Nearly 4 decades ago I started out on a journey to understand why humans struggled to understand dogs over the age of 6 months and why the solution was to surrender, abuse or kill them. The answer is simple – although many humans may see animals as sentient beings, standard practices employed with domesticated animals do not recognize their autonomy, provide agency, respect their cognitive skills or allow for decision-making and intrinsic motivation – all key elements that provide emotional freedom and comfort. Can we do this with dogs and even with all sentient animals? Yes, we can, and we do, despite the resistance of the mainstream to embrace solutions that act in the better interest of the animals. We can no longer accept suppression of initiatives – we need to move beyond restrictions forced upon us. #mydogfight

Here is my TEDX Talk “Beyond Dog Training: The movement toward sentience and humanity”

Billie on LinkedIn