#Dog Owners

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[machetelanding]

George Lucas with his dog Indiana (1975)

[cloud-crochet]

Dog owners - how would you feel if someone gave you a crocheted stuffed animal that looked like your dog? It wouldn't be intended as a toy for the dog, just a display item.

[superbeans89]

Cat owner behaviour: put everything on hold, I wish to annoy the creature

Dog owner behaviour: I have to use synonyms for everything I say, so nothing is misconstrued as a WALK or TREAT

[rumade]

Nature PSA: DO NOT LET YOUR DOGS WILD SWIM if you treat them with spot-on flea treatments

Flea treatments are pesticides and are having a knock-on effect in the wider environment, especially aquatic environments. Most of these flea treatments are neonicotinoids, the same family of pesticides known to be catastrophic to bees.

This is yet another reasons why cats should not be allowed to free roam too- when they are treated with flea products and then go and roll freely in gardens they are spreading around these harmful pesticides.

Insect and other invertebrate numbers have plummeted in the past 20 years. We need to get serious about the damage we are doing to this foundation of the ecosphere.

[whydidisavethistomyphone]

[kirisaki-daichi-scenarios]

kiridai + haizaki if they were dog owners attending a puppy class

Hanamiya Makoto

Bought a breed that needs good socialisation (I’m thinking a serious police lines Dutch Shepherd cause he’d want something with brains and drive but also something not “normie” as a Malinois) so puppy class it is to get the dog amiable around others.

The dog acts like it’s perfectly trained half the time: just a couple months old and already has perfect focus, and obviously Hanamiya goes above and beyond with training in his spare time, so the dog responds to cues perfectly, and Hanamiya has perfect timing with marking and rewarding behaviours because he’s just that sort of person

The other half of the time, the dog is kicking off because another puppy looked at them. 

And the trainer’s telling Hanamiya just to relax, shorten up his leash a bit, take a deep breath, but they can see his eyes just glazing over with fury every time the barking starts up again.

It hurts having to alternate between “Hanamiya, can you and [dog] demonstrate this behaviour because [dog] does it perfectly” and “right, someone will go get a barrier to calm [dog] down a bit” but Hanamiya’s going to have to get used to it, because that’s what you buy with an police lines import. 

The dog is always going to be a bit nuts, just like his owner ;) 

(Don’t choose a serious dog breed for clout as a first time owner, how about that Makoto?)

Seto Kentaro 

For Seto, I’m thinking he buys a small lapdog type terrier, maybe an English toy terrier, or maybe an English bulldog (although obviously I don’t recommend buying a breed with as many health issues as the English bulldog, and I’m pretty sure Seto would at least do the research on that sort of thing) 

Anyway, Seto’s the biggest guy with the smallest dog

Like when the puppy takes its mid-class snooze, he curls up on Seto’s shoe and he’s half the size of his owner’s foot. 

The main issue that they need to work on is separation anxiety; because Seto never really goes anywhere, the poor dog’s expects his owner to be with him all the time. So if Seto needs to go to the toilet and hands someone the leash, the poor puppy is just stood there whining sadly Seto’s back. He’s just too used to having his 6ft4 guardian with him at all times. 

Anyhow, Seto’s a weird one to teach because he’s not the world’s best dog trainer - he tends to be quite casual about everything, and he’s not hugely strict so in turn the dog’s quite 50/50 about actually following commands. (Think Seto saying “down”, puppy just staring at him while wagging his tail like mad and not making any move to lie down, until Seto’s like, “fuck it, you’re too cute for your own good” and gives him the treat anyway)

But the thing is, despite this half-hearted attitude to training, Seto knows the theory like it’s no one’s business. The trainer will offer him some advice and  Seto’s like “oh, so just using the Premack Principle?” or “so just conditioning more cut-off signals while they’re still sub-threshold?” 

Like, yes but how do you know those words? Spend less time reading and more time working your dog please

(And please join me in imagining the trainer telling Seto to call his dog away with kissy sounds or a high-pitched voice, rather than pulling on the leash, and the sheer awkwardness on Seto’s face as he attempts his best baby voice.)

