Human-dog-relations under the microscope: Networks of walking and socializing

Abstract

This article contributes to ongoing debates on human-animal relations by analyzing dog walking in contemporary Western cities as an extension of the traditional division of social studies on the one hand and animal studies on the other. Taking dogs, owners, lawns, and other objects as networks, the article illustrates how non-human entities can play a role during walking on par with the human actors involved. This discussion is taken forward by observing interactions between several of these knots on the network and by questioning what forms of networks of dog walkers can unfold in urban life. In this way, the article is to be understood as an encouragement for sociologists to empirically consider non-human-animals as part of their research on everyday life.