...to think that NOBODY should get a dog EVER without my express permission?

[BroccoliSpears]

You could apply to me in writing and I'd assess you and my decision would be final.

People who wouldn't get dogs include

• People who work and plan to leave the dog shut in.
• People who don't really like dogs but think it would be nice for the kids.
• People who have never had a dog before (unless they're prepared to undertake a dog course).

Okay, perhaps I'm being a teensy weensy bit unreasonable, but I find it so depressing how casually people get dogs and then get rid of them.

In the last week I've been told two very similar stories from unrelated people about how they got a dog but it was "a disaster" because he just chewed things and weed in the house and wrecked the carpet and wouldn't do as he's told and in they end they had to give him to the rescue centre because he was no good. There is no taboo about cheerfully chucking a dog on the scrap if you don't want it.

I utterly utterly adore my dog and wouldn't be without her, but when people I know (even friends) get That Look in their eye as they see dog and DD playing together, and wonder if they should get a dog I want to scream "NOOOOO". I want to rant that yes, my dog is well behaved and doesn't chew stuff and walks nicely next to the pushchair and adores DD and is a joyous addition to out family, but how do you think she got like that???? It wasn't a fluke. I thought very carefully about what breed, what age and what sex dog would suit our family. I worked really hard with her to ensure that she was well behaved and well socialised with other dogs and people. Plus, I love dogs. To me it will never really be a chore to pick up poo in the garden or take her to the park in the rain, any more than it's a chore to feed and bath DD at the end of a long tireing day.

But if I said all that I'd be patronising and ranting and would eventually lose all my friends and have to become a crazy cat lady or something.

I just wish that people had a more realistic idea of what having a dog was like before they went tripping off to get one. They can be wonderful, wonderful pets if you know what you're letting yourself in for.

And I wish that getting a dog was understood as a commitment to that animals's wellfair for the rest of its life, however inconvenient that may be to you.

For gawd's sake. Dogs have to budgetted for end of. The animals have needs as well as owners.

Also what is considered a low income is all relative. It also depends on how you spend your money. For example if you choose to smoke 20 a day and drink like a fish then being on bare minimum income support and owning a large dog is financial maddness.

I am not suggesting you give up your 13 year old dog. However its a different matter taking on a new puppy. Its a bit like kids. You would not give up your child for adoption just because you are divorced or financially struggling.

People with major disablities get incapacity benefit which helps with the additional cost of looking after a dog. Even then guidedogs are not the most expensive breed of dog to look after. Honestly do you think a woman with six children who is benefits can afford 4 ridgebacks?

I am not suggesting a blanket ban, but a bit of common sense. Pets vary a lot in cost and needs. Its a matter of considering what your current expenses are and whether you can afford an extra mouth to feed.

Remember those people who are on benefits do get help with their vets bills from the RSPCA and places like the PDSA. Those that earn a wage do not.

Whilst working at the RSPCA it was usual to get a phone call from someone who worked but was unable to pay their vets bill - and the Society couldn't help whereas if you were on benefits you did receive financial help with the bill.

I had two cats that both lived to 21 and 22.
A rabbit that cost me a fortune in vets bills.I was committed to their quality of Life and was devoted to them.However I bitterly regretted getting them and I am really glad that we are finally pet free.
I do love animals but the day to day looking after them,especially all the pet food,demands on my time and the mess,really got me down.Think before you get a pet,the rabbit was the worse.It had a chronic digestive problem which meant that I had to bath it constantly and couldnt go away on holiday,in case it got fly strike.They need a lot of looking after,be warned!

Broc I really agree with most of what you say,people should think extremely carefully before getting any sort of pet.THANKS.

I have two dogs, two cats and four guinea pigs, two children and one husband.

They are, for me, collectively, a full-time unpaid job!

Broc - we need to make an urgent amendmemt to the manifesto - to say that rottweilers are not allowed to be kept by anyone who also keeps children. If they want the dogs they have to give away the children. And vice versa of course.

It doesn't help that a lot of the supposed animal rescue places are more than willing to rehome a dog - I found it relatively easy to rehome my latest addition despite having young children etc. Also doesn't help that dogs, in particular, puppies are so easy to obtain whether it be from breeders or people simply wanting to give their animals up because they can't cope.

With regards to hutched animals - guinea pigs and rabbits - places like PetsMart should be banned from doing so. They have absolutely no idea who they are selling the animals to other than who gives them the money at the till and in a lot of cases, I'm sure, the animals are bought as presents for children, who rapidly lose interest when it comes to cleaning out and once the animal has grown out of its cute and cuddly stage...and therefore left in its hutch at the top of the garden, forgotten about.

