Feminisms, Fuzzy Sciences, and Interspecies Intersectionalities: The Promises and Perils of Contemporary Dog Training

Abstract

Tracing histories of interventions in dog training, this paper examines the contemporary divide between "dominance" and "positive reinforcement" training practices. Drawing from writings by scientists and trainers, this article traces the many ways that the doings of much contemporary dog training embody "fuzzy sciences." Examples from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in an animal shelter help demonstrate the ways specific fuzzy sciences of training are feminist, while others are not. The article closes with a consideration of the ways that relationships between humans and animals not only reflect but also shape experiences of race, gender, sexuality, nation, species, and breed, or "interspecies intersectionalities." The article concludes by thinking through the lens of "interspecies intersectionalities" in order to elucidate a promising expansion of the feminist fuzzy sciences of dog training.