Dog Community

Cultural Differences

Posted : 2/19/2007 4:08:22 PM

CM often talks about the problems that "dogs from USA" have, in his book he says that he never saw that amount of problems untill he came to this country, of course if you have never live outside USA would be a little bit difficult to make a comparision

I think that in USA people has the economic level to give more and that includes pets, i'm talking about toys, kennels, better and more expensive food, doggy beds, doggy steps, etc. In USA there is more chance to be "spoiled". Some of those things make dog's life more balanced and some others are just "extras"

In another countries dogs are seeing as dogs and not as little children, which maybe thats one of the main reasons.

Also the mentality about life in general has to do with the problem, i feel in USA people come home and give extra affection after all the problems they face at work, like some kind of "therapy" to help themselves be more relax; in another countries however people have this kind of "come on, suck it up and tomorrow will be a better day" kind of view about life, which could prevent them from come home and have this need of "feel loved" by someone. That does not make those people in another countries heartless towards their pets but they dont have the need of "spoil the only one they have in my life" because that "makes me feel better"------right there is the difference between spoiling dogs when you get home and just give affection when the owner is ready to give it. They both love their pets but is the amount of affection and for the right situation is what also makes a difference

Discipline is also a factor here, a lot of people in USA let their dogs do whatever they want which is really rare outside the country, people in another countries know that dogs need discipline, boundries and limitations in some way

What confuses me is that outside USA i havent seen a lot of owners walking their dogs, which makes me wonder about the excersice part of the equation, why the dogs out there seem more balanced if they dont walk that much?

Of course not every dog is balanced outside USA and not every dog is spoiled inside USA, i have a couple friends that do not live in this country that have dog's problems, but like i said in the beginning, the amount of dogs with problems are significantly more in USA that in another countries

ETA 3/19/2007: This is NOT an USA vs The World thread, this is my personal experience and i would like you to help me to expand it a little bit more by sharing what do you see out there on the streets []

jenhuedepohl

Posted : 2/19/2007 4:19:51 PM

The idea that pets are furry little people has really harmed dogs. Don't get me wrong, dogs deserve all of the love and respect we can possibly give them. But people are kept from realizing that dogs have different NEEDS than people and the dogs needs are getting ignored. We think that if we give our dogs what WE want that they'll be happy but it doesn't work that way!

I think part of it is also socialization. It's really hard to take your dog all over the place with you in the US. Most stores, restaurants, offices & government buildings don't allow dogs. Dogs get stuck at home where they are not socialized, then when you do get the chance to take them somewhere they are so nuts that you CAN'T take them to those places.

Dave Hill

Posted : 2/19/2007 5:15:45 PM

I think there's a lot of truth to this argument. We are the country that invented "restless leg syndrome" afterall. I've often thought we'd have fewer physical and psychological maladies in this country if resources weren't quite as available. Our dogs can't be much different in that respect.

sillysally

Posted : 2/19/2007 5:26:06 PM

ORIGINAL: silverserpher

I think there's a lot of truth to this argument. We are the country that invented "restless leg syndrome" afterall. I've often thought we'd have fewer physical and psychological maladies in this country if resources weren't quite as available. Our dogs can't be much different in that respect.

That is actually a physical condition-just because it sounds silly does not mean it does not exist. My grandmother had it for years-it was quite miserable for her.

I think a lot of it is guilt on the part of the owner. They are gone 10, 11 12 hours out of the day and so they feel bad about disiplining the dogs.

I actually think many cases of aggression are much more of a big deal now then they used to be. I was bitten sveral times by my uncles dachshund as a child. Nobody called a behaviorist, they just told me to leave the dog alone. I was biten in the face by a GSD at age 7 and got 21 stitches in the face and nobody sued the owners--they just made sure the dog had it's shots and after I was patched up I got the "How many times have I told you NOT to put your face near strange dogs" talking to.

Deb

Posted : 2/19/2007 5:41:15 PM

I think a lot of it is guilt on the part of the owner. They are gone 10, 11 12 hours out of the day and so they feel bad about disiplining the dogs.

I think this is true with kids as well...

Seriously, I am a strident feminist, but this economy really puts the screws to families. Someone's got to be able to raise the kids, but nobody can afford to! Alas, kids are no better at taking care of themselves and learning how to be a part of society than puppies and dogs are.

Americans are put in a position where they have to work too much.

espencer

Posted : 2/19/2007 5:52:06 PM

ORIGINAL: fisher6000

I think a lot of it is guilt on the part of the owner. They are gone 10, 11 12 hours out of the day and so they feel bad about disiplining the dogs.

I think this is true with kids as well...

Seriously, I am a strident feminist, but this economy really puts the screws to families. Someone's got to be able to raise the kids, but nobody can afford to! Alas, kids are no better at taking care of themselves and learning how to be a part of society than puppies and dogs are.

Americans are put in a position where they have to work too much.

Well i used to work 14 hours a day with only one day off and one week vacation and i was not in USA, i dont think is the time you spend out as much as what do you do when you come back

snownose

Posted : 2/19/2007 5:52:44 PM

What about the concept of not having kids until one can afford it?

I suffer from the "being too selfish" to have kids. If people really down sized many women could stay home and raise their children, not all but a lot of them.

