AIBU to be so fed up/angry with people taking on animals they have no clue how to treat properly

[esloquehay]

I'm so sick of stupid people buying 'pets' unethically/ill-informed, then re-home-ing them, as they miraculously discover they are ill-equipped to care for them properly.

Then, the almost inevitable virtue-signalling of re-home-ing.

I totally agree.

We had fish but were going to live in Britain for 6 months so let one of DH's friends have them. He had an aquarium the size of a large bathtub and liked to monologue about fish care and stuff like that. While we were away he stopped finding fish interesting so when we returned his aquarium was a large green brick and all the fish were dead. We could have sold the fish for good money instead. Hell, HE could have sold the fish for good money instead.

@Cornettoninja

People shouldn't be shamed for making a mistake and finding their pet a more suitable home

I agree shame is unhelpful, but so many people don’t seem to feel obliged to take the time and really consider what they’re signing up for. Imho that’s pretty inexcusable in an age there’s a wealth of information at our fingertips.

I agree that too many people don't do their research - but equally you only have to read a couple of "Doghouse" threads to realise that all the prep in the world doesn't prepare you for the reality of pet ownership.

If you have a dog who develops, for example, separation anxiety, or ends up reactive after being bitten or attacked - that's really difficult and I don't blame owners who acknowledge it's too tough for them.

It's okay to say that you've made a mistake/can't cope and that the dog would be better off in a different home with more experienced owners.

I agree. I bought GP two years ago for DDS as they were sold to me as low maintence pets. Admittedly I had done minimal research at that time thinking it was accurate. Googling it and clicking the top search results and taken it as gospel. Everything confirmed by the pet store about how easy they are to care for. Got home with the 'starter pack' and after just a week it didn't seem sufficient for these two growing potatoes. I did more research and found out the minimum measurements for the living space for guinea pigs and how they should be set up to live a happy life. Must have cost me a further £200 quid in a new digs for them. Then cane the relentless cleaning. Oh my god looked like someone had poured a cereal box full of GP shit in the cage every single morning. I was doing full cleans every two days. And they were so skittish I didn't want my girls hodling them and frightening them with their big sticky hands. I had GP mum guilt all the time. In the end I rehomed to a single lady who essentially turned her apartment into a giant GP run. We still stay in contact now but it was a very important lesson on not getting caged animals like GPS. I was overwhelmed with anxiety when we first got our dog. I'd focused on the positives of having one and completely put the negatives out of my mind. So it's easy done, idealism. I struggled with such a huge change he made to my life but then one day I just taught myself to accept the hair, constantly muddy carpets and clothes, the following me absolutely everywhere. He's still in my eyes alot less maintenence than the bloody helpless and thankless GPS.

Agree with @fairylightsandwaxmelts

Adore our animals (cats and a dog) but even though we'd waited, planned, researched breeds for years, visited rehoming centers, dog sat for friends, had dogs as children, lived on a farm, etc NOTHING could prepare me for the puppy blues and exactly how much training and time you have to put in to raising a happy, well mannered, socialised and calm dog. On paper we were good to go but I regretted him for the first few months, we have an amazing bond now and he's a happy family dog but never doing that again! It takes a real dedication to raising animals and if it's not there it's not right to keep the animal and add to that possible neglect, just do the right thing.

I'm shocked at some pps knowing people getting animals regularly for kids

@fairylightsandwaxmelts absolutely agree it’s much better that someone has the self awareness to recognise they’re out of their depth and seek a suitable home, 100%.

I think I’ve still got that person a PP described earlier in the thread who has a stream of small hamsters etc. And Katie Price

We could have sold the fish for good money instead. Hell, HE could have sold the fish for good money instead.

Or perhaps animals aren't for making money and perhaps someone could have just looked after them properly.

And whoever said hamsters won't survive running free. Well they would survive quite well in their natural habitats if we hadn't decided we wanted to cage them for our entertainment

I wouldn’t have caged pets again. It’s seems so cruel not to allow them the space and freedom to move around properly.

In the same breath I can’t stand people who don’t research anything they get. I work with dogs and the amount of working active breeds I see living in crates or in families with no time is astonishing. Why buy a dog bred to work all day and then walk it for an hour and wonder why it’s behaviour isn’t great.
At the moment it’s cockerpoo/poodle mixes.
Totally batty, need loads of exercise, super intelligent and yet so many of them are tootling to the school run and back
There’s also a beagle for sale online at the moment who’s for sale as it’s owner has 7 children and no time. Why if you have 7 children get a beagle of all things!

I think the difficulty is sometimes people just don't realise just how much work a pet is until they get one. We purposely adopted old dogs because we didn't know if we wanted to commit to 15 years but we knew we could commit to 4 or 5.

I disagree though that cats are great pets - the huge number that are run over round here, the antisocial behaviour of shitting in all the neighbours gardens plus the awful impact they have on wildlife. My neighbour keeps adopting more (now on 4 or 5) and I am constantly having to chase them out my garden so they're not sitting under my birdfeeder, digging up my veg patch or shitting everywhere.

Rabbits are the one. We have two mini lops (although they are bloody big buns to my eye!). I hate them in small cages. When we first got them for DD the shine quickly wore off. They have a massive run in the garden - approx 25 foot square with two big connected hutches. But obviously it took serious effort to do the run, with buried wire etc. they have soft fruit trees in there and raspberry bushes etc and they get a wide range of foliage etc every day. They don't like being picked up (rabbits don't really!) so I don't pick them up! They are friendly and will interact and have a stroke but they aren't toys. We adore them, they pretty much do whatever they want as they have access to the run at night (it's netted etc) and they are incredibly healthy rabbits. But owning them has made me sad for less fortunate bunnies.

