Dog lovers aren’t animal lovers

[Namechanger1993]

I’ve been lurking in various dog related threads recently and it’s become abundantly clear how few dog owners on MN actually love animals. Not all. But lots.

Posters not caring about health tests on parents, or the breeders experience or ability or what happens to the bitch (mother of the pups) after as their desire for expensive mix outweighs their ethics about puppy farming or dogs being born in pain with chronic health issues as a result of bad breeding. Posters admitting their dogs have soiled themselves for a year before they put their dog to sleep. No matter which way you look at it (and believe me, I understand how hard it is to say goodbye), people who love their dogs don’t let them sleep in their shit for a year. Posters not exercising their dog sufficiently or not giving it mental stimulation and then wondering why its badly behaved.

Time and time again I’ve seen posters put their desire for a dog above any morals they might have about animal welfare (including their own dogs). welfare. Honestly, it’s quite shocking how little so many posters care about their dogs, or indeed the dogs use to produce their cute puppy.

Oh yes, they both staring at me because I'm eating 😆

Completely agree

😆 🤣 oh tell me about it. I've got one clever, devious collie and a dopey, greedy lab. There's always something going on! X

Totally agree with you. I work with dogs and see far too many people buying working breeds or badly bred “designer breeds” - it’s horrible and ultimately it’s only the dog that ends up suffering.

There are also too many dog owners who won’t let their dogs behave like dogs - picking them up constantly, never letting them off lead, never allowing them socialise or play - I always think it must be such a shit life.

Or maybe they just understand the circle of life and nature. IMO it’s keeping cats locked up inside that is not being an animal lover awaits abuse

I have a hatred for the Kennel Club. We deliberately chose the working version of our breed as the show version would be physically incapable of doing its original job.

Training dogs to ignore other dogs is cruel. Mine says hello and plays with most dogs we meet. Obviously we ask owners first but she gets huge enjoyment from interaction and playing, they are socially intelligent as mine recognises her best friends. Dogs are social animals. If you don’t want social interaction get a cat.

May I ask what the issue with the KC is? Genuine question as a new dog owner.

KC breeds are deformed, unhealthy and no longer fit to do their original jobs. Look at flat nosed breeds (pugs, French bulldogs) and sloping backs of German Shepherds. Labradors are bred to be chunky.

As an example, take the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel….
systematically bred to have a small,round dome shaped head deliberately to conform with the kennel clubs breed ‘ideal’
We now have a breed prone to cherry eye (the eyes popping forwards from the skull) and the below condition
“In Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, a condition called Chiari-like malformation (CLM) can lead to a mismatch between the brain and skull size, where the brain is essentially too big for the skull. This mismatch can cause the brain to herniate through the opening at the base of the skull, potentially obstructing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The result is a condition called syringomyelia (SM), where fluid-filled cavities develop in the spinal cord.”

People eat animals, so no, they don't truly love them.

You can love things and recognise that they can also have another purpose.

I train a dog to ignore others on leads in town. Off lead playing is totally different.

If you really care about animal social behaviour, focus on competition and race horses. They suffer a terrible life away from herd behaviour.

It's cognitive dissonance, however you want to dress it up.

Oh wow, that’s horrendous!

So what we are saying is that the KC lists ‘ideal’ traits to meet the breed standard and then dogs are bred so they can be registered as a pedigree?

My lab is a working line, he will obviously need much more stimulation and exercise than a show line lab but he doesn’t have the short stocky build. But he is still KC registered?

Sorry for all the questions! I’m not really sure of the KC’s role in dog breeding so please excuse my ignorance

What bugs me is all these ‘animal lovers’ claim that they love dogs, animals but they still continue to eat animals, wear animals like leather and continue to use products that test on animals without a care.

You CANNOT love animals but be choosy about which ones are worthy to be loved and what ones are not worthy so they end up on your plate.

Very true. It's odd to focus on pet ownership, whilst ignoring the hundreds of selfish decisions everyone makes everyday to make their life more comfortable and enjoyable; even though not doing that thing would often be better for the planet and other species of animals. We don't need to drive cars, live in fancy houses, wear nice clothes, etc...

Why not?

Or just basic logic. Most things in this world are dual purpose - as long as the animals are well cared for during their lives, I honestly can’t get upset about them being used to provide food or clothing for people 🤷‍♀️

Of course you can 😂

Not quite. If they come from purebred, papered parents, all dogs can be registered as pedigree
But…..
For a dog to win a kennel club show (and get to Crufts) it must meet the criteria set by the kennel club. The criteria appear to have been set based on looks alone with no regard to health
Therefore breeders have tried with each generation to get closer and closer to ‘perfect’ creating more and more extreme versions of a breed, with more and more health problems

Show champions command high stud fees, kudos amongst peers etc and breeders have not always put the welfare of their puppies first. You would hope an organisation running the whole system would be there to legislate in the dogs best interests. The KC in many people’s eyes have done the opposite

I love animals, including predator animals.

Humans are an animal, one with an incredibly strong pack bonding instinct - it's WHY we anthropomorphise in the first place.

Dogs have had joint attention with humans for millennia, and cats chose to domesticate themselves.

There are countless examples of animal codependency in the wild.

Although humans have altered the natural world a lot, it's part of our nature to do so. Cities are just the termite mounds of humans.

I have a lot of support for environmental causes and for humane treatment of animals, but the idea that we shouldn't act like the animals we are is a pass from me.

Perfectly said.

I have working dogs, big brutal working dogs…one working line the other show line, both are working dogs.

They are trained to a high standard…they are also trained protection dogs…

I would say 97% of dog owners have zero idea on how to socialise, feed, look after or train a dog

My dogs have come from breeders which have been health tested mine are in perfect condition, in reality in the dog world I am involved in, everyone knows everyone and the breeding lines are exceptional, they don’t breed for money, none of the ones I know are in it for the money.

Joe blogs on Facebook or that random pet site quite probably is and has no clue on how to breed they just see ££££

Ok, I understand thank you. And thanks for explaining it without being snarky - a rare occurrence on MN 😂

Well, I hope you apply that philosophy to every aspect of your life. You wouldn't want to be a hypocrite, would you?