To think more thought needs to go into getting a pet

[Beachcountrysidetown]

I am so confused as to why people get pets without really considering the responsibility they are taking on.
A lot of people talk about getting small pet shop animals for the children then get annoyed when it’s the adults having to look after the pets and remind the children to check food water etc. What did they expect? There is a reason charities only rehome animals where there is an adult with enough time to properly care for the pet.
Another one I hear a lot is “this small pet is rubbish because it bites” again what did they expect when they only get the animal out once a month or when the animal is taken out it is not handled gently?
I also see animals being kept in such unsuitable houses - too small and often without enough room to behave naturally at all!
“farm” type animals being kept in the same condition as intensive farmed animals (garden chickens for example being kept in tiny hutches)
Animals being treated badly because it’s “only” hamster, chicken, gerbil etc.
Dog that need a lot of walking not being walked nearly enough.
It upsets me. Animals take time and need owners to research properly to make sure that the animals are being kept the best way possible.
AIBU? Should I be a bit more light hearted towards animals?

Danceswithwarthogs

Agree it's disgusting what has been done to dogs in the name of fashion. As you say, inability to breath properly - going blind with ingrowing eyelids and so on, unnecessary docking of tails - I think Crufts has a lot to answer for.

It’s just far to easy to acquire pets. People can do it a whim and regularly do. That said, I have no idea what the answer is to prevent this.

A family member has now had 2 puppies, both were passed on again after a few months for various reasons but all down to inexperience and lack of training/exercise. Plus they have small furries that never come out of cages, as the children lost interest in a few weeks.

We had a couple bring their pug into work a couple of weeks ago and it was just awful. The poor thing was overweight (admittedly probably the fault of the owners) and was making some awful noises. It could hardly breathe or walk and it was actually really upsetting.

I work in an outdoors shop and we get loads of people bringing their dogs in. Most of them are well-exercised and well looked after, but seeing that pug made me really sad. It was clearly bought as some kind of fashion item, but the poor animal was clearly suffering

thefabledsnake I agree 100% regarding reptiles. Same for fish. I keep tropical fish and get SO fed up of reading time and time again about fish in unsuitable tanks.

I’m about to get two tortoises for the first time. Been considering and planning it for a year now. That’s a whole year or research and reading and speaking to experts (and by this I mean keepers at zoos etc) before I finally decided that yes, I could provide the right conditions and environment for two tortoises. (I’m picking them up on Saturday - stupidly excited!). Yet judging by the FB pages and tort forums I’ve joined for advice I seem to be in the minority by having done all my research BEFORE I got them!

Thank fuck. I thought I was the only one.
I want a puppy. Next week. Here's the cute puppy I bought off the internet.
Kids want a rabbit. One month later. One rabbit for rehoming.
Cat is getting on. Can I just let nature take its course?!
FFS!!!
I have two rescued kittens. We have never had kittens before. Work and kids etc made it more suitable for us to have adult cats first time round. (Cats can live about 20 years so not to be taken on lightly.)
I've wanted a dog for bloody years. Where we lived, work and kids etc etc. No dog. Finally have my dream girl. I waited over 2 years for a breeder that had the best interests of the breed and the puppies.
Oh and KC reg and seeing "mum" doesnt mean it's not a puppy farmer.
"Designer" cross breeds. Crosses can be awesome. But to deliberately breed from unhealthtested parents and sell to people who have no idea what they are taking on. Grrrrr

This is a really helpful (and terrifying) thread for me as we are planning to buy our first dog soon. I am trying to research but I still can't quite work out how much s/he will cost us each month. Between food, insurance, puppy training and the various bits and pieces like harnesses and crates, there just seem to be so many variables. I can see how people get caught out.

Couldn't agree more. We got a rescue kitten last year knowing and hoping he will last with us for years and years I could not love him more and yes to some he's 'just a cat' but I believe with any living thing you choose to get you should give i the best life possible x

People picking dogs based on the look of them rather than what is best suited to their lives really annoys me. People in little houses getting husky's that never get to properly run. Working dogs like collies begals and German shepards stuck indoors all the time. It's cruel.

I think there should be stronger rules around dog ownership, especially for larger breeds.

Hiya @OldEnglishSheepDog
Feel free to come to the puppy thread or post in the doghouse.
My figures won't help as my hound is a giant. If you want a puppy next year you need to get out and need breeders and get on lists. What about attending some dog shows? Find breed clubs?

I once rescued two cats, there was another pair of cats in the rescue centre. I was absolutely incensed to hear that they'd been declawed (in the USA) because it was fashionable, then because they couldn't tidy their litter away properly (due to having no claws) the owner was getting rid of them as she was pregnant. Stupid, irresponsible owner.

DS2 is desperate for a pug. I've been in contact with the pug rescue organisation to find out if they'd rehome to someone in my circumstances; if they say no, we won't be getting a pug.

@Wolfiefan I have been under another name (and you were very helpful!) In the process of meeting breeders but trying to get a rough idea now so I can budget realistically. It's not easy! We are going for a nice small breed though, so cheap to feed hopefully!

When you hear someone say we are a nation of animal lovers, what they should REALLY say is that we are a nation of animal owners.

What happened?
Tell me I didn't miss someone coming on to say, 'Won't somebody think of the children!'

It's not just animals. I think the main problem here is that a lot of people lack foresight and don't tend to consider the long-term consequences whilst swimming in their short-term gains.

