Heraclitus: This is why the rest of the world hates us.

That's not why. This is.

As a former employee of a large chain pet supply store, I can assure you that dogs are FAR from the only victims of this madness.

Carth: Grouchy Old Bear: Carth: MusicMakeMyHeadPound: owangotang
The ones who cannot comprehend why a child is in more danger when a pitbull lives next door compared to living next to a beagle.

5/10

Just because a lot of people actually think that.

I concur with owangotang. I think most think potential. I think capability.

Any large dog has the capability to do serious damage with a bite. In the '70s they blamed Dobermans, in the '80s they blamed German Shepherds, in the '90s they blamed Rottweilers. Now they blame Pit Bulls. In a another few years I'm sure some new breed will emerge to terrify the public.


Yup. The real problem are owners who get a dog, often for vanity, and are unwilling to live up to the responsibility of disciplining them properly. Any dog can be sweet and gentle or nasty and vicious. The breed is unimportant, it's the owner that makes the difference.

I have a rescued mixed breed that is very assertive by nature. He'd easily have been a problem dog if I hadn't put the time and energy in to training and socializing him, because he'd have thought he was our pack leader - and not me - and challenged anyone who came up to us. 6 months of obedience training, and plenty of discipline, later and he's seriously the sweetest pup you'll ever meet. He knows that he's not the boss, and so he doesn't have to stress out when he meets other dogs and people since issuing challenges is my job as the leader, not his.

A beagle, a golden retriever... it doesn't matter. Any dog will fark up some kid if it's not properly socialized and under control.

KatjaMouse: Subby has obviously never heard of the kitty Tardis

Want!

Perfectly sane:

The more I meet farkers, the better I like my cats.

/jk, love you guys
//promised my cats that I'd never do this to them

Crazy is crazy

See these eyes so green
I can stare for a thousand years....

It says there's supposed to be 6 items, but I only see three.

(I don't do >page 1 on cracked links so they are always so stupid)

/AdBlockPlus FTW

Say what you will but if I had the disposable income I would like the mansion and fancy dog bed ones, after all they really are lawn decorations and a piece of furniture for my home. Why not have something nice?

Dog spas, paintings, parties, and wedings? Not if I had Warren Buffett money. Dogs don't need vacation/relaxation days, they dont farking do anything- every day is a day off. Parties? overstimulation from too many strange people and/or animals is bad for a dog, the only stupider idea than that is the wedding. Dogs aren't monogamous you morons...why do you think we call guys who cheat alot dogs?A painting isn't totally stupid I guess, might be a nice memory after the animal is gone for a pet you really cared for but not my thing. I'll settle for a pic or 2 in a photo album.

Digitalstrange: Say what you will but if I had the disposable income I would like the mansion and fancy dog bed ones, after all they really are lawn decorations and a piece of furniture for my home. Why not have something nice?

My thoughts exactly, I would be getting one of those because I thought my pet wanted it as much as because I wanted it. Not paying that much money for one though. I'd just rather look at a nicely designed bed than a tatty old pillow in a ratty basket.

While a person who has way too many pets might be crazy they are probably better people than a person who doesn't like animals at all.

/doesn't have a cat or dog
//has two horses and some chickens

I have a portrait of my dog. But, in my defense, I didn't pay for it. I just happen to be good friends with a chick who does pet portraits and she did one of my dog as a birthday present for me.

She only charges $100-150 for a portrait (in watercolors), they're very nice, and she makes good money doing it.

My best man at my wedding:

http://teamollie.com/news_images/wedding_ollie.jpg - type it in, otherwise 4oh3

note the ripped off sleeves, since the $15 "tux" didn't fit him right. Insane? Probably. I make half my living from dogs.

born_yesterday: mongbiohazard: He knows that he's not the boss, and so he doesn't have to stress out when he meets other dogs and people since issuing challenges is my job as the leader, not his.

Interesting bit of dog psychology. Wish my GF knew this, you know, the one with the dog that bit me.

/Also couldn't help thinking of a scene from Rising Sun, where Connery yells at some lackey, and calls him as much, so the guy owes him a favor for letting him off the hook.


Yeah, the crazy part is that often the dogs often don't even LIKE having to be the boss. You gotta not personify them, and think their thought process is anything like a human's. It's not. They think like a dog. Totally different set of rules for how they see the world. It can be hard to understand this for many people.