J M

Posted : 2/19/2007 6:08:02 PM

I think also maybe a lack of freedom. I grew up in an era where tying a dog was considered absurd.

I remember how horrified I was the first time I saw a crate.

I was for sure dogs would be hung from ceilings like potted plants. Little dogs in their little cages, dangling in the corner... complete with the macrame cage hanger to support it.

I recall a saying...if you want to know about a people, look to it's animals.

In the US, safety trumps freedom.

k.m.a

Posted : 2/19/2007 6:22:34 PM

Err, just the US?? Cause what about the other countries similar to the US? Canada.. The UK..

I think the problem is is that no one knows how to raise their dogs properly. Dogs fanatics, like us, aren't exactly the norm. Alot of people still rely on a bag of ol roy, the dog house in the yard, and a rolled up newspaper.

spiritdogs

Posted : 2/19/2007 7:03:58 PM

We Americans are very good at criticizing our own people, country, and dogs. One of the benefits of not having some dictator tell you that you get tossed in the clink for doing so. But, I'm not so sure that dogs in other countries are really all that well behaved compared to ours. I think it really depends on the owners, some are good, and some aren't. And there may be some cultural differences, but all in all, I don't see us as the great dog ruiners, or the great kid ruiners, for that matter. I guess you just have to live long enough to realize that human nature is human nature, pretty much regardless of ethnicity.

jones

Posted : 2/19/2007 7:05:31 PM

I personally think it's worthwhile to keep in mind that Cesar Millan was somewhere around 18-20 years old when he came to the US. People that age can certainly have valuable ideas, but they can also be dogmatic, prejudicial, and inexperienced... I wouldn't lend too much credence to any Big Ideas I had at 19 nor that Cesar Millan or anyone has had, at least as far as they relate to objective, observable truths.

Going to the specific comparisons that Millan was making, he was measuring US pet dogs - most likely the ones he groomed or walked for cash - to village dogs in Mexico. First you have to take into account the nature of type of dog he was working with... this was by necessity either 1) a dog in a grooming shop, and we all know that even some great dogs aren't great at the groomers, and 2) a dog he was hired to walk, which one can reasonably assume belongs to a family that at a minimum doesn't have time to walk the dog. So, not the most balanced sampling to begin with.

And then, what he compared them to: village dogs. I don't think you can use village dogs as a "healthy dog" model without provoking the question of whether dogs should be family pets. Living in a home with people requires more of a dog - in terms of certain behaviors, some of them 'unnatural' for the dog - than does a life on the street. The inside dog simply has a steeper learning curve. So at its root it's an unfair comparison.

I personally would not like to see a return to the mindset where dogs are semi-dispensible livestock, to be shipped off or killed anytime they are not making the grade either behaviorally or health-wise. I think the modern care and keeping of dogs is more demanding of them, and therefore more susceptible to conflict and problems, but I think it's worth the extra trouble and education for dog and human alike.

ron2

Posted : 2/19/2007 7:18:45 PM

You hit the nail on the head.

luvmyswissy

Posted : 2/19/2007 8:11:19 PM

I do think we spoil dogs more than years ago and it does have an affect on our dogs today. When I was in Italy it sticks out in my head of the first night we went to dinner to a nice place and I remember a couple and there family getting up to leave and they bent over, lifted the table cloth and low and behold out came there dog!! I was like, what? A dog in a restaurant? Holy cow my dog would never be quite for all that time – know one knew he was there. After a while I realized it was there culture everyone brought there dogs to out with them for dinner, there dogs went everywhere they went - unleashed and obeyed. But on the other hand, I went into Pet Smart the other day and saw this really cute pink collar for my pug, Hailie, with little diamonds on it – just adorable. It didn#%92t have a price but I thought how much could it be. When she rang it up it was $95.00!!!!! I almost dropped to the floor and of course told her sorry but no thank you. When I questioned the price she told me I pick it off the designer rack!! Lordy, now that#%92s an American thing for sure.

Deb

Posted : 2/19/2007 8:13:35 PM

I like the way dogs are integrated into everyday life in Europe. It makes so much sense to take your dog to dinner, and it makes sense to live in a world where dogs know what to do at a restaurant.

Did you know that French chefs used to start in a kitchen making the dogs' dinners and work their way up? (may be apocryphal, but a Breton chef I used to work for told me that...)

Cita

Posted : 2/19/2007 8:32:01 PM

The idea that pets are furry little people has really harmed dogs.

Look how many people, American or not, simply stick their kids in front of a television or computer screen to keep them entertained (read: out of mom and dad's hair). These same people often seem surprised when their family pets don't take to the same sort of treatment.

I'm not so sure about the "only American walk their dogs a lot" bit, though. In Europe I saw dogs being walked all the time - in Paris, much to my dismay, I saw numerous dogs running alongside their bicycle-riding owners... leashless, in the middle of the busy Paris streets! I think Europeans in general do a lot more walking than most Americans do, whether with their dogs or not... a German girl I met while abroad told me how she once visited a medium-sized town in the US and decided to walk around with a friend to get "the lay of the land." She had more than 4 people in cars stop and ask if they needed help - when they told them they were just taking a walk, each and every one of the people in the cars seemed incredibly surprised.

All that said, I agree with everything Jones said.