Yamazaki Hiroshi

Thought he wanted a proper working lines dog (some sort of spaniel breed probably) because he read on the internet that they’re healthier and “perfect for [his] active lifestyle” but he didn’t realise how much work a working line dog needs and now he’s come to the puppy class in desperate need of help. 

Dark circles under his eyes and his hands are permanently covered in cuts and scars from those sharp little puppy teeth

But despite the wounds, he adores his little dog and his little dog adores him 

(Shame they express it by trying to chomp on his poor skin) 

Yamazaki’s the guy who’s always absent-mindedly petting his dog even when the trainer tells him not to while working on a certain behaviour

Yamazaki’s also that guy who’s always taking notes after class, always asking questions (comes back every week like “about the biting...”), and he always does his homework, so his dog shows the most improvement by the end of the course

He gets the little graduation certificate and he’s trying to bite back the happy/proud tears (meanwhile the dog’s trying its damnedest to get a hold of the certificate and rip it to shreds)

Furuhashi Kojiro

He’s just a good conscientious owner who did all the research before he bought his puppy, and has been training them from the beginning and figured a puppy class was the right thing to do just in case

(N.B. I have absolutely no idea what kind of dog Furu would want cause, in my mind, he’s normally a cat person. But I’m assuming that a rare and quiet breed that’s not the most clingy would be right up Furu’s alley, so Kishu Ken it is.)  

Honestly Furu rocks up to the puppy class and both his and the puppy’s minds are a bit blown: Furuhashi’s because he didn’t realise how little everyone else had trained their puppies, and the puppy’s because it’s gone from being used to life with its quiet owner in a quiet house going on quiet walks to a classroom surrounded by lots of other very excited dogs

But the puppy soon settles, as does Furuhashi, and for the most part, their time at the puppy classes goes quite smoothly 

(As it often does if people just do their homework between classes)

The only time they have any issues is in any exercise where Furuhashi has to be a bit more animate

Like an exercise where you make your voice and body language all excited to get the dog riled up so they can learn to calm down as soon as you calm down: Furuhashi’s idea of “getting excited” is one small awkward and a monotone “good puppy”

Meanwhile the puppy’s staring at him like “he’s a bit boring, but he’s my bit boring”

(And on a separate note, Furuhashi definitely ends up bringing his sister to some of classes. She’s still staying with their parents, who won’t let her get a dog, so she’s living vicariously through Furu’s dog ownership. And, Furu being the good big brother that he is, only encourages her interests. So if she wants to be around puppies more, he takes her to the classes. And if she’s getting bored, he hands her his puppy’s leash so that she can do the exercises and get the trainer’s guidance instead of him.)

Hara Kazuya

The dog is Hara’s partner’s/friend’s, but Hara comes along for moral support and to play with the other puppies before the class starts

Actually, you know what, we’ll say this is an older characters AU where Yamazaki and Hara are roommates and he’s come with Zaki and his lunatic spaniel

Hara takes the “class” in “puppy class” seriously, and by that I mean he acts like a class clown as if he’s still in school - he views a successful class as a class where he makes the trainer laugh at least once, and flirts with one of the assistants at least once

Zaki’s probably wondering why he asked Hara to come because now, every time a puppy starts barking, Hara’s whispering in their ear “Hanamiya when someone tells him to be nice”; or a puppy pees all over the floor and then it’s “you after a night out”

Having said that, Hara’s also a great training tool cause puppies love him and he always gets them very over-excited 

So, when the homework was working on your puppies not jumping up on people, the trainer gets Hara to be the guinea pig, cause he’s the ultimate test

Haizaki Shougo 

Probably only attending the classes because he was court ordered to be there or something after his dog’s already showing dangerous behaviour - Haizaki’s the kind of owner who could screw up a puppy, but he’s also the kind who buys a puppy who’s probably genetically screwed up

He falls for those horrid guard breed puppy ads online (you know the ones - with the pictures of barking dogs Photoshopped into flames or whatever and with the caption like “UNREAL DRIVE!! CRAZY STRUCTURE!! SUPER PROTECTIVE!! buy your bundle of joy from us today, perfect for a first time owner <3)

