Why do people mis understand animals?

[moggymommy]

Aww, now that is indeed a very sad, story!

Can I just ask, how come you have picked this case to make your point? I'm sure you see far worse cases

Was the dog neglected or abused? Surely beating a dog or locking it up in a shed and starving it is worse than rehoming it because it has bitten a child, no?

[Moli]

She was accused of biting a child, which in fact was a pack of lies...But, she is now happy in a wonderful home, so it has turned out well...Jac got an update about this girl recently, and although I am no longer a member of Boxer Welfare, I like to know how the dogs are doing...

[borderdawn]

Originally Posted by moggymommy

Aww, now that is indeed a very sad, story!

Can I just ask, how come you have picked this case to make your point? I'm sure you see far worse cases

Was the dog neglected or abused? Surely beating a dog or locking it up in a shed and starving it is worse than rehoming it because it has bitten a child, no?

I did rescue for 7yrs and the biggest thing we came across was lies. People telling us anything to get rid of the dog, to save face, to make them feel and seem like the good guys. We had no end of it, the other way round too, saying the sog was lovely, then finding out they were not.
Dawn.

[Jac]

The reson I mentioned this was because I just got an update on her. We keep a "for life" interest in our dogs and when I think of "what could have happened to her" well it makes me shiver to say the least. She goes away to a caravan at the weekend, swims in the local river and sleeps in bed with her family. She is contented and happy. A brilliant ending for an old lady.

The other reason is we are gwtting so many calls from people and the dogs are getting younger! at one point they averaged to about 2 years old. Ocasionally we got them older or younger but now the average age is 8 months! does that not say something?

[Canis-Equus]

I think a lot of it stems from the fact that people seem to assume more now than in the past - presumably because these days as opposed to 30 years ago, people generally have more disposable income - that they have a RIGHT to own whatever pet they so desire.

Im not saying there was any greater interest then than now, in understanding dogs and cats (or anything else) BUT, it does seem that people were much happier to allow and accept that dogs ARE dogs, cats ARE cats etc.

Most people didnt get a dog or a cat if they couldnt afford to feed it..... and most people who DID, had someone home all day. Dogs were allowed in far more places, it wasnt unusual or particularly frowned upon to allow dogs to wander teh same as cats do, and those who DID cause problems were swiftly and permanently dealt with.
As a result, dogs were well socialised, they were not cooped up all day in tiny modern houses with owners working 12 hours a day, they were not fed high octane multi coloured foods designed to please the owners sense of smell and thus were generally not bouncing off the ceilings.

It wasnt really 'the good old days' as i said, its not that people knew more about animal behaviour, its just that lifestyles have changed and then allowed for dogs to be dogs more than now does.

What i DO find quite horrifying, is the amount of pet owners who have NO idea what their pet is attempting to communicate. They dont know WHY their cat is peeing in corners (my housemates mothers cat... incredibly unnerved because she 'trains' her cats by SHRIEKING at them), they dont nkow WHY the dog pulls on the lead (because the dog gets where its going faster) or refuses to eat its multicoloured doggy dins when owner leaves dog a large bowl down all day (dog is resource guarding - 24/7 food is not natural for a dog, so they guard it in case it ever goes away, rather than eat it!).....

But definately, more and more people have money, have posh houses posh cars and there is a very definate attitude of 'i want, so i shall have' and NO thought is given to the minor details.... a Wiemeraner is a stunning looking dog, there is no doubt.... but a high working drive Hunt Point Retreive dog is hardly ideal for the person who works 12 hours a day and likes to relax with friends in wine bars in the evenings....or how about the Old English Sheepdog who has left his mark on my forearm for eternity.... a mixed up dog, hated by the husband, adored by the wife and left for up to 15 hours a day on his own. He was chastised for anything and everything by the husband, allowed to get away with murder with the wife, and when a 'non important' human overstepped the mark (me) BAM i got bitten. That dog bit because of a situation ENTIRELY caused by his owners NOT understanding that an OES, even TODAYS modern OES is a dog designed to trot all day for miles and miles, a dog bred to be quick witted when required, independant when needed..... left to amuse himself and develop strange phobias abotu all manner of weird things.

He is lucky in one respect that it was me he bit and at the very least, his owner wont allow that to happen again. Another dog would have been destroyed for that.

The absolute worst though, is not the animal owners who dont understand, or misunderstand, its the ones who dont WANT to understand.

A dog i know, Dyson, is a delightful little dog.... except one thing. He now has NO character, at all. He isnt allowed to bark, or to play, or to run off lead, he is ignored 99% of the time at home, all he is is a furry ornament and quite HOW he has never upset his owenrs i dont know, but they told me that if Dyson did even ONE of the things one of my dogs does (lurcher - steals food left available (tahts anywhere between locked in the fridge and stored 9ft off the ground) ), they would send him back to the rescue straight away.

Now THAT is horrible.

Em

[Booktigger]

I Think you make some really good points there, and most of those seem to apply to my neighbour.

[Rosie]

I have been guilty of this. My ex partner and myself acquired our first Anatolian from friends who had bred a litter. We knew absolutely nothing about the breed and had an extremely hard learning curve. He was a beautiful dog who I loved very much but as a breed should never ever have been brought over here. They are flock guardians with in-built guarding instincts and the majority have to be kept on the lead at all times so never have the ability to enjoy free running etc. My beautiful boy always looked sad, although we socialised him and took him everywhere it just wasn't the life he should have been leading i.e. roaming the plains looking after his flocks with absolute freedom. There are so many breeds like him who have been brought to this country for "novelty" value and to whom we have committed a grave injustice.

[Jac]

I agree whole hartily with all of the above.

There was a case of a dog we got in. He was 6 months old (some of you know this story) he wasnt house trained and not socialised. Why? Well the people went to a breeder who recomended a cage, so that's where the poor craitor was kept! He was even fed there. The people thought thats what you did because the breeder had told them to get one. I'm glad to say he now has a wonderful new home and NEVER caged.

I could go on and on we even had a woman turn down a dog because it's colour wouldnt go with her decor..........no she didnt get one!

[Moggz]

I get quite a lot of bad responses from people who find out what animals I keep, and often to the number of animals I keep.
I keep rats, and yes i have 48 of the little blighters, but they all get attention, they all get veterinary treatment, are all well fed, and only 1 bites.
I have cats - 12 of them to be precise, so I get the comments about my house must smell, and do I feed the rats to my cats. Most people are surprised when they are in my house and although they can smell "animals" they cannot smell litter trays or urine.
And the worst one, I Have 4 dogs, 2 very large staffies, and a jack and a yorkie (again with the rats as food comments). The comments I most object to is the "you cant keep cats and staffies, the staffies will kill the cats" what a load of tosh. My staffs get beaten up by almost-dying 9 week old kittens, they get pounced on, hunted and they have their food stolen from under their noses. In cold weather, the cats often crawl under the staffies to stay warm (yes I'm evil and won't have the fire on).
I also get the "vicious" dog comments and to echo what someone has already said, I often have people stop outside my window, then knock on my door to tell me my "dogs are fighting" when its just a "Staffywar". They are a couple in the married sense, and they bicker and wrestle the same as any couple would - but it does sound horrific at times.
I also get comments about my crate from visitors "cruel, selfish" etc. but the crate is bobby and zeldas own personal space, they choose to go in there most of the time, I rarely Put them in there.

Many people make comments and assumptions, rather than ask questions, as they have read this and seen that, but never stop to think "is there another opinion"

Mog