Cross-Cultural Encounters With Free-Living Dogs as Epistemic Disruption in Western Dog Training Expertise

Debates about canine welfare and behavior in Western settings are often shaped by professional expertise grounded in pet-centered assumptions about care, control, and risk. While often presented as evidence-based and welfare-oriented, these frameworks are culturally situated, drawing heavily on knowledge derived from dogs living under conditions of confinement and intensive human intervention. In contrast, free-living dogs comprise most of the global dog population but remain peripheral within dominant epistemic frameworks, despite offering a different context for understanding canine behavior and welfare. This study examined how cross-cultural encounters with free-living dogs in India disrupted and reconfigured interpretive frameworks of Western dog-training experts and behavior professionals. Drawing on qualitative data from 45 participants in structured observational tours, we analyze how first-hand exposure challenged preexisting assumptions and prompted reflection on their own professional practices toward companion dogs. Participants came to describe and interpret dogs in India as behaviorally competent, socially embedded, and capable of regulating conflict and arousal without close human control. These encounters led many to question welfare models that equate good care with confinement, obedience-focused training, and intensive management. Rather than proposing free-living dogs as a universal model, the findings show how cross-cultural encounters can expose the cultural specificity of dominant training paradigms and open space for more reflexive, context-sensitive approaches to companion dog welfare and practice.