Nicely said Xena. :) It's true I do keep drumming it into Xena's head that many people do not feel the same overpowering love for animals that we do. In my lifetime I have actually only met a handful of people that are like that.
You know how you can tell the difference? A person that has a profound love for an animal (the type that one reserves for family) will go through hell and back before giving up on their pet. Now, to clarify, this does not mean that I for example put my dogs before my family.
When I rescued my dog, she was truly vicious to strangers. The only people she would allow near her were my husband and I. Today she is a wonderful dog that I trust implicitly with my child. Because I know how to establish the correct 'pack' hierarchy which is so important in a dogs mind, and now I have two wonderful dogs which know how to behave. Granted, they still don't like some people, but that was because they were treated badly before I rescued them.
Marley and Me is a wonderful book about 'the world's worst dog' and the love his owner has for him. A popular dog breed, the Labrador, is usually thought to be placid and the perfect family pet. It is for the most part, but what most people don't know is that there are two distinct varieties of Lab. The working and non-working lab. The working lab is a bundle of energy; and like huskies, if not given something on the lines of 'work' to do, they get destructive. Labs are fantastic with children and will normally never bite, but they'll chew through furniture, and everything else in order to have 'something' to do, if they can't get out and run run run!
So many people get pets based on looks rather than fully researching the characteristics of a particular breed. Then when their pet starts displaying it's own genetic tendencies specific to it's breed, many people 'give up' on their pet and either re-home or worse, abandon them. Is it the dogs fault? No, us humans have a brain, moral judgment that was granted to us to use. We are supposed to know better.
The fundamental difference between people that love dogs, and real dog lovers is that a real dog lover will not give up on their pet at the first sign of difficulty. Just like most people wouldn't give up on their children when they get into trouble, right?
Think of it this way........... your 4 year old kid gets crayons and draws all over the wall? What would you do? Ok, so you reprimand your child, tell them that it's wrong, and then go out, buy paint and paint the wall! You wouldn't put your kid up for adoption just because it's 'costing' you to have to paint the wall, replace your chewed shoes or have to clean the carpet due to an 'accident'. Right?
Dogs years are 7 to 1 of ours. So when a dog is 1 year old (it's 7 human years). 2 years old is akin to 14 human years. After 2 dogs settle into a more mature frame of mind (usually) :)
Having said that, a 7 year old child is not expected to behave like an adult, correct?
If more people would research dogs, breed characteristics, pack and heirarchy dynamics and the importance of properly caring for their pets, we wouldn't have so many abandoned pets.
It is our shortcomings as humans that is the problem.
Nicely said Xena. :) It's true I do keep drumming it into Xena's head that many people do not feel the same overpowering love for animals that we do. In my lifetime I have actually only met a handful of people that are like that.
You know how you can tell the difference? A person that has a profound love for an animal (the type that one reserves for family) will go through hell and back before giving up on their pet. Now, to clarify, this does not mean that I for example put my dogs before my family.
When I rescued my dog, she was truly vicious to strangers. The only people she would allow near her were my husband and I. Today she is a wonderful dog that I trust implicitly with my child. Because I know how to establish the correct 'pack' hierarchy which is so important in a dogs mind, and now I have two wonderful dogs which know how to behave. Granted, they still don't like some people, but that was because they were treated badly before I rescued them.
Marley and Me is a wonderful book about 'the world's worst dog' and the love his owner has for him. A popular dog breed, the Labrador, is usually thought to be placid and the perfect family pet. It is for the most part, but what most people don't know is that there are two distinct varieties of Lab. The working and non-working lab. The working lab is a bundle of energy; and like huskies, if not given something on the lines of 'work' to do, they get destructive. Labs are fantastic with children and will normally never bite, but they'll chew through furniture, and everything else in order to have 'something' to do, if they can't get out and run run run!
So many people get pets based on looks rather than fully researching the characteristics of a particular breed. Then when their pet starts displaying it's own genetic tendencies specific to it's breed, many people 'give up' on their pet and either re-home or worse, abandon them. Is it the dogs fault? No, us humans have a brain, moral judgment that was granted to us to use. We are supposed to know better.
The fundamental difference between people that love dogs, and real dog lovers is that a real dog lover will not give up on their pet at the first sign of difficulty. Just like most people wouldn't give up on their children when they get into trouble, right?
Think of it this way........... your 4 year old kid gets crayons and draws all over the wall? What would you do? Ok, so you reprimand your child, tell them that it's wrong, and then go out, buy paint and paint the wall! You wouldn't put your kid up for adoption just because it's 'costing' you to have to paint the wall, replace your chewed shoes or have to clean the carpet due to an 'accident'. Right?
Dogs years are 7 to 1 of ours. So when a dog is 1 year old (it's 7 human years). 2 years old is akin to 14 human years. After 2 dogs settle into a more mature frame of mind (usually) :)
Having said that, a 7 year old child is not expected to behave like an adult, correct?
If more people would research dogs, breed characteristics, pack and heirarchy dynamics and the importance of properly caring for their pets, we wouldn't have so many abandoned pets.
It is our shortcomings as humans that is the problem.
Blessings,
Moonbeam
Visit my website! http://www.qatarpets.org