Human-Dog Problem Tree - PART ELEVEN
Dogs: Our Connection With the Past
I've decided to present this portion of the Human-Dog Problem Tree using concrete examples of modern life which are working against our biological nature, and then present a way in which dogs can help us get past it. Unfortunately, there are thousands of these examples and it would be impossible to list them all; so we will focus on the principles of the matter and use concrete examples as case-studies. Lets get started.
Problem: We are made to run but we either dont or suffer greatly when we do.Solution: Education, unlearning and dogs.
Many people will find this hard to believe but humans are made to run. Evolution has designed us to be incredible runners. Would you be surprised if I told you that from a running standpoint, humans have a better, more sound design then the fastest land animal?
Without googling it, what is the fastest land animal? Also, without googling it, what does "google" mean? Dogs are pretty fast, they are certainly faster then humans, and make for a good example of what I'm talking about.
Sidenote: Greyhounds are the fastest dog breed. Without google, can you guess how fast they are?
Four-legged animals are designed to run short and fast. This is true of dogs as well as pumas, tigers, bears, etc.
They are fast because they have four legs.They can only run short distances because their breathing is hard-wired to their stride. When a dog extends his front and hind legs he is able to breath-in
As he contracts his body (brings his front and hind legs close together) he is breathing out because there is less space in his torso due to compression of the rib cage and internal organs.
This means that faster they run, faster they must inhale/exhale with their lungs. Breathing fast and deep is fine for a short amount of time, however, it cant be done for more then a minute or so (this varies from animal to animal, but in relative terms it is correct).Contrast that with the human body design.
We walk/run on two legs which makes us slower. However, this also means that our breathing is independent of our stride. Our stride and speed DOES NOT dictate the speed at which our lungs expand and contract. We are able to control the EPMs (Exhale per Minute) regardless of the running tempo. So when I say that humans are made to run, what I mean is that humans are made to engage in a particular kind of running. The long distance, 3-5mph type. Lets examine this. Our lungs and stomach "breathe" independently of our stride. This means that if we can maintain a certain tempo in a way that it will not deplete our energy reserves and fatigue our muscles (slow, 3-5 mph running fits the bill) we can control how fast (or slow in this case) we breathe which then allows us to replenish our muscles with oxygen and allow blood to work through our system. Our body is designed to do exactly that. Why?It goes back to 90 percenters. Humans have spend 90% of their existence as hunters/gatherers which means they engaged in slow, long distance running just to survive. Er go, our biology evolved to turn us into slow, long distance running machines. To drive a point home, lets wake up somewhere in Africa about 60 thousand years ago. What are we going to do today?
We are going to perhaps eat something (assuming there is leftover food from yesterday's hunt...no refrigerators 60 thousand years ago, correct?), drink water, pick up our spear and be on our way. We might track game using our senses, but we will most likely rely on our dogs to help us root-out prey. Over time, this hunting activity has become integral part of both human and dog DNA. To learn more about this process, read http://dogandogs.com/everything-you-know-about-dog-training-is-wro-5 Just imagine a mind set you must engage in. There are no guarantees that we will find something, and if we do that we will catch it. This means that we will hunt for as long as necessary (all day) and we must cover vast distances. How do we do this? Slow pace (3-5 mph). Anything faster and we would tire too quickly. Plus, we might miss something (failure to track) if we rush. I say all this to get you to picture a scene from this ancient time when dog and man were spending all day together in slow run across vast distances. This is the picture that's still in your dog's mind. This is the picture thats part of our DNA. My thesis is based on this premise. The premise that humans are designed to exist in a certain way; failure to respect our natural predispositions will result in all manner of problems; modern day ailments (diabetes, heart problems, obesity, etc) as well as mental issues ( panic attacks and anxiety, various social disorders, etc). Living in alignment with our predispositions means living in harmony with your surroundings. How come we dont run anymore? And furthermore, how come when we do, it hurts? I'm talking about various foot and knee problems humans suffer when we engage in any kind of running. Here is why. Of course, for those that dont run, its simply because humans are wired to conserve energy, and these days its all too easy to conserve energy (cars, buses, motorcycles, segways, the list goes on). Some however like to run, or have tried running, but find it painful. Why?Nike. The worst thing to happen to running since bear traps and sink holes. Nike is a company that has done something few companies have managed to do. They've managed to create their own market where there wasn't one. They've managed to give people something people didnt know they needed. Sony has done the same thing with Walkman.