(In case you don’t know what I mean, think something like this)

Anyway so Haizaki gets a Presa Canario, maybe a bully, or maybe a Tosa Inu cause he’s in Japan and, if anyone in KNB is interested in dog fighting, it’s Haizaki because he’s just not a great person

Haizaki rocks up to classes very reluctantly and could not care less about them

He keeps letting the leash get too long so his puppy keeps getting in the other dog’s faces and upsetting them; he’s on his phone half the time; and he just doesn’t take on board any advice

For example the trainer talks to him about loose leash walking and Haizaki just zones out - cause in his mind, there’s no point putting the effort in to train them when he’s a big guy who can easily hold back even a 40kg dog

So the trainer thinks Haizaki’s pretty much a lost cause, poor dog, etc

But then, one fateful day, when the dog’s barking their head off for the thousandth time, the trainer gives Haizaki a tip and it works! 

And something clicks in Haizaki’s brain and he realises he doesn’t have to put up with his dog being a ‘nuisance’ - he can just put some effort in and train them and make life happier for the both of them

After that things are much smoother sailing and Haizaki actually starts engaging with the class and asking the trainer for advice on the (many) other issues the dog has

It takes a while for Haizaki and the puppy to graduate out of the class, just because of all the damage that needs undoing, but the fact that Haizaki sticks around, even after his court-ordered time is up, is already good news 

The dog will never be 100% in certain environments but at least they walk nicely for the most part and knows some commands

And it’s safe to say that, when Haizaki spots the dog trainer a few months later, they’re the first teacher that Haizaki’s ever stopped to say hello to

[i-ate-your-dog-srry]

Chunky girl :3

Meh dog likes to hurt my lungs <3

[celebritypawblog]

"Let's Talk Pet Travel."

Hey Paw Parents,

As a lover of my planet, & a part-time wanderer. I love a good old journey through what I call my palace earth. So how do I travel with my 3 furbabies, through our palace? I'll tell ya in this blog entry.

Flights: It's easy to travel with smaller dogs. Unless you buy your larger fur baby a seat. Honestly, I've never paid for a flight for my pups. It's easy to conceal them in a pet traveler bag, & have them placed on your lap. If you have a partner, & more than 1 dog it's easier. Smaller dogs get away with everything it seems. So far so good.

Road Trips: Road trips are super pet-friendly & stimulating for your pup. I Highly recommend paw parents who love a simple road trip to include this traveling method with your pup. It's fun, and you can make it feel like an endless vacation. ** I highly suggest having a pet seat cover cause you never know what surprises your furbaby may leave you.

Well, stay tuned for pt:2 of Let's Talk Pet Travel.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[curiositysavesthecat]

*This poll was submitted to us and we simply posted it so people could vote and discuss their opinions on the matter. If you’d like for us to ask the internet a question for you, feel free to drop the poll of your choice in our inbox and we’ll post them anonymously (for more info, please check our pinned post).

[nobleelfwarrior]

Hot Take

But I don't think most pet owners should be.

And this is going to be about dogs because I've been delivering pizza and it's really obvious but I might go off about other animals later too.

If you own a dog and you want something to be delivered to your house, that dog needs to be trained not ram the person at the door at top speeds. How many people do I hear yelling at their dogs in what sounds like a genuinely angry/mean way because the dog won't stop barking. Then add in how many people have to physically block their dog from the door and there is almost no one left.

I've been jumped at by small dogs and big dogs. I'm delivering pizza and I've actually had a long journey of being ok with dogs because I didn't grow up with them, so their manerisms aren't intuitive to me. If this was happening even a few years ago, I would be much less ok. Not to mention allergies.

And just because your dog is nice, doesn't mean everyone else should just take your word for it. You see it a lot on dog training subreddits, but even if your dog is chill, other people might have reactive dogs, scared children, etc. Your dog can be friendly and still be dangerous.

My coworker has been gnawed at by very small "ankle-bitter" dogs, this time literally. And just because your dog is small, doesn't make things ok. If your dog decides to pick a fight, your dog will loose and maybe die.

