12/01/2026
Totally agree. 🐾❤
We live in a world built almost entirely for human convenience, and somewhere along the way, we began expecting dogs to adapt to it flawlessly, often at the expense of their nature.
A dog’s natural responses,barking, guarding, reacting to unfamiliar people or environments, needing space, expressing fear or excitement are increasingly labeled as problems.
We call them “bad behaviour,” “reactivity,” or “aggression,” when in reality many of these responses are rooted in instinct, communication, and survival.
Dogs evolved to read their world through scent, movement, and energy, not busy streets, pubs,or constant exposure to strangers reaching for them without consent.
Modern society asks dogs to be quiet in crowded cities, "ok" in overwhelming environments, friendly on demand, calm despite constant stimulation, and tolerant of situations we ourselves would find stressful.
We ask them to suppress their warning signs so we can feel comfortable, then act surprised when something goes wrong.
A growl becomes unacceptable. A bark is disruptive. A retreat is seen as defiance. Yet these are the very tools dogs use to communicate discomfort long before escalation.
The truth is, many dogs aren’t “misbehaving.” They’re responding honestly to a world that rarely listens.
Our bias shows up in subtle ways. We value dogs most when they fit an ideal: social, quiet, obedient, and endlessly adaptable.
We praise the dog who tolerates everything and shame the one who sets boundaries. But if we reframe the question, from “How do we make dogs fit our world?” to “How do we make space for dogs within it?”, the conversation changes.
Reevaluating our bias means acknowledging that discomfort is not disobedience. That communication is not a flaw. That a dog’s reaction can be a reflection of the situation we’ve placed them in, not a failure of training or temperament.
It means respecting their limits, advocating for their needs, and resisting the urge to humanise them only when it’s convenient.
Living alongside dogs responsibly doesn’t mean erasing who they are. It means meeting them with humility, curiosity, and empathy and recognizing that coexistence requires adjustment on our part too.
If we truly love dogs, we must stop asking them to be less like dogs and start asking ourselves to be more understanding humans.
( Picture of handsome Buckeroo and Jazz, the beautiful welcome I receive when at my friends farrn)
