WHAT’S UP WITH DOG HATERS?

Friday, 10 March 2017 20:48

As the old saying goes, there are “two types of people in the world.”  Of course this is nonsense. There are many types of people in the world. But there’s really one type of reasonable person in the world: a person who loves dogs. That doesn’t mean you have to have a dog. Maybe you’re allergic. Maybe you don’t have time for a dog. Maybe you travel too much, and having a dog would just be cruel, both to you and the dog. But there’s really no excuse for actively disliking our canine friends.

 

For a long time, psychologists have studied the mentality of various types of people vis-a-vis animals. In particular, there’s been a lot of research done on the difference between cat people and dog people. Dog people are more extroverted, while cat people keep to themselves. Cat people tend to be more introspective, and like the mystery that cats bring to the table, while dog people are more free-spirited and appreciate the openness with which dogs conduct themselves. I personally like both dogs and cats.

 

But what about people who actively loathe dogs? There’s actually a word for it: “misocynist.” The word is as ugly as the sentiment.

 

Let’s start with the basic reasons why loving and having dogs is inherently good. There’s plenty of proof that people who feel affection for animals are more empathetic. They’re healthier. They live longer, love harder, and have better lives. So it’s just common sense that you should surround yourself with animals, just for your own good.

 

So what does research say about people who don’t see the value in dogs at all? Or people who openly despise them? These people are strange, right? Not like us. A breed apart.

 

We can start by carving out an exception for people who were either bitten by dogs as kids, or saw someone else get attacked by a dog. A childhood trauma that was not your fault can explain a lot and can be really tough to get over. It may even explain a full-fledged dislike of their very existence. But save that, what can account for those whose dislike of dogs emerges for other reasons.

 

Psychology has an answer!

 

Jessica Pierce writes a column for Psychology Today magazine called “Every Dog Goes To Heaven” (which of course is totally true). In her article, “Who’s Afraid of Their Inner Wolf” (a title which gets a solid “A” for creativity), she explains that it all comes down to fear of death; that the more afraid of dying someone is, the more likely they are to dislike, and even mistreat, animals. She writes that “in one study, subjects who had been primed to think about death tended to overstate the differences between themselves and animals, and showed more negative attitudes toward animals than subjects not given a mortality salience prompt.”

 

Pierce added that people who are afraid of death also reacted with more disgust toward animals in general. This disgust is a defense mechanism to protect against any notion that we might somehow be animals ourselves. The theory is that if you hate something, you’re designating it as “other.” Since we’re not like the “other,” we can disavow our similarities. If we’re not animals, we’re not mortal like animals, and we can therefore mentally cheat death.

 

It’s crazy stuff. And a pretty pathetic reason to dislike dogs, if you ask me. I mean, we all die. Which, in my mind, is even more reason to love all creatures as if we’re all in this mortality game together. Because we are.

 

I’m gratified to know that my love of dogs is a sign that I don’t spend every minute fearing death, and don’t need to separate myself from animals to somehow prove that I’m immortal. After all, what would be the point of living forever if dogs weren’t a part of that life?

 

Tom Cohen is an Emmy-winning TV and film producer/director, writer and proud dog and cat parent. He’s also the author of  Dogs With Old Man Faces