The Boundary Between Indoors And Outside
Oct 16th 2007wolfmoonsleddogSoutheast
Location: Northwest GA
Time - 4:47pm
Temperature: 76 degrees F
Conditions: Mostly cloudy, slight breeze
Forecast: Possible rain showers tonight, partly cloudy tomorrow
Today has been a down day. Part of that may be due to the weather but I don’t think so since I’ve been feeling this way since yesterday afternoon when it was bright and sunny. As a result, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. Here is one of the subjects rolling around in my head today.
There was an article recently that stated that humans still have the same instincts and mentality of hunter/gatherers (this is fairly obvious - some humans in parts of the world still ARE hunter/gatherers). This will come into greater play in a minute. First, let’s talk dogs.
A couple weeks ago, at the library, I checked out a copy of the new book “Why Animals Matter: The Case For Animal Protection” by Erin E. Williams and Margo DeMello. The book supports the idea of animal rights, which I’m really not going to get into right now (at a later date I will write more about the subject and how it has played a role in my life). What I am getting at is a quote from the book’s chapter on “The Pet Industry” (why is everything an “industry”?). On page 258, the authors write: “Dogs are social animals who need to live indoors with their pack-their human family.”
Now, I’d have to agree when it comes to some breeds. Some breeds are so far removed from the wild state of canines that they are virtually dependant on their humans - a fact that I sometimes forget since I work so much with huskies. Not all dogs are huskies. That is what we need to remember here. Both Siberian and Alaskan huskies tend to not fit the generally accepted definitions and behaviors of “dogs.” Strangely enough, the behaviors of close-to-wild dogs are more natural than those of their more common relatives.
So think of a dog in her natural state. Or, think of a wolf. Wild canines do not live in houses. They might retreat to a sheltered area but they don’t live in the un-natural structures built by humans. Now, one might say “but you live inside. Dogs shouldn’t have to live outside if you don’t.”
Exactly.
Despite our advances, we are essentially still hunter/gatherers. It’s not natural for us to be living inside all the time. We have locked ourselves away from our natural state and separated ourselves from our animals.
Now, I’m not saying we should all become extreme hippies and forsake everything technology has to offer (heck, I’m sitting inside blogging on my computer right now). What I am saying is that we should remember that being outside is healthy for both humans and dogs. Being cooped up inside is much less so. When I was in Alaska, the boundary between inside and out was much less defined, especially at sled dog kennels. At some, inside was more like a room you go in and out of. You might go there to do things but you’d also do a lot of things outside.
One last thing. I DO bring my dogs inside (as do most mushers) and I certainly did NOT have them outside last Summer when the temperature was 104 degrees here in GA. That was just plain miserable for anyone and anything outside. So we did need a shelter then.
Indoors is a shelter, not a place to live.
