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.

I think pet ownership will become less sociably acceptable and eventually die out. I hope so at least. But I think it will take a long long time yet.

@SharpestBulb I agree with much of what you say but given the current situation, I think it's a good thing to own a pet if you can offer it a better life than it would otherwise have.
In an ideal world, we would make room for other species on this planet - by dramatically reducing the number of humans - so they had a chance to thrive and domesticated animals would be allowed to die out.

Edited to say, I agree with the OP about people making their animals suffer by refusing to let them go. I rarely take mine out without seeing some poor dog who is clearly in pain. I have said something to a number of people in the past and I would encourage others to do the same so long as they feel safe to do so. I'd welcome comments from others if they noticed anything off with my dog too.

It must be from all the pretend meat they eat...🤔

How stupid, you know we are omnivores. Of course we CAN survive not eating meat but we are designed to eat it, most of us like to eat it. Most vegans look bloody ill but no one is lecturing you on eating meat we don't give two hoots what you are eating. Why do you insist on lecturing us meat eaters? Your like a bloody cult.

She is fast asleep when she poos, and still asleep when I clear it up (old greyhounds sleep deeply). it only happens a couple of times a week.. usually when we have a lie in.
My vet is not concerned by it. She is not distressed by it at all.
Lots of elderly spayed female dogs leak urine in their sleep (although mine never has apart from when she has had a UTI).

I do love a Greyhound!

I know this isn't quite what you meant,but I've often noticed that dog lovers hate cats! I am a cat lover,indeed I love all animals, including dogs. But a hell of a lot of dog lovers seem to have this weird thing going on where they hate cats. I find it really odd.

I hope you would not look at my mum's dog at the moment and think she is not wanting to "let him go". He has a corn at the moment, so is limping. I certainly hope you would not go and tell her he is suffering and needs to be let go, either.
Not all dogs that are in pain are needing to be PTS!

I had cats before I had my dog. I am not sure I would go back to having them though.

@YeOldeGreyhound
I'd risk offending someone if I saw a dog in pain, yes.
Would I tell them that their dog "is suffering and needs to be let go"? No.
I never said that. Quite a reach you've made there.
Sorry to say but your post makes you sound like someone who thinks animals are there for the benefit of humans.

Also, genuine question: should your mum be walking a dog with a corn on his foot?

Seems you would rather hound a species to death (pun intended), rather than see an old or sick dog being taken care of.

What would you advise for sick or injured people?

Euthanasia at the slightest sign of illness?

That is quite a reach. I just don't think you should be telling people that you do not know, about how their dog is unwell when you know nothing about their dog either.
I nearly had my dog PTS last year, and I took her for her last walk. If you had come up to me and expressed your faux concern, it would not have ended well. Thankfully, she is fine now.

My mum's dog was already in boots, but his corn is too big now so will need to be hulled. He has already had surgery (£700 a time and insurance will only cover one op). Greyhounds are very prone to them.
One of my dog's siblings used to have them on every foot. My own dog has never had one.

I am not a vegan or vegetarian. The vegans I know however, look perfectly healthy to me and never lecture me.

I am a meat eater, but I am finding the vegan posts more compelling than your rather poorly articulated and somewhat uneducated rants.

I have not casitgated anyone! My dog is a purebred kc whippet from a breeder! This is because I couldn't get a rescue from the UK as we had a toddler. I didn't want a puppy, they are hard work and I would have preferred to give a dog in need a home but the circumstances didn't work out. I have nothing against anyone getting a puppy as long as they are getting a suitable breed for thier circumstances. The rescues from abroad are not puppy farms they are street dogs. My friends was a 3 Yr old Romanian street dog. Theres a lovely galgo charity in Spain that adopts out ex racers abroad and in Spain. They have a fb page you can follow the progress of the dogs. These dogs are abused by their owners after racing and left to die on the streets. There are lots of charity's like this abroad. Anyone adopting a dog needs to do research on where it's coming from. The same as people getting dogs as puppy's from breeders.

