Etho-epistemological approaches : communicational solipsism in the human-dog linkage

The aim of this work is to make visible some aspect of the human-dog relationship not generally themed from epistemological or ethological contemporary perspectives. In the case of household dogs, they are interpreted under two hegemonic conceptualizations emerging from the social imaginary: the machine animal and the anthropomorphic animal. Considering that both conceptions are equally problematic, and aiming for a different and not reductionist approach, we propose a theoretical scheme to arrive into an understanding of the dog (and other non-human animals) as a subject. The basis for such approach, from an interdisciplinary perspective, will be a number of elements from the cognitive ethology, philosophical ethology and epistemology. Finally, we propose the concept of communicational solipsism concerning the human-dog linkage as a way of conceptually make visible a usual phenomenon that occurs when addressing behavioral disorders in the field of dog education/training.