Patricia McConnell - Tales of Two Species: Essays on Loving and Living with Dogs

In the year 2000 I heard about a new magazine called The Bark that had originated as a newsletter advocating for off-leash dog parks. The editors, Claudia Kawczynska and Cameron Woo, contacted me and asked if I wanted to write a column on dog behavior. They sounded credible, the early versions of the magazine looked great (someone called it The New Yorker of Dog Magazines), and so, figuring I could always stop if it didnt work out, I said yes.

To say that writing columns for The Bark has worked out is like saying that Golden Retrievers express some interest in being with people, or that Border Collies might want a little something to do on occasion. In other words, writing for The Bark has been a joy. It has given me an opportunity to think about the behavior of dogsnot to mention that of their peoplein a thoughtful and considered way that is so often discouraged in todays print media. Bullet-pointed lists are all the rage with editors nowadaysThe top ten ways to trim your dogs nails! or Smart Breeds and Dumb Breeds! Which is Best for You?! Admittedly, there is value in conveying a lot of information in a concise form, and Ive happily written my share of lists and bullet points for many a source, including my own website. But what a pleasure to be allowed to sit back and contemplate the behavior of the worlds two most interesting speciespeople and dogs.

You might think that, given the close relationship we have with our dogs, whatever needed to be said about people and dogs has been written already. Certainly there are hundreds (thousands?) of books written about dogs, scores of magazines devoted to our four-legged friends, and who knows how many websites advertising plush doggie beds and organic puppy chow. And yet, so much of our relationship has yet to be explored, or even considered. Biologists are just beginning to appreciate the wealth of information that dogs can provide about the effect of genetics on behavior. Sociologists and anthropologists have much to discover about the profound connection between us, Peter Pan versions of chimpanzees and wolves that we are. Even public health officials are finally beginning to acknowledge the importance of the relationship between people and dogs. When hundreds of people lose their lives in a hurricane because they refuse to abandon their pets, surely its time to pay attention. And even those of us who have always loved dogs have much to learn about them. Just because you love someone doesnt mean you understand them. If you have parents, a partner or children, perhaps you know what I mean. And what about our own behavior? Why do we behave the way we do around dogs? Most importantly, how can an increased understanding of the behavior of both species improve our relationships?

Thats what this book is about. My scientific training was in ethology and psychology, and the best part of my life is being able to apply those perspectives to my two favorite species. Ethologists study animals in their natural environments, asking how an individuals genetics and environment combine to influence its behavior. Historically, psychologists who studied non-human animals have focused on learning and elucidated basic principles of behavior that apply to all animals, including the ones at both ends of the leash.

Speaking of Both Ends of the Leash, thats the name of the essays as they originally appeared in The Bark magazine, because the natural environment for the two species in questionpeople and dogsis at each others side. We simply cant imagine the history of human kind, or that of dogs, without considering the biological miracle that is the bond between us. Here we are, two species who could just as well compete against one another, but instead have joined together, fellow travelers in the adventure that we call life. No one said it better than Henry Beston in his book The Outermost House.

For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with the extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings: they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.

My dogs are lying at my feet as I write. Lassie is fourteen and half, an aging Border Collie who is still as sweet and soft as creamery butter. Willie, the young Border Collie just turned two, is staring toward the windowtoward the barn and the sheep, hoping against hope that I will stop herding the keyboard and take him out for some serious work. They are friends to me in a way that no human could ever be, and I celebrate our similarities as well as our differences. This book is for them, and for a world in which our understanding of one another is as great as our love.