#they just aren’t the dog YOU think they bred for purpose

[darkwood-sleddog]

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day!

This is your reminder that the Alaskan Malamute is NOT an indigenous dog breed. It may have indigenous ancestry but its creation, the standards imposed on it, and every aspect of its direction have been steered by white people from the very beginning. Even it’s name is inaccurate to its ancestry.

There are still Inuit breeding traditional sled dogs today. They are not some mythological people of old. They’re uploading photos their dogs, their hunting, their friends, their communities to social media as you read this.

Inuit dog breeds such as the Canadian Inuit Dog and Greenland Dog share struggles the Alaskan Malamute never has. The Canadian Inuit Dogs were culled en mass in the 1970s by the Canadian government which is still a source of trauma for people today. Knowledge of traditional dog keeping has been so fractured that I know of several young people using YouTube to learn their traditional crafts instead of being taught by people in their communities. The Greenland Dog is perhaps one of the most isolated dog breeds in the world and is extremely vulnerable to changes from Global Warming. As the climate warms it is harder and harder for the dogs and the people that seek to continue their traditional way of life to function as they desire. Much of Greenland subsists on hunting and tourism of their landscape and traditional activities. Climate change will make both more difficult.

Yes, the Alaskan Malamute has had its own struggles, World War II took a massive toll on the breed as it did many others. But we cannot let ourselves be deluded by the false histories and mythologizing pushed by the breed club, the kennel club because at their base they are clubs ruled by the west and the west alone. Our breed went to Antarctica successfully where many breeds did not, but somehow that wasn’t enough for the people in charge. They will flush and turn their heads away when you fact check their made up delusion. They will claim the breed is SO different than the other indigenous freight dogs that they HAD to create a new breed while at the same time saying “wow this breed is ancient!”. Is the 1930s ancient? Why must we sell this lie? Where does it fucking stop.

[mothiir]

what dog i think 40k boys would be

based entirely on non-scientific vibes and discussion with @lemon-russ. this started off kind of silly but very quickly became an excuse for me to get slightly deep with the characterisation. slight cw for referenced animal abuse i suppose?

the emperor - border collie

now, for those of you unfamiliar with dogs you may think that picking a medium-sized herding dog is a strange choice for the Master of Mankind. However, if you have ever met a border collie — specifically, a working border collie — you will know exactly where I am going with this. These dogs are ferociously intelligent, completely single-minded, and wedded to their purpose. They will not be distracted from their work by foolish things like ‘fun’ — they will herd those sheep, damn it, and they will herd them where they are meant to be. The Emperor, like a border collie, is distant with his affection, and does not allow room for negotiation: the sheep will go in the pasture, and there they shall stay. But, I hear you protest, the border collie obeys the shepherd, and the Emperor obeys no one but himself! to this I say that the Emperor is his own shepherd; his Plan for humanity is the metaphorical co-pilot here, and it is this plan that guides his fleet, furry feet.

2. malcador — poodle. specifically a miniature white one.

Look, it sounds ridiculous, but poodles are incredibly clever dogs and you’d be a fool to underestimate one — just as you would be a fool to imagine that the frail old man at the Emperor’s side is anything other than a world-destroying threat.

3. the lion — irish wolfhound

Getting into the Primarchs now. It has been said that the Lion has major cat energy — which is completely true. However, I would argue that he ultimately is a hunting hound; a knight at his father’s side, bidden to go where he must. Like a wolfhound, he is tireless, powerful — but also frail in his youth, frailer than you might think (wolfhound pups are notoriously prone to injury because of their longer legs and how clumsy they can be). It is only with age that he reaches his full potential. Also, like most hunting dogs, he likes his sleep.

4. leman russ - a wolf

Well, obviously. However, it’s a really key point that he is a wolf not a dog, because all too often those two things are seen as synonymous when they really aren’t. Wolves and dogs are separated by ten thousand years of evolution, and they rarely get on. Russ loves his family — his fellow wolves — but struggles to relate to his canid brothers, who all seem just a little distant from him. He is drawn to humans (the pull of domestication is strong, even for the wild beast he is), and clashes regularly with the Lion (hounds and wolves can work together, but never rest easy at the same fire).

5. Magnus - borzoi

I’ve said before that Magnus is definitely a borzoi, because they are such eldritch looking creatures — like they know all of the secrets of the universe and they are not planning to tell you. Borzoi are not always viewed as the most intelligent of dogs, but that’s misleading — they’re actually very cunning in their own way, just not necessarily the easiest to train (just like a certain headstrong red fool we know). Independent-minded, a little aloof, friendly to their family — Magnus is a sight hound through and through. And, of course, should he be given a reason to hunt down wolves, he will do so with the baying of his ancestors singing in his ears, and the scent of burning Prospero lodged in his nose.

6. Perturabo - Staffordshire terrier

Squat, grumpy-looking, and sometimes vicious — it’s easy to see the worst of Perturabo in the worst of the staffie. Bred to be pest-killers and dog-fighters, there’s a persistent, harmful idea that these dogs need ‘a firm hand’ when they’re being raised. However, ill-treatment only serves to make these dogs neurotic, nervy and prone to biting — raised correctly, they are soppy and sweet and just want to snuggle on the sofa with the people they love. Unfortunately, Peturabo was reared unappreciated and maltreated, and now it is everyone’s problem.

7. Angron - Old English Mastiff

Mastiffs may have a fearsome appearance, but they are actually some of the sweetest dogs around; happy, dopey drool-machines that only want to spend time glued to their family. But Angron was snatched from his mother’s teat too young, beaten and scourged and forced to bite, and the result is a warped, twisted image of what a mastiff should be: barely-champed down fury, and the sort of hatred that is born when love turns inside out and sour. Every shelter has had to make a horrible choice with certain dogs — seeing that they are too deeply damaged to ever recover, they have done the kindest thing and ended the creature’s suffering, hoping that the next world will be gentler than this one. But no one ever did that for Angron. He is locked outside his master’s house, because at least his anguished howls keep away intruders.

8. Vulkan - Great Pyrenees

Despite their fearsome appearance, livestock guardian breeds like the Great Pyrenees are actually gentle with their flock, living amongst the sheep (like the Salamanders with their human families) — grooming the lambs, cuddling up with the ewes, patrolling with the rams. They are utterly devoted to their task, willing to die for those they sleep alongside, but they love them, and are loved dearly in return. Vulkan is many times larger than his human companions, but they clamber all over him — young and old alike — and he holds them close, vowing to keep them safe from harm, even at the cost of his own life.

9. Sanguinius - Bedlington terrier

You might have to google this one, since it is a little obscure. And now that you have googled it, I probably have some work to do in order to convince you that this floofy terrier is the perfect representation of the Blood Angel Primarch. So, first of all — these terriers are strikingly beautiful. Eye-catchingly adorable — in a strange sort of way , a fey kind of cuteness that has you looking twice. They are sweet little family pets — however, the instant they catch scent of a rat their ancestry rears its head, and they turn into floofy little killers, breaking spines and crushing skulls with merry abandon. And if you need any more convincing think of this — doesn’t the terrier look like a lamb? A cutesy little lamb? A sacrificial lamb?

[gilverrwrites]

I don't fall, I fly.

Circus playboy [AU], Dick Grayson/Reader, 2K

[1/?] ⇒⇒⇒ AN: The fruition of on one of my never left the circus AU ideas. I just want him to chew me up and spit me out okay. CWs: Teasing, crude/cheesy humour, implied size difference, swearing, moderately graphic mentions of sex, Dick being a male manipulator. F!Reader

If they still allowed animals in the circus, Dick would be locked up with the dogs. Not necessarily because he behaved like one, but because, when it comes to girls like you, he turns into a bloodhound. He could sniff you out a mile away and he won't be satisfied until he’s sunk his teeth in.

Haly would wring his neck if he found out he’d gone off task again, but then again Haly knew Dick was prone to getting distracted chasing skirts, and he still sent him out into the public to hand out leaflets. So, when you think about it, Haly is really to blame. Besides, Dick had clocked you from a block away and you were just begging for him, who was he to deny the needs of a pretty thing like you? It’s just the way the game works, certainly not his fault.

You, on the other hand, had not seen him coming. It’s lunchtime in the city and the streets are packed, as per, and as a born and bred Gothamite you know how to circumnavigate through the crowds like the back of your hand. You’re not even thinking about the swarms of people, the only thing on your mind is what you’re gonna order once you reach Mimic Coffee Bar. So, when all 6ft of lean muscle in a wifebeater comes out of nowhere and steps directly into your path you’re not expecting it. You rush to tread around him, but he follows, completely disobeying the rules of the sidewalk and causing you to stumble. Fortunately, he was fast enough to catch you before you hit the ground. Unfortunately, he’s dropped the many flyers he’d been holding in the process.