We live in a scary world full of shiat they weren't engineered to have to deal with (roads, cars, laws, etc.) and being the leader is a huge responsibility for them. But the thing is they're hierarchical pack animals so they absolutely need someone to be the boss. If you're not going to be the boss that means that they need to step up and do it - whether they want to or not. We'd like to think they're our sweet little cute fuzzy things who are naturally going to appreciate all the nice stuff we do for them and want to be respect us out of some sense of gratitude... but that's total bullshiat. Their world simply doesn't make sense without someone being in charge. THEN, and only then, they can relax and appreciate the nice shiat we do for them.

As soft, ignorant of nature and far removed from it as we've become many people just don't understand this. Especially if you get a dog that's not a small puppy, or is assertive, it can be a problem. I got my lil' buddy at the worst possible time... He was 7 months old, and already over 50 lbs., so he was large enough to feel like he needed to start taking an active interest in the affairs of his pack, in an age for dogs which is kind of analogous to our teenage years AND he's very assertive by nature. He challenged me a few times, and I needed to teach him who was boss. When I first got him our trainers even suggested to me that I might want to reconsider him for our pet, as he was going to be a challenging dog for anyone - even for someone with a lot more experience with dogs than me. Screw that noise though, I knew what the score was and a few weeks later he was like a whole new dog and they were amazed that he'd leapfrogged to the head of his class. But there were a few uncomfortable confrontations needed to establish that dominant role because of his age, size, assertiveness.... and because I have no idea what his life was like in those 7 months before I got him, and what bad lessons he might have learned from whatever dumbass gave up a gorgeous, perfectly healthy dog like him.

Once he realized I was the boss, and a strong enough one that it wasn't an open question as to who should be in charge, he's the best damn dog in the world (in my clearly biased opinion). Great with kids, great with other dogs, great with any person he meets. By providing myself as a strong leader he is unburdened by the stress of thinking he is our pack leader and needs to challenge everything that comes near our pack, to keep us all safe. Since that's my job, if I don't worry about it then he doesn't worry about it. He gets to be a happy go lucky drooling cutie-pie that everybody loves from now on and get all the belly rubs he can get with his cuteness for the rest of his VERY pampered and appreciated life.

Seriously though, in my experience with cat owners, it's really more along the lines of "This is why people who actually want nothing to do with taking responsibility for a pet are cat people"

batcookie: [jeremiah45.files.wordpress.com image 319x240]

Seriously though, in my experience with cat owners, it's really more along the lines of "This is why people who actually want nothing to do with taking responsibility for a pet are cat people"

Cats are quite a bit of responsibility. They may not need attention all the freaking time like dogs do, but they do need love and socialization. Depending on the cat, they may even openly miss you when you're gone. One of my brother's cats is especially needy like that. When he's home, she is usually wherever he is. When he's not home, she's clearly waiting. (Her sister and littermate is more independent. Loves people, though. And cuddling.)

The fact that they tend to live longer than dogs just adds to it. You get a pet, you're responsible for life. My own cat is 18. She's senile and deaf, and she's lost some weight (though she hasn't lost her appetite, and giving her canned food has helped), but she keeps right on going, happily asking for attention. Loudly. If she could hear herself, she'd be appalled about that...

Hyppy: Damn near every parent I've ever met loses some part of his or her rational thinking. That's ok, but it is the creepy helicopter parents that scare the sh*t out of me.

The ones who cannot comprehend why a neighborhood is in more danger when a mentally unstable child lives next door compared to living next to a normal kid.

The ones who immediately ostracize the parents of a child that goes crazy and causes damage or hurts people. That parent is irresponsible, I'm not! - they say, until their child hurts someone, too; then it's an unfortunate incident that was outside of the child's control... they don't know any better, of course.

The ones who would pay any amount of money a hospital demanded to save their child

Creeeeeeeeeeepy.

All you were missing was that oh-so classy phrase "crotchfruit". Children should be valued more than pets, but then again that's the problem. They should be, but often aren't.

I knew someone that had her cat's litter box in the bedroom because this woman shared an apartment and there was nowhere else for the litter box to go. Sanity would dictate choosing a non-catshiat odored sleeping area, but she choose differently.

SweetSilverBlues: Just like shepherding breeds tend to get neurotic and destructive if not mentally stimulated.

