Pets: Cats, Dogs & People.

[Sergo]

Hi.
Alas I cannot tell everything I would have liked here, but I hope some of you will donate in your opinions. (I have just spoken with a Lloyds person about our recent losses, and have something else to do...)

What interests me most is:

I remember that some time ago two dogs killed a young woman in the USA. The owner was put on trial and should be in prison by now for murder, the dogs were killed, I believe.
My brother, who lived in Germany for 10 years or so, told me the laws on dogs were very strict in Germany, so even a person who gave a dog owner a license for keeping a certain breed of a dog will be prosecuted in case the dog misbehaved.
In Russia we have much more people killed and badly mutilated by dogs every year than are by sharks in all the seas of the world. And in most cases owners get unharmed, and dogs remain living.

Then, our dogowners sometimes like to see as their darlings hunt squirrels in the parks. The same squirrels that were fed by children by hand a moment before... And owners say that as the dogs are part of the Nature, they naturally have to be allowed to live a natural life.

And our people tend not to dispose properly of their pets' "droppings" while taking a walk outside. So, for example, snow around big houses turns rather not too white & tidy after several days...

What are the pets regulations where you live, and what do you think about the problem?

And, surely, what else do you want to tell about your little darlings...

 

[Rex]

In my area of the US, owners are liable for the actions of their dogs, criminally as well as in civil court. People have been imprisoned and fined for the actions of their dogs and some dogs have been euthanized by court order following attacks on humans.

Regarding general dog behavior, dog owners are expected to pick up after their dogs in public areas and, for the most part, people comply with this expectation. We do not have a problem with dog droppings where I live. Dog owners also generally do not allow their pets to terrorize wildlife, although on their own property dogs may do what they like.

Bad dogs are made by bad owners. I do not believe any dog starts its life inherently mean.

 

[Sergo]

In my area of the US, owners are liable for the actions of their dogs, criminally as well as in civil court. People have been imprisoned and fined for the actions of their dogs and some dogs have been euthanized by court order following attacks on humans.

Regarding general dog behavior, dog owners are expected to pick up after their dogs in public areas and, for the most part, people comply with this expectation. We do not have a problem with dog droppings where I live. Dog owners also generally do not allow their pets to terrorize wildlife, although on their own property dogs may do what they like.

Bad dogs are made by bad owners. I do not believe any dog starts its life inherently mean.

I see. Very logical approach.

As to bad owners... I have an impression that people sometimes want from their pets much more than they are capable of giving. Sometimes people think of their dogs much better, than of other people. That would have been OK if that had been only the dog owners' business, but because of that other people get killed for "a bad look" on a dog, or "too hot defence against a dog assault", or some foolish pretence they will somehow retaliate on barking dog.

Big dogs are sometimes considered as classy, sometimes - as a good guards against unwanted strangers, sometimes - as bullies, who would make others be afraid, and the owner to feel oneself better because of that. I am sure nothing of that is good for the dogs, for other people, and, finally, for owners too, as they sometimes loose their grasp on reality.

Bad behaviour towards dogs and cats could be met often too. You are to be most aware of that when you are a pet owner yourself.

We usually have a cat and a small dog. Now that our Persian Colour-point cat Salvadore has left us, we have only a toy terrier Alice with us. She is very funny and sometimes seems to be a wise little thing, but the more you know dogs (or cats) the less you can believe their intelligence could be like what one sees in films for kids...

 

[lies]

Bad dogs are made by bad owners. I do not believe any dog starts its life inherently mean.

I don't know that... My friend had a doberman that kept attacking her mother, so they had it killed. The other dogs that came from the same nest (is that the correct word?) had to be put down because they were aggressive too (all five of them). So I think breeding has something to do with it too...

 

[Sergo]

I don't know that... My friend had a doberman that kept attacking her mother, so they had it killed. The other dogs that came from the same nest (is that the correct word?) had to be put down because they were aggressive too (all five of them). So I think breeding has something to do with it too...

Yep, I think you are right - there are breeders that systematically get the most aggressive dogs to get the puppies, and so on.

But in any case that is what a man does to a dog, not what happens to dogs without any influence of men.

Breeding essentially is about adjusting pets to what people need. So if there is a need for dogs who will try to kill any stranger in sight - there will be such dogs on sale. We have them, at least, and they are not cheap to buy, I must tell you.

 

[Ice]

Wow – well here are my thoughts on this subject

In the UK the owners are responsible for their dogs actions and dogs have been PTS for attacking people. It’s not common but it does happen

Then, our dogowners sometimes like to see as their darlings hunt squirrels in the parks. The same squirrels that were fed by children by hand a moment before... And owners say that as the dogs are part of the Nature, they naturally have to be allowed to live a natural life.

Now this is not the dogs fault. It is natural instinct for a dog to chase small creatures (and some not so small). It is down to the owner to be responsible and to keep their dogs under control. Indeed, one of ours caught a pheasant – she was on the lead at the time and it was hidden in the undergrowth. Sometimes there is nothing you can do – at the end of the day a dog is a dog and some do have more ‘natural instinct’ than others (especially the primitive breeds).

I trust mine implicitly with children but would never ever leave them alone – mainly due to their physical size as they could hurt a child without meaning to, but then again I would never leave any child alone with a dog.

Bad dogs are made by bad owners. I do not believe any dog starts its life inherently mean.