Blood boiling, you make to snap at him for being a human roadblock, only to clichély be stifled by the sight of him. From above you, his frame is highlighted by the greyish sunlight that just barely seeps out from the cloudy Gotham sky. He has deep, soft blue eyes that contrast with his strong jawline and boyish dimples highlighted by a smile that has you awestruck. At least he’s a handsome human roadblock.

“Falling for me already?” Something in his face shifts then, or maybe his words shake you out of your stupor well enough to read that there’s nothing sincere in his expression. He’s grinning at you with the look of a man who knows exactly the effect he has on the people around him. He probably tripped you on purpose, and the realisation sends your simmering temper searing.

“More like… was tripped.” Despite knowing that he knows what he’s doing, he’s still got you more tongue-tied than you’d care to admit. “Could you let me up now?”

For the second time since he entered your life moments earlier, the random stranger sweeps you off your feet. This time by lifting you like you’re nothing, making a show of holding you in the air momentarily, demonstrating how all those muscles aren’t just for show before carefully placing you gently back onto your feet. You’re not sure which is more surprising, his gratuitous show of strength, or the fact that not a single pedestrian has bumped into the two of you yet. You’re getting plenty of side-eye for certain, but somehow his aura is causing the sea of people to part around the two of you in a way you’d never witnessed prior.

“Thanks.” You mutter to hide how impressed you are, refusing to give him what he wants before stepping back, ready to depart back into the masses before he stops you with a hand on your waist.

“Wait.” His fingers trail over your hip with a relaxed sort of confidence, continuing to trail down your thigh until he’s crouched at your feet and holding onto your knee for support. He looks near godly at full height, but on his knees, he’s downright sinful.

Dick knows this of course. The real reason Haly didn’t keep him behind bars is because people stop for a face like his. They listen, they take the leaflets, they come to the big-top for a peak at him, and they keep coming back because the crew put on a damn good show.

Dick also knows from the chewed-up lip and your refusal to make eye contact that you know he looks good. Reluctant attraction suits you. The way you wear flustered agitation just really does something for him.

You finally begin to look at him straight on again when a lofty-looking woman gives you the most appalled look you’ve ever received as she passes by, reminding you of the improper scene you're currently caught up in. You’re about to ask him what the hell he’s doing when he beats you to the punch. “Would you mind helping me out here?”

With his free hand, he grabs one of his dropped leaflets from the ground and you look around to examine just how big of a mess he’d really made. There must be hundreds of them scattered along the sidewalk, some had already been crushed by passing cars in the road, others soaking up rainwater in puddles or trodden on by passers-by. Good. You should leave him to it; he’s already cut into enough of your lunch break, and it serves him right for… what? Getting in your way? Could you prove he’d done it on purpose? Did he deserve your disdain for being confident in his undeniably attractive appearance?

Are you maybe being a hangry bitch who should swallow her pride and help the poor guy out? As he stares up at you with those damn blue eyes you think so.

Actually, he did do it on purpose and your irritation was totally justified but the moment you’d sunk to knees for him; to help him clean up, Dick knew he was winning a game you didn’t even know you were playing with him.

It wasn’t raining at that moment, but somehow this city always left an air of dampness on everything in its vicinity so most of the papers were a lost cause. Any that didn’t disintegrate upon being touched were still moist to the touch. If he’d had trouble getting people to take them from him earlier, he had no chance now. Despite the dripping ink that would no doubt stain your fingers, you could still make out that it was an advertisement for Haly’s Circus, apparently it would be in town all week and boasted a pretty big lineup of clowns, acrobats, fire breathers amongst many other performances.

“The circus huh? Do you just hand out bills or…” he turns his body to face you completely, unnecessarily giving you his undivided attention and a cocked brow that makes you nervous. "Do you have an act?"

"I do." He nods, giving you nothing but but an infuriatingly charming smirk.

"What is it?" When he continues silently staring you start making suggestions. "Human canon ball? Juggling? Lion taming?"

“Lion taming? Interesting." He finally interjects, his tone is unabashed, teasing, which in theory is fine. You didn’t know him well but from the 2.5 sentences he had spoken in that time, you kind of expected him to make fun of your uninformed guesses, you just didn’t expect; “Why? You got a pussy you want me to break in?”

“Jesus Christ man.” You almost drop the helpless lump of wet paper forming a clump in your hands to the ground. You’re dumbfounded. Shocked by his brazenness and flustered by the imagery that immediately shot into your brain. You can’t even look at him as you ask your next question. “Do you speak to all your potential audiences like that?”

“Just the really pretty ones.” He doesn’t miss a beat. He wants to make a joke about you preferring to watch, but he doesn’t want to push you too far, yet. Can’t risk not seeing you this hot and bothered against his bed sheets, so he settles for soothing you by petting your ego with a much more tried and tested line.

And it works because you’re still bashful, but you smile at him, a real smile that you couldn’t hold back if you’d wanted to. His own unwavering grin must be contagious you think. The more you look at his lips the more your mind wonders what else he might do with them. How he might tame your pussy with that sharp tongue and those strong hands; Until you catch a glimpse of the clock tower behind him.

“Shit, I’ve gotta go.” You thrust the soggy stack of leaflets toward him. “My lunch break is nearly over.”

“Shame.” He clutches your hand in his as he takes the flyers from you, and suddenly there are butterflies in your belly that hadn’t been there the previous two times he’s touched you. “You’re gonna come see me though, right babe?”

“Maybe.” You want to, but you don’t want to commit to anything right now. Already you’re Gotham-raised scepticism is wondering if he really wants to see you again, or if this is just some elaborate marketing tactic to seduce women into coming to see their show. Maybe you’ll feel differently without his sweet aftershave and sunny face overwhelming your senses.

“Come on, I can get you free tickets. You can even bring a friend.” Was he reading your damn mind? No, he just knew $30 deducted from his salary would be worth the chance of getting you alone. If he ever started financial planning, he’d have to give ‘tickets for hot babes’ its own category. “Please?”

“Okay, I’ll try.” You concede, and he finally releases your hand, leaving you with one single flyer, presumably to ensure you had the address and times readily available.

“Great, when you get to the box office ask for Joey.” He instructs. “Tell ‘em you’re there for Dick.”

“For Dick? Excuse me?”

He says it that way on purpose, it’s fun watching you process his words, the haughty look on your face as you land on the wrong conclusion. He knows you’re thinking about something naughty. Dirty girl. “I like the way you say my name.”

“Your name is Dick?” You’re flooded with relief and a little bit embarrassed for having assumed the worst.

“Yeah, is there a problem with that?”

“No, it’s just a bit old-fashioned, isn't it.”

“I get that a lot.” He shrugs before leaning in close, the smile on his face is gone, replaced by a more serious expression and his tone is much lower than you’d anticipated. “When I say you can bring a friend, I mean a friend. No dates, yeah?”

“Why?” It’s finally your turn to bait him with a clever comeback. Vindication for the first words you’d uttered to him being so pitiful. “Are you falling for me, Dick?

“Sorry pretty girl, but I don’t fall, I fly.” He points to the flyer in your hand. Confused, you scan the piece of paper twice over before flipping it to see what he’s referring to. On the back is an illustration of an acrobat, a strikingly familiar man mid-jump between trapezes and the title: The Flying Grayson. When you look at him again, he’s gone, swallowed by the buzzing downtown streets, and you’re late for work.

Despite having an empty stomach, your afternoon goes by pretty well. Luckily your boss didn’t notice you slipping in 10 minutes late and the workload had flown by in a breeze, probably because you’d been daydreaming about your dreamy new acrobat friend instead of focusing on what you should have been doing.

By the time you get home, you’ve pretty much made up your mind. As you eat dinner you examine the once glossy flyer again, actually reading the fine print for once. It didn’t give anything away that you didn’t already know, and your eyes keep drifting back to the image of Dick, who, given his placement was clearly one of their biggest attractions. You could see why. Yes, it’s only a drawing and a smudged one at that, but it really gives justice to his athletic build and made you wonder if his body could really contort that way. Before you let yourself get carried away in another vehement fantasy you pull out your phone and text a picture to your best friend;

“Circus Thursday night? Tickets free x”

“You bone the ringmaster or sum? Don’t care, I’m in! x’

'Or sum'. Thursday was the night after tomorrow. You didn’t have plans besides work before then, but you just didn’t want to appear too eager. You wanted to push his buttons like he’d done to you earlier, and hopefully, he wouldn’t trip up some other pretty girl before then.

____

Dogs actually are one of few animals allowed in the circus, but we’re not talking about that! 💙

[kaionyx]

wwanna be sir's dumb plaything :((. for breeding an entertainment purposes only!!! get t turn off all m thoughts an jus be ur doggy!! dog dom and puppy sub is such.. a good thought. yummy. bein in heat while ur in rut 😵‍💫. getting bred over n over!!!!!

wahh, i haven't sent an ask in a while. missed doin it.