This is a clear example of modern lifestyle and consumerism working against our biology.
(same as posture required for correct execution of any workout type exercise. Read more at http://dogandogs.com/everything-you-know-about-dog-training-is-wro-4)
- Overall posture.
Place your elbow on the table, make a fist and point your knuckles towards the ceiling. This will give you a visual representation of the alignment your spine, neck and head must be in while running. No leaning forward nor back, no hanging your head and looking at the ground, etc.
Push down on your knuckles (this emulates gravity pushing down on your spine).
Notice how stable this vertically aligned configuration really is.
Now miss-align your wrist (imitating a head looking down) and notice how weak this makes you.
This configuration is extremely powerful and stable if aligned properly; if not, it is equally weak and easy to compromise. - Breathe.
Slow, not shallow-not deep, purposeful, meaningful breaths using both your lungs and your stomach chamber for air distribution is the way to do it. - Landing pads.
DO NOT land on your heels. Nevermind the soft sneaker design and latest space age polymer. All of this is nonsense.
If you were barefoot you would land on the ball of your foot or slightly to the side. This is how you should land while wearing sneakers no matter the softness. - Smile.
This may sound silly or simplistic bit it may be the most important factor of all. SMILE.
We all know that the way we feel is expressed in the way we look. When we are sad, we frown. When we are happy, we smile, etc.
Due to Feedback Loop (I talk about this in another one of my posts http://dogandogs.com/dogs-can-sense-your-fear-but-how) we smile and make ourselves happy. Try it, it works. By the same token, if we frown, we can make ourselves feel sad.
The importance of smiling while running is to enjoy this ancient activity. If we enjoy it, we will do it more often and our dog will thank us.
Finally, runners often experience something called a runner's high. It is this amazing feeling that makes you think you can go on forever. I cant help but think that this is a genetic memory of our past letting us know that we are engaging in the right kind of activities. Food for thought.
I know this post is running long but its the only way to connect these seemingly disparate
factors. To help summarize, here are the important points.
- We are genetically predisposed to conserve energy. This is why most people dont run and opt for cars, bikes, trains and what not.
- Those of us who do run, often experience foot, knee and back problems
- The reason we suffer these physical ailments is because of the features of modern existence. In our case, this is expressed in the form of a sneaker which subtly but emphatically tells you to run incorrectly (on your heels)
- We must unlearn. We must detect and eradicate these types of indoctrination techniques perpetrated by the culture of consumerism.
- We must seek to understand and educate ourselves beyond whats presented to us by the indoctrination tools like media, popular culture, and even by whats considered common and accepted knowledge.
- We must keep the promise we made to our dogs when they opted to help us in our hunt and engage in the ancient activity of dog and man running side by side
In the beginning of this post I stated that it would do the following.
And offer a solution: Education, unlearning and dogs. I hope I've accomplished exactly that. In the next post, we will talk about some very real and practical ways in which dogs can help us evolve-forward.
Related Posts:
Dharma and Greg: What Can Sitcom Characters Teach us About Dog Training
Be a Service-Human to Your Dog
The Issue of Indoctrination in Dog Training
Comments 15 Comments
I would prefer not to turn this into an evolution vs. intelligent design argument...if I believed even remotely that we could settle that particular argument on this post I would engage whole heartedly alas I doubt we would succeed.
Instead the focus is on the effects modern life has on human-dog relationship. This post was intended in that spirit.
Thanks so so much for this post. It is very timely because I am contemplating training for a half marathon....with the goal of running very very slowly. Can you post on your thoughts on how to integrate a dog into the run? The questions that I have are:
1) is it important to break off the run at intervals and let the dog do something different? for example, chase sticks, pee, tug?
2) is it okay for dogs to run long distance? in other words if you ramp up gradually and train consistently with a dog should you place a limit on how long they run?
Thanks so much!
Robin
No, I dont think its important to interval train with your dog. Dogs love migrating with their humans. You certainly can if you want to, but you dont have to. Generally speaking, dogs dog get enough running time with their humans anyways, so run run run and dont stop :-)
If a dog needs to pee then by all means...give him a chance lol
Answer to your 2nd question.
It IS OK for dogs to run long distances. Collies and German Sheppards run with the sheep all day long. Granted, its a slightly diff kind of "running" than what you are referring to but still...
I think another point is more important here.
