Pets and Animals

[TxCat]

I've got a Labrador. He's about two and a half now, and am having a heck of a time training him.

Labradors are high energy dogs and require a bit of finesse in getting around their naturally smart nature. If he thinks he can get away with something, he will do so. You might try, if you're able taking him for a long walk (about thirty minutes) each day and then beginning training. Start with commands he knows and reinforce them with a firm voice. The minute he stops cooperating, the lesson stops and you ignore him.

The Labradors and Labrador mixes I've had HATE being ignored. They're attention hogs and really want to please their owners.

[TxCat]

My opinion on hunting is... hunting should not be allowed. We have the ability to make synthetic food, why not devote all of our reasearching abilities to seeing if we can make it without killing ourselves or making ourselves sick.

I see several problems with this argument:

1) What happens to the animals who have been bred solely for the purpose of becoming food? There is no longer a niche for them in the ecology, they have no predators, and they may not even have the adaptions necessary to survive. Wouldn't it be a cruelty to set these animals loose and hope for the best or to kill them off?

2) Disallowing hunting has been tried in several states. Again, the deer and other creatures who are hunted have no predators any longer (they're not just endangered, they're extinct). Is it not a cruelty to allow these animals to starve to death rather than culling them? Having witnessed the results of an attempted hunting ban, I find it far more cruel NOT to hunt them. There are so many of the ruminants now that if they're not hunted --- and the reason for permits is so that the herds don't get thinned to extinction --- they will eat everything they can and then starve during the winter.

3) We are, ourselves, animals and we are NOT designed to run on synthetic proteins. Humans run the gamut of evolution. Some can exist on minimal vegetable resources and some cannot. Most humans would be classified, based on their digestive systems and the configuration of their teeth, as omnivores. Having tried a vegetarian diet under the supervision of a team of doctors who knew what they were doing, I can verify for myself at least that THIS animal doesn't function well on non-animal resources. My body can't process the nutrients in the typical substitutes like rice or wheat and I'm allergic to soy and kelp. Wouldn't it be a cruelty to let other human animals starve in order to satisfy a misplaced morality?

[Tortuga]

how about idiots who buy a pet, provide less than ideal conditions and if it survives and grows too big they dump it. (or get a cute widdle hermit crab and call it a disposable pet...that doesn't exist)

Case in point: Trachemys Scripta Elegans. People have made this species of turtle into a worldwide nuisance. They blame it on, what else? Ninja Turtles. No, blame it on the imbecile parents who buy a cute widdle baby turtle at a illegal seller and put them in a death bowl (those kidney shaped things with a plastic palm tree) and feed them crap. Well, it don't work that way. The $12 turtle needs eventually a pond out back or a 2-500 gallon tank, couple hundred in filters, heaters, and other crap for the tank. If you let your kids play with one, they dont wash their hands and OMG SALMONELLA! Educate!

So now the turtle is 12" long and too big, lets' take a drive and dump her into a pond in the park that's NOT a natural habitat.People freak out cos those big turtles will eat chicks and ducklings and then people freak out about that. It's illegal to dump ANY pet animal anyways.

People need to educate before buying an animal. Turtles are exotics, they have specific requirements and you need time to care for them. Water changes, filter maintenance, feedings...they don't just eat pellets...they need special lights or real sunlight...all sorts of crap.

Im not bitching after anyone specific, I'm just venting the anger about this issue. People don't know jack (@*$& about caring for exotic animals. Research! we have the WWW today, get on there and look it up!

[Rainwater]

I guess I should mention my critters.

Abigail and Temperance (aka Abby and Tempe)
Domestic Shorthair sisters with suspected natural bobtails (not sure how old, shelter was thinking 3-4 years)
Abby is the blue and Tempe is the white/black. I adopted them last October after the loss of my first cat, Annabel Lee. For those that don't know, Abby is named for Abby on NCIS and Tempe is named for the same character on Bones. They are actually very similar to the characters they are named for.

