Let’s be honest, most dogs have a very good life.
Unlike their wolf cousins they sleep inside, they don’t have to hunt for food and they don’t have to fight for their position in the pack.
In fact, dogs have it so good they are happy to lay back and let their human companions do everything for them.
These hapless humans provide them with food, shelter, games and activities, and they even clean up the poop!
Then they think they are in control, snap their fingers and act like Alpha of the pack.
Most dogs are not interested in being the Alpha because it entails far too much work.
Why not leave all that food gathering, safe keeping and cleaning up to someone else?
And you know who that someone else is, don’t you?
It’s us!
No wonder dogs love us so much.
After a deep and meaningful discussion with some local dogs here are the 7 top reasons why dogs love us so much:
- God – while dogs might not seem overly religious it is worth noting that they got 44 mentions in the Bible while cats don’t get any! And, not only did they get mentioned but they were celebrated for guarding sheep and protecting people at night, and not chewing up any slippers; not one!
- Shakespeare – while students of the great Thespian might not realise it, but dogs are very fond of the old Bard for his one line, “Ah, there’s the rub.” He just left out the last part, “on my belly”, but dogs are okay with that because they have trained their humans to scratch it whenever it is presented to them.
- Richard Ryder is a man all dogs admire. He might be completely unknown to humans but he was a kind man who began to argue that animal testing was cruel. He also advocated for the rights of animals to be treated fairly, promoting the idea they had rights like human beings did.
- The Royal Society for the Protection of Animals was the first of its kind to begin to fight against animal cruelty. While, there are thousands of like-minded organisations around today, dogs want to take their hats off to the RSPCA for starting the ball rolling way back in 1824.
- Butchers – while their trade is mainly focused on preparing and selling meat for humans, without these noble fellows there would be no bones, scraps or offal for dogs to enjoy. Who needs to go and hunt for yourself when a quick trip to your local butcher will provide all the meat a dog will need?
- Dog agility. While obedience and other ‘human’ controlled pastimes are fun there isn’t a dog in the world who doesn’t enjoy jumping over, through and around obstacles.
- Tennis balls – while initially invented for tennis, this round, fluro-yellow toy has brought so much joy to each and every dog. It bounces, it rolls and it’s covered in a soft furry material that is quite nice to chomp on. Whoever invented the tennis ball has done every dog in the world a great service.
