It's definitely ownership. They didn't choose to be with you and can't choose to leave, and you have the power of life and death over them.
They all would/would have defended me with their lives. I once had to charge a deer with a fawn that was stomping on my current (12 pound) dog, so you could say I’ve at least somewhat approached the same.
For what it’s worth I’m sure all of the dogs could have survived on their own, at least in the summer.
This can be seen as an instance of manipulation and deprivation of free will on a species level, as dogs have been deliberately bred by humans to have these traits.
Though, then again one could question whether animals (or humans, for that matter) have free will to begin with, even if they're not bred to have traits that are desirable to humans.
Dogs are pack animals, they are wired to integrate into the social fabric they find themselves in.
The two species have been co-developing together for 50,000 years, you might not get it, but others do.
Now, the reality is, the modern pathological, codependent, indoor dog ownership model did not exist in any significant prevalence until the past twenty years.
To compare dog ownership to say, slavery or the like, is ludicrous. It's definite survival for the dog, and all too often survival for the human as well in the form of companionship, emotional support, and of course typical working dog duties.
I guess I understand your take from a logical, outside view. But not from someone who has ever lived with a dog.
History tells us some people also had strong relationships with slaves as well. It doesn’t change the fundamental nature of the relationship being a massive power imbalance with no autonomy on one side. (I say this as a super happy dog owner)
Dogs don’t just survive, they thrive. In Romania the government resorted to mass killing of dogs because they bred so successfully. Also in poor countries and remote places where you wouldn’t expect there to be excess food for strays.
Dog ownership is very often slavery. The nature of the slavery is very explicit - the dog’s work is to sniff drugs all their life, or retrieve dead game, or guide people. In other cases you can read in this thread, a past owner has had a captive dog and abused them for who knows what reason.
As a personal anecdote, at a previous place where I lived (a large property), one day a cat showed up off the street. Plenty of cats would come and go relatively often, and they'd bolt if you got too close. This one was okay with being around humans. It looked hungry, so I gave it some food, and saw it again soon after. It wasn't long before it was living on the property full-time, outside. I fed it, and took it to the vet. It turned out she was pregnant, likely from before she arrived, and she ended up having the litter there.
Did I own that cat? If so, at what point did that ownership begin?
This is an "interesting" mentality I see a lot. Ever dog I ever had was a stray and could leave if they wanted to. I don't really get people who think this way, but it seems really prevalent.
You seem to disagree with the entire concept of domestication, which means you disagree with mountains of scientific facts along with billions of people's personal experiences with pets.
My point is - an animal that sticks around is not necessarily a companion. It could just see you as a reliable source of food.
I hope I shouldn't be expected to starve her to test this theory!
The Norwegian Animal Welfare Law of 2010 §9, 2nd paragraph reads “Det skal ikke gjøres operative inngrep eller fjernes kroppsdeler på dyr uten at det foreligger forsvarlig grunn ut fra hensynet til dyrets helse.” - “No surgery or removal of body parts of animals can be done except when there is a proper reason considering the animal’s health”.
That means no tail dockings, no ear cropping, and no castrations.
So, a female cat in nature can either endure being in heat with no relief about a quarter of her life, or give birth about three times a year (wrecking her body). I'm not convinced neutering her was a less humane choice (neutered female cats also have the longest lifespan on average).
He leads a safer, happier life now because we made that choice. It has certain downsides, like some loss of muscle tone and a greater tendency to put on fat, but it's totally manageable. It doesn't completely cut testosterone production, it just reduces it by 90% or so, as some is still made in the adrenal glands.