Which mammal species are suitable to be kept as pet?

Discussion in 'Biology & Genetics' started by Plazma Inferno!, Jul 13, 2016.

  1. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

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    Yes I do equate "locking up" with "captivity".

    I certainly do NOT equate day care with "locking up" or with kennels.
     
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  3. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    Right. Which you must recognize is projecting.

    You are projecting onto them your personal views. You are ascribing to them something that has nothing to do with them. That is anthropomorphism.

    You keep waffling in this. Here, you certainly refer to abuse:
    If pet ownership is indeed a spectrum, and you don't like the idea of captivity, then why not simply choose to be at the "good" end?
     
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  5. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    Why not? What's the difference?

    A child in a daycare is certainly not free to run away and go find its friends. That's has been your primary criterion for captivity.
     
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  7. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

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    That takes us back to the topic: What species are suitable to be kept as pets? The answer is: the ones that can adjust to captivity.
     
  8. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

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    Hint: the bars on the cage.
     
  9. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    How is
    a child (a member of the family) in a home (not allowed to leave)
    any less captive than
    a dog (a member of the family) in a home (not allowed to leave)?
     
  10. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

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    Again: the bars on the cage should be your first clue.
     
  11. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    No one has mentioned any bars except you. We have been talking about pets in a home. Where are these bars?

    Surely you're not going to lock them in cages!
     
  12. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

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    Try googling "kennel".
     
  13. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    You have been saying that, when an owner comes home, the dog will race outside. You claim this is because it wants to escape captivity.

    So, where's the kennel? Where are the bars?
     
  14. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

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    Why would the owner keep the dog in the kennel in the first place if he wanted it to be "free"?
     
  15. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    What kennel?
    We're talking about pets in family homes.
     
  16. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    No university, government office or private organization maintains a list of animals that can adjust to captivity. The reason is that (in many species) response to captivity varies greatly from one individual to another. Many people keep wolves on their property, because while wolves in general do not appreciate living with humans, there are plenty who have no problem with it and become happy, lazy pets--very much like the dogs they share their home with--not to mention most of their DNA.
    Barred cages are found at zoos. The only private citizens who keep animals in cages fall into two categories:
    • 1. They don't spend enough time at home to establish a good relationship with the animals in question--especially if the species is not a dog or a cat.
    • 2. They aren't keeping the animals as pets. The typical (and most disgusting) example is tigers: there are (arguably) more tigers in cages in the USA than the entire tiger population of the rest of the world. American assholes raise them to adulthood, and then kill them and sell their fluids to Chinese assholes who regard it as sacred medicine.
    • 3. They mean well, but they don't know what the hell they're doing. For example, a dog who is new to a residence is likely to become frantic if the people go off to school and work, leaving him in a strange new place with strange new smells. These dogs fare much better in a kennel that is large enough to move around in, but not so large as to be frightening.
    As I noted, the owner is surely new at this and hasn't gotten any good advice. Nonetheless, as I said earlier, if a dog is to be left alone for one-third of the day, he'll be a lot more content in a space that's just big enough to move around in comfortably, than in an entire empty multi-room house. A good owner who knows what he's doing will start leaving the kennel door open after a week or two. For the first few days he'll find the dog in the kennel, but eventually the dog will develop enough curiosity to begin investigating this new place that is full of the reassuring smells of his new family members.

    Reviewing your previous posts, I can't escape the conclusion that you simply don't know as much about animals as you would like to. Or children, for that matter! If you put dogs, cats, pigs, rabbits, horses, goats, camels and fifty species of rodents in the same category as chimpanzees, gorillas, wallabies, cougars, coyotes, bears and all of the other more-or-less domesticated animals, you've already lost your sense of direction.

    I assume that you spend enough time with the people you're criticizing, to start understanding (if not sharing) their point of view. It always helps to hear the other side of an argument!
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2016
  17. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

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    Google "home kennel".
     
