It always saddens me when people get working dogs like border collies as pets without understanding their needs. Without constant stimulation they get bored and basically lose their minds. It’s really important to know what you are getting into.
I guess the same is true for intelligent birds like parrots or ravens . Most people don’t understand the level of commitment these animals need.
We've got a rescue Border Collie, and our theory is that she was abandoned because she's the laziest collie in existence.
She was trained to some degree, probably reasonable harshly, but just doesn't show the signs of wanting to be active and do things. (other than walkies). Running - a bit, like 10 meters, and then it's back to the trot. Balls, no. Sticks, no. General Dog play, no. Couch? yes.
We've fostered other collies, and they've been far more active. Even little pups will try to herd the cat (and sometimes succeed).
I can't wait for more button mashing "talking dog" examples, especially if done by professionals like Cesar Milan. Being able to actively communicate could lead to all sorts of improved physical and mental health practices for dogs.
Bunny, of YouTube and tiktok fame, has demonstrated remarkably abstract thoughts, and the fart/poop humor [1] was a revelation to me. Dogs are treated like automata or mindless things, but they are intelligent and emotional on a very human level.
Giving them voices and making such systems common and easy would radically change humanity's relationship with canines for the better.
We were very surprised that my (reluctant first time dog-owner) parents were told to physically pin their dog down as a way of asserting dominance. It’s weird to see that this might be “a thing”.
It just seems like it is likely to make the dog see that as a way of trying to assert dominance, whereas in almost all other cases positive reinforcement (and negative attention from undesired attention) seems to be perfectly adequate.
Perhaps it’s only supposed to be something for the worst-case untrained dogs and has spread out from there?
The pinning is something dogs sometimes do. We have fostered dog moms with puppies and sometimes the mom would put an unruly puppy on its back and grab it by the throat. It seems to be last resort when the usual communication like growling doesn’t work.
I guess the same is true for intelligent birds like parrots or ravens . Most people don’t understand the level of commitment these animals need.