Some dogs cant run long distances. They may be a toy breed and cant keep up. They may be too old, too young, not healthy, and on and on....
I think whats important is to know your dog's capabilities and ALWAYS keep an eye on him/her while running. You want to make sure they look ok, take frequent water breaks, and so on.
The dog I run with is a 2 year old GSD....he can run longer and faster than I ever could...I wouldnt even try to go for a run with a toy breed, a dog whos old or fat (working up to it would be prudent in that case of course) etc....
As you can see, there are many variables...know yourself and know your dog and make sure you take care of both :-)
As for dogs and running, I would say most healthy working dog breeds, large or small, would be able to keep up with us on a run provided a number things take place, one that they train with us from the start so they can build up endurance with us, and two that it is not too friggen hot. Dogs can only pant and it is not as good a heat reducer as is sweating. I have also seen that all flat faced breeds and many heavier set dogs have much more problems running long distance than those breeds lighter on their feet. In the end, though, the dog will tell you what it can and wants to do. If it is lagging behind, it is tired and needs to rest (or is a very lazy pooch). I know a guy with a beautifully toned perfectly fit pit bull, but it can not run more than 2 miles at a fast human pace, whereas mine can run two miles within maybe 7 minutes. Mine is a very light and fast breed and she runs daily so she is very fit.
It is a misconception that humans use to live shorter lives in the paleolithic age. It happened due to statistical and cumulative nature of reporting on ancient history. The average age was indeed 25-30 (if I remember correctly), but that's only because infant to young child deaths were so common. Once a paleolithic man reached a certain age (say young adult) they lived long and healthy lives. In fact, some tribes (Australian Aborigines for example) have Old-Timer societies.
The "pavement problems" are really NOT pavement problems. Whats happening here is that pavement amplifies the effects of improper foot-ware and incorrect landing (heel hitting hard surface). This is the kind of magician-like distraction/explanation a sneaker company would come up with. In either case, the pavement is NOT the root cause of our issues, pavement is just the thing pointing out how bad we got it.
You are absolutely correct...humans did have more free time in the ancient times. You have hit on one of the psychological ailments of our time...we work WAY too much.
Also, I agree that primitive tribes walk most of the time and run when they have to. If you get on a treadmill you will notice that 3mph is actually a fast-paced walk (if you are a 5.5-6ft adult), faster walking/running is engaged in as needed.
I think its OK for us to approximate that with a slow run (say 4mph..spiting the difference) for 45 minutes or more.
Awesome points regarding dogs....short-nosed breeds do have a harder time...thank you for pointing-out those factors, they are very important.
http://www.podiatry-arena.com/podiatry-forum/showthread.php?t=778
Awesome link regarding the article. It really re-enforces my point (which by the way is not "my" point, rather its a point of many folks much smarter then me).
Speaking of which, here is an interesting side note. I've been involved in fitness and nutrition for over a decade and have read countless books on the topic. In fact, for my fitness thesis, I've collected and aggregated 5 gigs of data in PDF book form. Yet, the most I've learned on nutrition and fitness was from an Economist in a book about economy. Btw...the economist is Paul Zane Pilzer if you were wondering.
Goes to show....you cant go to Nike for shoe advice cuz they have personal stake in giving you only part of the information, bending the information, fudging the info, etc.
I dont mean to be hard on Nike (as if it makes a diff to them lol) but they do exemplify the point. Unfortunately, they are not a lone example; this issue is systemic and part of almost everything we do.
While I will concede that there is certain amount of wear and tare that comes with age, I will say that most of our ailments are due to the misalignment with our biology and psychology due to nature of modern living. Im not anti-modernism, Im just an advocate of living closer to our biological and psychological core and submit to you that dogs can be a great guide in showing us how.
'Googol' is a mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros.
I had to google it tho lol
http://www.chacha.com/question/what-does-google-mean
Oh! But I feel the need to tell you that... both my psychologist and psychiatrist say that anxiety disorders, stress disorders, OCD, and the like are actually the result of "bad breeding." Mostly, if someone has one of those - or all of them - someone in their immediate family (Mom/Dad) also had/has it.
Now, to be fair.. I think they're both idiots, but that's beside the point. They are uh... "professionals" in their field. =D
Also, very much agree with the "born to run" thing. So much more exhilarating to do it with the dog =]
Even though I'm "not allowed" because I have "health problems."
I listen.
No, really... >>
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