As much as dogs are similar to humans in their shared everyday experiences, they are also completely different: they feel and experience their world in completely different ways to humans. Their world is shaped by smells, not colours. They move on all fours and use their muzzles in many different ways, just like we use our hands. They regulate their body temperature by panting, not sweating, except on their paws. Their vision is not dominated by colour.
In the sensory walk from the dog’s point of view, we will combine the experience of the sensory walk developed in sensory anthropology. We will walk with our puppy and guide it along a path chosen by the walk leaders, Marie-Claire Pagano, PhD student in Behavioural Informatics from the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Newcastle University, and Prof. Rajko Muršič, PhD, ethnologist and anthropologist from the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. The walk will also be co-organised by dog trainer Alja Willenpart.
The walk takes place in silence, and the walkers devote themselves entirely to the sensory perception of the space they are walking in silence, without talking to each other or using mobile devices: observing, listening, smelling, touching something if necessary. This time, they will do this, connected to their four-legged friends, in an environment that will link the canine ways of perceiving their surroundings, which is something we walkers will be particularly attentive to.
The aim of the walk is to let the dogs choose the path they walk on and lead the walk through their perspective, acting as an active link in the sensory walk. The walk will start with a 10-minute talk and a presentation of the rules and how to conduct an individual sensory walk and a description of the dog’s perspective and sensory. The dog walkers will then follow their dogs, which will be kept on leads at all times, for a 20- to 30-minute walk. After the walk, we will gather at the starting point to discuss how the walks went, and present any new observations to the other walkers. In total, the walk should take about one hour and 30 minutes.
Bring your dog or puppy along for the walk; more than one walker can take part in a walk with one dog or puppy.
The exact location of the walk will be communicated to the participants.
Applications will be accepted until places are filled (up to a maximum of 10 dogs) by email to rajko.mursic@ff.uni-lj.si .
Coordinator: Rajko Muršič, PhD, Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Arts