“My dog and I, we need the park”: more-than-human agency and the emergence of dog parks in Poland, 2015–2020

Abstract

The article analyzes the emergence of dog parks in Polandi, on the basis of stories from local media, with emphasis on how dog park proponents justify the need for establishing dog runs. Even though official arguments present dog parks as an amenity that offers training opportunities for dogs, the guardians’ activism is motivated by the recognition of their dogs’ needs for off-leash play and social interaction with others dogs. The guardians often phrase the arguments using language that presents the interests of the human and the canine as inseparable, sometimes even merging the human and the dog through the use of second person plural. The article identifies this type of argumentation as an expression of more-than-human agency: the humans not only see themselves as speaking on behalf of their dogs, but see themselves as speaking with their dogs. However, the article also identifies social and cultural factors that have made dog parks a desirable amenity in Poland. These include the parks’ associations with progress, modernity and broadly understood “Western” culture. The drive to build parks is thus also tied with the desire for a spatial emblem of the recognition of the human-canine bond. These social and cultural factors also shape the hybrid agency at work in the Polish dog park debates.

On being a dog-person: Meaning-making & dog-walking identities

“…With a similar focus on pet or companion dogs, Włodarczyk (2021: 3) encapsulates doggy identity as ‘psiarz’ (‘dog-person’) or human-canine dyad to explore a view of dog-walker-owner and their dog(s) as a ‘container with its own hybrid agency’ (3). Nor is this a new idea.…”

“…Ingold and Vergunst refer to ‘buffalo-people’ (2008:12) – ‘human-animal hybrids whose combined feet and hooves move in unison and whose perception is attuned to features of the world of common concern to such compound beings’ (2008:12). According to Włodarczyk (2021:3), human-dog hybrid agency, like buffalo-people, centres on issues of shared concern and to key activities which this entangled or ‘compound’ being undertakes. She provocatively plays on ‘woman-identified-woman’ with a new label ‘canine-identified humans’.…”

“…My experiences with Anne and George, and other dog-walker-owners, raise questions about the meanings dog-owners ascribe to dog-walking, as well as seeking to understand how a hybridised identity as ‘dog-person’ is enacted, one that is ‘neither fully canine nor purely human’ (Włodarczyk, 2021:3).…”

Intergenerational Transmission of Human Parenting Styles to Human–Dog Relationships

“…For instance, when mothers interact with both their children and family dogs, similar patterns of increasing oxytocin levels and brain activation are elicited [9,10]. Even individuals who do not explicitly identify themselves as parents often include their pets in family photos and engage in behaviors like talking to their pets and speaking on their behalf in certain circumstances [11][12][13]. These actions reflect the deep emotional connection and sense of companionship that people feel towards their pets, blurring the boundaries between human and non-human animal relationships.…”