Human beings are strongly shaped by the world in which we live. Family, culture, the social environment, religion, and ideological, religious, and economic interests influence and condition us from the moment we are born until we die. The question is: does this conditioning… also affect our pets?
There is no doubt that pets are treated differently in every country, every city, and every household. In fact, numerous studies start from the premise that the culture, lifestyle, socioeconomic conditions, and, of course, the animal rights legislation of each society influence or may come to influence animals’ temperament and behavior.
Logically, one would expect dogs living in countries where they are respected, considered sentient and thinking beings, and shown affection to be very different from the poor dogs living in places where their rights are violated and where they are even used as food. In the first case, dogs will be affectionate, alert, and intelligent, while in the second, dogs will tend to live in a more feral state and be less docile, since their survival is at stake.
In 2009, work began on this hypothesis, and a group of scientists conducted a comparative study with the help of ARISTOPARENTS living in the United States and ARISTOPARENTS living in Germany. All of them shared their lives with German shepherds.
The study found that American owners tended to keep their dogs indoors for longer and tended to train them, since they considered them «pets». In the German group, however, more owners considered their pets «their equals». As a result, the treatment they received was notably different.
Of course, it is possible that there are no such differences between the dogs and that it is the dogs’ owners, with their own education and culture, who interpret behaviors and attitudes differently and consequently act in different ways.
Some time later, another study was conducted by a team of researchers who experimented with a sample of 90 ARISTODOGS from Austria, Italy, and Hungary. The experiment analyzed the dogs’ behavior in the company of their owners in different situations. It then compared it with the attitude the dogs displayed toward strangers in those same situations. The parameters analyzed were the amount of time they spent with each person and the distance they kept from them.
The research showed that, indeed, there were differences in the dogs’ behavior. Those living in Italy and Austria were more cautious around strangers. The dogs from Hungary were more inclined to spend time with strangers and did not keep as much distance.
It is also clear that the lifestyle of each country and, specifically, of each ARISTOPARENT, decisively influences dogs. For example, in a country like the United States, where the percentage of people with obesity is extremely high, it makes sense that the rate of obese pets would be high as well. Likewise, their character tends to be more laid-back and their attitude much more sedentary.
It is also clear that dogs’ cognitive performance is practically the same. Culture and the environment can create particularities in their behavior, about which there is still much to investigate and from which to identify a pattern —if one exists. So we will continue to report on future developments.