-🐕🤍

Oh my, such a slutty little thing aren’t you puppy? Getting yourself all excited thinking of being my personal cocksleeve, locking a pretty collar around your neck with a chain latched to my bed so you’re there when I need it. Even making a cute little nest for you to lay in when you’re in heat and i’m fucking another load deeper in you.

It would be adorable watching you slowly start to accept your role as my breeding toy though darling, seeing you almost get excited for my abuse to your little body. Since you asked so cutely I might just take you up on that offer, I am in dire need of a new mutt to mold and break over my cock anyway.

[redafi]

OH THIS IS SOMETHING I ACTUALLY KNOW A BIT ABOUT

Basically, “purebred” cats are really more of a recent thing. Unlike dogs, they didn’t need to be bred for specific purposes to do their jobs. They are born with the natural instinct to hunt mice. (My cat apparently excluded.) (well not excluded, she tries, shes just really bad at it)

Source? Well for christmas I managed to get a DNA testing kit for my cat (from my kinda-mostly-estranged paternal grandfather and step-grandmother, who I recently realized are probably looking at the wishlists sent out for the “young’uns” in my family and just buying the most expensive thing on it.)

And hurray, they gave me a BUNCH of information on the history of cat breeds. And now I know that I should schedule a vet appointment for Blair to specifically check out her teeffers. Because apparently she has bad breath (I don’t know if id be able to tell) and medium risk of periodontal disease.

Point? Well, selective breeding for cats has only been going on for about 200 years or so now (started in the 19th century). And this makes it so that it’s impossible to really define individual breeds—they aren’t as clearly laid out as dogs, with their thousands of years of selective breeding.

As the “history of cat domestication and breeding” section in my beloved beautiful-and-elegant-little-turd’s genetic report says: “The extremely short timeline of human-driven selective cat breeding has yet to overcome the much longer history of cats reproducing freely. Therefore, modern-day cats rarely have ancestors of a defined breed, and the feline genetic code has remained exceptionally diverse even within established pedigree breeds.” (This is from Basepaws. Expensive, but even just the first report—because they send you more as more tests process (or i assume thats why theres a different timeline)—has 68 pages. Granted, some of that is general information, not all of it is about my cat. But regardless whooPEE thats a lot of info and i think that i certainly got my… well, my rather estranged californian set of paternal grandparents… money’s worth from it.)

[blulotl]

Can we drop the idea that if a pet isn't a dog or cat it's not worthy of love? People who own these pets - fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects, birds, small mammals - love their animals just as much as cat and dog owners love theirs. They put just as much attention and love and care into their animals as dog and cat owners put into theirs.

I have cats, but I've also had hamsters, fish, invertebrates, insects, frogs, and bunnies. Currently I keep axolotls and a crested gecko in addition to my cats. The amount of people who act like my axolotls and gecko don't exist, or aren't "real" pets compared to my cats, is nuts. I've had people tell me my pets are gross, ugly, disgusting, slimy. I've had them harass me over their food being gross or disgusting or slimy. I've had people tell me my pets should just be released into the woods rather than me spending money on their care, or ask me why I bother taking them to the vet, or "joke" about eating them. I've had some flat out tell me they shouldn't be alive or taking up space in the house or life. When they died, I've had people ask me why I'm sad or tell me I shouldn't be.

What the fuck is wrong with you? These are my pets and I love them just as much as my cats. When I worked at a pet store, I heard all the same sentiments expressed by customers. That's fucking disgusting.

Look, if someone has a pet you don't vibe with, just don't fucking interact with that pet. If you're afraid of dogs and your friend is telling you about something their dog did, do you interrupt and say "Your dog should be killed?" Why do people think this is acceptable behavior if the animal isn't a dog or cat?

Fucking support people and what they love. My best friend keeps tarantulas, which I am terrified of. The only thing I've ever said about it is not to text me pictures of them. I let her gush about them because even though they're not my cup of tea, she LOVES them. It's not that fucking hard. If you can't even do that, NICELY tell the person, "Hey I don't really like X, can we talk about something else?"

Don't fucking tell them their pets should die or not be alive and don't insult the animal just because you don't like them.

Every pet is a valid pet. Don't be a dick.

EDIT: For those of you trying to nitpick, obviously in this post I mean actual pets, bred in captivity, for the purpose of being pets. Not wild animals. Do NOT keep wild animals as pets.

[residentsessionhijacker]

Lucifer - German Shepherd:

German Shepherds are loyal to the grave. They would practically lay down their life for their owner, similar to how Lucifer would die for Diavolo.

They can be aggressive to strangers or people who annoy them, ahem Lucifer and mammon ahem

They are very beautiful dogs, very elegant, similar to how Lucifer shows himself off to be.

I don’t want to be obvious, but c’mon, Lucifer screams German shepherd energy.

Mammon - Jack Russel Terrier

These little ankle biters are perfect for a bad tempered demon like Mammon.

When he turns INTO a dog during a text, he is literally "A little ankle biter". His words, not mine!

Jack Russel Terriers are loud too, yappy and constant, like Mammon.

They're VERY cute and cuddly, though if they could speak, they'd be denying it constantly like a certain mammon we know.

Leviathan - Duck Tolling Retriever

A Duck Tolling Retriever is arguably the best dog when it comes to water, which fits Levi's demon form.

They're the smallest Retriever, and i wanted a small ish dog for Levi, it just fits.

They're loud when needed, but very insistent with attention, like Levi's neediness.

When doing the things they love, they;re the happiest dogs in the world, A duck tolling terrier playing fetch is like Levi watching TSL, they adore it.

Satan - Doberman

Dobermans are very strict, very well trained too when in the right hands, a dog after Satan's own heart.

When it comes to their purpose, dobermans, like Satan’s, are very efficient and on point.

They are known for aggressiveness though, Dobermans could soar after a robber like Satan soars to MC when they call him "Lucifer"

When they are attached, they are ATTACHED. Good luck trying to leave a Doberman's home

Asmodeus - Poodle

This was a dead giveaway, poodles, whether toy or large are beautiful and used for show purposes for a reason.

They can be loud and rude when untrained, like how Asmo is sometimes but trained, they can be the most well behaved dogs!

Their fur was bred to be attractive and soft, like Asmo's demeanor.

They can have a bit of an attitude too, which also suits Asmo very well.

Beelzebub - Saint Bernard

Saint Bernards are laaaarge, like, large to the point where they're clumsy, similar to Beel.

They can be the biggest, softest cuddlebugs on the planet, they're gentle giants like Beel too.

Oh and did I mention, they;re HUNGRY. Like, Beel would almost have competition with Saint Bernards. Almost.

They're bred to save your life, and that they will do. Beel will also protect you with his life, at this point, a Saint Bernard is his spirit animal.

Belphie - Japanese Chin

The color is black and white, Japanese chins basically look like Belphie's pillow, especially with their tiny size.

They're more like cats than dogs, more introverted when it comes to other people, similar to Belphie.

They're very quiet and lazy dogs too, and their cuteness could get them anything they want. Similarly, Belphie was called cute by his brothers multiple times.

Japanese Chins are very intelligent too, matching Belphie's smarts while being slightly feisty like him too.

Diavolo - Bernese Mountain Dog

With the playfulness of a golden retriever and the size of a Saint Bernard, a Bernese Mountain dog is perfect for Diavolo!

They're a lovely, playful dog, amazing with new people, similar to Diavolo's happy personality.

They love attention, the Bernese has the mind of a lap dog and the body of a Goliath. Diavolo would definitely be the same.

They were also bred to save lives, and Diavolo in the amusement park proves that he saves lives too. Overall, a good boy for a very good king.

Barbatos - Guide Dog Lab

Labs are usually excitable dogs, but when trained right, into a guide dog for the disabled for example, they're very sensible, like our butler boy.

Labs are usually very neat, they don't shed much, which means that, like barb, the place they're in is usually pretty clean.

They are known to fetch certain items on command too, they're basically furry little butlers.

Like Barb with Luke, guide dogs are responsible with children, specifically more respectful kids. Overall, Barb is a guide dog. You cannot change my mind.

Solomon - Wolfdog

Wolfdogs, like Solomon, have a bad reputation. But in the right hands, they're actually very soft and sweet.

While wolfdogs aren't trusted, like Solomon isn't, as long as there's a limit to people close to them, they're very protective and happy to see you if you're in that limit.

Wolfdogs can be dangerous though, and while Solomon isn't aware of it, he can be dangerous too, with his cooking and potions and all.

Overall, both have terrible rep. Both don't deserve it.