Our family's older dog (gone for a few years now) was hilarious on hikes. Half lab, half border collie. Constantly pushing up the rear and slowing down the front. Back and forth, all hike.

The current one just runs as far as the leash will let her go, turns around and stares impatiently, wondering why we're not moving at the same pace. The older dog taught her many things, but shepherding was apparently not on the list.

Carth: Grouchy Old Bear: Carth: MusicMakeMyHeadPound: owangotang
The ones who cannot comprehend why a child is in more danger when a pitbull lives next door compared to living next to a beagle.

5/10

Just because a lot of people actually think that.

I concur with owangotang. I think most think potential. I think capability.

Any large dog has the capability to do serious damage with a bite. In the '70s they blamed Dobermans, in the '80s they blamed German Shepherds, in the '90s they blamed Rottweilers. Now they blame Pit Bulls. In a another few years I'm sure some new breed will emerge to terrify the public.



German Sniper dogs are the worst though...

PacManDreaming: bim1154: I do have a fenced in back yard and she could easily jump the fence but never has.

My current beagle used to climb the fence as a puppy, but he hasn't done that in the last few years.


By choice, probably. Our younger dog stopped opening the screen door to let herself out when she finally was able to confront the mailman and realized that she was flying without a wire. Barking like mad one moment, then she realize that the door closed behind her and it was just her and the mailman... and cowered, just like the great home defender she pretends to be.

She's got a significant amount of beagle in her, come to think of it. Along with dalmatian, pit bull, jack russell, and I'm sure there are many others. This thread makes me realize the beagle in her drove the habit to run off, which she can really do anytime, but doesn't anymore. Some of that is maturity I suppose.

She usually wound up two doors down at some neighbors she had stayed with a few times, so if we didn't feel like chasing her, we could find her easily enough. Sometimes they let her in, she knocks. One time that meant meeting their daughter's German Shepard for the first time, I'm told it was an amusing scene. She apparently started to waltz in, and then just froze in her tracks. The Shepard was a wonderfully sweet dog, but she didn't know that.

Canton: batcookie: [jeremiah45.files.wordpress.com image 319x240]

Seriously though, in my experience with cat owners, it's really more along the lines of "This is why people who actually want nothing to do with taking responsibility for a pet are cat people"

Cats are quite a bit of responsibility. They may not need attention all the freaking time like dogs do, but they do need love and socialization. Depending on the cat, they may even openly miss you when you're gone. One of my brother's cats is especially needy like that. When he's home, she is usually wherever he is. When he's not home, she's clearly waiting. (Her sister and littermate is more independent. Loves people, though. And cuddling.)

The fact that they tend to live longer than dogs just adds to it. You get a pet, you're responsible for life. My own cat is 18. She's senile and deaf, and she's lost some weight (though she hasn't lost her appetite, and giving her canned food has helped), but she keeps right on going, happily asking for attention. Loudly. If she could hear herself, she'd be appalled about that...

I wish some owners like you would come kick the asses of the cat owners that live around my area that let their cats wander the neighborhood freely, don't get them fixed or take care of them, let the pee EVERYWHERE and breed freely, and don't really care about them (one got hit by a car and crawled, dying, into my yard. I wrapped it in a towel and saw that there was no chance it was going to live, and brought it back to the owner. It wasn't my cat but I had tears in my eyes. The owners shrugged, took the cat in the towel and went "oh, thanks" like I'd just told them their mail had been delivered to the wrong house), so as I said, in MY experience. If there were more cat owners that recognized that having a cat should be more than just "1. buy animal, 2. open door and let it go outside," I'd be a happy camper.

Owangotang: I knew someone that had her cat's litter box in the bedroom because this woman shared an apartment and there was nowhere else for the litter box to go. Sanity would dictate choosing a non-catshiat odored sleeping area, but she choose differently.

Protip: a good letterbox that is cleaned and has fresh litter added on a regular basis shouldn't be smelly unless the cat has some major digestive issues. We've got one box in the bedroom and another in the living room, and when my brother was visiting last week he was really surprised that he couldn't smell the litter boxes at all.

PacManDreaming: Dog Thread!

Best breed on the planet:
[i.imgur.com image 504x378]

My Flickr set of all of my dog photos.

is that a tombstone in the corner? nice.