Last August, the International Ipsos consultancy, published a study - patrocated by vegetarian foundation today - which states that 62% of people believe that animals must be incorporated as syndoring in the Constitution and 82% agree withprohibit cruel practices and generate standards on high standard welfare standards.
The discussion is a reflection of the change of perspective that has been generated in recent decades around animals, especially in front of those of company, commonly called pets.Under the new look, people tend to be more considered and empathic with the feeling of animals and their needs, but also to attribute to these human characteristics and qualities that, incidentally, add needs that are not their own or that,worse, they go against their own nature.It is anthropomorphization, or said in a more colloquial way, animals humanization.
We see it in the proliferation of pet stores, where it is common to find jackets, polerones, animal socks;in concepts such as Perruquerías, true halls of canine beauties;or in hotels and nurseries specialized in cats and dogs. Incluso hay un mercado de lujo, con bolsos Louis Vuitton y collares de diamantes Tiffany & Co, entre otras reliquias pensadas para las mascotas.
How many times have we heard "my dog doesn't get along with the other dogs, so I don't get it," or "he doesn't like to go for a walk, so I don't get him for a long time"?How many have we seen with bows that take away the chasquilla from their eyes or pets with dyed hair, occupying hats, clicks or pajamas?They are samples of genuine affection and affection, but is it good for the animal to be treated as a human?
One more of the family
It looks like a school transport like any other: it is a spacious van, yellow, with a sign on the roof that identifies it as such.But if one stops by his side, instead of children what will see inside are dogs of different sizes and races."The uncle of transport" collects them every morning at the door of their homes to move them to Colina, where they will spend the day in a pet nursery.Some arrive with their children's backpacks, in which they carry their food, dish, toys and other belongings.Its cost goes between the 12 and 15 thousand pesos a day, approximately.
Pets seem to be the new boys and girls.It would not be risky to theorize that they fill the space that leaves the sustained decrease in the birth rate in the country.Is it reasonable for a family to see company animals as a child or a grandson?For Rodrigo Morales, veterinary doctor, diploma in ethics, legislation and animal protection of the University of Chile, it is."It is a fact that more than 90% of households with pets in Chile consider them as part of their family, including them in their habits and routines, even modifying their itineraries and homes for their well -being".
Morales, a member of the Center for Environmental Management and Biodiversity of the same university, says that this trend has led to developed countries today, multispecie families, consisting of people and animals, predominantly cats and dogs and dogs.
For Christian Ovalle, clinical psychologist and member of the Chilean Psychoanalysis Society, it is important not to confuse and make a difference between a pet and a child, as well as a non -human and a human family member.
“There is a need to give pets an important place, more than they could have.But the expectations that could be had towards a child cannot be allocated in an animal, because it will not meet them and it is fine that it is so.You have to understand that not to fall into an excess ".
"Before the pet was just that: the pet.Today many are the life partner, the one who contains emotionally, the being with which the person talks and with whom he sleeps, ”says Gonzalo Chávez, deputy director of the Commission for Responsible Pet Tenure of the Veterinary Medical College (Colmevet).
And what is wrong with?Some things, such as one of the main reasons for abandonment or detachment of pets - according to the preliminary results of a study of the U.Santo Tomás, where Chávez is coordinator of the Responsible Tenure Observatory and Animal Human Link - is the non -compliance with these humanizing expectations.
To avoid these consequences, these cultural changes must occur within certain limits.One way to transfer them is "when I stop considering in my actions the natural behavioral needs of the animal," explains Chávez."For example: a pet that is always very scented, very clean and is very educated, does not make damage, but nevertheless none of those characteristics meet your natural behavioral needs, such as running or playing".
It is there, says the ethologist, when the relationship is unbalance and so on".But not vice versa.
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Change the look
But the humanization of pets is not something new.In Fausto, Goethe's masterpiece published at the beginning of the 19th century, reference is made to how German students, who at that time were very fond of dogs, rewarded them by teaching them all kinds of tricks and mischief.What is current is the change of look regarding its humanization.
Until the 1990s, the concept of anthropomorphization had an exclusively negative connotation."It was assumed that humanizing an animal was always bad, because by assigning only human emotions and not respecting him as an individual, he lost his essence: it was an object that only had to meet the needs of the people with whom he lived with," explains Chavez.
Over the years, the concept was acquiring another connotation."In the scientific world, some consensus was reached that humanizing animals also has very good things, since the animal is recognized as a symptoms, which understands what you feel".
