Dr. Karolina Westlund

Yeah. So first of all, I think that actually we often do walk up to stranger dogs that we never met before. We're like, hi, can I pet him? And then we start patting on top of the animal's head.

Yeah. So first of all, I think that actually we often do walk up to stranger dogs that we never met before. We're like, hi, can I pet him? And then we start patting on top of the animal's head.

So I think that we do do that. And then this whole discussion about dominance is really interesting because as an ethologist, how we define dominance is completely different from how most people define it. And I actually, I looked into the encyclopedia to see how is dominance defined there. And I find that there's like two lines of that definition.

So I think that we do do that. And then this whole discussion about dominance is really interesting because as an ethologist, how we define dominance is completely different from how most people define it. And I actually, I looked into the encyclopedia to see how is dominance defined there. And I find that there's like two lines of that definition.

So I think that we do do that. And then this whole discussion about dominance is really interesting because as an ethologist, how we define dominance is completely different from how most people define it. And I actually, I looked into the encyclopedia to see how is dominance defined there. And I find that there's like two lines of that definition.

So one is the ethological definition of dominance and one is the sociological definition of dominance. And I think that what we're doing often is that we're misusing, we're using the sociological definition differently. on animals in a way that's, I think, unfortunate. Because the ethological definition is about priority of access to resources. Here's a resource.

So one is the ethological definition of dominance and one is the sociological definition of dominance. And I think that what we're doing often is that we're misusing, we're using the sociological definition differently. on animals in a way that's, I think, unfortunate. Because the ethological definition is about priority of access to resources. Here's a resource.

So one is the ethological definition of dominance and one is the sociological definition of dominance. And I think that what we're doing often is that we're misusing, we're using the sociological definition differently. on animals in a way that's, I think, unfortunate. Because the ethological definition is about priority of access to resources. Here's a resource.

Here's like five individuals coming up to it. There's just one there. The dominant individual will have priority of access to that resource. The others simply have to wait or look elsewhere. And this reduces the risk of sort of confrontation and aggression and all the costs associated with that. So it's just it's normal that animals who hang out together, who are like in a stable social group,

Here's like five individuals coming up to it. There's just one there. The dominant individual will have priority of access to that resource. The others simply have to wait or look elsewhere. And this reduces the risk of sort of confrontation and aggression and all the costs associated with that. So it's just it's normal that animals who hang out together, who are like in a stable social group,

Here's like five individuals coming up to it. There's just one there. The dominant individual will have priority of access to that resource. The others simply have to wait or look elsewhere. And this reduces the risk of sort of confrontation and aggression and all the costs associated with that. So it's just it's normal that animals who hang out together, who are like in a stable social group,

will organize or have some sort of dominance hierarchy within them that allows this to take place, to reduce the risk of aggression. It tends to become exacerbated in captivity compared to in wild contexts because then the animals can disperse and there's a resource over there that they can go and get instead.

will organize or have some sort of dominance hierarchy within them that allows this to take place, to reduce the risk of aggression. It tends to become exacerbated in captivity compared to in wild contexts because then the animals can disperse and there's a resource over there that they can go and get instead.

will organize or have some sort of dominance hierarchy within them that allows this to take place, to reduce the risk of aggression. It tends to become exacerbated in captivity compared to in wild contexts because then the animals can disperse and there's a resource over there that they can go and get instead.

But when we house them and we're offering, specifically we're offering like here's, you have two cats or three cats and here's the food. You're putting the animals in conflict because cats are solitary hunters. So they actually do, if you have several cats, you should feed them in sort of separate locations to reduce that sort of heightened arousal that goes with that type of feeding.

But when we house them and we're offering, specifically we're offering like here's, you have two cats or three cats and here's the food. You're putting the animals in conflict because cats are solitary hunters. So they actually do, if you have several cats, you should feed them in sort of separate locations to reduce that sort of heightened arousal that goes with that type of feeding.

But when we house them and we're offering, specifically we're offering like here's, you have two cats or three cats and here's the food. You're putting the animals in conflict because cats are solitary hunters. So they actually do, if you have several cats, you should feed them in sort of separate locations to reduce that sort of heightened arousal that goes with that type of feeding.

I would not label any of those situations that you described as a dominance interaction, actually. I would rather, if the dog backs away when you confront them, I would sort of rather label that as perhaps a fearful reaction, not submissive, as in giving you priority of access to a resource.

I would not label any of those situations that you described as a dominance interaction, actually. I would rather, if the dog backs away when you confront them, I would sort of rather label that as perhaps a fearful reaction, not submissive, as in giving you priority of access to a resource.

I would not label any of those situations that you described as a dominance interaction, actually. I would rather, if the dog backs away when you confront them, I would sort of rather label that as perhaps a fearful reaction, not submissive, as in giving you priority of access to a resource.