The benefits issue isnt about people who have adog and then fall on hard times, its the scum bags(many live by me) who have at least one expensive pedigree, usually a breed that makes thenm look hard, Never pay full vets fees and abuse the PDSA by giving pennies as a donation.

And not all Rotweillers are bad . Its mainly the bloody owners.

makes me feel like crying to think of a poor rabbit at the top of a garden forgotten about. Arent some people wicked? No one make you get a pet. Its not like having a child and geting pregnant accidently. You have achoice.

But Rottweilers often attack other people's children. The recent case in the news it was the granparents who owned the dogs. Often violent dogs are cross breeds or another breed like Staffordshire Bull terriers.

Personally I think there needs to be tougher punishments for owners whose dogs kill or seriously maine another person. Prehaps manslaughter charges would be appriopate.

I feel very sorry for the seven year old girl who decided to show the baby the dog. She had no idea what would happen. Frankly the granparents aren't fit to look after children or a dog!

many dogs can attack but its just terrible than when a large breed does its with much worse consequences..

Think the problem is too many people think its tough to have abig hard dog like a rottweiller etc. The amount of people round here that have staff's, they are like abloody status symbol. These people cant manage them. (i have a cross staff actually!)
A man by us has a big rottweiller, walks him several times a day, always on lead. Wish all owners so sensible. HE obviously loves his dog and hasnt had him os he looks hard.

Totally agree Broccoli

I grew up with 2 dogs so am a doggy person and know how much work they are, having always worked full time before DC I have 3 cats instead, I'm lazy they are lazier, they are practically house cats being too lazy to go out unless it's a perfect summers day and they can sun themselves in the back garden.

We also had rabbits but they were played with rabbits, SIL had a hutch at the bottom of the garden rabbit the poor thing have overgrown nails and I would harp on about taking it to the vet to get them clipped (too overgrown for me to do)

What is the point of getting a pet to shove it in a box at the bottom of the garden?

Oh can I also add "getting a breed of dog just as a status symbol" I'm not talking about Rotties etc but people who have huskies or shar pei's or chows living in semis with tiny gardens.

And why do people have so callled pet dogs that they keep outside? They are not pets, they are guard dogs and never properly part of the family the way my dog is now, all snug in his bed.

All dogs are lovely providing they have the right owners. I know of a Rottweiler who is a big softy and very well behaved. I also know of a gorgeous big German Shepherd who is so good with kids and dogs and again extremely well behaved.

It is clearly obvious that a lot of people get dogs that suit them - ie around here you often see young lads out with staffies with stud collars on - how often do you see a lad out with a Spaniel, for example, with a stud collar? It is all down to image for a lot of owners these days.

And, unfortunately, these dogs are so poorly trained or are trained to fight that they are doomed from the start. There have been a number of cases of rottweilers in the news recently who have killed or maimed children - how often do you hear of a rottweiler doing the same to an adult? Children wind dogs up - they don't know when to leave a dog alone and quite often these cases happen when there isn't an adult in the room or if there is the adult isn't strong enough to pull the dog away. A dog will take so much before it retaliates and bites.

Re rabbits/guinea pigs in outdoor hutches. Yes they do get forgotten about, especially at this time of year, when it is too cold or wet for the owner to go and check on their welfare. (?) I've seen many photos of carcasses of what was once a rabbit in a hutch and photos of a half eaten guinea pig because it has died and its partner has had to eat him/her to survive. Most hutched animals can survive with just hay for a few days so these animals were clearly forgotten about for some time before being discovered dead.

Unless you are a dedicated pet owner who is prepared to provide a clean warm hutch with plenty of food all year round - this is a pretty miserable time of year for hutched animals.

oh whispy thats so sad about hutched animals. I hate people sometimes...

Agree about kids winding up dogs, i am sure its very rare for a dog just to pounce on a child for no reason. Its the way you bring your children up around animals.

I don't really understand how it has come to be accepteable to keep an animal in a hutch. Anyone who has had rabbits will tell you that they are energetic and spend hours of their day hopping, leaping, exploring. The hutch should be used as somewhere safe for them to sleep, not their normal home that they occasionally get let out of.

And on a tangent - have any other dog owners noticed how much nicer it is to walk your dog in winter? I've noticed that it's only the dedicated dog owners who care for their dogs whatever the weather who bother to go out in the winter months. This means you tend to meet friendly, well behaved, well socialised dogs when it's grotty out. In the summer, all the yappy little dogs who "don't need much exercise", and all the status symbol dogs whose owners don't really understand them come out, so the parks are full of badly socialised, undisciplined dogs. More poo too.

