Dogs And Drones

I increasingly encounter drones when training dogs in public. Two problems so far...

First, some drone operators tend to be jerks. They will dive bomb the dogs and the dogs are aware or are fearful. I assume the drone operators think that is funny, or they hate dogs. Dunno. Not going to ask them. But there is a type of entitlement attitude that I'm seeing. Like two cyclists that go 10 mph, side by side, to hold up traffic.

Second, drones are becoming ubiquitous... they are going to be everywhere. We mostly think of drones as either these toys people are playing with, or the military or commercial types we read about in the news. But this is only the beginning. Drones can be made in many analogues to animals, humans and everyday machines: insects, birds, planes, helicopters, rockets, go carts, mobility scooters, busses, vehicles, trucks, fishing lures, fishlike, porpoise-like, whale like, rubber ducky, toy boat, canoe, boat, ferry, ship, battleship, spaceship, dog like, cat like, lizard like, human like, superhero like, weapons of all types, tools, machines... you get the idea. And our dogs are going to encounter many of these in the next decade. And it is going to freak them out unless we begin early socialization and exposure to these mechanical creatures when they are puppies, and ongoing training to be around them. I can imagine there were challenges when the first automobiles, trucks and planes were developed. We learned how to adapt and how to integrate our dogs with those new mechanical creatures. I do think this next phase will be more challenging, tempers are going to flare, and we are going to have to figure it out. Laws will inevitably follow.

The brave new world is here. Will your next dog be ready? Will you?

Plan accordingly.