dog
Let an agent treat a dog as an individual animal with a keeper, a legal status and a temperament, rather than as a type - because almost every decision about a dog is about this dog.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent treat a dog as an individual animal with a keeper, a legal status and a temperament, rather than as a type - because almost every decision about a dog is about this dog.
A domesticated canid, Canis familiaris, also classed as a subspecies of the wolf, Canis lupus familiaris, kept by people as a companion, a worker or a guard, living in human households and dependent on them.
What it is for: Companionship, and specialised work: herding, guarding, detection, assistance, hunting, sport.
It can be approach, handle and restrain it, all of which depend on its temperament rather than its breed; feed, exercise and treat it, which are duties of care rather than options; train it, which changes what it will do far more than breeding does; be bitten by it, which is the hazard every rule about dogs exists for; transfer it, which changes the keeper and almost nothing about the dog.
Distinguishing features
Domesticated and dependent, which separates it from a wolf and from a feral dog living without people
The individual is what matters: temperament, training and history predict behaviour, breed barely does
A keeper is part of the model: a dog without one is a different legal and practical object
Working dogs with a defined role - assistance, police, detection - have rights and permissions ordinary dogs do not
What it looks like
Enormously variable: 1 to 90 kg, 15 to 85 cm at the shoulder, in coats and shapes that differ more between breeds than between many separate species.
Physical character
mass: 1-90 kg - approximate span across varieties; a rule of thumb, not a measurement of this dog
height at withers: 15-85 cm - approximate span across varieties
lifespan: 8-16 years - inversely related to size in veterinary populations; not a forecast for this dog
How it is recognised
Breed appearance is unreliable for anything that matters, and legal breed identification by sight is a known source of error
The microchip is the only reliable identification, and it is not visible
Body language - ears, tail, posture, weight distribution - is what an agent must read to act safely, and it is not about identity at all
A collar tag identifies the keeper rather than the dog
Related models
is a kind of - inherits welfare, health and identification questions
requires - duties, liability and consent all attach to the keeper
is confused with - the breed is a category; the dog is an individual, and rules that act on breed act badly
regulated by - the two main bodies of rule about dogs
may hold - that status grants access rights that override many other rules
In practice
Families and kinds
by role: companion, working, assistance, detection, herding, guard, sporting
by status: owned, stray, feral, rehomed, seized
by size class, which is what most rules and doses actually use
by breed and crossbreed, which is the least useful of these for prediction
Identifiers
microchip 15 digits, ISO 11784/11785 the identifier that actually resolves a dog to a keeper
pet passport or health certificate jurisdiction-specific required to move it between countries
kennel club registration club-specific about pedigree, not about identity in law
Standards and regulation
Animal welfare law, which sets the keeper duties: food, water, shelter, care, company
Dangerous dogs and control law, which governs restraint, muzzling and seizure
Rabies and movement controls, which decide whether it may cross a border
ISO 11784/11785, which standardise the microchip
Failure modes and hazards
Bites, which are the hazard most rules exist for and are strongly situational; bite-force figures quoted for dogs are recycled and unsourced, so injury is judged by behaviour and context, not by a number
Escape and straying, which is where most dogs are lost and where liability starts
Zoonoses, rabies being the one that changes rules across borders
Heat, which kills dogs in vehicles faster than most keepers expect
Neglect through ignorance rather than malice, which is what welfare inspection mostly finds
Also called
+295
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.dog-person
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
The individual and its keeper Which dog this is and who answers for it.
Every duty and every liability about a dog attaches to a keeper, and the dog is identified in order to find them.
Identity
Chip, records and what they resolve to.
Identification and its resolution
What identifies this dog and what that identifier points at.
- What identifies this dog, and does the record resolve to a current keeper? definition
- What should an agent do when no identifier can be read? action
Keeper and duties
Who keeps it and what they owe it.
Duty holder and obligations
The keeper and the duties that follow.
- Who is the keeper of this dog, and what duties do they hold? definition
- What must an agent do when those duties are visibly unmet? action
Behaviour and handling How it behaves and how to act around it.
Handling safely depends on reading this animal now, not on knowing its breed or its history.
Temperament and history
Disposition, training and known triggers.
Behavioural history
What is known about how it behaves and why.
- What is recorded about this dog behaviour, training and known triggers? provenance
- How should such a record be qualified so it does not become a permanent label? boundary
Safe approach and restraint
What to do and not do around it.
Approach and restraint rules
The actions permitted, and the signs that forbid them.
- What approach and restraint are appropriate for this dog in this setting? action
- Which observable signs mean an agent must not proceed? boundary
Health and welfare Its condition and what it needs.
Welfare is a legal duty with observable criteria, which makes it a matter of record rather than of opinion.
Health state
Condition, vaccination, treatment.
Health record
What is known about its health and when it was established.
- What is this dog health state, vaccination status and treatment history? provenance
- Which finding requires veterinary attention rather than observation? action
Needs and their provision
Food, water, shelter, exercise, company.
Provision against need
What this dog needs and whether it is provided.
- What are this dog requirements for food, exercise and company, given its size and age? measurement
- What evidence shows those needs are being met? provenance
Status, permission and movement What this dog is allowed to do and where it may go.
A dog access to places, transport and countries is governed by status and paperwork rather than by anything about the animal.
Legal status
Ordinary, working, assistance, restricted or seized.
Status and its consequences
The status held and what it permits or forbids.
- What legal status does this dog hold, under which instrument? provenance
- What does that status permit or forbid that would otherwise differ? action
Movement and access
Transport, borders and admission to places.
Movement requirements
What is required to move it and to bring it in.
- What is required to move this dog between jurisdictions? definition
- Where may it be refused entry, and what overrides that refusal? boundary
What the second pass must settle
- How should temperament be recorded so that it informs handling without becoming a permanent label on an animal that can be retrained?
- Should assistance-dog status be a property of the dog, of the pairing, or of the certificate?
- What is the minimum evidence for identifying a dog when no chip can be read?