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| Feral Dogs in Romania |
I was having a discussion with someone about the packs of feral dogs in Detroit when the conversation took a turn that annoyed me severely. What could they have said to annoy me so much to write a blog article? It's not that they said the dogs pose a potential threat to communities. Of course they do, especially if they have aggressive tendencies. It’s when they indicated that the concept of a feral dog was unnatural. Have we’ve forgotten what animal the dog has evolved from?
Don’t get me wrong, I had a dog for 17 years, but I also have no delusions about the canine nature. They’re animals, not human infants, as too many old rich ladies seem to believe. The behaviors we associate with dogs, like dependency and loyalty, are the result of being raised by man.
The reality is that average people have convinced themselves that dogs have diverged further from their lupine ancestors than reality would present. We've forgotten that behaviors we associate with dogs, like dependency and loyalty, are the result of being raised by man.
The dog many vary in shape, size and hair type, but if they return to living independently from humans, their ancient pack instincts always kick in. How else can you explain a roving pack of chihuahuas in Arizona? Yes, it sounds hilarious, but remember that chihuahuas ARE DOGS, and their size is not a factor to them when they revert to pack survival mode.
They don’t see humans as “mommy, daddy and siblings” but rather "pack leader” and "pack mates". It never left them. Dogs who were never raised in a human home have only their instincts to rely on. Because they are no longer in forests, they must adjust in a more human-populated environment. Humans are no longer a pack member but competition in nature…... or prey.
We fear this feral nature, because we cant walk up to it and pet it. We can’t talk "baby talk" to it. We can’t sooth our guilt by giving it a bowl of kibble. We fear feral dogs because like our prehistoric ancestors, we no longer have full control of them.
I’m not excusing or defending the attacks on people by feral dogs, especially in Detroit. Humans created the mess, humans must clean it up. Outside of behavior problems caused by inbreeding, abuse and neglect, people need to see that there is nothing abnormal about the formation of dog packs in and of itself. It’s not a good safety scenario for humans but at least dogs who’ve only known the streets can finally have a fair chance in the fight against humans who really do mean them harm.
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