Negative effects
When a company animal is demanded that they are not part of its nature, or worse they are still against it, the consequences can range from the development of behavioral problems to more serious pathologies.An unfortunately common example is that certain tutors do not allow their dogs to interact with other peers.
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“People assume that they do not like to interact, they isolate it from their peers and what is generated is a sensory deprivation: the dog stops knowing how to interact with other dogs.It is a super harmful process, ”explains Gonzalo Chávez.Something similar occurs when the animal is isolated to prevent them from getting dirty or contracting fleas or diseases.It is counterproductive because "they lose their social skills," says the Ethology specialist.
"Generating expectations of human behaviors in animals has generated nefarious myths, such as thinking that females pets should be mothers once to be able to develop, a belief that only perpetuates the abandonment of many animals," adds Rodrigo Morales.Another habitual error occurs when people, "worried about the health of their animal, give them human medicines, such as Paracetamol, producing severe poisoning".
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Try that the pet see.“Coarting the possibility that the dog behaves as a dog affects its nature.If you always have very dressed, with haircuts that do not correspond to its type, very scented, it can prevent it from communicating normally with other dogs, ”describes Chavez.It is not that there is no concern for the hygiene and appearance of the animal, but you cannot "exaggerate" or "lose focus" with the meaning.Cutting the hearing channel hair, as well as mustaches, is a mistake that crosses with animal abuse.The same accommodate the chasquilla with bun or clicks: how that fur offers protection to their eyes, doing so can cause damage.
Among the most frequent pathologies due to humanization are anxious origin disorders.“They arise largely because of the impossibility of adapting to the environment.Or does not have the tools to do so, either the environment does not offer the possibility.If we add to that that it is not allowed to interact naturally with its peers, then there we have a recipe that is very harmful to your mental health, ”says the U -researcher.St Thomas.
Attachment disorder, when there is an excessive dependence on the part of the animal to its tutor - and most of the time also to the animal - is another common pathology and that can be linked to another more complicated, such as the heteroespecific imprint,that occurs when the pet is isolated from its peers and very attached to the human."The dog believes human," synthesizes Chávez.
These disorders usually affect family functioning and that is when the link between animals and their tutors begins to damage, which in many cases derives from the abandonment or relocation of the pet.
positive effects
But as we have mentioned, humanization has good things.One of them is the greatest awareness about the feeling of animals, and with it a greater concern about their well -being."The different benefits of a healthy human-animal interaction are multiple and can be physical, psychological, social or therapy, among others," says Rodrigo Morales.
That people dedicate part of their money to meet the needs of their pets, even hiring services such as nurseries, is another positive humanization that professionals rescue.
"These services offer an opportunity to people who do not always have time or energy to be able to meet these needs, which generally have to do with activities and socialization, just the main areas that are had," says Chavez.
A healthy relationship between tutor-mascota, also has benefits for the human.“From the biological part, this interaction reduces cortisol levels, stress -related hormones.Some studies have discovered that there are animals that reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support and even improve moods, ”explains Christian Ovalle.
For a healthy relationship
When humanization is excessive, it can generate a series of complications in which the main affected will be the animal.The first step to prevent it must be given before adopting or buying a company animal."That should not be an impulsive decision, as of most of the time.It has to be well reflected, informed and well discussed next to the support network, which will be the one that will collaborate with you when you cannot take care of your pet, ”says Chavez.
After that, comes the analysis of more practical aspects, such as the space available and the budget that can be used for the maintenance of the pet.All these criteria will help solve if the conditions are responsible for an animal, as well as know what type of pet is what you want and can have.
“Each pet has particular needs according to the species, age and individual characteristics.If these needs are not met, animals stress, get sick or generate behavioral problems, which can end in abuse or even abandoned, ”says Rodrigo Morales.
Investigating regarding pet behavior is a very good way to prevent negative humanization.“As some ethologists mention, each animal has its‘ doggy ’or‘ gatonality ’, so we must give ourselves to meet it, generate trust and foster a good link through responsible tenure,” adds the veterinarian.
Finally, Christian Ovalle highlights the importance of differentiating that pets are a non -human member of the family.“One should wonder: why am I treating the pet like a child?The needs I am covering, are they from the animal or the person?There one might seek where that need comes from, what lack.But unfortunately, people do not usually ask those questions ".
Perhaps the excess of humanization is another step in the millenary relationship between the human being and the dogs and cats, one that goes towards a more balanced interaction where both parties benefit equally.We expect it: for the good of animals ... and also of our species.
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