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Charm
Pinto (Thoroughbred/Arab/Paint/Saddlebred cross)
Though she is my baby, I really do need to find a new home for her. I don't have any time to care for her, and she will just be 7 this year. She still has a long life to live. At least she is happy in her current pasture pet status. I'll post a link to her picture since it is too big to hide and actually see her.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/ ... CN1234.jpg

Odessa
Thoroughbred (Charm's mother)
I have had her for just over 14 years now, and she will be mine until she is gone from the Earth. She will be 25 years old next month. I guess she didn't do very well racing wise, but that has been my gain.

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Sabrina and Ginger
Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties)
My family adopted Sabrina a few years ago from a breeder that really wanted to re-home her. She had been showing her, but it was determined that she had hip dysplasia when she was 1y or so. So, the breeder had her spayed and kept her as a pet. But, she didn't get along with some of the other dogs. So, we took her in.
Ginger was adopted several years ago from the dog pound, and we are quite sure she would have lived her last days there if not for us. When we adopted her, she was grossly overweight, but we got her down to a healthy weight in a year. My parents think she is the smartest dog they have had. We really don't know how old she is because all the information left at the pound was false.
In truth, they are more my parents' dogs, but I love them anyway.

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Got to love Ginger's tapeta lucida.

[TxCat]

how about idiots who buy a pet, provide less than ideal conditions and if it survives and grows too big they dump it. (or get a cute widdle hermit crab and call it a disposable pet...that doesn't exist)

Absolutely! Seven years ago, I decided I wanted birds. We are just now getting to the point where I feel comfortable enough in my knowledge of them to own them. I know what type I will be purchasing, what to look for, what questions to ask, and what type of cage they have to have. I know which perches and toys and foods they ought to have and what isn't good for them. I also took the time to find and engage a veterinarian who actually has the credentials to work on exotics and who specialized in bird medicine.

I spent a year throwing away all my aerosols and getting rid of all but my cast iron because the particles in those products are bad for the birds' lungs. I spent months talking to other responsible bird owners about the types of cages they keep their companions in and what I might need (I found out that for the size of the birds we're going to get, you really need a larger cage than is typically sold for them and that Victorian wrought iron stuff simply won't do). I found out that it has to be galvanized steel which is impregnated with color if you want color because otherwise the birds will eat the paint chips and get sick.

It will be at least another three months before I have my birds...because we want them to have a home to go into first. That means a fully stocked environment, not just a bare cage which can be decorated 'later'.

I'm starting with budgies, not because they're expendable but because they're the easiest to learn about and to care for. I don't consider any pet, not even my fish to be expendable.

Another example. Let me introduce you to Big Boss Man:

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This is a common plecostomus. Most people buy them as much smaller fish because of they are better known as algae eaters. While it's true they do this, it's not true that's ALL they will eat (the algae off your aquarium, that is). They also don't stay small for long. This particular fish, from the catfish family, can grow to between twenty and twenty-four inches long. Since the requirement for fish tanks is generally one fish inch per gallon you can imagine how much valuable real estate a growing pleco will take up. I already had one, about six inches long, which I raised from a baby in a twenty-nine gallon tank. We found Big Boss man 'free to a good home' at the local Petco. Someone simply abandoned him when he got too big for their tank set-up. We took him home and set him up with Jude, our younger pleco. The two get along well together --- these are gentle fish who can even be handled out of water and will rub against you like a cat --- and I have a healthy, thriving species tank. We plan on adding an albino and a bristlenose, transplanting them when the tank becomes too small for them (ours can handle a bit more because it's got a powerful filter on it meant for a 114 gallon tank).

The concept of just abandoning a pet, any pet, because it became inconvenient sickens me.

[Rainwater]

I also took the time to find and engage a veterinarian who actually has the credentials to work on exotics and who specialized in bird medicine.