What I'm saying is all dogs need to be kennel trained. Don't abuse them, but they need to be trained to leave the door when they hear the door bell or a knock because you are endangering your delivery guy who you didn't even tip very well. This is especially true if you're one of those people who goes "Don't ring the bell or knock because the dog will bark and then the baby will wake up." Maybe train your dog not to bark.

People seem to think that because dogs are common, they're easy and that is just not true. Dogs, because of their size and personality, need to be very carefully trained. Good news, they are trainable.

I think we need to be meaner to dog owners. they think that because they are almost default that they can get away with being bad owners and don't even realize how shitty they are becuase, again, it's normalized. If you are a bad dog owner, don't worry. You can get better! You can teach an old dog new tricks and you need to tip your delivery drivers better to make up for the old tricks.

[settlercolonialismisbad]

Things the vet office staff wish you would stop doing:

Please don’t take your dog off the leash in the lobby for any reason ever (including to put them on the scale!).

Never EVER yank on your dog’s leash to get their attention. Pulling on a leash the wrong way can very easily do permanent damage to your dog’s neck and windpipe, not to mention their trust in you. Always use your words first, then gently guide them where you want them to be using encouragement. Use your body to block them from unwelcome distractions.

Never force your dog towards someone they don’t know. You’re the owner. Enforce that strangers must get low and let your dog come to them first. If they’re forced into situations they’re unsure of, the likelihood that they will growl or bite is greatly increased. So is their anxiety.

Don’t hover at the counter if you are not checking in or out.

Don’t expect to call or walk in and demand to speak to your veterinarian. You can leave a message and they will get back to you. Even within the hospital, the doctor’s time is fiercely guarded and all matters are triaged by their vet assistant before it’s decided to interrupt the veterinarian (most things don’t make the cut).

Expect to wait 3-5 business days for refill requests to be approved. See rule number five.

If your appointment was a drop-off, please please try to resist the temptation to call and check and see how your pet is doing. The assistant will call you when they can. Ironically this is the number two thing that causes interruptions at crucial times during treatment.

The number one reason that hospitals run behind is because clients are late (and often expect outsized accommodation because of how difficult it was to get the animal to the hospital compared to their normal routine). We really do try to remain flexible, but if your appointment is only 30 minutes and you’re 15 minutes late, most clinics will require you to reschedule because we can’t provide you adequate care in that time. Similarly, if you’re scheduled to pick up at 1:30 and you arrive at 3:00, expect to wait longer. The technician had time to explain Fluffy’s diagnosis to you at 1:30; at 3:00, they’re supposed to be in a room with another client.

Remember that your pet is almost certainly not ‘misbehaving’ out of spite. They are just acting according to their nature, which is sometimes incongruous with the expectations that we put on them. They have different priorities than we do. Your best bet is to work with their nature and give them a lot of grace. Scolding is the least effective way to change behavior.

[bbyboybucket]

Calling all blue heeler owners (or just dog owners in general)!!!!

How the actual fuck do y’all manage the shedding, bc my guy is the worst shedder I’ve seen and is even worse now that it’s springtime. I woulda never guessed it’d be so bad bc he’s a short haired dog but I was not prepared for the double coat. I’ve gotta say, my parents have a Great Pyrenees and my dog sheds WORSE than him

And I’m trying EVERYTHING! I vacuum almost daily which includes vacuuming the furniture bc it gets stuck so bad. I even bought a mini hand held vacuum for furniture and my car but it doesn’t matter bc 5 seconds later, it’s covered in fur again. I brush him almost daily and every time it’s like shearing a sheep, even after 30 min brushing sessions, it just keeps coming. I have a million lint rollers not just for myself but for the furniture multiple times a day AND I have lint roll him too to get the excess off but it still doesn’t help much. He also has a salmon diet which is supposed to be for a healthy coat in general but I’ve also heard fish oils and fatty acids help shedding too but it’s not 🥲.

So that being said, any advice? Bc fuck, the hair is literally everywhere all the time. And like I said, now that it’s spring and getting hot, chunks fall out

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

Three groups of people with no reading skills whatsoever:

Car drivers

Dog owners

Smokers