No One Will Save You
Being a dog lover and former dog owner myself, watching something with a dog as the main character is everything to me. Nothing beats the happiness of seeing those fluffy little guys just being themselves and releasing dopamine in every other dog lover’s brain. That’s why it has always been important for film makers and creators to concentrate on movies or documentaries that revolve around animals, especially dogs and cats because they bring joy to anyone who has ever had pets or worked with animals. But now, with so many OTT platforms pumping out content like there’s no tomorrow – from gripping thrillers you can binge watch in one night to trashy movies or TV shows people only watch when they’re extremely bored let’s talk about Netflix’s new documentary, Inside the Mind of a Dog, directed by Andy Mitchell.
The documentary brings together a group of experts who delve into how dogs think, accompanied by footage of these adorable mutts both being serious and hilariously entertaining at once. In this film Rob Lowe provides us with his soothing yet excited voice while explaining how our furry friends evolved from wolves into the “goodest boi” ever. Not only did man’s best friend learn how to interact with humans through receiving yummy treats aka garbage we discarded as primal beings but they also discovered ways of expressing themselves using different facial expressions and sounds. Those ‘half-moon shaped’ eyes and head tilts are their way of telling us when they’re nervous or up to no good.
There is no doubt that dogs are one of the smartest creatures on earth. While it is believed that an average dog can learn up to 165 words, there was actually a record breaking dog named Chaser who learned over 1000 words! So calling them dumb just isn’t fair. Yes we see them act silly all the time, chasing their own tails, talking back with dramatic expressions or drinking water straight from toilet bowls but when it comes down to intelligence one would be amazed by some of their abilities. Most importantly being their “boopy” nose which can detect things human eyes might never see.
Inside the Mind of a Dog goes on to explore how much dogs and humans are entangled together for life and have come up with ways to foster this relationship. Dogs are also fantastic at understanding their environment just like humans and so there have been many studies done on canine cognition that try to understand how a dog thinks or makes sense of its world. Constantly researching into and understanding more about canine psychology how does a dog perceive its environment, solve problems, make important decisions etc has enabled people to determine whether or not certain dogs are suitable as service animals for individuals with disabilities or would serve as great companionship pets.
We meet Dr Brian Hare from the Canine Cognition Center at Duke University who tells us about his wife Vanessa Wood who runs a school called Puppy Kindergarten where they raise service dog candidates from 8 weeks old till they’re 20 weeks old. These dogs start off with puppy raisers volunteers who look after them for the first 8 weeks before going through an intense training period where they are taught how to solve problems and help out their potential human partners using fun games.
According to Woods, dogs and individuals use eye contact with each other as an indication of love. This feeling is akin to how a young child bonds with their parents, and it releases a love hormone that raises oxytocin levels in both parties. The documentary also employs Woods’ findings as a helpful hint for new dog owners, allowing them to decipher their dog’s mind through body language such as tail wagging, droopy ears, and eye contact. Obviously enough, a bark is never just a bark, it is one of the key things in knowing what your dog wants.
Inside the Mind of a Dog also covers the topic of ADHD among dogs which is similar to that in humans. For example when a mother dog leaves her young pups alone to solve their own problems it often leads these puppies becoming better guide dogs than those whose mothers hovered around them all throughout their growing up period. Although this point shows why service animals are some of the smartest and most capable creatures on earth, it’s annoying that nowhere at any point does this movie address anything about breeds being bred under terrible conditions just so people can have specific ones known for being good at certain things.
We must look at how immediate environment and upbringing influences canine behavior when talking about understanding the mind of a dog. In an era where many breeders are operating clandestinely without caring much about producing litters prone to chronic health problems due to overbreeding or inbreeding between closely related animals, we should not ignore the fact that such practices may adversely affect the well being of any given individual canine affected by them. While shedding light on what centers do train these furry animals so they can realize their full potentials (it feels like Netflix is advertising centre more than educating us), I’m disappointed by recent formats used for making documentaries which only show positive side leaving out negative aspects.
It’s sad that only particular breeds are considered suitable for service work while discussing canines and how their smarts make them exceptional is a touchy subject. Inside the Mind of a Dog may seem to be too short at 75 minutes in length for one to cover such an extensive and fascinating topic on canine cognition but it would’ve had more impact if different breeds including rescues and mixed breed dogs’ minds were explored instead school trained pups given treats when they perform tasks or are being good bois.
Some parts might leave you teary eyed wanting nothing else but get up from where you’re seated cuddle your dog who could be lying around somewhere within the house however there were definitely unanswered questions for someone like me who loves these animals with all his heart, so it was irritating sitting through this program without having those questions answered apart from things I might already know due to my hunger for knowledge about them.
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