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Bottom line, I think - they are addressing a fear they have. The fears may be various.
I like animals and have never been angry at a pet for doing what is natural and what he is allowed to do. But, like Pathrunner, there are a few pet owners I'd like to swat with a newspaper.
Worse yet is raising an animal to be vicious. I understand there are working dogs for whom that is part of their job but to raise a family dog or a fighting dog to attack seems like a grave exploitation of the creature.
That's right, raising a dog or encouraging a dog to be vicious is in my opinion bad for the dog. Especially if you have 4 of them like in my example upthread. There is just no need for that. I could agree perhaps with one dog who is completely under voice command.
My SIL has had two German Shepard and both were poorly trained and vicious. I don't know what she is thinking. I guess mainly, they are fine for where she lives and no one really goes over.
My dog is in the 100 lb range, and I spent a lot of time making sure he was obedient and safe around kids and such.
Maybe people with unruly dogs are just lazy pet parents.
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I'll be the first to admit I'm not that great at training dogs. My girl is very smart but also very stubborn. I gave up after the basic commands and "shake." I think it is part laziness, to be honest. I was much better at disciplining my kids (positive reinforcement without negativity). Lots of times my girl dog has her own mind and if I can catch it immediately I do impose sanctions. My other dog was an abused rescue. I was easy on him but he was an extremely easy mellow dog so there was really nothing to train. Now that he has passed away recently, my girl is much more mellow and minds better because she's not in competition for my attention.
Last edited by pathrunner; 06-23-2023 at 02:58 PM..
Worse yet is raising an animal to be vicious. I understand there are working dogs for whom that is part of their job but to raise a family dog or a fighting dog to attack seems like a grave exploitation of the creature.
IME "working" dogs are not trained to be vicious. They are trained to be fearless, driven, and intimidating on command. No legitimate dog handler wants a vicious partner that puts everyone involved at risk, including themselves. A properly trained working dog isn't a liability. A vicious dog is as it isn't in control of itself. I do not consider anyone who breeds/trains dogs to fight legitimate. They're heartless, cruel and care about nothing but their own egos.
Last edited by Parnassia; 06-23-2023 at 02:56 PM..
IME "working" dogs are not trained to be vicious. They are trained to be fearless, driven, and intimidating on command. No legitimate dog handler wants a vicious partner that puts everyone involved at risk, including themselves. A properly trained working dog isn't a liability. A vicious dog is as it isn't in control of itself. I do not consider anyone who breeds/trains dogs to fight legitimate. They're heartless, cruel and care about nothing but their own egos.
Well, yeah. Good clarification of what I was saying for anyone who didn't get it.
It's my understanding that working dogs are chosen for their breed nature being among the most loyal types. Then the relationship with the trainer is firmly established to reinforce that willingness to protect.
I want to say a word about breed. Dogs have different personalities or inclinations. I sometimes think naive owners pick their dogs for visual appeal without understanding the specific nature of the animal. Then they are stuck with something they don't want or can't manage and don't have the money, time or knowledge to make sure the pet understands good manners.
It's such a disservice to an animal and can turn a loveable pet into what I call an "abusable" animal. Not everyone is going to tolerate an unruly animal and may visit physical abuse on it.
I sometimes think naive owners pick their dogs for visual appeal without understanding the specific nature of the animal. Then they are stuck with something they don't want or can't manage and don't have the money, time or knowledge to make sure the pet understands good manners.
They certainly do! Seen/read/heard it all too often. How many "dog for adoption" pleas do we see including some variation of "I chose a dog for exactly the wrong reasons. Now I need to pass the problem child I created on to someone else." Sometimes it's all I can do to hold my tongue (er keyboard) not to answer. I'm partial to heelers but every time I hear the sob story about an out of control herder from someone who works 80 hours a week, has a toddler and is just about to have another, lives in a city flat, and leaves this velcro dog alone in a crate all day every day it makes me crazy! And they wonder why there's a problem? Of all the suitable breeds to choose from why on earth did you pick a cattledog? Because Mel Gibson has them?
Last edited by Parnassia; 06-24-2023 at 05:25 PM..
They certainly do! Seen/read/heard it all too often. How many "dog for adoption" pleas do we see including some variation of "I chose a dog for exactly the wrong reasons. Now I need to pass the problem child I created on to someone else." Sometimes it's all I can do to hold my tongue (er keyboard) not to answer. I'm partial to heelers but every time I hear the sob story about an out of control herder from someone who works 80 hours a week, has a toddler and is just about to have another, lives in a city flat, and leaves this velcro dog alone in a crate all day every day it makes me crazy! Of all the suitable breeds to choose from why on earth did you pick a cattledog? Because Mel Gibson has them?
Okay.....you are gonna LOVE this but that is exactly why my husband picked our heeler!!! Not.Even.Kidding.
"remember how he was holding the gun on that guy in the front seat of the car...?"
And me, STOOPID, oh, okay sure....but I did try to do my due diligence, thought I had a handle on what we were getting into - super high energy, smart, stubborn, controlling, was gonna need training....but no...unless you've been around heelers, I think people have no idea what they are getting into.
Okay.....you are gonna LOVE this but that is exactly why my husband picked our heeler!!! Not.Even.Kidding.
"remember how he was holding the gun on that guy in the front seat of the car...?"
And me, STOOPID, oh, okay sure....but I did try to do my due diligence, thought I had a handle on what we were getting into - super high energy, smart, stubborn, controlling, was gonna need training....but no...unless you've been around heelers, I think people have no idea what they are getting into.
Oh boy, I can just imagine! One lesson I learned very early on living with cattledogs. Turn them into fetching or disc addicts as soon as you can. The cure for multiple problems.
I still love them but the state of my feet, knees, and hips mean the cattledog best suited for me these days is about 9 years old and having as many orthopedic realities as I do. By the time someone has stuck it out with their herder that long they don't put them up for adoption (unless they've shucked off this mortal coil), they hang on to them and enjoy their just reward...peace !
Actually, my last two heelers weren't crazy or unsafe at any speed. One was even a couch potato. As long as she was close enough for bodily contact, she was happy, regardless what we were doing. She upgraded the whole velcro/shadow dog thing to the furry tumor level.
Last edited by Parnassia; 06-24-2023 at 06:05 PM..
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