Last month, my sister-in-law and my almost-13-year-old niece, Ava, spent two weeks in France, visiting my sister-in-law’s mother and stepfather, who live in Paris. Ava has been a dog lover since before she could walk, so I gave her an assignment, to take photos of dogs in Paris.
I’ve always been interested in the cultural differences between how dogs are handled and treated in different countries and I discussed this with her a bit; she and her mom stopped at my house on their way to the airport, because I dog-sat their little dog, Alice, while they were gone. But, in truth, I wasn’t actually concerned with the photos that Ava might get for me; I had an ulterior motive. Mostly I was trying to give Ava a photography job that would (I hoped) keep her engaged with the living scenery when traveling, to keep her eyes open. Ava has an artistic eye, and as someone who studied photojournalism, I know that being given an assignment to take pictures can sharpen and focus your awareness on your surroundings.
Ava did take and send me some pictures of dogs and dog owners. We’re going to be looking at them and discussing her trip to France at the end of this week, when our family will get together again to celebrate her 13th birthday. But here’s the funny thing: Ava must have told her grandmother that she was taking photos of dogs for me. This morning I received a photo and email from her grandmother, Olivia.
“I heard you need pictures of dogs in France,” Olivia explained. Well, I guess my covert mission needed to be exposed, and I’ve written back to Olivia to recuse her from the assignment and sharing the actual purpose of my assignment for Ava with her.
But after writing the email, I looked at Olivia’s snapshot again. She had actually captured several very interesting things. The longer I look at this photo, which she captioned as “a dog walker in Paris,” the more I see. Look: What do you see?
Here are the things that are most interesting to me:
Of the seven dogs visible in the photo, only one (possibly two) is leashed. Despite this, they are all just hanging out in a relaxed fashion, waiting for their walker, who appears to be taking a snack break.
The two dogs on the right may or may not be with the walker; they are slightly removed from her, whereas the other dogs are arranged in a circle around her. So those two unleashed dogs may simply be waiting for their owners to come out of the store or restaurant. They are unleashed but perfectly safe and comfortable waiting on the sidewalk.
All but one of the dogs resemble purebreds. The dog on the far right might be, too; I’m not familiar enough with all the bully-type breeds to know what she is or might be.
All seven of the dogs are in good weight and look fit. Even French dogs look more slender than their American counterparts!
The white dog on the right appears to be a French Bulldog – but he or she has much more of a nose than the French Bulldogs you see here. I love that the dog’s face isn’t as smushed in the exaggerated way the dogs here often appear.
How do dogs become so habituated and well-behaved that they can safely be taken out with a dog-walker off leash in the middle of a busy city? Are dogs being lost and hit by cars at a rate we Americans would find unacceptable? I’m fascinated – and I just might have to go to Paris to find out! I’m pretty sure I could stay with Olivia…
Ok so ai know it sounds great to imagine that everything in Europe is so much better… Trust me, it’s not. I moved there 8 years ago and what I can say is that Americans are way more accepting of dogs as a people than the French or Belgians (where I am). The fact that many dogs are without a leash is actually laziness and carelessness among Europeans. I am always shocked to see this. Also the same is valid for spaying and neutering. It’s a much less responsible society. The laid-back nature is not really that great: sure it’s nice to take the dogs to more places, but that’s just because there are no laws that organize this. People in general have an outdated approach to what a dog means, thinking it should be there to guard the owner or stay in the yard etc. I think the Anglo-saxon culture is way more accepting of dogs on their beds and as part of their family.
I flew across the Atlantic with my 2 large dogs and I still walk them on leash as I do not want to take any risks for them to cross the street if they see a cat or another dog.
So don’t get your illusions too high about Europeans – there are quite a dew dogs that do end up being hit by cars because of careless owners. It’s each and every person’s own responsibility and there are plenty of irresponsible dog owners on both continents.
I have been told, and I am generalizing here, that Europeans can identify Americans by who wants to pet their dog. Now that I have a shy dog, I can see her stress when someone unknown assumes they can touch her. I assume just being able to be without an insistence on social interaction is a factor in European dogs being more comfortable
One difference, at least in Germany, is that owners and dogs are required to be professionally trained. So you can have dogs in restaurants and the dog will just lie out of the way under the table. There isn’t any of the I can do things anyway I want attitude one sometimes encounters.
And the purpose of this article was???????
