Glorified Cattle?

We often state that dogs are family, but are they? We navigate a frank, sometimes uncomfortable discussion about the strange dual role of pet dogs, simultaneously cast as family members and captive animals.

We discuss:
- Do you consider your own dogs to be family members?
- Do dogs have family responsibilities?
- What are the benefits to dogs of viewing them as family members?
- What are the downsides to calling dogs family members, and are we doing dogs a disservice by calling them this?
- Are there alternate ways of viewing our relationship with dogs that feel more appropriate?

Guests:
- Jessica Schulte CDBC, CPDT-KA is the Director of Behavior & Training at INSTINCT East Harlem in NYC.

- Lauren Spratlin CPDT-KA, is a Certified Trainer at INSTINCT Nashville.

Hosts Brian Burton and Sarah Fraser are Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of INSTINCT Dog Behavior & Training. Both are Certified Dog Behavior Consultants and have Master's degrees in Animal Behavior from Hunter College/CUNY.

INSTINCT has 11 locations across the US and services the global community via virtual consults. Over 19,000 students have also taken courses at INSTINCT's online school (with many free courses available): Learn more at https://www.instinctdogtraining.com/

INSTINCT Resources:

Online School https://onlineschool.instinctdogtraining.com

Free Monthly Seminars (Puppy Parenting Roadmap, Rescue Dog Roadmap, Behavior Roadmap): https://www.instinctdogtraining.com/seminars/

Youtube Version of the Episode (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akdxhtOQSfk