obsessive barking or to destructive behaviors such as digging the carpet, chewing the couch, or destuffing all the pillows on the bed, the very behaviors that can lead owners to lock a dog in a kennel or garage, which further fuels a dog’s anxiety.

How much alone time is okay for a dog? Nobody really knows, and surely it depends on the individual dog. Although behaviorists and veterinarians don’t agree on a single figure, there is loose consensus that about four hours alone is a comfortable range for an adult dog. Puppies should only be left for shorter periods, and not longer than they can hold their bladder. Many people wonder whether dogs know the difference between being left alone for ten minutes and four hours, since dogs don’t exactly watch the hands of the clock turn. Anecdotally, people report that their dogs seem more excited and offer a more enthusiastic greeting after a longer absence. Backing this up is a study conducted by Therese Rehn and Linda Keeling, in which they observed a small group of privately owned dogs and videotaped what the dogs did before, during, and after a thirty-minute, two-hour, and four-hour separation. They found that dogs tended to offer more intense greeting behaviors, with a higher frequency of physical activity and attention behavior, after the longer separations. As they note, their study doesn’t confirm whether dogs distinguish between thirty minutes and four hours, but it confirms that dogs are affected by the duration of their time alone.17

The surest cure for loneliness and social isolation is, of course, togetherness. To increase this, look for ways to include your dog in your activities — such as bringing your dog along when running errands or attending a child’s soccer game — and build the structure of each day so that periods of isolation are broken up by together time. People sometimes complain that their lives are ruled by their dog — it’s harder to go on trips, make social plans, or even get necessary work done because they have to be home to “let the dog out.” Exactly. That’s the reality of living with a dog, and that’s why dog ownership is not right for everybody.

We also must think about the signals we send our dog. A dog trainer friend of Jessica’s told her about a family who had hired him to help with a behaviorally challenged dog. The dog would cry and scratch in his downstairs kennel all night, while the family was upstairs trying to sleep through the disturbance. The trainer observed that the family and the dog spent the evenings before bed together in the living room and kitchen, playing games and watching TV. The dog was very much part of the activity and given a lot of attention. As the family got ready for bed, they gave the dog extra love and petting, and then they escorted him to the kennel, where he would spend the night separate from everyone else. The dog was being given very mixed signals; he was part of the family pack until, suddenly, he wasn’t. In this case, the trainer recommended letting the dog sleep upstairs with the family. They did, and the dog was much happier, and everyone was finally able to get a good night’s sleep.

Sometimes people try to address the problem of a lonely dog by bringing home a second dog so that the dogs have company even when their human is gone. This can be helpful for many dogs, and in the best cases, two or more dogs living in the same home will become best friends and add much enjoyment and enrichment to one another’s lives. But adding a second dog is not a surefire cure for loneliness. The social bond between dog and human is unique; the human fills a role that cannot be filled by another dog. Studies suggest, for example, that separation anxiety is generally no better in dogs left with another dog than in those left alone. Other research shows that human social contact provides more comfort to a socially isolated dog than one of the dog’s own siblings.18 So, if you are gone for long hours each day, adding a second dog to your home may simply result in having two lonely dogs rather than one. Furthermore, multiple-dog households have their own challenges. A new dog will change the social dynamics of the family, often in ways that make things more difficult rather than easier. Dog-dog aggression can be a serious problem and can sometimes lead to untenable situations, where one dog will wind up needing to be rehomed.

DOGS ALSO NEED ALONE TIME

If you have a dog with separation anxiety, this enhancement might make you chuckle (or perhaps cry). But just like people, dogs may want to have some time to themselves. This is particularly the case in homes with children or with a lot of activity and stimulation. It is important for every dog to have a “safe zone” — a place the dog can retreat to and be allowed not to interact or be touched. Mishka, a somewhat zaftig husky with whom Marc shared his home, loved to nestle in a corner behind a bed when she’d had enough of her humans. She made it clear what she was doing, and there was only room for her. When she was ready to interact, she’d have to back out of her husky cave, which she did with impressive agility. Some people provide their dog with a crate or kennel — with the door always open — which is designated “dog property” and off-limits to children and other humans in the house.

by Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce.