For the most part I agree with this – the majority of dogs are not inherently bad. It is mainly due to their upbringing. I know of a case at the moment where by a 2 year old bitch has just been ‘rescued’. She has been living in a pen 6ft x 4ft all her life and is constantly kept muzzled – her owner died and it took people 4 days to realise this. All the time the dog was sitting in her pen in her own mess – she had obviously been beaten at some point too. Now someone very experienced in the breed went to see her and as she went to stroke her the dog turned and tried to attack, luckily someone pulled her off before she did any damage – there is only one person she trusts and they can’t take on a dog as they work full time. They are seeing if there is any chance she can be rehabilitated but I doubt she will ever be able to be trusted and maybe the kindest thing would be to put her down – and this is not her fault.

Saying that, she may have bad breeding, so it may not be 100% environmental. There are breeders out there who don’t care about the temperament of a dog, only how much they can sell it for. When you are talking about a dog that weighs as much as I do when fully grown and able to pull 13 times their own bodyweight you are talking about a very powerful dog which in the wrong hands can be disastrous.

As for the case of not cleaning up after your dog, we now have signs up everywhere that you can and will be prosecuted if you allow your dogs to foul in the street and do not pick it up – the fine is up to £1000.

Breeding essentially is about adjusting pets to what people need. So if there is a need for dogs who will try to kill any stranger in sight - there will be such dogs on sale. We have them, at least, and they are not cheap to buy, I must tell you.

Agreed, but in England we have the DDA (Dangerous Dogs Act) which has 4 banned breeds on its (and breeds resembling this ‘type’. Now I don’t really agree with the act, if I recall a great dane x staff was seized as it resembled pit bull type. It is the owners of these dogs, who wanted them purely for the image they create that are to blame. I will avoid staffs, mainly due to the fact of the type of owner that has them. It doesn’t help that a staff x was off the lead and attacked my bitch – which means she is now wary of some dogs.

All in all, dogs are fantastic pets if you have the time to dedicate to them and you are committed to their training (especially with large breeds). In the wrong hands …

Just my thoughts

 

[Sergo]

Wow – well here are my thoughts on this subject

In the UK the owners are responsible for their dogs actions and dogs have been PTS for attacking people. It’s not common but it does happen

Too bad our Duma is too busy with Latvians and bees to give us some workable pet regulations.

Now this is not the dogs fault. It is natural instinct for a dog to chase small creatures (and some not so small). It is down to the owner to be responsible and to keep their dogs under control. Indeed, one of ours caught a pheasant – she was on the lead at the time and it was hidden in the undergrowth. Sometimes there is nothing you can do – at the end of the day a dog is a dog and some do have more ‘natural instinct’ than others (especially the primitive breeds).

Yessss, that's not a dog fault. But surely the owner's. I do not think it's good.
As to pheasants... One of my previous cats has caught a bird on our balcony one day. After that she naturally came with it to our bathroom where I was taking a bath, and dropped it to the water... The cat looked very glad and happy and obviously wanted me to share her feelings. After that occurence we glassed our balcony over.

I trust mine implicitly with children but would never ever leave them alone – mainly due to their physical size as they could hurt a child without meaning to, but then again I would never leave any child alone with a dog.

One of my colleagues' dog has bitten a little girl on the face (she came too close when he was eating).

For the most part I agree with this – the majority of dogs are not inherently bad. It is mainly due to their upbringing. I know of a case at the moment where by a 2 year old bitch has just been ‘rescued’. She has been living in a pen 6ft x 4ft all her life and is constantly kept muzzled – her owner died and it took people 4 days to realise this. All the time the dog was sitting in her pen in her own mess – she had obviously been beaten at some point too. Now someone very experienced in the breed went to see her and as she went to stroke her the dog turned and tried to attack, luckily someone pulled her off before she did any damage – there is only one person she trusts and they can’t take on a dog as they work full time. They are seeing if there is any chance she can be rehabilitated but I doubt she will ever be able to be trusted and maybe the kindest thing would be to put her down – and this is not her fault.

Wow. I know a worse case even... Maybe sometime...

Saying that, she may have bad breeding, so it may not be 100% environmental. There are breeders out there who don’t care about the temperament of a dog, only how much they can sell it for. When you are talking about a dog that weighs as much as I do when fully grown and able to pull 13 times their own bodyweight you are talking about a very powerful dog which in the wrong hands can be disastrous.

Yep, of course.

As for the case of not cleaning up after your dog, we now have signs up everywhere that you can and will be prosecuted if you allow your dogs to foul in the street and do not pick it up – the fine is up to £1000.

Ehhh... What about our Duma again...

Agreed, but in England we have the DDA (Dangerous Dogs Act) which has 4 banned breeds on its (and breeds resembling this ‘type’. Now I don’t really agree with the act, if I recall a great dane x staff was seized as it resembled pit bull type. It is the owners of these dogs, who wanted them purely for the image they create that are to blame. I will avoid staffs, mainly due to the fact of the type of owner that has them. It doesn’t help that a staff x was off the lead and attacked my bitch – which means she is now wary of some dogs.

You know, too many of our owners do not use leash and... that thing which a dog should wear in public places... They say that's bad for the dogs. Result of that is - many dogs are injured, lost or killed in the traffic. I cannot understand how the owners cannot see that.

All in all, dogs are fantastic pets if you have the time to dedicate to them and you are committed to their training (especially with large breeds). In the wrong hands …

Just my thoughts

Mine too. But I prefer our small dog - much less trouble...