By: Nina He

Everybody loves pets….but are we overpampering them? You might see a dog in a carrier being pushed along during a walk and think Awww! What a cute dog! But that’s not good for the dog.

Dogs not being able to exercise is one of the causes of why 60% of pet cats and dogs are now overweight and obese. Humans have gone to extreme measures to treat their pets like children, but is that good for their pets? They’re still animals. Most pet cats spend most of their lives indoors, instead of outside, where they can enjoy the sun and smell the fresh outdoors. This is because of the fear that a car or predator will get them. And most dogs have to be kept on a leash while on walks, when in the late 1970s, they used to be able to roam streets freely and go back home when they wished to.

One of the fastest-growing market segments is the pet confinement sector. This includes crates, indoor fencing, head harnesses, and electric collars.

James Serpell, an emeritus professor of ethics and animal welfare at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, said, “We now view pets not only as family members but as equivalent to children. The problem is, dogs and cats are not children, and owners have become increasingly protective and restrictive. So animals are not able to express their own doggy and catty natures as freely as they might.”

Jessica Pierce, a bioethicist in Colorado whose work focuses on animal-human relationships, said, “The level of constraint that dogs face is profound.” Sure, there’s the likelihood of being hit by cars but “those risks were outweighed by the freedom of experience and movement.” People are also afraid that a predator might get their pet, which is a worry someone may have, but in a big city, your pet will most likely be a hunter than hunted.

Just because there are lots of places that dogs are able to go—like restaurants, cafes, parks, and more—doesn’t mean that dogs get more choices on where to go. This dependency and reliability on humans is not good for the dogs. If one day, humans disappeared, natural selection would come into play and without their instinct, dogs would almost immediately be wiped out.

This confinement and isolation has also created an increase in animal expression anxiety.

“We’re at an odd moment of obsession with pets,” Dr. Pierce said. “There are too many of them and we keep them too intensively. It’s not good for us and it’s not good for them.”

Keeping pets inside limits them to only a tiny area compared to the outside. Harold Herzog, an emeritus psychology professor at Western Carolina University who studies animal-human relations, said, “The more we view dogs and cats as autonomous creatures, the less we can justify owning them as pets.”

A while ago, Dr. Herzog had a vacation on the island of Tobago, where he studied the stray dogs that wandered around the landscape. While there, he asked himself, “‘Would I rather live in Manhattan as a pampered dog, or would I rather be a dog in Tobago hanging out with my friends?’” He chose the latter.

You can enjoy your pets’ company, but take time to understand their perspective of things. Give them more choices and freedom. If you have an indoor cat, perhaps bring them out on a walk or two. Understanding your pet’s viewpoint can enable you to experience the life of another being. But don’t force your pets to comply with your lifestyle.