The domestic, the wild and its interstices: what can a dog do in Tierra del Fuego

Abstract

This study examines dogs that pull sledges in tourist activities in Ushuaia (capital of Tierra del Fuego province) and their relations with their breeders (the mushers) and with the tourists they both work for. Nevertheless, during my field research I also came across other dogs in other contexts, among them the numerous companion dogs abandoned in the city and the so-called “wild dogs”, who live in rural areas and are thus seen by Fuegians as “harmful animals” and an “invasive alien species” - that is, a problem to be solved. In this paper I consider sled dogs and wild dogs, and the different statuses that dogs can assume in these different contexts in which animals and humans relate, considering that in Tierra del Fuego canine work operates as a domesticity regime.