Pets

[Flosshilde]

I think that people have children because they don't want the responsibility of having a pet.

[teamsaint]

Oh , I think things have changed greatly.
These days , I suspect that one of the major consideration for having children is that many would-be parents can't stand the thought of our universities being underfunded, and want to spend as much of their money as they can possibly afford on supporting the university system.

There are many other considerations too.Helping out restaurant chains who need their business before 7 PM, propping up mobile phone networks in distress, helping out councils who won't transport their children to appropriate catchment area schools for free. The list of such opportunities is growing all the time.

[Serial_Apologist]

This is Jessie

Eats very little
Doesn't need "Walkies"
Won't Bark or Bite
Loves a cuddle

The ideal companion for we old and infirm members.

HS

That's a toy dog I reckon - you can't get away with that!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I think that people have children because they don't want the responsibility of having a pet.

[johncorrigan]

I love cats - I'm a bit more particular about dogs. But I read this beautiful and moving piece in the Guardian on Saturday - I thought so anyway. Apologies if it's already been posted.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2015/oct/16/goodbye-peanut

[Pianorak]

I love dogs - I'm a bit more particular about cats. Thanks for posting the Guardian piece.

[french frank]

That's a toy dog I reckon - you can't get away with that!

No fooling you, S-A …

[gradus]

Thanks for posting the Guardian link. I think pet owners would agree with your description of it.

[Serial_Apologist]

No fooling you, S-A …

... and a serial apologist of a toy dog too, to judge by that photo. We are not amuseli (as they say in Switzerland).

[Nick Armstrong]

I don't like dogs at all - dogs seem ... too vicious ...

There may be something in what you say: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34644333

Can't help but love that headline!

[Pabmusic]

I love cats - I'm a bit more particular about dogs. But I read this beautiful and moving piece in the Guardian on Saturday - I thought so anyway. Apologies if it's already been posted.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...goodbye-peanut

I have heard it said that cats are dogs with Asperger's...

http://www.mamamia.com.au/parenting/cats-dogs-and-aspergers-syndrome/

[teamsaint]

There is a big piece about dogs in the Guardian today.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/12/lockdown-bad-breeds-or-just-poor-training-why-are-dog-bites-on-the-rise-in-britain

Don’ t get me started ! I freely admit to not being a dog person, but they are important to some people, and can be great if properly trained and restrained.

Quite why I should have to put up with them jumping at me, sniffing me, or attacking me, as happened this year is beyond understanding. I don’t care what the owner thinks the dog is like .( He’s really friendly…!,) I don’t know that, and it isn’t the point. Understanding that your dog’s attentions may be unwelcome is surely not hard to figure out ?

[Dave2002]

Thanks for this. I'm not really a dog person either, and I occasionally have to look after a dog owned by a family member. Sure - it's quite cute - but it can also be very naughty. It's a Patterdale terrier, and I'm not sure if it can be trained well enough.

Some people think it's fun to have pets and then "pass them on" to relatives, as with my parents, who "inherited" a cat.
I don't know the exact thinking behind this, but it maybe an attempt to give the humans something additional to think about, to look after. When the cat finally got run over, my mother was upset, but other than that I think mostly she and my dad actually thought it was a nuisance. At least I don't remember it being a very nasty cat, unlike another cat owned by some of our friends. That one just didn't ever seem to like people at all and would almost invariably scratch anyone who tried to stroke it, and it damaged a lot of furniture, but its owners were, for some completely strange and unfathomable reason, always tolerant of it.

Given that many of us eat meat of various forms, and presumably don't have too many qualms about that, it does seem logical to me that if pets don't get on with their owners, there may be no sensible alternative than to have them put down. If there are pets which can be rehomed successfully, by people who can look after them and manage them properly, and actually want them, then that may be OK, but I don't see why we are all supposed to get very sentimental about such creatures, and keep ones which are really not good fo us at all.

[Old Grumpy]

There is a big piece about dogs in the Guardian today.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/12/lockdown-bad-breeds-or-just-poor-training-why-are-dog-bites-on-the-rise-in-britain

Don’ t get me started ! I freely admit to not being a dog person, but they are important to some people, and can be great if properly trained and restrained.

Quite why I should have to put up with them jumping at me, sniffing me, or attacking me, as happened this year is beyond understanding. I don’t care what the owner thinks the dog is like .( He’s really friendly…!,) I don’t know that, and it isn’t the point. Understanding that your dog’s attentions may be unwelcome is surely not hard to figure out ?

Spot on, TS.

The mantra today seems to be dogs can expected to be permitted anywhere. Personally I object to dogs in restaurants, cafes and food shops - well all shops really, if I'm honest!

[jayne lee wilson]

Thanks for this. I'm not really a dog person either, and I occasionally have to look after a dog owned by a family member. Sure - it's quite cute - but it can also be very naughty. It's a Patterdale terrier, and I'm not sure if it can be trained well enough.

Some people think it's fun to have pets and then "pass them on" to relatives, as with my parents, who "inherited" a cat.
I don't know the exact thinking behind this, but it maybe an attempt to give the humans something additional to think about, to look after. When the cat finally got run over, my mother was upset, but other than that I think mostly she and my dad actually thought it was a nuisance. At least I don't remember it being a very nasty cat, unlike another cat owned by some of our friends. That one just didn't ever seem to like people at all and would almost invariably scratch anyone who tried to stroke it, and it damaged a lot of furniture, but its owners were, for some completely strange and unfathomable reason, always tolerant of it.

Given that many of us eat meat of various forms, and presumably don't have too many qualms about that, it does seem logical to me that if pets don't get on with their owners, there may be no sensible alternative than to have them put down. If there are pets which can be rehomed successfully, by people who can look after them and manage them properly, and actually want them, then that may be OK, but I don't see why we are all supposed to get very sentimental about such creatures, and keep ones which are really not good fo us at all.

Domestic Animal misbehaviour is invariably down to lack of early socialising and being badly treated early on in their lives....you can't really blame the animals for it. (Dogs usually need strong leadership from their owners; a leader of the pack they can respect and learn to follow, to obey).
Owners can sometimes train these behaviours out of them, but it takes time and contact with behavioural specialists.
Rehoming can achieve similar things, as once the animal is treated kindly and properly cared for at the Rescue centre stage, they gradually learn to relate better to humans; even to trust them.

I've befriended several strays who were very scared and distant at first, but came to trust me after weeks of careful approaches. Later they were rehomed through the local Rescue Centre. I'm feeding two more now, both on the waiting list. One of them probably began life as a feral, but has learned that some of us will help him out for meals and shelter in the worst weathers. He'll probably always live outside though (he was back at the door today at lunchtime, the garden white with the hoarfrost. Sooty didn't look remotely bothered by it. That double coat, so velvety and plush, which gets thicker as Winter approaches, doesn't hurt. He was pretty hungry though!).
You do what you can as they get older....