I agree Broccoli I detest those little shop bought hutches they are tiny. When I was young we had rabbits that we would occasionally breed, they were kept in a converted shed so had loads of room and a platform, also had a catflap to the outside that we could seal so they had access to an outdoor pen.

I have said we will get rabbits once the DDs are older and they will have a hutch inside a enclosure so they will only be locked in at night.

I heard sometime ago that if you buy a rabbit you have to purchase a hutch, or have a hutch at home, that meets the legal requirement to dimensions? Although that only applied to rabbits bought from places such as RSPCA - you have to be pre-home checked so they check the sizes for you. Obviously that doesn't stop you from going to a normal high street pet shop or getting one from the free-ads etc.

When I worked at the RSPCA it was common to receive a complaint of a dead pet in a hutch. Our Inspectors would go out and the rabbit would be as stiff as a board. This was normal at this time of year. Worst still he'd speak to the owner who may admit they'd forgotten they even had a rabbit or claim it was 'ok yesterday' etc when in fact the animal had been dead for days/weeks.

I have had rabbits in the past. I would normally bring them home from work because they'd been found in boxes stuffed under hedges - one particular rabbit had its eye hanging from its socket - she was only a few days old - she went to the vet and I ended up bringing her home and she lived to 6yrs old. Many of my animals have been cast-offs - ie no-one wanted them. I used to come home with a box under my arm and tell dh it was only with me whilst the Society could find a new home....needless to say none of my rabbits went back and stayed with me for years.

Whilst talking about dogs - I do wish people wouldn't leave their dog in their car in the height of the Summer. What is the point? I went to a park once and in a car was a lovely big dog clearly suffering in the heat. I managed to get hold of a park ranger who radio'd around and after a long long wait and with me shoving my fingers through the window which was only open by a couple of inches with water on my hands for the dog to lick, the owner finally came forward and he admitted to the park ranger, me and the Police that 'he'd forgotten he'd brought the dog with him'.

Yes yes to all who write about rabbits.
The rabbit had a big run and a lovely warm cage.However I totally agree that there should be much more legislation when it comes to small pets,look what happened to tortoises.Same should apply to all small animals except in exceptional cases.

Its sad that so called animal rights protestors/ terrorists threaten "Huntington Life Sciences" with violence.

Yet pet owners are often far more cruel than animal experimenters. The idea of a rabbit being found in a hutch as stiff as a board because it has starved to death is horrific. I dread to think the cruelty that happens to smaller rodents like hamsters or rats. I suppose that no one ever notices if a small animal is being negleted.

If children want to pet a rabbit they can always go to a children's farm.

hear, hear really tired - animals kept for scientific purposes are very closely monitored for their wellbeing by external bodies. Unfortunately the same thing is very hard to achieve for animals kept as pets. I'm sure the protesters would gladly 'deal' with any neglectful pet owners - if they knew where to find them.

reallytired,
Have to say your statement about violent breeds 'like staffs' is totally untrue.
As i've said i have 2 staffys and a severely disabled 18year old daughter who on occassions has accidently run over their paws with her electric wheelchair, although most of the time they move outta the way there's always the odd time that she catches them NOT ONCE EVER EVER HAVE THEY EVEN GROWLED AT HER, They are in fact very gentle around and towards her. I have always had rescue dogs who live to a ripe old age,the only dog i did have who bite my son when he was 7 and had gone to give him a hug was in fact a dalmation . Most staffys I know are good, muchloved pets not violent. People make a dog violent, violence is not denoted by a certain breed.

I'd just like to add (again) dogs are not violent creatures - given the right environment, training, care, attention and devotion all dogs can be loveable gorgeous pets. Given the wrong environment any dog can be potentially snappy/disobedient/violent.

I've known of a Staffie who was absolutely gorgeous. He was so well behaved, excellent with children but lived in a lovely caring home who were firm with him but extremely good owners and he lived to a very good age.

Dogs are status symbols for a lot of people and unfortunately some dogs carry the labels of being 'violent' because of cases where certain breeds (Staffies/Rottweilers in particular) seem to fall into the wrong hands and are taught to be aggressive.

I'm yet to see a young lad with a Jack Russell wearing a stud collar.

Me and DH work full time... and as such would not be allowed a dog under your 'rules'.

But I fork out £200+ a month to make sure that while I am out he gets fresh water and a long walk off lead in the middle of the day. Every day.

Not all rat racers are pure evil.