More dog talk...
- Thread starter HowardH
- Start date
charley1968
Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2013
- Messages
- 491
I love cats. 
We used to have a dog (Zorro) who would chew his nails when they got long. LOVED that dog!
Peter
Peter
I'm married to a dog lover, and I'm the father to a dog lover, but, at best, I am a dog tolerator. We own a couple of them. If it was entirely up to me, we probably wouldn't own any. They are like scented candles in that respect. I constantly hear how dogs enrich your life, but as far as I can tell that enrichment consists mainly of noise, hair, and randomly distributed bodily fluids.
The joy the dogs bring me is slight. But even still, I believe all pets and livestock should be treated humanely, even if (actually, especially if) you're going to eat them. That's why I'm totally against the misguided selective breeding that goes into producing "registered" dog breeds. Over the last 130 or so years, the AKC's breed standards have set off a perverse eugenics experiment that has cruelly created animals with congenital defects that cause these animals pain and result in shortened lifespans.
In selective breeding, parents are chosen to hopefully pass on a desired trait to their offspring. Sometimes it's like a genetic either/or switch. So for some dog breeds, the tradeoff of a shorter snout or even a particular coloring results in less hardiness or even lower intelligence. How the hell can you breed any more intelligence out of a golden retriever? Sometimes breeders seek to amplify a mutation by inbreeding from the same lines, which results in a whole lot of consequential problems. Corgis weren't always midgets. Now the Royal Corgis are as inbred as their owner.
My wife works at a vet clinic, so I hear all the stories about the short end of the stick these animals get. Whether it's a Pekingese or some other squashed-faced dog with ingrown eyelashes, or a german shepherd with hip dysplasia, or - the worst - bulldogs, it's sad. The high-dollar purebred bulldogs are so messed up, they can no longer reproduce without human aid. Breeders have to have them artificially inseminated, and because the breed standard calls for a lunker head, the pups have to be delivered by c-section.
Breed standards don't call out guidelines for behavior or performance. Border collie groups fought AKC "recognition" for a long time because they didn't wan't people to (in)breed them for show. The only dog breeders I have known personally pretty much said to hell with the AKC breed standard, and focused on breeding dogs (Gordon Setters) that would perform as hunting dogs. They went out of their way to keep the bloodlines diverse. I also know people that train service dogs for para- and quadriplegics, and it turns out that mongrels generally tend to be easier to train. One small benefit of the "designer dog" trend is that some of the dumb is getting left behind with their AKC papers, and there are more good candidates for this kind of training.
A market can set a price for anything, be it Beanie Babies, tulip bulbs, or inbred dogs. Markets are subjective, so a price tag doesn't always have a corellation to objective value or utility. I'm amazed that anyone would seek out a papered dog when there is no shortage of good mutts out there.
Read more about it:
AKC Eugenics
Dysfunctional Breed Standards
Border Collies vs. the AKC
Okay. I'm going to get down off the soapbox and back to cabinetmaking now. If I get caught up, maybe I'll have time to sand the dog tracks out of my wood floors.
The joy the dogs bring me is slight. But even still, I believe all pets and livestock should be treated humanely, even if (actually, especially if) you're going to eat them. That's why I'm totally against the misguided selective breeding that goes into producing "registered" dog breeds. Over the last 130 or so years, the AKC's breed standards have set off a perverse eugenics experiment that has cruelly created animals with congenital defects that cause these animals pain and result in shortened lifespans.
In selective breeding, parents are chosen to hopefully pass on a desired trait to their offspring. Sometimes it's like a genetic either/or switch. So for some dog breeds, the tradeoff of a shorter snout or even a particular coloring results in less hardiness or even lower intelligence. How the hell can you breed any more intelligence out of a golden retriever? Sometimes breeders seek to amplify a mutation by inbreeding from the same lines, which results in a whole lot of consequential problems. Corgis weren't always midgets. Now the Royal Corgis are as inbred as their owner.
My wife works at a vet clinic, so I hear all the stories about the short end of the stick these animals get. Whether it's a Pekingese or some other squashed-faced dog with ingrown eyelashes, or a german shepherd with hip dysplasia, or - the worst - bulldogs, it's sad. The high-dollar purebred bulldogs are so messed up, they can no longer reproduce without human aid. Breeders have to have them artificially inseminated, and because the breed standard calls for a lunker head, the pups have to be delivered by c-section.
Breed standards don't call out guidelines for behavior or performance. Border collie groups fought AKC "recognition" for a long time because they didn't wan't people to (in)breed them for show. The only dog breeders I have known personally pretty much said to hell with the AKC breed standard, and focused on breeding dogs (Gordon Setters) that would perform as hunting dogs. They went out of their way to keep the bloodlines diverse. I also know people that train service dogs for para- and quadriplegics, and it turns out that mongrels generally tend to be easier to train. One small benefit of the "designer dog" trend is that some of the dumb is getting left behind with their AKC papers, and there are more good candidates for this kind of training.
A market can set a price for anything, be it Beanie Babies, tulip bulbs, or inbred dogs. Markets are subjective, so a price tag doesn't always have a corellation to objective value or utility. I'm amazed that anyone would seek out a papered dog when there is no shortage of good mutts out there.
Read more about it:
AKC Eugenics
Dysfunctional Breed Standards
Border Collies vs. the AKC
Okay. I'm going to get down off the soapbox and back to cabinetmaking now. If I get caught up, maybe I'll have time to sand the dog tracks out of my wood floors.
IndyWoodworker
Member
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2011
- Messages
- 42
My two dogs came as rescue animals. I have had pure breeds before, but nothing beats taking a dog whether mistreated or homeless and making it part of your family. A friend for a lifetime.
A few months ago, my oldest dog and woodworking buddy "Crossed the Rainbow Bridge." She will be missed. My other dog realized that she had a big spot to fill. Having a pet is a privilege and what you get in return in companionship and unending devotion far out weights any cost.
A few months ago, my oldest dog and woodworking buddy "Crossed the Rainbow Bridge." She will be missed. My other dog realized that she had a big spot to fill. Having a pet is a privilege and what you get in return in companionship and unending devotion far out weights any cost.
