Is the path for happiness passing through loving our own chains?

Sitting on a porch, illuminated by the sun, with the leash in one hand and fragrant treats in the other, I’ve imagined the journey driven by survival instinct that has brought dogs sacrificing liberty in exchange for meals, and I got terribly gloomy.

My dog doesn’t like the leash at all. Following the dog trainer’s advice, I’ve started using treats to make her want to get closer; in this way, the process is improved a great deal.

My little Java looking at the camera

According to the collective imaginary, a dog’s leash is not the symbol of a mechanism of coercion, but rather of love. We do not want that the beloved runs away or gets stretched under some car’s tires or bitten by a stray dog. Maybe we avoid thinking, unconsciously, about the sacrifice that has been done by millions of dogs.

Nevertheless, it is said “happy as a dog”: if, at first, a puppy bites the rope and struggles for freedom, as the days go by his instinct gets suppressed — due to treats qualified flavor — and this even goes as far as wagging tails at the mere sight of the leash.

Almost all dogs learn to love their chains.