Simeon - Australian shepherd

Aussie Shepherds are very clever and very well trained, so it's very fitting for Simeon.

They aren't timid though, and i think this fits Simeon well, since many people see him as innocent and sweet, but he, like the Aussie Shepherd has an attitude he isn't afraid to use.

They're very efficient at what they do, and they're known to be loyal to the fault, and suspicious of any newcomers for about 0.3 seconds.

Plus, Simeon's quote of "it's an angel's job to shepherd our little lambs", seals the deal.

Luke - ....

...

...

Oh buddy...

I'm so sorry lil guy.

[warwickroyals]

ANGIE’S PET SHOP - MID-DECEMBER - 16:29

Transcript under the cut!

Beginning | Previous | Next

(Karen) This is ridiculous, what type of pet store doesn't have wet cat food?

(Kamryn) I'm sorry, ma'am, but this is really why we recommend you call or check online in advance.

(Karen) You don't even look like you work here. You're not even wearing a uniform.

(Kamryn) Well, that's because I'm not a—

(Karen) Don't you dare get mouthy with me! Is this some sort of prank?

(Kamryn) No, I'm just a volunteer.

(Karen) You need to watch it with that attitude, young lady, that's strike two. Don't let me get to three.

(Kamryn) I just don't know what you want, we don't have what you want, so why are you still here?

(Karen) That's it. Who is your supervisor?

(Alex) His Majesty The King.

(Karen) Who are you?

(Alex) Who am I? You know damn well who I am. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't know who I am.

(Karen) Prince . . . Alex?

(Alex) "Prince Alex"? Are you joking? My name is Alexander James Spencer David, but to you it's Your Royal Highness. Now, do you think I'm stupid?

(Karen) What?

(Alex) Do. You. Think. I'm. Stupid? Do you think this is how you treat fellow commoners in my presence?

(Karen) No, Your Royal Highness, I'm sorry.

(Alex) You're lucky I should report you to the King's 46th Squad Division for disturbing a member of the royal family, but this time I'll give you a warning.

Later . . .

(Kamryn) Oh, my God, that look on her face? So good. "My name is Alexander James Spencer George." Priceless.

(Alex) Alexander James Spender DAVID. You're not a real Warwick if you don't have four names at least.

(Kamryn) And what was that thing you'd say you'd report her to? The King's 46th Squad Division? What is that?

(Alex) I don't know! I made it up. This type of thing always works with people like her. They fall apart like that, just because I wave my title around. I'm starting to understand why you said you like animals more than people.

(Kamryn) Yeah, most people, most people are annoying, stupid, and rude. At least to me. With a dog or something you can train them. Dogs and royals, I guess, I read a story about Shelby Skyes being trained before marrying in.

(Alex) Training?

(Kamryn) Shit. I'm breaking the no assumptions rule, aren't I? Royals aren't like dogs, I guess, they're both bred for a certain purpose but that's beside the point. God, ignore me, I'm talking out my ass right now.

(Alex) You're not the first person to make that comparison. Once when I was seven, my mom took me to a hospital for the elderly and one of the ladies began petting me, stroking my hair. She kept calling me "good boy" too. It was so strange.

(Kamryn) Well, can you blame her? Your hair is so temptingly voluminous. Great, now I sound like Jason. I need to shut up.

(Alex) No, don't, you're so funny when you're embarrassed. In fact, would you like to visit Woodbine Castle sometime? I can't go on just hanging out with you for two hours every weekday.

(Kamryn) Me? In a castle?

(Alex) We have all the snacks you can ask for and a PlayStation 5.

(Kamryn) Well, I guess some offers can't be refused.

[dogduocatquartet]

@kung-slinger i genuinely almost don’t know what to say to this reply, it reads as if you didn’t even look at my post before responding. i specifically said very clearly that i don’t have anything against pit bulls and nowhere did i imply anything about violence being a need for that or any other breed of dog.

dogs will more often than not prefer to avoid fighting, they have a complex language which in large part consists of navigating around conflict (similar to wolves, since you bring that up, since they’re both social species and good communication skills are essential for functioning in groups). there are many breeds of dog that, due to a number of factors, have weaker or less clear body language than others (language between dogs is also in no small part learned, so socialization is also a factor here). pit bulls are generally considered one of these breeds, which makes a lot of the signals they send out disappear or get misunderstood, leading to heightened stress and may accidentally end up in a fight/bite even though the pit bull may have been trying to signal “i need some space”. the exact same could be said for a retriever with poor body language due to lacking socialization. a lot of owners also punish dogs’ ways of communication, such as growling (“leave me alone”), unintentionally leading to their language growing even poorer and instead of a ladder of escalating signals, the dog in question may end up jumping straight from “this is starting to become uncomfortable” to biting, rather than modifying their language accordingly and having opportunity to remove themselves from the situation. none of this is exclusive to pit bulls, but a higher tendency of conflicts CAN be seen in breeds that have poor body language, just as with dogs that are poorly socialized with other dogs.

if the word “aggression” makes you uncomfortable, let’s call it “stress” instead. a stressed dog may engage in behavior we consider aggressive, so these often overlap or are basically interchangeable anyway. some breeds are more predisposed to stress around either other members of the same sex as them or just other dogs in general, though again there are many factors to consider as to why this is. it’s been a while since i read up on this specifically, so anyone is free to correct me on this, but breeds with same-sex stress often have a higher production of hormones, making them more “competitive” with members of the same sex. for wolves, this can be a useful trait if they break off from their original family group (that’s generally what wolf packs are; two parent wolves and their children) to mate, establish their own territory, and create a new familial group (aka pack). akitas, frenchies, shibas, and st. bernards are some other dog breeds that have a relatively high occurrence of same-sex stress. terriers, guarding breeds, and herding dogs tend to have this in higher degrees than hunting or companion breeds. but again, ymmv.

stress, aggression, fights etc. between dogs are also often triggered by resource guarding. any dog can have issues with resource guarding, but breeds that have typically been bred to guard often have a higher tendency of this, and may be quicker to escalate the situation, because that’s what they’ve been bred for. dogs that have been bred to be independent and guard the home also have a higher tendency to “deal with” conflicts on their own, than dogs bred to be more handler-oriented. again, these are things to consider when getting a dog. for some people, these traits are desirable, for some they’re a downside that other traits weigh up for, for others it’s a dealbreaker. all of these are fine, and should honestly be encouraged more, because, as i said, not all dogs are suited for any person, and not all people are suited for any dog.

the reason pit bulls are often overrepresented in discussions of shelters/rescues is partly because it’s more of an umbrella term than a very coherent breed, referring to bull-type terriers and mixes thereof. there technically IS the american pit bull terrier, though this is not a breed recognized by the FCI or the AKC. regardless, a lot of different dogs often get lumped into the same category, especially when the history of the dog is unknown and it kind of looks like a bull-type terrier breed. ive seen plenty of “pit bulls” that probably have more pinscher or molosser/mastiff in them than bull-type terriers. so just on that alone, you have a huge span of dogs with varying temperaments and historical uses, and that’s before you consider more “immediate” factors like genetic lines and socialization (or nurture, if you will). there’s also the fact that due to their appearance, history, and reputation, there are a lot of terrible bull-type breeders out there, who breed for unethical reasons or for profit, which in turn produces a higher amount of dogs with poor backgrounds and poor parentage, which in turn makes a lot of these dogs end up in shelters (good breeders will commonly take the dogs back if there’s an issue or the owner has to surrender it, so more bad breeders = more dogs in shelters). this is not the dogs’ fault, obviously. in my experience, huskies and border collies are also breeds that make up a big chunk of shelter populations, because they might be cute when they’re puppies, but they often end up being more demanding than someone just wanting a family dog can handle. no amount of nurture can change an individual dog’s energy level or need for stimulation. what you CAN do is meet the dog’s needs. this is not the same thing as nature vs nurture. i cant love or train away a husky’s energy level, but i can let it use its natural resources by taking it for longer/more frequent walks/runs, maybe do some sledding/pulling/packing with it, making it a happier and more well-adjusted dog.

i recently saw a family with a staffordshire bull terrier who was very sweet with them and all around a great dog, but who would bark and pull incessantly whenever he’d see another dog. they had no idea how or why this happened, as he was otherwise really nice and they’d tried to socialize him a lot as a puppy. turns out, what they’d done when the dog was younger was let him meet every single dog they saw or walked past on the street, which created an expectation which created stress which ended up in very strong “stay away from me!!!” signals (barking, showing teeth, leaning forward). this is extremely common for dog owners of all breeds and it’s honestly both annoying and saddening, because no dog needs to befriend every dog they happen across, and it’s often counterproductive and create stress instead, especially since leashes limit a dog’s body language. your dog can hate every other dog in the world, but as long as they can walk past them without acting out, it’s literally not a problem. some dog breeds are less inclined to get along with other dogs, and that’s fine! they don’t need to hang with other dogs to be happy and if you train them to walk past other dogs it’ll likely never be an issue. like i said earlier on, dogs will almost always try to avoid conflict when they can, so you’ll be doing you, your dog, and other people and dogs a favor if you stop trying to “socialize” your dog that doesn’t like other dogs with said other dogs, and instead focusing on walking well on a leash. which is something that all dog owners should be aware of, not just owners of breeds that aren’t generally sociable with other dogs or people outside its family, which are typical traits of bull-type terriers.

