Pets, why do they have this name? Does it relate to the act of petting? Which is really the owner, pet or human?
I am a animal lover but above all others I love dogs. They are fiercely loyal and for the most part have only the intention to love you. Above is “Crazy Daisy”, she is my friend’s from SaltSpring dog and such a sweet heart. Protector of a large human pack but still gentle as can be, when I first met Daisy she wasn’t sure about me! Actually she has always been very standoffish of any new person particularly males. Chelsea has told me I am one of the first that Daisy welcomed into the pack with very little argument, I think she could tell I was a dog lover.
Daisy and Jerry get along famously but it wasn’t always that way. When Jerry first met Daisy she was still a puppy and with Jerry’s mentality he felt as if he had to put her in her place. We didn’t see them for quite a while so Daisy quickly grew from a puppy into a full size dog which Jerry when seeing her again didn’t know what to make of the situation. Daisy remembered Jerry, remembered that he’s a grumpy old man and continued pestering him to the point that his frustration was her game. She would go up and blowing his ears or put a paw over his back because she is now bigger than him and no longer feared his frustration towards her. Everything turned out extremely well as Daisy and Jerry get along excellent and never do their games turn into a fight.
Daisy has a couple weird quirks that if you don’t know her may startle you. When you pet her and she’s really enjoying it her way of showing you love in return is to make noise but those noises often sound like a growl. Every time she growls in appreciation it still startles me, makes me wonder who’s really in control of this situation? She may be the pet and I am petting her but in these moments I feel like she is boss and knows it! We think that by owning a pet we are in charge but how many of us go out of our way to make our pets happy? Wouldn’t that make our pets just as in charge as ourselves?
Why do we call them pets? The best answer I can find on the net says it’s from a term of endearment, “petty” from the Scottish English dialect. The term implies a favourite kept for companionship rather then an animal used for work. Need to think back to the good old days when animals had a purpose and a duty to fulfill but still people had favourites.
In today’s model of animal ownership I would even consider working animals pets as they also receive love and compassion from their handlers. As our understanding of abuse and trauma expands we also begin to understand that respecting our animals is much more likely to get the responses we desire from them. Positive reinforcement is the best way to train IMO and I hate punishing my dogs for any reason, if you have a good relationship with your pet then abuse should not be necessary as most have the desire just to make you happy. Just a simple change in my tone will alert Jerry to my satisfaction or displeasure in what is happening and he will show his understanding through body language. Animals cannot speak like we do so understanding that I think abuse in the forms we tend to use as teaching tools must be extremely confusing without the understanding for the verbal explanation.
Never have I thought of my pets as a possession as they have feelings and emotions which cannot be owned rather only understood. I can not control how my dog feels and thinks but I can influence these things with kindness and understanding. We may physically own our pets but if you are an animal lover like me then your pet owns your heart!