And your purpose in this forum or better yet in this world is?????? To be ignorant?
In my estimation, this comes down to cultural issues. I have traveled to many countries around the world, and each has their own attitude towards dogs and pets in general. For better or worse, the American attitude seems to be much more controlling and much less relaxed, and has become that way over several decades.
As a child growing up in the seventies, my best friend was a huge white German Shepard and we would go everywhere together. The only time he was on leash was when he was pulling me on my skateboard. We would go up to the grocery store and he would wait outside, mostly. A couple times, as I was waiting in line, he would come in the store (auto doors), and someone might say “oh, look at the beautiful dog” and then lead him back outside to wait. No fearful cries or outrage, no shocked gasps or calling of authorities. It was a non incident. I payed for my goods, left the store and we went home.
This would never happen today. There are many more neurotic dogs and owners (which came first ;). I have my dogs leashed when appropriate and when required, but when we are out walking trails and in places with no car traffic, they are rarely on leash. They are well behaved, heal when asked, etc… the vast majority of people are fine with this as long as the dog is well behaved. There is a small minority however that come unglued at the sight of an unleashed dog and become so outraged and do their best to shame you and make sure you know you are a bad person. What could have been a brief pleasant exchange, or simply two ships passing, suddenly becomes an ugly incident fueled by outrage. Most people enjoy interacting when out for a stroll, and my Great Dane is a people magnet and gets lots of attention, and everyone is a little better for it. If there is no interest, my dogs are heeled and we simply pass on by. But I tell ya, those few people… those squeaky wheels love attention.
We lived in the UK for three years and traveled widely with our dog. Dogs in Europe are certainly allowed in more places, and they are far better behaved than their US counterparts, likely because it is essential to have good behaviour. A UK friend commented that “Americans don’t really love dogs, because the dogs aren’t allowed to go anywhere.” That WAS a bit tongue in cheek, but there is truth in it. Americans love their dogs dearly, though not enough to understand the dog and figure out how to teach the dog what behaviour is appropriate. I can’t count the number of people who approach me saying their (obviously stressed) dog is friendly and would like to play with mine, when casual observation shows this not the case!
I’m pretty astonished at the amount of “america bashing” going on in the responses to this story. All dogs in this country are not under-socialized, neurotic animals and all dogs in France (substitute wherever) are not perfectly socialized, happy and free animals. Many are living on the streets, not receiving adequate food or medical care and sleeping in trash bins. Really folks – get real! No place is paradise for animals and no place is hell – there are many circumstances which are far less pleasant for animals than those mentioned in this story – just go to almost any country in South America and see what I mean. 🙁
Actually you just need to come to Houston……nobody spays or meuters their dogs and many many strays.
And yes, there are many places that are hell on earth for animals. In Germany certain brerds are now only allowed outside with a muzzle….when i was a child in Getmany that was never the case…
However, many Americans sadly think that animals are disposable….not so much in Europe…
I’ve lived in Houston since 1983. Yes there are way too many stray dogs running around, shelters sre overcrowded, and too many ppl rehome their pet for different reasons (disposable). However, you are incorrect when you say “nobody spays or neuters their dogs” (in Houston)!
Love this topic and would love to hear more of your thoughts and research on it!
I wasn’t in France, but in Italy a couple months ago and saw lots of dogs. What astonished me was that most of the males were ‘intact.’ Obviously I couldn’t tell whether the female dogs had been spayed or not.
We can’t apply what’s happening in France goes for all of Europe. It’s a big place with lots of different attitudes. Dogs in Germany are way more socialized than in the USA as they are allowed in most public places, even public transportation. They are not allowed in establishments selling food but are allowed in restaurants, go figure. They are well behaved and often you don’t even know there is a dog under the table. People take their dogs everywhere for that reason. Most grocery stores not in high traffic areas have hooks in the wall outside to keep them while the owner is in the store. I personally observed one owner in a department store taking the escalator to the downstairs food area where the dog was not allowed. She downed the dog at the top of the stairs and left and when I looked 30 minutes later, the dog was in still there watching for her. I saw a lot of dogs off leash and not even wearing a collar when the owner took them from the apartment to the park. They were always under control, looking back at the owner. Spaying and neutering is only done for medical reasons so most are intact. My take is, early socializing makes for a fun pet and possibly the fairly heavy yearly dog tax keeps slob owners at a minimum.