and just to sum it up and really spell it out: i don’t think any dog is born “aggressive”. i think genetics, socialization, instincts, and training all play a role, and sometimes you can do everything right and still get a stressed dog that may lash out. dogs have also been selectively bred for all kinds of purposes by humans for thousands of years, so dogs of different breeds and origins may have very different behaviors, reactions, and instincts that we’ve often deliberately created. it’s bizarre and just plain wrong to state that all dogs and all dog breeds are born essentially with the same configuration and everything else is just “nurture”. pit bulls are often singled out or used as examples like in the post i reblogged because of their high density in shelters combined with their bad reputation, media sensationalism, and stereotypes. they’re not inherently worse or better than other dogs. they’re similar to rottweilers to me; fine dogs, can be great family pets, but you should know what you’re getting beforehand because they’re big strong dogs that may possess strong prey drive, same-sex stress, or guarding instincts + for which there are a lot of shitty breeders. id say the same for poodles or retrievers honestly; they can be high energy and were originally hunting dogs, so you should do your research, as with any other breed. i feel like over-defending and figuratively “defanging” pit bulls may end up doing more harm than good, even if the intentions are good, because downplaying a dog or breed’s potentially negative traits and specific needs will likely just result in the dog ending up with people who don’t know what they’re doing and who were expecting, like.. a bichon in terms of temperament and drive. how about we all just have a normal, neutral, informed approach to these breeds instead of this insane, eternal discourse where both sides can be equally fanatical? thanks

[darkwood-sleddog]

What do you think about show-bred Sibes aesthetically? They seem to have a very specific look (maybe especially in Russian kennels?), which quite appeals to me personally. But I do think that they look rather different from their working-bred counterparts, so I'd be interested in your opinion - as someone who can look at the dog and see more than just 'little triangle ears cute :)'

They are very pretty and they remind me a bit of plush toys in comparison to working Siberians and I see a lot of them with very heavy bone that is almost equal to a lot of malamutes and to me that is absolutely incorrect to a historical interpretation of the dog.

My big gripe with the show bred Siberian community is that they are convinced that the modern dog looks exactly like Fritz (Togo’s half brother) and therefore that means all working Siberians “lack type” when the Seppala dogs were widely varied in their appearance and imo none of them look that much like show sibes today and ARE much closer to well bred working dogs because of both the variance of the original dogs AND the more acceptable varied appearance of working dogs (no sled dog is a bad color, marking etc. working breeders aren’t going to cull a good dog from a breeding program just for an aesthetic issue).

Like it’s not a problem that a dog breed changes over time. The dog world has made big strides in understanding health and breeding for better soundness. I just wish people would admit the dog/their interpretation of the standard has changed instead of spouting lies and insults at working dogs in the name of “preservation breeding”. Working Siberians that are able to do their job well embody some of the most important part of the standard and that imo is more important than how small the dog’s ears are, how broad it’s bone is or if it’s tail curls or not.

As usual I would like more a focus on working ability but the working breeders in sibes do a great job with that imo and there are some great dual purpose breeders out there breeding excellent sled AND show dogs.

[thespringertails]

Wait my roommate's mom breeds wolfhounds... What's the problem? I'm not well informed on the issue but are they bad pets or something?

Hi, I wouldn’t say I’m the most well informed person, but I understand quite a bit. Short answer: yes, they’re bad pets. They may not even be considered ‘pets’ they’re in a tough place between wild animal and a pet.

Why is breeding Wolf-dogs bad?

Okay first of all, what is the purpose of breeding a wolf-dog? What benefit’s do you get from breeding a wolf-dog that you cannot get from any other breed of domesticated dog that already exist? Most dog breed’s developed today are bred for a purpose, and responsible breeder’s often breed to improve there breed and increase the amount of healthy dogs developed for this purpose. We know what trait’s these breed’s are supposed to have, and we breed more of the ones that best meet the breed standard and are best made to fulfil their purpose. Most people want a wolf-dog for aesthetic reasons, they like the look of having a big ‘wolfy’ animal, and think it makes them look more powerful for having own one. 

Second of all, wolf-dog’s aren’t domesticated. It took thousands of year’s to domesticate the dog, we’ve been shaping them to our wants and need’s  for millennia’s, possibly even before the ancient Egyptians. They want to be with people, they enjoy our company, and for the most part, as long as they are handled correctly they are completely safe around humans. 

When you breed a wolf with a dog, your not going to get the perfect mixture of wolf appearance and dog personality, because that’s just not how genetics work. Some of the wild, undomesticated trait’s of the wolf will come through, and they just don’t fit well into human society. Some common wolf behaviour’s that can be seen in wolf-dogs which can be problematic in humans society include:

- Territorial needs. In the wild, wolves can have large territories ranging from up to 20 acres of land. They like to mark this territory, hunt on this territory and protect it against any invaders. A wolf-dog is not going to be satisfied with living in a house, and most back-garden’s won’t be safe enough. If the wolf-dog does end up living in your garden, how are you going to ensure that it can’t escape? Wolves can jump up to 12 feet high, most garden’s don’t have a 13 foot fence last time I checked. Why don’t you just take it for a walk? A walk is not the same as surveying 20 acre’s of territory, but also wolves will want to protect themselves, their territory and their owner from any perceived threats, which could include other dogs and possibly even other people. Also, wolves like to hunt, any small animal, which could be a rabbit, or even a cat or a small dog, could be perceived as possible prey to them, and if they’re available to them on a walk, they could try to hunt and kill it. Most people cannot contain their wolf-dog’s need for their own territory and any attempt to limit this could result in a threat to the general public, their pet’s or the wolf-dog’s household.

- rough-housing. It is not uncommon for a wolf-dog to want to rough-house or play with their owner and other member’s of their household. It’s well-known that dog’s love to play at all ages, and for wolves rough-housing can be good practice for the hunting and fighting they will need to practice when they grow up. Wolves and wolf-dog’s have tough skin and thick fur to protect themselves during rough-housing, but they are often unable to understand that their human companion’s have thin, hairless skin that can be easily broken by their bite or their claws. A bite or scratch that would be harmless to another wolf, could lead their human owner needing hospitalisation.   

Say a person ends up with a wolf-dog that display’s these behaviours, and realises that a wolf-dog is too much for them, where are the wolf-dogs to go? They can’t exactly stay in a dog shelter, where dog’s are often limited to kennel-sized spaces, the small space would drive the wolf-dog insane and lead to more frustrated and destructive behaviours. As well as this, it would be a threat to the other dog’s in the dog shelter and to staff who are not qualified in handling wolf-dogs. You can’t exactly release them into the wild either, they still have some domesticated feature’s which could mean that they would not survive long in the wild, and wolves may not even be native to the owner’s area, meaning they would become a threat to the local ecosystem. They would need to go to specialised centre’s that know how to handle wolf-dog’s or wolves, perhaps they could find a suitable home in a zoo, but the truth is that there just aren’t enough of these places for the amount of unwanted wolf-dogs. So the only option left is euthanasia.

Another significant problem that comes with the existence of wolf-dogs, is that many people will claim that their domesticated dog which looks like a wolf, is a wolf-dog. This is problematic for many reasons, say a person buy’s a ‘wolf-dog’ that is really just a wolf-looking domesticated dog, they think it’s great, it makes a wonderful pet and they enjoy it company. Their friends meet it and think it’s pretty cool and well-behaved too, so their friends decide they want to get a wolf-dog too. Except they end up with an actual wolf-dog, they end up with an animal that has all the problematic behaviours that I’ve discussed above, and they realise they can’t handle it and end up with the difficult problem of trying to rehome it. Another problem that comes with this is some animal shelter’s will also claim that there ‘dog which looks like a wolf’ is a wolf-dog, because it can sometimes be difficult to know the genetic heritage of a dog, and DNA tests are expensive. This can make the dog extremely hard to rehome, and could end up with it being euthanised. Also, ownership of a wolf-dog without a licence is illegal in 11 states in the USA, as well as in many other countries, most people enforcing these rules do not have the time or the money to DNA test every suspected wolf-dog, which can lead to the euthanasia of more ‘dogs that look like wolf-dogs’ which could be nothing but loved pets.

