What Makes Something Essential?

But if we didn't have dogs as guards, we would have trained ourselves to look out for danger. Dogs are not essential for survival. Before we got to where we are in this generation, we knew how to look out for and take care of danger ourselves. Then as we got more sophisticated, we learned how to train other animals so that we could live a more relaxed life. Water is essential. With out it we would die. We would not die with out dogs.

As you state in the Discussion lead, it is a matter of personal preference. Therefore, it is my personal preference to say that dogs are essential to survival. According to the way you set up the Discussion, I could say giraffes or butterflies or chickpeas. But since you also set up the Discussion in the Dogs category, I stayed within the theme of the Dogs. Also, you are incorrect about training ourselves for danger. Humans have relied on dogs for this task going way back into history, and even pre-history, so that humans could, in fact (as you say) live a more relaxed life.

having lived both with and without dogs, the psychoartist has to agree with pageturner on this one...because of the psychoartist's intense love for and identification with dogs i must say that dogs are essential...dogs have been man's friend and ally since the beginning of time; i daresay there are many people throughout the centuries in many situations who would not have survived without the loyalty and interference of their dogs...even now, almost every day the media reports about dogs saving the lives of people, even to the extent that dogs can detect cancers and predict deaths...dogs have an innate dignity and kindness about them that most people lack...if most people were treated like dogs it would be a bad scene, but dogs are loyal and grateful to their humans...may i paraphrase and parody an old song by saying, "without a dog the day would never end, without a dog a man ain't got a friend..."