Do You Think Dogs Ever Get Tired Of Supporting Humans?

How can anyone claim to know what makes dogs happy and fulfilled?

Whether they’re family pets or working animals, I’ve often wondered if dogs get tired of all the things we ask of them.

Wouldn’t they rather just lay around munching on kibbles and treats and hanging out at the dog park, socializing with their own kind?

If you really think about it, we ask a lot from dogs.

Service dogs

Any time I’ve ever seen a service dog, it looks bored. It sits faithfully beside its human in a bank lineup at a crosswalk, waiting to guide its human across the street.

I wonder if service dogs envy regular dogs who get to go for leisure walks instead of duty walks.

I also wonder if emotional support dogs feel like they need their own emotional support dog because they have to spend so much time with damaged humans.

Can you imagine if there were monthly debriefing meetings for dogs where they all got together to gossip and vent about how needy and unstable their humans are?

Duty dogs

I admit I’m fascinated with all the things dogs can be trained to do. Watching video clips of police and military dogs blows my mind over how in tune they are with their handlers.

But are these dogs aware that each time they go to work, it could be their last day alive? If they were aware, would they instead choose not to risk their lives?

Sure, bomb-sniffing canines play a vital role in public safety, but it’s pretty sad that they’re kind of like crash-test dummies. If that bomb explodes, the human mentality must be, “Better a dog than a human.”

I don’t love the idea at all.

Working dogs

I once watched a documentary about the remote life of hunter/gatherers in Siberia. Dogs play a significant role in the lives of hunters there, a destination where temperatures consistently bottom out around -30 degrees.

One clip in the documentary featured a hunter returning home from his hunting season away in the woods, and his dog ran alongside his Skidoo for 150 kilometres non-stop. 😲

The documentary is called Happy People: A Year in the Taiga. But what about happy dogs?

Same goes for sled dogs. They enable humans to hunt and travel farther distances over challenging terrains across the Arctic tundra. Dog sleds are also used as a type of freight transportation in Alaska.

Do these sled dogs hate their lives of always being tethered, either to a sled for work or a chain for rest? Or do they rise and shine like a phoenix with renewed energy and hope for another day of running their asses off?

What research says about dogs

I asked Google whether dogs like to work or not, and search results said:

“Therapy dogs are happy because they are doing something they love to do.”

“They love nothing more than a job to do and will work tirelessly to get it done.”

But how do researchers know? Did they do a job satisfaction poll of working dogs worldwide and ask them if they love their jobs? Was Ipsos consulted for this market research?

My dog

I adopted her at the beginning of the pandemic. She had no way of knowing how many times she’d have to watch me cry or tolerate my bear hugs in the five short years she’s been alive so far.

Hell…I never knew either. She essentially became an emotional support dog without applying for the job.

I plucked her right out of her warm kennel of siblings at the shelter and brought her into this life. She had no choice in the matter, and neither does any other dog born into a life of human servitude.

Anyway, these are just random thoughts among thousands of other things I wonder about dogs.

Do you ever wonder the same?

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