This is all that I can think of right now, but I hoped this helped you understand a bit more. If you want to do some further reading, I’ll link some sites below:

https://blog.dogsbite.org/2018/04/fatal-wolf-hybrid-attacks-archival.html

https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/the-tragedy-of-wolf-dogs

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/17224974.pdf

 https://www.hcn.org/issues/99/3063

[queerautism]

Am I exploiting my dog?

Yesterday I asked @severelynerdysheep if I'm exploiting my dog by having him as an assistance dog in training (assistance dog is the legal UK term for service dog), and they linked me to this article.

It's an incredibly bad piece. Let's go through it.

"Firstly, it should be obvious to most observers that many service animals are being harmed. Police canine units and military animals are often intentionally cruelly treated as part of the training process"

'Service animal' is not a term interchangeable with 'working dog'. These are not service animals and irrelevant to the discussion. Though, for the record, police and military dogs just shouldn't be a thing and their training is garbage.

"The question of exploitation and harm is more nuanced when it comes to service animals used to assist those with disabilities, such as emotional support animals or guide dogs for the blind."

Really, those are the two examples you're going for? Emotional support animals are NOT service animals, and do not need to have any kind of special training that a pet wouldn't have, or perform any tasks outside of their presence being a comfort. Lumping them together does a huge disservice to disabled people, and it's an extremely common misconception by people who know very little about actual service work.

Only mentioning guide dogs for the blind also isn't great, because it's the only kind a lot of ableist people know about and recognise, which means a lot of handlers get told we don't really need our dogs, because we aren't blind. You had an opportunity to actually bring up the amazing diversity of service dogs here (autism dogs, psychiatric service dogs, Medical alert dogs, etc) and educate people, but instead reinforced misconceptions and stereotypes.

"These animals are not usually subjected to stressors which any ordinary companion animal wouldn’t be"

This is not exactly true. Service dogs deal with many situations and environments ordinary pets don't, of course. But you cannot define for a dog what they should perceive as a 'stressor', anymore than you can decide what a dog should or shouldn't find aversive. Many dogs find loud noises stressful and aversive. Mine, as a service dog in training, does not, and hasn't ever, since he comes from a line of working dogs bred to be very 'gunsteady', which means hunting dogs who wouldn't be scared of the loud sound of a gunshot.

If a service dog finds these things stressful, they'll wash out and not be one anymore.

"these animals are still being exploited for human gain, they are bred, raised and trained solely for human benefit."

And we come back to the central idea of exploitation. I just don't get it. It's like these people can't imagine building a mutualistic relationship with a dog, based on trust, where you work as a team. Where the dog also benefits.

What do they think our day to day looks like? What exactly is exploitative about it?

"As for whether or not these animals would be better off were they not service animals, this is something of a moot point, since these animals are bred specifically for the purpose of being service animals."

Actually mostly they are not! Program breeding, where the whole litter is bred for a specific organization and all puppies are expected to be service dog prospects, is quite rare and very much not how most disabled people get their prospects.

It's a lot more common for good breeders with breeds and lines suitable for service work to place some puppies from each litter as prospects, if they seem to have the temperament for it.

As an example, my dog's breeder does not breed exclusively service dogs at all. They are working line poodles, and in my dog's litter there was a lot of variety! - Another one of them also went to service work, I believe two went into dog sport homes, another one into a dog conformation home, and the rest went to pet homes, all depending on their individual traits and what they would be happiest as.

"Service animals are currently very rarely drawn from rescue populations, but this seems like an obvious way to solve a lot of the ethical issues involved with using service animals."

Fun fact, I tried talking to a few rescues, including breed specific rescues, for a few months after I decided I needed a service dog myself. It was my first option.

They all ended up turning me away, saying the same thing. Their dogs had their own difficulties to work through, and the chances of being successful with this training are extremely low. 99% of them simply aren't suitable.

Proper service dog training takes about 3 years. Here you're asking disabled people to adopt dogs with unknown genetics and spend incredible amounts of money and time for a huge chance of failure. It's cruel and dismissive.

Even in the cases where rescue dogs have successfully become service dogs (which of course still happens), they often have a very short working life, because they haven't been bred responsibly and with all the proper health clearances, which leaves them at risk of serious health issues and early death.

"There are groups mounting pressure to only train rescued animals, contrary to popular belief, many breeds of animals are capable of being guide dogs or emotional support animals, and since many dogs in shelters are still young there is little reason to resort to irresponsible breeding practices to fulfil the demand for service animals."

If you want rescue only service animals, you literally don't give a shit about disabled people. We are acceptable casualties to you. What we actually need from our partnership with our dogs is secondary to your ideology here.

Rescue dogs can be excellent emotional support animals, I'll agree there. Because as I said, they aren't service dogs and they don't need any especial training. They are still pets.

They most often cannot be service dogs. Even if they are young, temperament in dogs has a huge genetic component. Dogs that end up in rescues are not responsibly bred (a responsible good breeder will take any dog they produced back at any time, and stays as a secondary contact in the dog's microchip in case they do end up in a rescue somehow), and their unknown genetics not only can cause issues with their temperament and health that makes them unsuitable for work, but also often mean they are not a representative example of the breed and do not show the usual traits that make that breed successful at service work when bred reputably.

Adult temperament does not fully develop until a dog is +3 years old. This means you could do everything right with a young rescue dog, only for them to develop dog reactivity or aggression once they fully grow up.

It is simply not fair to ask every disabled person who needs a service dog to put years of their life into this process while stacking the cards against them like this.

Actual good responsible breeders absolutely exist. They do right by their dogs and work their asses off to bring healthy, sound dogs into this world. No one is talking about irresponsible breeders here.

All of their arguments recap into this:

"1) The animal was not specifically bred for purpose and is a rescued animal.

2) The animal must be treated as a companion rather than a worker, and as such must be properly retired with a loving family once they can no longer work.

3) Animals should not be placed under any stress or put in danger.

4) There should be no viable alternative for the use of service animals."

1) Again, they usually aren't specifically bred, certain lines have a few puppies from each litter that have service work as the best fit for them.

2) Of course they are companions. We're a team. Of course they deserve a happy loving retirement.

3) You cannot avoid all stressors, that's life. Low levels of stress to be overcome actually help dogs build their confidence. Obviously none of us want our dogs in any danger.

4) if you think the stipulations you've presented for service dogs are sufficient to fullfil disable people's needs, I'd love to know what you consider to be a 'viable alternative', because something tells me it ain't gonna be good either.

"An example of this might be a therapy dog who has come from a rescue center as a young dog, and would probably otherwise have been killed."

Most places do not have an overpopulation problem so big they're killing young dogs at rescues. The UK sure doesn't. Young dogs get adopted extremely fast.

Also, a therapy dog is NOT a service dog. You cannot keep using these terms interchangeably and expect me to take your opinion on service dogs seriously.

A therapy dog is simply a pet as well, with a general calm and friendly temperament, that volunteers with their owner to meet and cheer up people. It's a completely different thing with different standards. Many rescue dogs can indeed be excellent therapy dogs!

"We do not have to deny that animal use is exploitation in order to justify service animals in some scenarios. Yes, service animals are being taken advantage of"

Still would love to hear how exactly I'm taking advantage of my dog, or what the alternative 'living with a dog without taking advantage of them' looks like.

"We are seeing some advancements in robotics which look promising as a replacement for service animals, so this may become a non-issue in the not too distance future."

Imagine complaining we're the ones not treating service dogs as living individuals but thinking they can be fully replaced by robots. Amazing.

"Regardless of your viewpoint on this, no negative judgement should ever be placed upon the people who require the use of service animals in order to function, it is not their fault that this is the option that has been given to them, and no one who relies on a service animal should be made to feel bad because of it."

You can say this as much as you want, but it's absurd. You're 100% being extremely ableist and asking disabled people to do things in the most costly, effort and time consuming way to fit in with a morality position which is clearly been developed with no real accurate knowledge of service dog work or training.

Plenty of us have chosen this option with full understanding of what it means, it hasn't been 'given to us'. Don't go 'oh the poor disableds don't know any better tho' like it absolves you of all the shitty things you've just said about us and our dogs.

Anyway I said my piece. Have a cute pic of my dog Kovacs, assistance dog in training for my Autism and CPTSD, currently almost two years old and living his best puppy life. I had to stop writing this for a little while many times because he demanded pets.

[dustyard]

I have a question about dog deamons if u fancy Sharing your opinion. Dogs are seen as obidiant and in the books are always pared with servants of some description or another. How do you feel about this because I think that there’s a wide variety within dogs like stray dogs are very indipendent and collies are really smart for exsample?

Sure thing.

