My dog is

If I am hungry and tired, potentially, you might get to know my grumpy side. Does this mean that I am mean ?

If I am in a good mood and like you, potentially, I could invite you to eat. Does this mean that I am nice ?

"Kind". "Mean". "Docile". "Dangerous".

These words, I sometimes hear them to qualify a dog. By attaching terms like immutable labels, as if they were inherent components of the animal, we deprive ourselves of observing it, understanding it, taking into account the context in which it expresses a behavior.

Furthermore, I have often observed that they justify attitudes from human beings which will strengthen their perception.

I met dogs that only growled and could bite when in pain and on the other hand were little players controlling their movements outside of that.

I met dogs showing their teeth against other dogs after missing pleasant encounters and on the other hand asking for scratches in the lower back while swaying.

I met dogs that were barely audible and stayed in the corner of the room without asking for anything after showing how happy they were for seeing their owner again and on the other hand could bite if they were kissed.

I met dogs that "purred" when they were petted and played like a puppy however old they were and on the other hand would have killed if someone entered their house by surprise.

A dog is not something ; it does actions, which depend on its genetics, its socialization, its education, its hormonal fluctuations, possible bodily inconvenience, its relationship with this or that being, its environment, a specific context, its motivations, etc.

If you put a label on a dog, you will have all of these parameters to take into account, and thus to change the label very very very regularly, and to put several at the same time.

Instead of qualifying a dog with words which are most often limiting the perception that one has of them and depriving them - I find - of any personal emotional and cognitive existence, why not accept the complex beings that they are ? A soft toy is soft. A dog is a living sentient being who needs knowing.