@Tuala

Cats are best because they can choose to stay and have freedom to roam

They hunt wild birds and small mammals. Nice.

But completely agree with working dog breeds! I have a springer and a sprocker. Any dogs bred to work need to work, be it as gundogs or agility or anything that taxes the brain and gives them something to do! They need serious exercise but they also need a lot of thought out into to keeping their mind busy and having the right environment etc.
Yes cockerpoos are the latest designer fad I've seen with real issues. Yes they are cute, but both cockers and poodles are high energy, intelligent dogs so it's no wonder your bored frustrated pooch is running off on it's half hour walk!

I have caged rodents (although they do have a separate run) and maybe it’s wrong of me to support this trade.

However, I was once shocked by a colleague who gave away her family’s white rabbit after her children lost interest. My colleague said she disliked the rabbit as it had “evil red eyes” and “always looked miserable with its ears drooping down”. The poor rabbit could hardly help being a lop-eared albino.

Couldn’t agree more. I was out walking my show cocker spaniel the other morning and bumped into a woman with a working cocker puppy. She commented that we both had the same dogs and was quite surprised to find out that they were entirely different. She was also heavily pregnant and apparently had three other children at home, all under 5! Not saying that people with children can’t be very responsible pet owners but it was quite obvious that she had no idea of the needs of the dog she had.

I also work in a pet supplies shop and get really cross with the amount of people who are willing to spend hundreds on a designer dog then complain bitterly about the cost of decent food and treats for them.

Do your bloody homework please.

They hunt wild birds and small mammals. Nice

You’re looking at it from a human perspective, from the cats that’s exactly what they’re wired to do.

Besides which, birds are brutal. I regularly watch magpies stealing chicks from smaller birds nests during the spring with them going absolutely bonkers trying to stop them. I’ve also had the misfortune of seeing a group of seagulls tear apart a (live) pigeon. There’s nothing ‘nice’ about nature.

Rodents are less of an issue for cats to be hunting. We’d have a pretty big(ger) problem with undesirable ones if we suddenly got rid of all the cats.

I get so angry with dog rehoming threads on here.

Someone gets a dog, then has a baby and boom the dog is out the door..... making every excuse under the sun as to why.

I've got 2 spaniels. Both are very clingy, suffer from separation anxiety and aren't breeds for people who aren't willing to walk 2 hours a day in all weathers - and play lots of mental games at home. Ours are little angels and come to work with us, and so are never left.

People who get cockapoos are usually the worst offenders. Why on earth someone ever chose to mix two highly intelligent and demanding breeds is beyond me. There are so many 18 month olds on rehoming sites. Someone in our village has one, it's walked on a lead wearing a jumper and is hyperactive as a result. I feel so angry that they're not letting it be a fucking dog and run free.

My sister's friend has two dogs, one of which is a boxer. The dogs never get walked enough and get put in cages when the friend is at work.

The dogs are bored and have licked the paint off the walls, eaten the lino off the kitchen floor and eaten her work headset.

If you can't devote the time and attention a dog needs you shouldn't have one.

People who get cockapoos are usually the worst offenders. Why on earth someone ever chose to mix two highly intelligent and demanding breeds is beyond me. There are so many 18 month olds on rehoming sites. Someone in our village has one, it's walked on a lead wearing a jumper and is hyperactive as a result. I feel so angry that they're not letting it be a fucking dog and run free.

I agree. Same with Labradoodles which seem to be very fashionable at the moment.

We’ve had Guinea pigs in the past, but never again. The kids lose interest and they are a lot of work.
We have a cat that lives the life of Riley. He is an outdoor car so could easily wander off if he wasn’t happy but he doesn’t. He is fed, kept warm, loves human company and cuddles and is very affectionate. And is able to live his life as independently as he wants; we never force him on to our laps, he chooses it!

Outdoor CAT, not car

Also, to add, he is a rescue that we got aged 7. We would never had got a kitten; far too many adult cats needing homes. He costs a bloody fortune mind; good quality food, vets bills, yearly vaccinations, fleeing and worming, etc etc. I think many people seem to not realise how damned expensive they are!

We had rabbits. Did plenty of research and got a big double storey hutch and a huge run (about 120sq ft). They lived outside year round and we had them for 8 years then we moved to a city so found them a home on a farm with other rabbits (month long introduction program and now all happily running around together). I have to say they were the easiest pets ever. Not very cuddly but if you sat in their run they would hop over you and liked getting strokes. Never ill and only once did one of them need their nails trimmed. Bomb proof - we had dogs and they were fine together and even foxes didn't bother them.
Doing research and taking your responsibilities seriously is key.

I haven’t come across anyone like this. We have a working cocker and he’s ideal for us - he has a big daily walk plus couple of trips out to poop plus games in the house. It’s not an effort though, just part of family life for us (which dogs don’t need a walk each day?).

We also had 2 rabbits - one from a baby but was single birth litter then a year later he was joined by a second who we adopted, gradually introducing them. They had a big run in the garage for night time, then on the grass for daytime but now we’re down to one so he’s in the house and has freedom to roam (although usually moves very little because he’s now 9), the one that died had just turned 10. In not sure how they cost more than cats though and they were both happy to be handled and ideal pets for our young dc. Vet used to comment how affectionate they were but that was dh’s experience of bunnies as a dc too.

@Tuala My point was that the idiot could easily have gotten someone to take them off his hands. He could have sold them or given them to mutual friends who had fish as well and would probably have been interested. He could have advertised them for free. No reason for the fish to die a slow death.

We didn't sell them because we loved the fish and wanted them to go to a good home.

I will never get another dog, they're too much work and I know I will not be happy to have to be bothered with it again. When my dog's time in this world is done, so is mine as a dog owner.

I much prefer cats- ones that are allowed outdoors that is. They can decide where they want to be.