Animal Abuse

[Infinis]

I don't understand why people think cats are automatically horribly bad when they bite and scratch. It's like no ever thinks that maybe there's a legitimate reason for them to bite and scratch, or that THEY are the cause.

 

Although in all truthfulness I'd rather they be put down than declawed.

 

I think someone said somewhere that labs were considered dangerous. And I completely understand why.

 

Labs can be dangerous like any large dog, though. Though they can be very destructive if they get bored because they're a high-energy pet.

 

I personally have had consistently fewer nice experiences with small dogs like chihuahuas than with large dogs like labs and large mongrels.

 

Keeping your animals under control is one of the responsibilities of animal ownership.

 

Yes. This. This so much. Voice of reason, right here.

 

I don't vilify killing, I vilify torture.

 

When people put mice in pots and pour boiling water on them, or use glue traps and throw them out alive, etc that isn't pest control - that's just being evil.

 

There are a number of people out there who also consider poisoning them torture, but we can't really catch them alive and I won't allow glue traps.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Infinis

[Cecona]

I would rather the cat receive actual help and training than either declawing or euthanasia. Anyone ever see the show My Cat From Hell?

 

And... so long as the poison kills the mice/rats quickly and painlessly I suppose it's okay.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Cecona

[Nectaris]

They also make people promise to never tether/tie up their new dog.

 

That is one good thing about my town is that they recently made it illegal to have your dog tied up.

[Infinis]

That is one good thing about my town is that they recently made it illegal to have your dog tied up.

Why is that good? I nearly got bitten several times this summer because people failed to keep their dogs tied up when they only had partial fences. And fencing is expensive - tieouts and tethering are very effective at keeping a dog in the yard. We had one dog who kept getting out until we put him on a harness and tieout - we later had to give him up because he broke the tieout and we couldn't afford to add fencing to keep him (he was also extremely high energy and we couldn't keep up with him...).

 

And being unable to keep the dog tied up also opens up the possibility, as above, of jumping out of the yard.

 

Honestly as long as the dog has a nice wide range and access to food, water, and shade all day, there shouldn't really be a problem (and a doghouse too, esp if it's hot and/or sunny).

 

@Cecona

 

I would rather they got help too, but really even euthanasia is preferable to declawing to me. :c My dad's girlfriend has a declawed cat and the poor thing walks kind of funny (he was obtained already declawed). :c

 

We used d-con. Not the greatest, but unfortunately at the time all the store had otherwise were glue and live traps. We don't get vermin in the house very much though; this was the only time we'd ever had the problem while I was there, so we shouldn't need to poison anything else again, esp. since we sold the place and are moving elsewhere.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Infinis

[Nectaris]

Why is that good? I nearly got bitten several times this summer because people failed to keep their dogs tied up when they only had partial fences. And fencing is expensive - tieouts and tethering are very effective at keeping a dog in the yard. We had one dog who kept getting out until we put him on a harness and tieout - we later had to give him up because he broke the tieout and we couldn't afford to add fencing to keep him (he was also extremely high energy and we couldn't keep up with him...).

 

And being unable to keep the dog tied up also opens up the possibility, as above, of jumping out of the yard.

 

Honestly as long as the dog has a nice wide range and access to food, water, and shade all day, there shouldn't really be a problem (and a doghouse too, esp if it's hot and/or sunny).

 

It is just a general catch-all. It is supposed to prevent people from using heavy chains that give the dogs imbedded collars. Also, in other places I have seen where these dogs practically live in a ten foot circle diameter. Sure, they have food, water, and shelter, all the legal requirements, but can you honestly call that a life? Sure, some people might give a long range of movement, but you cannot guarantee that everyone will do so. If you made it a legal requirement to have X amount of lead, there would really be no way of enforcement.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Nectaris

[Infinis]

It is just a general catch-all. It is supposed to prevent people from using heavy chains that give the dogs imbedded collars. Also, in other places I have seen where these dogs practically live in a ten foot circle diameter. Sure, they have food, water, and shelter, all the legal requirements, but can you honestly call that a life? Sure, some people might give a long range of movement, but you cannot guarantee that everyone will do so. If you made it a legal requirement to have X amount of lead, there would really be no way of enforcement.

I don't suppose I can, but it's better than letting your animals get loose and potentially attacking someone, because that comes back on the owner and the dog. :/

 

There probably is a way to enforce a minimum amount of lead, people just don't want to.

 

The only other solution is to force everyone to have a fence, which is distinctly more enforceable, but sadly less affordable for many people.