  18. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

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    You misunderstand. I'm not criticizing anybody.

    I have no problem with keeping animals in cages. I eat eggs that come from chickens in cages. I also eat chickens. Some of my best friends keep their dogs in cages.

    I just don't understand why you guys are in such denial that such people even exist.
     
  19. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    OK, I have done so.
    You're right. There are people who put their animals behind fences, even if they're home.

    I can't judge from that if it's bad, since we don't know how long they're out there. Animals do need to get outside and exercise, even if it's just an outdoor paddock. For all we know, the dogs are still walked 3 times a day, like any other dogs who are indoors.

    The outdoor paddocks are not in-and-of-themeselves indicators of irresponsible pet-ownership; they must be judged on a home-by-home basis.

    Indeed, there are lots of people who have no business owning animals. Frankly, I have seen my fair share of dogs chained to a stake in the backyard for hours at a time. Guy next door in an apartment would leave his husky/Shepherd mix in the apartment parking lot, day after day. It would moan at anything that moved, just out of boredom.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2016
  20. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    I don't think anyone is - or has been - suggesting they don't exist.

    I, for one have been objecting to what I regard as a blanket assertion that, because some exist, all pet ownership (including your own) is bad. That is what I was getting from your initial posts.

    You can't judge any one pet owner by a broad perception of pet owners in general.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2016
  21. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    27,543
    I now have two bed warmers for incredible pets/companions....[miniature smooth haired Dachsunds.
    A few years ago I had a Rottweiler, and before that another Rottweiller.
    Both great breeds, both with never a problem, and both breeds were great mates/companions, particularly I must say my Rotties.
    In my old age, and with the Mrs suffering from Asthma I changed to the more smaller house breed the minnie Dachsy's.
    My parents actually bred them in the sixties, a breed actually suited for asthmatics as they never get that "doggy" smell about them.
    My Dachsy's are exercised twice daily, and my Rotties before that, would exercise me twice daily!

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  22. Bells Staff Member

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    As an asthma suffer myself, I feel for your wife. We have a Mini Golden Doodle (Golden Retriever cross with a poodle). And he is an amazing dog, does not shed that much, does not smell, no issues with my asthma because there is less skin shedding, exceptionally intelligent and very playful and terrific with the kids. I walk him in the morning and afternoons, although the morning "walks" is pretty much his walking me and not the other way around and by walks, it's pretty much a steady jog to sprint. They do require grooming, but it's a joy with him as he just kind of flops in my lap as I brush him while watching TV. I tend to do this every night as it settles him down a bit and it's kind of a routine, plus it keeps his coat knot free.

    We have a very big yard (just under an acre), so he gets a lot of exercise and has constant human contact at home and is played with constantly because, really, who can resist that face, not to mention many many things to play with, but he loves his "walks" *cough* runs *cough*, because it gets him out and about. He's my constant companion, to be honest... If we go down to the coast (he adores the beach), he's the first one in the car.. If I go anywhere that he can come, he's the first one in the car and all I need to do is jiggle the car keys at him and open the door to the garage and he's there, waiting for me to open the car door. He even goes with me to drop the kids to school, and pick them up. He gets a kiss and cuddle goodbye or hello outside the school instead of me, because it's apparently less embarrassing to hug the dog instead of one's own mother in front of school friends.

    I honestly do not think I could ever look at another dog breed now. Such a beautiful dog. Pretty much identical to this guy:

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    5 years old.. And named Wooks, for obvious reasons. I'd post his picture, but the only photos I have of him where he's not right in the camera and the only thing you see is fur (loves the camera and thinks he needs to get right into it each time), has my kid's or other family member in it, so I won't post those.. But he looks pretty much exactly like this guy.

    I am actually considering getting another one, to be honest. I highly recommend them!
     
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  23. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    Worth considering. I too am asthmatic.

    Too bad I'm also an incurable cat person.
     

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