'Posters not exercising their dog sufficiently or not giving it mental stimulation and then wondering why its badly behaved'

Totally agree. We see it on here all the time. Bit of ice and it's 'is anyone walking their dog in this it's too dangerous surely' then in summer 'oo it's over 15c my dog may get ill if I take it out'.

In summer walk your dog at 7am it is never hot and in winter wear appropriate footwear.

If you cba to exercise your dog in all weather you shouldn't have one.

Vegans don't look 'bloody ill' at all. I'm vegetarian and I'm 100% healthier than when i used to eat meat. Lower cholesterol, more energy, better skin.
We most certainly don't need meat inside us to be healthy, quite the opposite.

Great response!
Parroting my words back to me.
Thinking you know what I might or might not say.
Telling MN you'd get violent.
Accusing me of showing faux concern.
And not answering the one question I asked!

I hope that your dog is "fine now" but I'm sorry, given what you've already posted, I wouldn't trust your judgement.

So would you be happy for all these purpose-bred working dogs to never exist, or to be killed?

Join the cult then!

Galgos del Sol?
They are an amazing rescue. They will keep a dog for years to make sure they are ready for rehoming. I love the pics of the dogs with shower caps on... having a bath before they go off to the sweet life. Always lifts my spirits.
I had a friend in Spain who sadly took his own life, and his dog was rehomed through them (ended up living in the same UK town my friend moved to Spain from).

Saying that, there used to be a tiny rescue where I lived who ran out of local dogs to foster/adopt out, so started getting dogs from Romania. They were coming from there and going straight into homes. No meeting the dog, no fostering or assessment etc. I think that was dangerous tbh. They no longer operate now.

I cannot get behind any owner who buys from a breeder. Full stop. Those poor bitches kept for breeding, not to mention the hundreds of strays put in shelters waiting desperately to be adopted. I’ve had dogs most of my life and I always get from a shelter, and rarely puppies. Our current girl was adopted age 4 from the most terrible circumstances and she would have been put down eventually as she was very reactive. She’s the most beautiful dog, she deserved a loving home. If we stop buying from breeders then they won’t have a business and shelter dogs will become the norm.

Actually, I nearly had her PTS to because i got bad advice online and well meaning family. Was told she was dying etc. Turns out she had a gastro bug. Took her to the vets and she was put on meds. Cost me £150 just to cancel her PTS appointment (I was using a home vet service). She is very old, and I was just told it was "her time". If you had met us in the park, you would probably would have been one of those people.

I have not said I would get violent. I would however have got really upset and taken it out on myslef,. and be too scared to leave the house for weeks after. I am autistic, before you come at me about me not being resilient etc.

Yes galgos del sol. The stories make me cry when they come in covered in burns, the sheer cruelty is unbelievable. They do a wonderful job looking after those dogs. I would definitely consider adopting from there in the future.

I know, the street Galgos get treated like shit there. So many pregnant mums too.
I l like seeing the posts from Sunday and Hank too. I proper cried when Grannypants crossed the bridge, and when they got that huge olive tree planted in her memory.
If I had a passport, and was not so pathetic in hot weather, I would go volunteer there for a bit.

Don't let PP upset you - it's easy to think you know best from behind a computer screen.

Your dog sounds very lucky to have you

As an actual dog lover, I completely agree. There really aren't very many dog owners who have used reputable breeders. None of them know what endorsements are. None of them know what health tests their potential puppy's dam and sire should have had. Don't get me started on the ones who deliberately buy mongrels because they have a ridiculous name.

If dog owners only ever bought dogs from reputable breeders, who all have return to breeder clauses in their puppy contracts, there would be no dogs in rescue. Zero. Nada. Imagine that.

People like doodle owners, or those who buy puppies from sites like Pets 4 Homes, are quite literally the reason so many dogs are suffering.