 

(I hope I'm not coming off as rude, but I don't ever really want to call animal control on people and/or get animals taken away from their owners; sadly I came very close to doing that this summer and keeping dogs tied up is really the only solution I can think of to that problem. :/)

[MasterWeavile898]

One thing that applies to both cat and dogs though, is that a single bite from one that results in bleeding is an automatic death sentence. I learned this when an ex of mine and I were looking for his cat and at the nearby pound I mentioned that she scratched me and made me bleed and an employee said that if they found her they would put her to sleep because of that. Thankfully they didn't find her. But... I mean it makes me so upset to think that a single incident is enough to make people think an animal deserves death.

Really? I didn't know that. I have a lab, and she has bitten me multiple times. (And I have bled from a few.) We had a professional trainer come over and she explained the problem, the dog has improved drastically.

 

It is just a general catch-all. It is supposed to prevent people from using heavy chains that give the dogs imbedded collars. Also, in other places I have seen where these dogs practically live in a ten foot circle diameter. Sure, they have food, water, and shelter, all the legal requirements, but can you honestly call that a life? Sure, some people might give a long range of movement, but you cannot guarantee that everyone will do so. If you made it a legal requirement to have X amount of lead, there would really be no way of enforcement.

My neighbor's dog was like this, he was perfectly happy most of the time. (Until she started going broke and couldn't afford to feed him, then there were problems.)

[Pokemonfan13]

We used to tie up our dog outside for a few hours [usually to a tree, so he had shade] because he liked it so much. Then someone [*coughournewneighborscough*] started cutting the leash we left out attached to the tree. Luckily at night when he wasn't on it.

[Nectaris]

I don't suppose I can, but it's better than letting your animals get loose and potentially attacking someone, because that comes back on the owner and the dog. :/

 

There probably is a way to enforce a minimum amount of lead, people just don't want to.

 

The only other solution is to force everyone to have a fence, which is distinctly more enforceable, but sadly less affordable for many people.

 

(I hope I'm not coming off as rude, but I don't ever really want to call animal control on people and/or get animals taken away from their owners; sadly I came very close to doing that this summer and keeping dogs tied up is really the only solution I can think of to that problem. :/)

That comes down to training though, a well trained dog shouldn't be biting anyone even if they get loose. Chances are, anyone who wouldn't have their dog conditioned not to bite wouldn't be treating their dogs right tied up either.

[Pokemonfan13]

I say call animal control on them, no compunction about it. They shouldn't be letting their dogs run loose without a fence, especially if they bite.

[MasterWeavile898]

We used to tie up our dog outside for a few hours [usually to a tree, so he had shade] because he liked it so much. Then someone [*coughournewneighborscough*] started cutting the leash we left out attached to the tree. Luckily at night when he wasn't on it.

Actually, my neighbors dog, someone was letting him off every few nights. He usually immediately went to the neighbors porch and waited for someone to come put him back on, but one time he ran off (no one knows why) and almost got hit by a car. (After that he was always trying to get off for some reason, we had to go grab him out of the backyard every few days.)

[Cecona]

Why is that good? I nearly got bitten several times this summer because people failed to keep their dogs tied up when they only had partial fences. And fencing is expensive - tieouts and tethering are very effective at keeping a dog in the yard. We had one dog who kept getting out until we put him on a harness and tieout - we later had to give him up because he broke the tieout and we couldn't afford to add fencing to keep him (he was also extremely high energy and we couldn't keep up with him...).

 

And being unable to keep the dog tied up also opens up the possibility, as above, of jumping out of the yard.

 

Honestly as long as the dog has a nice wide range and access to food, water, and shade all day, there shouldn't really be a problem (and a doghouse too, esp if it's hot and/or sunny).

 

@Cecona

 

I would rather they got help too, but really even euthanasia is preferable to declawing to me. :c My dad's girlfriend has a declawed cat and the poor thing walks kind of funny (he was obtained already declawed). :c

 

We used d-con. Not the greatest, but unfortunately at the time all the store had otherwise were glue and live traps. We don't get vermin in the house very much though; this was the only time we'd ever had the problem while I was there, so we shouldn't need to poison anything else again, esp. since we sold the place and are moving elsewhere.

The shelter I volunteer at doesn't adopt out dogs with behavioral problems to just anyone. They need to apply and their application can be rejected. Not to mentions there is a behavioral/training expert that works there with the dogs. He trains them all until they are suitable to be adopted. And also the idea is to not let your dog live outside. The dog is supposed to live inside.

[Infinis]

The shelter I volunteer at doesn't adopt out dogs with behavioral problems to just anyone. They need to apply and their application can be rejected. Not to mentions there is a behavioral/training expert that works there with the dogs. He trains them all until they are suitable to be adopted. And also the idea is to not let your dog live outside. The dog is supposed to live inside.