So, while the way we test for intelligence in animals frequently overlaps with obedience tasks, we also test things like self-awareness, memory, empathy, and a number of other things. Dogs are incredibly smart, and (while not all dogs are as, um... obviously intelligent) they serve a lot of different purposes, many of which you might not even realize.

The stereotypically smartest dogs are usually dogs that, unsurprisingly, are working breeds. I personally have a working line GSD as my service dog, and let me tell you, he is a beast who sometimes appears to be psychic, he's so damn smart. Australian shepherds, border collies, dobermans, German Shepherds, poodles, huskies, malinois, these are all working dogs that are, unsurprisingly, very, very smart. However, lots of independent hunting breeds and companion breeds are equally as intelligent, they just express them differently.

What people often describe as obedience can be better broken down into two characteristics: working drive, and people-pleasing.

For working drive, these types of dogs need a job to do. They need to be stimulated or they get bored, restless, anxious, even aggressive. For people with these types of dogs as their dæmon, they need a purpose, whatever that happens to be. These types of souls are generally going to be drawn to high-pace working and living environments where they can expend their seemingly boundless energy.

For people-pleasing, these types of dogs are not only very social creatures, but they really care about making other people (or just one person) happy. They actually get upset and unmoored when they are unable to make the people they care about's lives easier or more enjoyable. You can read this as someone who needs external direction in their life, but more accurately they aren't hapoy if other people aren't happy, which can lead to a wide variety of jobs, lifestyles, and personalities.

When you put these two traits together, a lot of people end up with obedience, which isn't... exactly accurate. Let me give you examples with specific breeds.

German Shepherds: I speak from experience, these dogs have high working drives and a big interest in people-pleasing. They get called velcro dogs for a reason. People with German Shepherd dæmons need a purpose or a job to fulfill, it's non-negotiable (though the level of stimulation needed can vary) and they greatly prefer that job overlapping with external approval. These types of souls do well in structured, high-pace working environments that have clear boundaries, goals, and rewards. However, they also display these tendencies by being attentive to the person/people they care about and showing them how much they love them by doing things for them.

Huskies (malamutes or siberian, but sled dogs in general): high working drive, low people-pleasing. These dogs need a job to do, and they are not doing it for you. Yes, they can be very friendly and affectionate, I know, but these dogs tend to be more aloof and interested in doing their job until it's done or they're collapsed in an exhausted heap. What you want from them matters... minimally. These dogs are also super smart, but that doesn't mean they'll use their intelligence and effort to make your life easier.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels: low working drive, high people-pleasing. Unsurprisingly, as these are companion dogs, cavaliers mostly want to make you happy; they don't need a job the way shepherds or huskies do. These people love making others around them have better, happier lives, but they don't need the constant stimulation and energy drain of working dog. The actual breed tends to score pretty low on obedience, but that's not because they're stupid, they're just not very driven. You can read this as ambition, but you can also read this as how intense their need for stimulation is, which isn't much.

Greyhounds: low working drive, low people-pleasing. Not to be confused with not having a prey drive, by the way, these dogs go nuts for a rabbit. If you've ever had one, though, you might notice that they are L-A-Z-Y. They also aren't the most attentive, affectionate dogs. They want to do what they want to do, when they want to do it. They are also not stupid, just independent hunters who don't need as much external approval.

There are also more low-key dogs that are people-pleasers who have like having a job (labradors, golden retrievers, etc.) They don't have quite the same vibe though, as they trend towards people-pleasing above a need for a job, because they don't need a job, they just enjoy it.

So while dogs do frequently care about others and want to work to show them, that is by no means a universal trait. It also varies in intensity depending on what that dog was bred for. There are hundreds of dog breeds out there, and the way they're categorized will tell you a lot about what they're good at.

The servant thing in the book is a pretty big stereotype, in my opinion. Dog souls aren't bound for life to be butlers and maids, that's not how that works. They don't need to be told what to do; even the dogs that score highest on obedience tests will find things to do if you let them get bored enough, they're just capable of performing tasks on command, it's not an innate drive to do what they're told. High drive, people-pleasing dogs might like being told what to do if it makes people happy or if it helps them fulfill their job but they don't just wait around to serve. That's a fundamental misunderstanding of why dogs act the way they do. Do I think that public service jobs would probably attract dog souls? (Firefighting, the military, nursing, social work, etc.) Absolutely. But again, these jobs provide a distinct purpose and people-oriented work environment where you see direct results for your efforts.

You mentioned stray dogs, and I want to mention that I tend not to suggest mutts/stray dogs as dæmon forms simply because "dog" has such a wide variety of characteristics. Also, you're taking a domesticated animal and placing it in a situation where all of its potential drive has to focus on staying alive. Plenty of these dogs would act differently if they'd been treated like the domestic animals they are. Most of their traits are learned behaviors that are being expressed, rather than temperment. I'm not saying nobody can or has used this form, I just don't personally suggest it, especially to newer dæmians.

[doberbutts]

(1) Sorry sending another ask! I just came across something weird when doing dog breed research. There's a website called coloredbostonterriertruth that talks about how it's wrong to breed color variations on Bostons because "... These colors are considered disqualifiying faults and completely go against the breed standard (the very definition of the Boston Terrier), breeding them could never be done with the purpose of improving the breed. Unfortunately it is often done for profit."

(2) it just sounds... I don't know the word, elitist? Why does it matter the color of the dog? What if the breeders are breeding for companions only? It's really confusing to me. It's like this person absolutely hates non standard colors and they claim anyone who breeds them aren't doing it for the health of the breed. What does color have to do with breed health??? A dog being good for show doesn't automatically mean they're healthy right? So strange. Their wording is just so weird.

Well, there’s a couple things to dismantle:

People who deliberately do not breed to standard- unless the standard is in and of itself harmful- are usually not doing right by their dogs. Standards exist for a reason- whether the reason is arbitrary (no white GSDs!) or not (no double merles!) ignoring individual pieces of standard is frequently harmful because nothing ever exists in a vacuum. Additionally while there is room in many standards for various interpretations (thus why we have different types), when you change one part you often change the whole.

The other problem is that frequently people who are deliberately not breeding to standard are simply breeding for color alone. This means nothing else matters, and the dog loses out on health, temperament, structure, and more. This generates a huge problem of dogs that may be interesting colors, but have horrible health, crippling arthritis, and are aggressive or overly shy. Additionally a lot of breeders who are simply breeding to produce off-standard colors are doing it with the intention of charging more money for the “rare” colored puppies. The money a puppy costs should be comparable to the money you put into producing the litter itself and into the parents, so for instance charging $1000 for a standard colored puppy and then $5000 for an off-standard colored puppy from the same litter is ridiculous because it’s not like that “rare” color took any extra money to produce. And yet, many people who deliberately produce off-standard colors do exactly this. It’s a money making scheme at best.

Boston terriers are a companion breed, which means all of them are bred for companions. Even show dogs are companions. “Breeding for companionship” is not enough of a reason to breed a dog- what do they have to prove the dog is bred to standard? Being purebred is not enough, and if you are breeding purebred dogs then why not breed to the purebred standard? Dog shows are there to judge how well the dog matches the standard by using an unbiased third party (several, actually)- if you are not participating, how do you know that your dog is correct?

All five of these dogs are purebred, registered Yorkshire Terriers, another companion breed. There is nothing about any of these dogs’ photos that tells me anything about their health, sure. However, there is plenty that tells me which ones were produced by people who actually care about the standard. Tiny dogs like Yorkies have their own unique struggles with health, so breeding too big or too small will cause problems for the dog and could even contribute to the dog’s early death. Coated breeds like Yorkies also have a specific coat type that’s called for, so breeding away from that coat type creates a coat that’s impossible to maintain. This is painful and dangerous for the dog, and annoying and expensive for the owner, because the incorrect coat type will be prone to matting and either need constant grooming (annoying) or to be shaved frequently (expensive) to spare the dog the pain of mats tugging at their skin.

Bostons have their own unique problems too- with the brachycephalic head, the short tail, the terrier attitude, and the genetics which go into the breed, there’s a lot to balance there. Ignoring that to focus solely on color is a disservice to the breed.

But one thing to keep in mind is that even the Boston Club of America will concede that there are some colors that will appear in responsibly produced litters. Bostons are only allowed by standard in black, seal, or brindle with white markings- solid colored dogs, liver colored dogs, dilutes, piebalds, those deviations from the standard are things that could happen in a responsibly bred litter.

Dogs with white markings will sometimes have puppies without, or with minimal white, or with markings in the wrong place. Because the white markings on a Boston are a type of piebaldism (I think I have the genetics right for this?), too much white can result in a dog that is deaf, blind, or has other amelanistic health problems (because various organs use melanin in their processes). This is also why the standard calls for the white markings to not go over the eyes or ears- it significantly ups the chances for producing a deaf or blind dog. Dogs with too little white aren’t as likely to have any health problems, but does mean that something’s happening to that piebald gene to not show up properly, which ups your risk of having too much white as well.

