Can Pet Dogs Experience Freedom?

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About 20 years ago, a group of animal welfare specialists found inspiration in Franklin Roosevelt.

Roosevelt outlined four aspirational freedoms in an address to the US Congress in 1941: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

Inspired by Roosevelt’s list, these animal welfare specialists—whose numbers included author John Webster, a scientist-veterinarian-philosopher and professor at the University of Bristol—developed a comprehensive framework for thinking about caring for living creatures.

They identified the “Five Freedoms” we should offer animals:

1. Freedom from thirst, hunger, and malnutrition
2. Freedom from thermal and physical discomfort
3. Freedom from pain, injury, and disease
4. Freedom from fear and distress
5. Freedom to express normal behavior

Webster himself reminds us that these five just provide a snapshot and not the fuller context of an animal’s welfare. However, the Five Freedoms continue to inform animal welfare efforts on behalf of domestic and wild animals, from animal husbandry to law enforcement best practices.

Recently, the Five Freedoms spark ongoing discussion of what “normal behavior” actually means, and how we meet animals’ mental health needs on top of their physical health needs. For example, we might look beyond an individual animal and consider the collective, recognizing that group-specific “normal” behaviors can emerge as well.

Can the Five Freedoms Help Our Dogs?

Dog owners can benefit their own animals by striving to meet the core list of Five Freedoms.

The first three freedoms involve instrumental care. With adequate resources and access to skilled veterinary care, most of us can keep our dogs physically nourished and physically protected.

However, the last two freedoms on Webster’s list pose more of a challenge.

Modern human living conditions often work against those last two freedoms. For example, dogs are often afraid of loud music, noisy machinery, fireworks, or vacuum cleaners—all common in modern homes. And dogs that spend much of their day caged, kenneled, or crated in isolation have few opportunities to forage, explore, and use all their senses normally.

Another complication is that the last two freedoms on Webster’s list depend on us making a close study of dog body language and ethology.

Take, for example, panting. We know that panting can signal that a dog has been exercising, is overheated, and is trying to cool off. However, panting can also be a sign of agitation and fear, as seen frequently at animal shelters.

Other Freedoms to Offer Dogs

In an earlier post, I suggested my own three freedoms to offer our pet dogs.

I also propose these additional freedoms. Each aligns in a fundamental way with Webster’s original five.

1. Freedom to make choices
2. Freedom to calm down and self-regulate
3. Freedom from hidden pain
4. Freedom from unrealistic expectations
5. Freedom from loneliness
6. Freedom to learn at their own pace
7. Freedom to play and be mischievous
8. Freedom to be treated with respect
9. Freedom to express their needs
10. Freedom to use their superpower