We had a neighbour who was a terrible pet owner. First of all had a cat, left it out in all conditions and paid it no attention - it is now our cat (worked out how to use the cat flap and moved in)

Then they got a yappy wee dog - while they still allegedly owned the cat - dog chases cat all the time and spends most of the day locked in a small cage in the garden yapping away

Then they got a rabbit - it escaped - everyone told them it had escaped - they did nothing. Finally after it was living in our garden for 2 weeks it started snowing and I took it to an animal shelter - they never even missed it

It is interesting people seem able to voice their disapproval about people having animals they can't adequately care for, but not children

It's a thread specifically about pets, so it's not at all "interesting"/

Anyway, yes there are plenty of people who do not look after their pets properly at all. And at the other end there are some people who are over the top obsessed with pets and have ridiculously high ideas of how they should be treated by everyone else.
But like most things my guess is that most of us are comfortably in the middle. Like me, I have a rescue animal, I like him a lot, look after him, have insurance and feed him well etc etc. I'm not a loon about it though.

I whinge about my daughter not looking after her hamster and guinea pigs. Doesn't meant I'm going to re-home them though. They are much loved pets, My rescue dog is coming today (first time doggy owner). I expect to have a very pissed off moggy in a couple of hours....

Ive taken on a very old cat that was living in a garage...I couldnt bear to think of her in the winter so brought her home with me.....Ive had her almost a year and I love her but am terrified at the prospect of a huge vets bill if she gets sick.

Agree that too many people buy animals without thinking about it first.

However I do think that there needs to be some middle ground thinking between everyone should get their animals from rescue and if the rescue says no they know all and gumtree is the place to go...

The level of conditions that rescues place on adopting (especially) dogs are far too stringent. If a dog cannot be rehomed with children or other dogs or left alone for any period of time or in any circumstances other than that the dog has to be with its owner 24/7 then the likelihood is that the dog isn't suitable for rehoming. And I think that often there are far worse fates that can befall a dog than being put to sleep in certain circumstances. And no, I'm not talking about situations where an owner cannot pay a vet bill, but situations where e.g. Certain dog rescues offer up dogs for sponsor because they're so ill/traumatised/badly behaved that they will likely never find an actual home, so the rescue trades off the slogan that they "never put a healthy dog down," when in actual fact if a dog is not able to be rehomed ever it is not a healthy dog and the rescue are just as guilty as treating those dogs as commodities in order to further their own fundraising.

If a dog is not rehomeable then put the poor thing out of its misery ffs.

Rinoachicken, absolutely fish as well. It's incredibly sad to see fish in a too tiny tank or one that is plain filthy. They suffer just as much as any other living creature.

Ooh how exciting about your new ones, I hope they settle in quickly

I would love a dog, kids would love a dog. But DH and I both work full time, so no dog. A little thought told us that it wouldn't work.

We have two rescue cats, cats being fine with us only being around evenings and weekends.

I've just sold a litter of working golden retriever puppies. I refused 9 lots of buyers because they wanted them as pets and weren't geared up to give them the amount of physical and mental exercise a working retriever needs - two of those couples because incredibly rude to me. I went to great lengths to vet the homes my puppies have gone to and hand on heart I believe I have done my best to ensure they have the best homes- I have said I will give them a full refund and have any puppies back if there are any issues at any point during their little lives and I will honour that.

I'm incredibly invested in my dogs and my horses and I like to think they have a very good quality of life with me.

SleightOfMind
What happened?
(Tell me I didn't miss someone coming on to say, 'Won't somebody think of the children!'*

Yup, you don't sound surprised lol. I suggested if she started her own thread about baby humans she would get lots of replies. I think they should discuss the microwaving micro chipping of children

I really miss having a cat but won't have one because I'm 70+ and there's no guarantee I'll be alive in my 90's to care for it. I couldn't stand knowing an elderly cat of mine ended up in a rescue centre where no-one wanted it because of its age.

I knew a couple - they and kids went to a breeder to look for a puppy because eldest child wanted one. They chose an old English sheep dog. While waiting for it to be old enough to be taken home, several people told them it was a bad idea - how the breed needed miles of exercise a day or got bored. Huh - all they needed to know was that it was cute.

Puppy was transported home - the wife goes berserk when it pees in the corner on the cream rug; who knew cute puppies had the same bodily functions as other animals It was taken for a short walk and then was put in the garden to amuse itself. Wife is becoming disillusioned. She returns to work a couple of months later and is horrified on arriving home the first day to find most of the wallpaper hanging in shreds off the wall and poo in several locations. How was she supposed to know that a puppy couldn't wait 7 hours before needing to go to the loo - anger and disillusionment increases. Next morning they come downstairs to find their sofa ripped to shreds. Too much for wifey who advertises poor dog on Gumtree - sold it for half what they paid - refused to take it to a rescue centre as needed to recoup cost. They had zero interest in finding out what sort of home it was going to and replaced it shortly thereafter with a kitten.

I chose to loose contact but am pretty sure that if they kept going down the animal chain they should just about be getting their next pet - a snail would be my guess.

So good to read Frillyhorseyknickers The sad thing is that for every responsible breeder like you, I bet there are ten who keep their breeding animals in awful conditions and have no interest in vetting anything. Their only motivation is money. How do people know which breeder to trust?

I watched a programme on Quest Red recently about the Houston SPCA. The cruelty they deal with on a daily basis is shocking - pit bulls permanently kept in the yard with huge chains attaching them to a tree to build up their neck muscles for fighting. The SPCA officer could barely pick up the chain. Horses so emaciated they were unable to stand and had to be hoisted up to support them in the stable. 40 sick (and dexomposing) dogs rescued from a house which looked to be in a state of collapse.

I decided not to watch another but then they showed the horses in a field, fat and healthy, dogs rehomed with loving owners. I'm glad they showed a happy outcome for some of the animals.

YANBU. Neighbours got a pup just before christmas a few years ago. Pup done what pups do, run around and wee everywhere, pup disappeared, not sure what happened to it and any mention of it was met with a swift change of subject.

Do people not know that pups run around and wee before they get them?