FOAK: Dog training and 'shock' collars

AHAHAHAHA!! Ace one.

Limited? I had a guinea pig and the family have had numerous cats and dogs
over the years. I'm aware of what goes on in pet-owning. I don't know what
the watershed may be for expressing an opinion but I feel comfortable with
where I'm coming from.

The point I'm trying to make here, and this goes for Phil as well, is not
just "poor doggies why don't we leave them alone" it's "why are humans so
fucking sad they have to breed animals for companionship (which is pathetic
on its own) when they can't even deal with other humans".

 

Ben Blaney wrote

Define "working dogs"

 

Ok. I was just checking you weren't being deliberately facetious before
asking my next question...

Is slavery ok? I mean, the slaves get all the excercise they need, splitting
those rocks and building those railroads.

 

You forgot all the love and how they'd kill themselves with infighting left
to their own devices.

 

mups wrote

I had a dog when I was a kid, it made the man I am today.

 

And they get to sing sings all the time.

 

Loz H wrote

The flu jab works.

 

Yes, I know.

I was in too much of a hurry to be witty. Failed on all three counts.

 

To a large part, the answer's in the question. Maybe humans breed
animals for companionship simply _because_ they can't even deal with
other humans. Or choose not to, for some or all of the time.

 

Hmmm. I'll play "All property is theft." How many points is that?

 

Champ wrote

No, true every word of it. That animals language skills were
phenomenal, he taught me a lot.

I have never met another canary like him, he was probably a genius.
Although given his abilities at fetching sticks I have him more of a
sort of idiot savant. Essex boy he was. Country born and bred.

 

SP left a note on my windscreen which said:

I must admit I'm drawing parallels between the use of these collars and
the use of electrified fences for farmyard animals. Is the use of
electric fences considered unnessesarily cruel also?

The objective of both is to educate an animal as to what not to do. Be
it barking at strangers or to keep them confined in a particular area.

We keep goats and sometimes pigs enclosed in electric fences and they
get a shock now and them when they proceed too close but I've never
considered the use of them cruel.

I agree.

I belive so. We are often in the small wood and across the fields and
she loves to get into all the hedgerows with her nose on the ground.
When she's in the garden she's often too pre-occupied with investigating
the slightest movement amongst the grass.

When at home, even though I've tried to engage her interest with ball
games, spending time with her for 'praise' training and generally paying
her alot of attention she seems to prefer to scrap around in the garden.
She will stand, focused on a small section of ground where, I presume,
she's seen some sort of movement and then she'll scratch at the ground
with her front feet, maybe pick something up in her mouth to toss it
aside and resume staring at the ground. She will do this all over the
garden and seems completely pre-occupied with it. Until someone walks
past the wall where she'll bark and 'chase' tham. Once they've gone
it's back to the focusing on the ground again.

I've put it down to simply being a fairly typical aspect of their
behaviour. Even though I've tried to get her attention elsewhere this
is usually her number 1 priority.

Personally I love spending time with dogs. I find it highly enjoyable
as (I hope) they do.

 

Mike wrote

You alcatraz using a context checker.

 

Sorby left a note on my windscreen which said:

I don't think many domestic dogs are used to build railroads.

OTOH do you think that wolves being subservant to an alpha male is
inhumane?

 

I'll back this up.
My little collie/spaniel cross was a terror for nipping ankles of passers by,
not allowing strangers into the house, and trying to eat my chickens.
After a few months of being trained, I am a much better handler, and have
taught the dog not to nip people while out. He can also now be left
unsupervised in the garden with the roaming chickens. I've not quite mastered
the strangers at the door thing yet, but we'll get there.

Handler training. Best 2 quid and 2 hours a week I've invested.

 

That throwaway line was just to demonstrate that SP's statement of
morality is...curious.

 

Define "I don't care enough".

 

porl left a note on my windscreen which said:

You'll have to excuse me for not knowing you personally but since your
opinions on pet ownership are somewhat negative I assumed you probably
didn't own one. You did note I said 'apparently' up there?

As I also said, which you convienently snipped, that I do respect your
opinion on the matter.

Many of the sub-species were originally bred for a specific 'working'
purpose. Fighting, guarding, animal baiting, hunting etc. Since these
practices have since much declined should we, now, abandon the current
species' and send them to be destroyed?

Current practices of breeding in order to create a more homeworthy dog I
must confess I don't see as 'right'. But current practices aside your
argument doesn't really address the issue of dog ownership but simply
breeding practices. It also should be noted that most professional
breeders do so to keep the current sub-species pure rather than to
create 'custom made' dogs to order.

 

http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/2002/04/15/short-legged-cat.pub.html