Note

1. San Francisco SPCA, “Prong Collar Myths and Facts,” accessed September 7, 2018, https://www.sfspca.org/prong/myths.

2. Zazie Todd, “What Is Positive Punishment in Dog Training?” Companion Animal Psychology (blog), October 25, 2017, https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2017/10/what-is-positive-punishment-in-dog.html.

3. Laura Goldman, “Cruel Shock Collars Are Now Banned in Scotland, But Still Not in the US,” Care2.com, February 27, 2018, https://www.care2.com/causes/cruel-shock-collars-now-banned-in-scotland-but-still-not-in-the-us.html.

4. David Grimm, “These May Be the World’s First Images of Dogs— and They’re Wearing Leashes,” Science, November 16, 2017, http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/11/these-may-be-world-s-first-images-dogs-and-they-re-wearing-leashes.

5. Jessica Pierce, “Not Just Walking the Dog,” All Dogs Go to Heaven (blog), Psychology Today, March 16, 2017, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/all-dogs-go-heaven/201703/not-just-walking-the-dog.

6. PDSA Animal Wellbeing PAWS Report 2017, page 11, https://www.pdsa.org.uk/media/3290/pdsa-paw-report-2017_online-3.pdf.

7. Thomas Fletcher and Louise Platt, “(Just) a Walk with the Dog? Animal Geographies and Negotiating Walking Spaces,” Social and Cultural Geography (2018), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14649365.2016.1274047.

8. See “Dog Parks Lead Growth in U.S. City Parks,” Trust for Public Land, April 15, 2015, https://www.tpl.org/media-room/dog-parks-lead-growth-us-city-parks; and “2014 City Park Facts,” 2014, Trust for Public Land, https://www.tpl.org/2014-city-park-facts. This website contains numerous details about many different aspects of urban parks.

9. Information on the history of dog parks can be found in Laurel Allen, “Dog Parks: Benefits and Liabilities,” Master’s capstone project, University of Pennsylvania, May 29, 2007, http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=mes_capstones; and Haya El Nasser, “Fastest-Growing Urban Parks Are for the Dogs,” USA Today, December 8, 2011, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-12-07/dog-parks/51715340/1.

10. See Samantha Bartram, “All Dogs Allowed,” Parks and Recreation, National Recreation and Park Association, January 1, 2014, https://www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2014/january/all-dogs-allowed; and F. Gaunet, E. Pari-Perrin, and G. Bernardin,

“Description of Dogs and Owners in Outdoor Built-Up Areas and Their More-Than-Human Issues,” Environmental Management 54, no. 3 (2014): 383–401, doi: 10.1007/s00267-014-0297-8.

11. Zsuzsa Akos et al., “Leadership and Path Characteristics during Walks Are Linked to Dominance Order and Individual Traits in Dogs,” PLOS Computational Biology 10, no. 1 (2014): e1003446, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003446.

12. Patricia McConnell, “A New Look at Play Bows,” The Other End of the Leash (blog), March 28, 2016, http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/a-new-look-at-play-bows.

13. See Edward T. Hall, The Hidden Dimension (New York: Anchor Books, 1986), which is a classic work on personal space and proxemics.

14. See “Pekingese,” CyberPet, accessed September 8, 2018, http://www.cyberpet.com/dogs/pekingese.htm.

15. Ceylan Yeginsu, “U.K. Appoints a Minister for Loneliness” New York Times, January 17, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/world/europe/uk-britain-loneliness.html.

16. “Number of Hours Pet Dogs Left Alone in the House in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2013,” Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/299859/dogs-hours-left-alone-in-the-united-kingdom-uk.

17. Therese Rehn and Linda J. Keeling, “The Effect of Time Left Alone at Home on Dog Welfare,” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 129 (2011): 129–35.

18. David S. Tuber et al., “Behavioral and Glucocorticoid Responses of Adult Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris) to Companionship and Social Separation,” Journal of Comparative Psychology 110 (1996): 103–8, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/michael_hennessy5/publication/14352984_behavioral_and_glucocorticoid_responses_of_adult_domestic_dogs_canis_familiaris_to_companionship_and_social_separation.