Humans & Dogs: Cooperation / Co-Evolution / Domestication

[Lord Lucan]

Lately I have seen more pets in lap of their owners when they are driving their car.

This should be against the law.

But from what I have read, this is only against the law in Hawaii.

This Hawaiian law should be everywhere.

It's illegal in New South Wales, Australia (the state I live in, can't say for the others) to drive with an animal in your lap. As per the info below - In NSW, if caught driving with an animal in your lap, you can face an on-the-spot fine of $469 and 3 demerit points.

While it may seem harmless, driving with a pet or an animal on your lap can present serious risks to both yourself and other road users.

Significantly, this is because a pet or animal is a distraction that can lead to the driver losing control of the vehicle.

In turn, this has the potential to result in a collision with another motorist or even a pedestrian using the road.

In NSW, driving with an animal or pet on your lap is against the law and falls under its own rule.

This is reflected in clause 297(1A) of the Road Rules 2014 (NSW), which makes clear that a driver must not drive a vehicle if an animal or person is in the driver's lap, given this would mean the driver does not have proper control of the vehicle.

In NSW, if caught driving with an animal in your lap, you can face an on-the-spot fine of $469 and 3 demerit points.

It is worth noting also that according to regulation 297, a driver must not drive a vehicle unless the driver has proper control of the vehicle, and they must not drive a vehicle unless they have a clear view of the road, and traffic, ahead, behind and to each side of the driver.

 

[maximus otter]

…3 demerit points.

Do you also get six of the best from the Beak and restricted access to the tuck shop?

maximus otter

 

[Lord Lucan]

Do you also get six of the best from the Beak and restricted access to the tuck shop?

maximus otter

Only if you're a very naughty boy. Aside from that, if you have a full, unrestricted licence, you have 13 points to lose. Points may be deducted for various infringements such as speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, using your phone while driving or having your dog in your lap.

 

[catseye]

Lately I have seen more pets in lap of their owners when they are driving their car.

This should be against the law.

But from what I have read, this is only against the law in Hawaii.

This Hawaiian law should be everywhere.

It's against the law here. Dogs have to be restrained in cars, either behind a dog guard, in a crate or by wearing a seat belt harness. They are not allowed to be loose inside the car or carried on a lap (unless they are also wearing a belt-harness).

 

[ramonmercado]

Some dogs had a woof time during the middle ages.

n the middle ages, most dogs had jobs. In his book De Canibus, the 16th-century English physician and scholar John Caius described a hierarchy of dogs, which he classified first and foremost according to their function in human society.

At its apex were specialized hunting dogs, including greyhounds, known for their "incredible swiftnesse" and bloodhounds, whose powerful sense of smell drove them "through long lanes, crooked reaches, and weary ways" in pursuit of their prey.

But even the "mungrells" that occupied the bottom rungs of the canine social ladder were characterized in terms of their labor or status. For example as street performers, or turnspits in kitchens—running on wheels that turned roasting meat.

The place of dogs in society changed when hunting became an aristocratic pastime, rather than a necessity. Simultaneously, dogs were welcomed inside noble homes—especially by women. In both cases, dogs were signifiers of elite social rank.

Indeed, in his ranking, Caius positions the "delicate, neate, and pretty" indoor dogs below hunting dogs but above the base mongrels, because of their association with the noble classes. As for puppies: "the smaller they be, the more pleasure they provoke".

Although the church formally disapproved of pets, clerics themselves often owned dogs. Like women, clerics' dogs were generally lapdogs, ideally suited to their indoor pursuits.

Not everyone had such affection for dogs. Concerned about potential violence, urban authorities in England regulated the keeping of guard dogs, as well as violent popular entertainments, such as boar, bear and bull-baiting.

https://phys.org/news/2024-01-dogs-middle-ages-medieval-ancestors.html