Thank you for that. I hate getting calls asking if I do exotic work. Yes, I did the exotics rotation. No, I am not comfortable with them, and we are not set up to handle them at all. One should never assume that a veterinarian knows everything about every species or can handle them.

And, after my experiences on the exotic rotation concerning bearded dragons, I REALLY don't want to work on them. Just let me have my dogs, cats, and the occasional horse that needs vaccinations or venipuncture for EIA testing.

[Tortuga]

Well damn good for you! That's all it takes research! I love budgies...I had one, he had the best and boy did he sing. He would sing me to sleep!

Great lookin plecie by the way. Speaking of...drove me nuts when I was in the Everglades couple years ago, I saw a Plecie right there in the water sucking on a submerged rock. Some #*(*#& dumped the poor guy.
I have a rubbernose, still little...he's got a ways to go. My 5 feeder goldfish have a 60 gallon filtered tank...how many feeders get that spoiled? LOL ...goldfish are actually MUCH nicer looking that those ridiculous deformed things they call fancy.

There's a species I like, those spiny catfish species...take them out and they buuuzzzzz and try to poke you hahaah

My 3 inch Spotted turtle is a very small species, she's got her own tank. My three bigger guys are brats, exotics species - two i hatched, the Reeves and Spot are captive bred by friends.
Summertime they have a Waterland tub for sun and fresh air (if you can call SoCal air fresh...*choke* *gag* lol)
Right now that it's cooler, they have a 60 gallon shallow set up but I do admit and I'm aware that it's not ideal but they do get along and are fed and have their needs met.

[GoldenPhoenix]

My my I have always wanted birds, and like TxCat I have done my research. I decided on a Green-Cheek Conure as my first, I heard they are great starter birds. I know I need plenty of toys, sizable cage, in fact I have a cage in mind, that I hope doesn't stop selling by the time I go to get my bird. In a few years.

Also, I have a Pleco as well, he or she is about 7-8 inches long which we raised from a 1 inch. It lives in a 100 gallon right now. I would have to say, they live the longest and are the coolest fish around. Other than Angels.

I also strongly agree with educating yourself and others about taking care of your pets and what you are getting into. I have a neighbor who killed two birds within a year, and they have a dog. Their son... is younger than 12. They bought him a Cockatiel, and a Quaker Parakeet, the Cockatiel had a tiny cage, and it died very soon. Then the Quaker came in, when I met it its feces were green.... fatty liver disease, and no wonder all they fed him was sunflower seeds. I know he isn't around anymore. Then they bought him a puppy a Sheltie I believe, or Bernese, which is still around.... maybe. Mom says she has heard them beat the dog, and it barks all the time. Recently mom has noticed that we haven't heard the dog or seen any signs of it. We hope they just gave it up for adoption and didn't die. I also know that dog would run to us all the time when it escaped. Wanted to take him in all the time.
Mom says she will call on them if they get another pet, just to make sure they take care of it.
*angry*

[SpaceOrbit]

I actually found a stray dog the other day, it was a small dog though but i knew it's owner had taken care of it a lot as it had a very expensive haircut, wet nose and it just looked quite healthy to me. It followed me and my friend home so we asked our parents if we could go knocking on doors to see if anyone knew who owned it. We thought it was a boy at first so we called him Fetch but someone told us it was a girl so we renamed her to Kelly. We had gone past quite a few doors before finally we found the owner (took us 3 hours but we found them). She was really happy that we found it and thanked us.

[Synchronized]

Breed standards are fine so long as they adhere to what the breed was actually bred to do.

If your German Shepard is physically incapable of doing work because of it's sloping hindquarters(because it looks "good") then what kind of "standard" are you trying to adhere to? A "beauty" standard? What a joke.

Dog Show judges don't judge based on ability or health, but only on looks, which is a horrible, horrible thing to do-- especially when so many "purebred" top-of-the-line showdogs will likely be inbred somewhere along their lines as well.