Hypothetical question about giraffes

[Curlygirl06]

Dh and I were having a debate about giraffes (wild evening here!).
If you had a pet giraffe and you took it out for a walk, would you put a collar and lead up the top by its head, or down the bottom of its neck by its body?
One of us thinks it should go up by its head, so that you could gently pull its head down if you were going under a low bridge, for example, or pull it to the side if you were going round a corner so it could see where its going.
One of us thinks it should be by the body as otherwise you'd have a bloody long lead (duh, it's a giraffe so obvs!) and you could guide it just as well from the bottom as up the top.
YANBU of course it should be at the top by the head.
YABU of course it should be at the bottom of its neck near the body.

Yes, but imagine the look on people's faces when you rock up in the car park on a giraffe!
I had a friend who owned a tank, he wanted to take it shopping but his wife wouldn't let him, spoilsport. (Well, I say tank, it was actually an armoured personnel carrier, but to the uninitiated it looks like a tank)

We should start a thread to discuss this after we've got the votes for this one. I'll have a look later and reveal if I'm the neck- by- the- head end one, or the neck- by- the- body one. I'll report back.

Headcollar and lean rein like a horse I would say

It would go at the bottom of their neck, just as our necklaces do.

I’d have a harness and teach it the words for “head down”

Good point, never thought of it like that.

Well, we're nearly at the end of the poll time, and it's a 2/3 1/3 spilt, with the majority thinking it should go round the bottom part of the neck. I will admit that I thought it should go at the top, but I'm mitigating that with the following-

1. I hadn't thought of reins, head collars, lunge reins etc, but if I had I think it may well have made a difference, due to the fact that so many people mentioned it.
2. Body harnesses weren't in the mix, again I think that might have made a difference if they were an option.
3. I hadn't considered the choice of both head collars and harnesses.
4. I'm not telling dh, he'd be so bloody Smuggy Mcsmugface I'd have to kill him!

So what did we learn over the last day or so? Giraffes can't swim, and aren't domesticated so you can put a saddle on them. Zebras can't be ridden, because they're the wrong shape and again, not domesticated, but you can train them to pull a trap. Vertical stripes on zebras are two-fold, camouflage and makes them look thinner, good on both counts. You can keep a giraffe in the UK as long as you follow the DEFRA licencing laws, so that's handy to know.
I've also found out I'm not the only mad bugger on here (pants on cats, @GymBergerac ?) and we've all had a lovely time! Thank you all for your thoughts and comments on this important subject- next time I have a question of a similar nature, I know where to come!

Me and my brother had a major falling out at the airport on the way to Turkey over whether whales have nipples and didn't speak for the first 24 hours of the holiday
We were in our 30's and with our respective spouses
I was right

I knew you thought it should go at the top, @Curlygirl06, it was obvious from your bow tie answer...

Yep, and I'm sorry if I offended your noble giraffe feelings!

This is a lovely bonkers thread.

Just to add a final point, I asked my grandson where a collar should go, and he said round the neck near its body (idiot, just like his grandad) He reasoned that you would be able to guide it better by the shoulder area, as it could swing its head round if it fancied eating something, and pull you over. I countered that by saying you could pull its head away from the food temptation if you had a collar up by its head. He also pointed out that it it was up by its head, how would it stay there without falling down, that kid is too clever by half! He then demonstrated how you'd have to walk with your arm up in the air to hold the lead, but conceded my point that you JUST GET A LONGER LEAD!
Hmm. This discussion is still ongoing.

My giraffe would be off lead so it could have a little wander. Obviously I'd teach it recall but would probably get a tracker for it as I wouldn't want it to get lost if it did wander off.

💯 agree with this. That would be cool 😃

Having done a "zoo keeper " experience day with giraffes, you want to be well away from their feet. They kick with lots of force. Not the gentle giants I imagined they would be ! Beautiful creatures though.

What treats would you use to practice recall with?

What sort of question is this? You're having a giraffe!!!!

Erm leaves I guess, I’d have to have a big treat bag packed with branches

At the bottom, pulling/tugging on the lead at the top will eventually leave the poor giraffe to feel fatigue in their neck muscles, while at the bottom of their neck the tugging is distributed more thought their body causing less strain.

Google says that giraffes are cooperative animals, so you could have a lot of success with training.

Just love that your and your DH have this kind of conversation 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Its people like you that give giraffe owners a bad name, your giraffe should be on a lead at all times in case it looks at a child wrong.
I bet you don't pick up its poo either!!!
As for needing a tracker, I imagine you would be able to spot it quite easily

We had another conversation tonight re giraffes and straws.
Would a giraffe be able to suck up a McDonald's drink through a very long straw if it was standing up, or would it have to bend its neck and splay its legs, like it does when it drinks out of a waterhole? Or can a giraffe actually suck fluids up? Hmm.
(I told you we discuss random things about giraffes quite a lot, and we were in McDonald's at the time, hence the straw debate!)

I reckon it woukd put its head down to drink out if a straw.

Brilliant question! Body harness so there’s no extra pressure on their neck. If you put a head collar on them I think it could injure them, tempt with treats instead - not sure what!!

I think it would have to bend down unless you are talking about a much bigger bottle and so shorter straw. You’d need a lot of power to suck a drink a from the ground if you are giraffe height. I can’t make most straws work now they are paper anyway.