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Borderline: when love for dogs becomes pathological

2023-01-08T06:24:29.734Z


Borderline: when love for dogs becomes pathological Created: 2023-01-08 07:18 By: Max Mueller "An emotional connection is understandable and desirable," says psychologist Susanne Schmal. © Patricia Becaroto/imago Everyone loves dogs. Dogs love everyone. That can't be the whole truth. Are there also negative aspects? We asked experts. Cologne – Truths that everyone can agree on are eroding. Bu


Borderline: when love for dogs becomes pathological

Created: 2023-01-08 07:18

By: Max Mueller

"An emotional connection is understandable and desirable," says psychologist Susanne Schmal.

© Patricia Becaroto/imago

Everyone loves dogs.

Dogs love everyone.

That can't be the whole truth.

Are there also negative aspects?

We asked experts.

Cologne – Truths that everyone can agree on are eroding.

But they still exist.

For example: Dogs are the best thing that could have happened to humans.

So loyal, so trusting, so euphoric.

But this is not meant to be a story about the positive side of dogs.

There's enough of that anyway.

There must also be aspects that are problematic about sharing life with a dog.

What do experts say about this thesis?

One number shows that dogs are playing an increasingly important role in the lives of many people.

According to the Industry Association for Pet Supplies, 10.3 million dogs lived in German households in 2021.

Researchers have recently found out that anyone who cuddles with a dog releases happiness hormones.

So far, so well known.

But what about negative effects?

Dogs are being humanized - a red flag

Susanne Schmal is slightly self-conscious.

She works as a psychologist in Hamburg - and has a Havapoo herself, a mix of Havanese and Poodle.

Schmal also uses her dog in therapy.

It is a blessing, especially for older people and children, when a dog arrives that you can just cuddle.

Dogs allow closeness very easily.

"I'm not allowed to hug anyone in therapy.

My dog ​​is allowed to seek physical closeness, which helps immensely in many situations,” she explains.

Anyone who grows up with a dog has a better chance of developing sensitivity, says Schmal.

But this possibility also has a B-side.

"But it can also be - and I know such cases - that a single person only focuses on animals and comes to the conclusion: People are bad, my dogs are good.

If you live alone in the forest, that's okay.

But if that person is part of our society, I find that difficult because it can cause them to lose connection with other people," says Schmal.

It becomes particularly dangerous when owners can no longer distinguish between humans and animals.

A warning sign: Dogs are becoming more and more humanized.

They get their own little house built in the garden, have their hair neatly trimmed, are wrapped up in clothes, are given an advent calendar and the food comes, of course, from a special butcher's shop.

Experts warn against excessive "humanization" of dogs.

Difficult limit: when does love for animals become pathological?

For Schmal, there is one rule that people have to be particularly careful about: "Those who live alone, who have no significant others, shouldn't just focus on their dog," she says.

"Because otherwise the dog automatically takes on a much too central role." The psychologist also talks to couples again and again for whom the dog is more of a substitute for an unfulfilled desire to have children.

In principle, there is nothing to prevent a dog from being a kind of “family member”.

"Even an emotional connection to the animal is understandable and desirable," says Schmal.

But at some point it becomes too much.

A fluid boundary – although it is medically clearly defined when love for an animal becomes pathological: "If I'm emotionally dependent on a dog being around me all the time, there's a problem," says the psychologist.

Dog trainer: "Many owners don't even understand how their dog ticks"

Tim Terzyk knows what that looks like in reality.

Because he works full-time with dogs.

Terzyk runs a dog school with his wife.

He seems relieved to finally be able to talk about this topic.

Because he wants to make something clear right away: Many owners don't even understand what makes their dog tick.

How many is that exactly?

“25 percent,” estimates Terzyk.

Ascending trend.

This neighborhood has a completely wrong image of their dog.

“The owners do not respond to the needs.

The focus is more on using the dog as an extension of your own profile.

They are not allowed to eat mice or get dirty.

But they are dogs, that's completely normal," says Terzyk.

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Above all, Terzyk misses a clear speech.

“We often think: Your children have brought up our customers really well.

Why doesn't that work with the dogs?

You can do any nonsense – without consequences,” says the dog trainer.

“Dogs notice that immediately – and then they play according to their rules.” Terzyk is seeing aggressive dogs during training more and more often.

"I had to go to the hospital three years ago because a shepherd dog bit my forearm," he says.

“Dogs are rarely just that dangerous.

However, I have to set clear rules and enforce them.” Terzyk fears that if owners do not deal more closely with the needs and limits of their own dog, aggressiveness will increase.

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Animal rights organization Peta: "No more dogs should be bred"

Dogs and the negative aspects of keeping them - you can hardly avoid the animal rights organization Peta.

Jana Hoger is a specialist there; she used to work in a veterinary practice.

"I often thought: Oh my goodness, how do people treat their dogs?" she says.

A lot has improved in the past, when dogs were mainly kept as farm animals.

A constellation that Peta firmly rejects.

If you ask Hoger about his position on the classic family dog, it gets complicated.

Actually, a dog should never serve its own needs, the focus should be on its needs, she says.

A position that is difficult for a family dog ​​to hold.

After all, getting a dog is always a selfish decision.

Nevertheless, that's still better than the sad reality: dogs end up in animal shelters because owners don't care.

80,000 dogs are housed in German animal shelters, many houses are currently overflowing.

A grievance that Hoger is extremely concerned about and whose solution can only be one measure: "No more dogs should be bred, animal shelters can no longer absorb it.

Anyone who wants to get a dog these days should ask at the local animal shelter.”

All of the interviewees agree on one point: Yes, dogs are a great thing.

Maybe it's no coincidence that there are mostly positive stories about the relationship between dogs and humans.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-01-08

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