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.

You know you look after her and that's all that matters x

I agree
keeping a pet is a major comitment. it's expensive and time consuming.
imo it is very difficult to give a dog all it needs to be happy & healthy and all aspects should be considered before getting one.

It’s not that people aren’t dog lovers it’s more that they are ignorant of animal welfare and lack knowledge of breed specifics.

First time dog owners often can’t see past the image of the dog they would like and don’t understand the breed requirements.

Yes, and there’s a massive difference between a cat that is allowed out but chooses to stay in, and a cat who isn’t given the choice.

One of mine only really goes out to lie on the patio or to sleep in next doors garden, and often chooses to lie just inside the doorway - but at least he has a choice.

Aww another dog owners goady threat. Not had one for a while

I would argue that no one is an animal lover if they are not vegan. 🤷

🥱

No update from OP either.

This absolutely. I’m a first time dog owner and I thought I wanted a different breed. I posted on the Doghouse and had my arse handed to me and told to get a more suitable breed instead. I listened to them and got my Labrador.

It’s people who get say, a Border Collie and don’t exercise it or any other types of breed that never get to fulfill the purpose that they were bred for in the first place. I’m not saying you have to have a heard of sheep to get a BC, but they absolutely need so many opportunities to exercise and use their stunning brains. Better suited to a rural lifestyle or with plenty of opportunities to do something similar to what they were bred for

My cousin has these little terriers that always come with a docked tail. I asked him why and he said 'oh, I don't know, the breeder did it, it's a working dog'. It's a tiny fluffy little fucker that lives in the centre of a big city. Working as what?

He also let's them bark like mad and run away into the road every time he opens the front door. Leaves them alone all day with only water?

I don't know if that's normal but one he had died when it was hit by a car after only a couple of months with him!

Yep, funny that 🤔

Don't we all look the other way regarding animal welfare when it suits us though? I've only ever adopted dogs from rescue centres and believe I do a good job looking after them and fulfilling their needs. I'm also a vegetarian, not because I have any issue with eating meat in itself but because I think it's entirely wrong to treat animals like future ingredients and not sentient beings. But then I do still drink milk knowing what that entails for the mother and calf, so I am a hypocrite too.

We let eldrely people soil themselves for years on end, do we not love then enough to put them to sleep?

It’s not goady.

I love dogs. I have two of my own.

But would I let my dog sleep in its own faeces when it got old? No. And no one who loved their pet would do that and I think posters who think their dog ‘isn’t suffering and is happy,’ about something like that are deluded. Dogs deserve better than to wake up in their own faeces and the fact some dog owners can’t see that is disgusting.

And edit: these posters can say all they like they love their dog. They don’t. If they did they would not make it do that.

It’s as simple as people who don’t exercise their dog, buy dogs from puppy farms, buy dogs then leave them alone all day. Those people are not animal lovers.

I don’t think you are a hypocrite as long as you’re not ramming your views in to other people’s faces.

I think people get very extreme about this kind of thing and believe people should aim for perfection. We can all do our bit but we don’t need to be puritanical over it. I have friends that decided not to have children but got a dog instead. Some that are vegetarian but still wear leather, others that may reduce their carbon footprint in other areas so they can go on holiday etc. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this.

Like I said in a PP, I have quality of life checks with my vet. I know my dog. You don't. If she was unhappy and suffering, then I would be having a serious think about things, but she is not.

Same with people who randomly breed their dogs and say stupid shit like ‘it’s only fair to let them experience having one litter’ NO! You are ill prepared to help your dog give birth, and you are doing a cash grab.

I remember that thread and I think you’re being a little unfair there. You don’t know what the set up was like, where the dog slept, how distressed to dog was with having fecal incontinence etc. The owner that posted was absolutely devastated because she loved her so much.

If one of your dogs starting pooing in their sleep, but otherwise seemed happy, when would you intervene? After just one occasion? Or three? Or ten? Where do you draw the line. Choosing when to have your dog put down is a massive undertaking as it is and everything needs to be considered. I do believe it’s better too early than too late.

Yep! I’m always horrified that so many people don’t seem to care where their puppy came from. Or say it was a really good breeder that did no health tests, didn’t register the dogs and bred crossbreeds but they said the right things so that’s all that matters. And the people who get their dog pregnant and don’t do any research or any testing to make sure that dog is safe to breed and no thought to the pups they produce. Unethically bred crossbreeds are now more popular than the health tested registered pedigrees. Almost everyone who meets my poodle puppy for the first time thinks she is a doodle of some kind because people don’t know what they look like anymore!

Also, you say you have dogs. Have you had a senior dog? Dogs age too, and old age brings little niggles with it too, just like it does people. My life looking after my dog looks different to what it did when she was younger.
And as a puppy, she often woke up in shit, or I got home to absolute carnage - piss and poo everywhere. Puppies are gross. I was not thinking off PTS then... why would I now?

They don't go from young healthy dog to dropping dead of old age.

Anyone who isn't vegan can't really be called an animal lover to be fair.

They do this because the breeder is ethical and is required to maintain certain standards in order to keep the pedigree status. This includes health checks on parents and ensuring good lineage that is not ruined by genetic disorders.

also pedigree cats only cost about 50% of the amount of some mongrels. So really it’s not about who has the most expensive and fancy cat, it is about it not costing a great deal to ensure you get a well socialised, healthy, pet. I don’t think £1000 for a ‘posh breed’ is actually much at all.

If one of your dogs starting pooing in their sleep, but otherwise seemed happy, when would you intervene? After just one occasion? Or three? Or ten? Where do you draw the line. Choosing when to have your dog put down is a massive undertaking as it is and everything needs to be considered. I do believe it’s better too early than too late.

I would 100% intervene, and have.

If Hen (my eldest) soiled herself in her sleep more than once and there was nothing but old age to blame, I would put her to sleep. Dogs are inherently clean. Just like cats are. You may not think they are distressed, but they almost certainly are.

Just because a dog can go on, doesn't mean it should.

That platitude's already been trotted out; somebody beat you to it.

Some people are vegan because they hate plants 😆