Any dog who is black can also be red (liver) and any red or black dog can also be dilute (blue, isabella). These are common mutations that have developed to be present in just about every dog breed and are just going to pop up every once in a while unless you are doing a lot of coat color genetics checks (and sometimes even if you do, since we just found a second dilution gene). I’m also about to get a dog from a breed that cannot have any of these colors, as black with tan points and white markings (black tri) is the only standard color. However, reds and blues popping up occasionally are not unheard of, even with the best bred litters. However those dogs are not unhealthy just because they are a different color, that’s simply a dice roll on coat color genetics, and those dogs are generally placed in a home that will not breed them and the breeder will make choices to avoid producing puppies of the off-standard colors again.

However, there are some colors that are not possible within the Boston breed- tricolor (I think) and merle are not possible within purebred Bostons, and that means anyone breeding “Boston Terriers” who are these colors are not breeding purebred dogs. This isn’t inherently a bad thing- there are people who breed mixed breed dogs that are also breeding responsibly- but it is dishonest to say that you are breeding purebred dogs when you are actually working with mixed breeds. People should be honest and knowledgeable when producing dogs. The options for calling a merle Boston “purebred” are either dishonesty or ignorance... neither of which are traits I’d expect in a responsible breeder.

Fawn (with black mask) I believe is directly from a cross breeding with the pug- if I am correct that would put that color also into the “dishonest or ignorant” camp.

Personally I’m in the camp of “if the color is possible within the breed and does not harm the dog then idgaf” which is why if the swissy breeder gets a red girl I won’t mind if that’s the one that comes home (I’m less a fan of dilutes due to the possibility of CDA)- but that’s an argument to be had with the breed club and not on the internet.

I’m also a working dog guy, so in general I don’t really care how a dog looks as long as it’s structurally sound, has the temperament I’m looking for, is relatively healthy with very few issues I need to keep track of, and can do the work I need. This is why I don’t particularly care that my doberman, for instance, does not match conformation standard within the breed- he is bred much more to the working standard and even then has his faults. Chihuahuas are also a companion breed, but after having a young puppy I rescued die from not being bred or cared for responsibly, I decided to go with a breeder that was doing right by their dogs rather than rescue again. In the Chihuahua, this means I’m going to a show breeder. Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs are a working breed without much of a breed split between show and working, so the breeder I went to both shows and works her dogs in various avenues. All three dogs are produced by people who do more than suggested health testing, extensive temperament testing, and a fantastic track record of producing healthy, sound, and sane dogs for their buyers.

[creekfiend]

Ive been thinking a lot about breed specific behavior traits and how they aren't always, or even usually, revealed by phenotype in mixed breeds. I usually see this brought up in the context of how useless breed specific legislation is, bc a dog can "look" like a pit mix or bully breed and not be. But the flip -- and imo even more dangerous -- side of that is that a dog can EASILY not look anything like a pitbull and actually be a pit mix, and have some really really dangerous behavior and temperament traits to go along with that that no one would guess from just looking.

Julia is a pit mix with several other bully breeds thrown in there and she looks absolutely nothing like a pitbull. She has a thick double coat and short legs and pointy ears and snout and most vets put her in their system as "corgi mix" before we had her tested. But she ACTS like a bully mix! A dog that looks like Julia could easily end up in a shelter system in an area with BSL and potential adopters would think that because of the laws and her appearance there was no way the dog they were adopting would have those behavior traits, but they would be wrong. Dangerously wrong, in this case!

I feel like there are 9000x more anecdotes floating around online that are like "my pit mix wouldnt hurt a fly" than anecdotes that are like "yeah my dog has tried to kill other dogs" for several reasons, one being that most people have not necessarily realistic views of their pets' temperaments and like to assume that because they love their pet, it would never do something that really frightens them. Another is that people who have pit mixes who ARE aggressive feel ashamed, like it reflects poorly on their character that they were not somehow able to magically change behavior traits that have been bred into a type of dog for like a hundred years. Like if your dog tries to murder other dogs you must not love it enough! or something.

Its true that sometimes training and socialization are neglected in these situations and this contributes to the problem but the fact is sometimes you have a dog and it just ... has behaviors that were bred into it. And those behaviors are not compatible with a life that does not involve murdering other dogs on purpose. I SAY THIS BECAUSE I HAVE SUCH A DOG, NOT BC I AM TRYING TO BE MELODRAMATIC ABOUT SECRET EVIL PITBULLS. i love my dog very much but she absolutely not only has VERY high dog aggression,  but she has that bully/terrier trait of getting "locked in" to attack/kill mode where getting her out of that mode again is insanely difficult, that tenacity and "gameness" that not all DA dogs have that makes DA a trillion times worse.

I call this "dark adhd" (ITS A JOKE BECAUSE I RECOGNIZE THAT KIND OF HYPERFOCUS IN MYSELF, just... not in the context of attempted murder) and I think it is even more relevant to the potential dangerousness of bully breed mixes than DA is bc i have known many dogs with DA but WITHOUT the dark adhd who mostly growl or snap at other dogs, or sometimes initiate fights but are able to cycle fairly quickly BACK OUT OF FIGHT MODE. Dogs who have been bred to have that "gameness" on top of the DA? holy shit. Guys when Julia goes after another of our dogs I can be physically removing them from the area and she will leap into the air to try to drag them back down to kill. I just pick Ella the dachshund mix up out of her range when they get into fights and Julia without fail does desperate dolphin leaps into the air to try to latch on and drag her back down. She just latches on and goes for Kill. A switch gets flipped in her brain and she VISIBLY is just like... in murder mode.

Training and socialization have resulted in a dog that doesnt go into this mode often. Julia lives in a household with a LOT of other dogs and 99% of the time she tolerates them quite well. She only stumbles when she is in really high stress situations (like right after a really long move, say...) and it isnt something that has ever resulted in tragedy because we are careful to manage it (and frankly also because we have been lucky. I feel like being lucky, or unlucky, is an underdiscussed element of this whole thing lol)

But when she DOES go into that mode.. holy shit

Anyway this is long and kind of rambley but. Bully breeds have Dark ADHD and pit mixes dont always look like pit mixes. Is my takeaway

[fjordfolk]

Well, to be fair, people are much better at stacking and taking appealing professional photos of their dogs these days.... not that some (most) of those aren’t lacking in structure.... but my dogs can look like train wrecks too with the combination of standing funny and a bad camera angle lmao (or in this case an extremely old camera which can also slightly warp the photograph, I‘ve experience this is first hand with my vintage camera) and people didn’t have quite the same knowledge on structure

Oh for sure! I wouldn’t say any of those are «stacked» in any modern conformation sense. And stacking is still a pretty lax deal around our parts, in the breeds I participate in dogs are generally trained to just «stand» steady on all four out of four, and if you can get them to shuffle their feet into somewhat good angles then, well, great.

this is how shelties «stack» in the lineup at our national specials:

still pretty weird? yeah! weirder than the 20s-60s ones? nah!

also worth noting that the dogs in the previous posts are alle Crufts winners and supposedly the best of the best at the time (the ones in the above picture are a random selection, not all scored well)

The historical examples have no more working knowledge of sheep than ours do today, by their time the original smallish farmdogs on Shetland had long since been outcompeted by larger and more efficient collies brough over from mainland UK. The closest would be photo number 6, Clifford Pat, who was the first British champion and only a generation or two out from Lerwick. (And pretty close to a few collies, too)

As they gradually lost their purpose in the latter half of the 1800s (same trajectory as our Buhunds, by the way) their numbers decreased, a handful of enthusiasts sat down and wrote a standard, bred in some more collie to refine and solidify type (not necessarily in that order), argued about the size for a few years, and eventually got the breed popularized as pets in England, which is how we came to have the type we do today. Not a whole lot of working requirement in that equation, unfortunately.

I also think it’s fun noting too, that while we now have a split between US and UK type dogs, the main split used to be island vs. mainland dogs. Mainland shelties turned more and more into fine-boned mini collies, while islanders preferred a smaller, spitzier thing. On the left are the winning dog and bitch at Crufts in 1937, on the right is the top placer at the agricultural show in Tingwall that same year.

All I’m saying is: They’re no more fucked up today than they were a hundred years ago. You can’t just go digging up that one photo of Lerwick Rex and call it a travesty and think you’ll get away with it, no sir, not on my watch!

Many of them still tend to herd everything that moves though, for no god damn discernable reason. The absolute wonders of behavioural genetics! Typically their herding style is pretty old school collie, from what I understand, similar to your welsh and presumably english (english-american?) shepherds, what we in my country call «body-herders».