This dog we had gotten from friends. He was an Akita/Blue Heeler mix, very high energy, and it turns out they had been trying to keep him cooped up in a small apartment where they weren't even supposed to HAVE a dog and not taking him out regularly for runs. He was also hit by the same friend's grandmother who didn't take him to vet for days, and his tail had nerve/bone damage that at that point wasn't really fixable so he had a nonfunctional tail.

 

He ended up breaking a heavy duty 20 foot tieout cable and continuing to get out, which was why we had to give him up. It turns out he was adopted back out (by the same people we had gotten him from, who promptly passed him to a friend to take care of...) and neutered, but that didn't help and he eventually bit his new owner and they had him put down. He was also very destructive. :/

 

In my home dogs do not live inside. Nope, we get dogs suited for the outdoors, because when we couln't run or walk them or we were gone all day, they at least had a lot of yard to run in. We no longer have dogs (our last one died this past spring while I was at school), though.

 

That comes down to training though, a well trained dog shouldn't be biting anyone even if they get loose. Chances are, anyone who wouldn't have their dog conditioned not to bite wouldn't be treating their dogs right tied up either.

 

Any dog can bite when provoked, including trained ones. These dogs had claimed not only their house but the road (both on their side and opposite) as their territory.

 

People around where I have an actual home aren't so much into trained pet dogs so much as just nice companion dogs (and sadly chihuahuas are popular here...) that they don't have to train.

 

@PF13

 

Well, come fall when I go home for Christmas break, I won't even be living in that town anymore, so it's not worth it. My solution was, literally, to carry a big stick. I never hit the dogs, but they got the message that I had a big stick and I should be avoided.

[Cecona]

The whole problem with that dog was that it seems like it never had a chance to begin with if that's how it was treated. Not to mention Akitas are known to be an aggressive breed. And also it's obvious where you live is different from where I live. Here it's too hot to even think about keeping a dog outside for hours, and it's also a tourist town so it's really bad for tourism if there are too many ill-behaving dogs. And again, the shelter only adopts dogs out to the people they know will be able to handle them if they happen to have behavioral issues. And honestly it's for the dog's own good to be kept inside or only outside for a limited amount of time. The main highway is one street down and it's so, so sad to see the number of cats and dogs that have been hit by cars trying to pass that road. It's actually made me cry and my mom thinks I'm crazy for crying over a few dead animals.

 

I should add that akitas are more likely to be aggressive towards other animals than humans

Edited September 15, 2013 by Cecona

[TikindiDragon]

I come from a profession where there's a *lot* of dog bites go on. And I can say that as a general rul it's the small dogs that are the poblem. If I'm remembering the reports correctly (and they go over dog bite reports at our monthly meetings to drill it into us that we need to be careful) we've only had two bites by large dogs in the last year - both GSDs incidently - and all the rest have been by terrier types. It always seems to suprise the owner when it happens to - they never think their dog would bite.

 

It always baffles me that people don't seem to think small dogs need walking and training in just the same way big dogs do.

[Nectaris]

Any dog can bite when provoked, including trained ones. These dogs had claimed not only their house but the road (both on their side and opposite) as their territory.

 

People around where I have an actual home aren't so much into trained pet dogs so much as just nice companion dogs (and sadly chihuahuas are popular here...) that they don't have to train.

 

Even territorial dogs shouldn't be biting as their first resort to someone entering their territory, just simply barking and aggressive posturing should be. Dogs that bite as their first response to an intruder do seem to have a problem.

 

I live outside the city limits so there isn't even a leash law and most of the dogs are free roaming and to walk down the street you have to cross through several dog's territories. Most of them are friendly though and will walk up and greet you. The most any of them do though is bark and maybe investigate whatever dogs you are with.

 

If they are that prone to biting someone in "their" territory, they would still be a danger as there is always the chance that they could get loose, even tied up.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Nectaris

[Rachel72]

JMO... People (or so called humans) who abuse animals, need to be put thru what they put the defense-less animals thru. See if they like it! I will bet you not a single one of them will!!!

[Darien]

OMG, thats just not right too do something like that...

[GavinB]

YouTube seems perfectly content at taking off softcore porn ASAP, as well as any potential copyright infringements. However, they seem to be taking their sweet time on getting rid of videos like this (WARNING: depicts animal cruelty), where the content is far more serious. This video has been up for a couple of years already. How the hell is that acceptable?? Especially considering you have people who have no doubt flagged and reported its content?

 

And as for the people who did this, I think they deserve to go to jail. They are a potential danger to society, people who would torture a trapped and helpless animal in such a painful manner have no empathy and there are links showing cruelty like this to violence against people.