Rant - People at work... and their dogs.

[Swiftwind]

Just a bit of a rant...

I have lunch with a number of my work colleagues every day, and we have some interesting discussions at times. Today the topic of dogs came up (yay! ) between me and two other people.

One of the girls was talking about her old dog that she has, and she happened to mention that the dog wasn't desexed. I asked why not, and she said that her dad didn't want to desex her because they also have an intact male dog, and her dad wanted to breed them.. together! (I think I actually gasped out loud when she said that! ). LUCKILY she said that her female dog didn't get along with the male dog, and so they didn't end up breeding them because it was too difficult.. THANK GOD was all I was thinking! And she says now the female is too old to get desexed. This girl also said that her Ridgeback x Mastiff is intact, and by the sounds of it, will stay that way.

Oh I was so annoyed, but I couldn't really show it, since I have to see this girl every day (I really didn't want to seem like a rude know-it-all). I just said something along the lines of "That's really bad, she should have been desexed." (referring to the female). I really wanted to talk about backyard breeders but I thought it might be a bit of a touchy subject.

Then, the other girl I was having lunch with said that her dog wasn't desexed either! All I was thinking was that there must be SO many inexperienced people out there who have dogs that aren't desexed, people who know nothing about breeding, but want to breed their dogs. Oh god.. save me!

Aaand a few months ago I was talking to another work colleague of mine and she has two rottweilers (both females). She said that she would have left her dogs unaltered if they were males, but since they're females she didn't want to be the one to end up with puppies. What IS this world coming to? I'm glad she at least desexed both of her girls, even if she was slightly 'off the track'.

[kalija]

Oh, I so know what you mean! A girl at my work bred her two Poms because she wanted to make money selling the pups. I couldn't say a word and it almost killed me - but she's my BOSS! Turned out she had problems with the birth and ended up with huge vet bills and almost lost her female. I think she learned a lesson, too bad it was the hard way.

[Swiftwind]

Wow, that would have annoyed me so much if that was my boss (or anyone, really!). Sometimes you just have to bite your tongue, and I hate that... because these are the kinds of people who really need to be educated about dogs and breeding. It makes me feel sick to the stomach thinking of all these 'backyard bred' puppies, and I'm sure there are new litters coming into the world every single day because of irresponsible people - people who only think about themselves and not the impact they will create on others.... or the impact they will cause on the world!

[D.Schäferhund]

Hmmm
this always is a tricky subject...

You never know what to say...
I myself have my own oppinion if a dog needs spayed/ neutered or not.
I think It would be more in the hands of the owners to watch for their dogs....
but well i know how you feel, they don't seem to be overly concerned having a intact dog in their place and appearently are not really thining about that whole thing!!!

I had a Teen yesterday, and we talked for somereason about potty training, and she said, yeah you just rub their nose in it, and spank them, uhhhh I had to hold back so much! Because i have to deal with that Teen every day, but Iwas about to burst, it was hard to stay nice and gently point out that this is animal upuse!!!!!

I really know that feeling, like beeing about to explode because you cn't let all out.....
I am so sorry you had to listen to that, that kinda stuff really is upsetting...

[mrsgrubby]

Yep, BYB are everywhere for sure. People who just dont' know any better.

I was at a convention the other day and a girl told me she was given two yorkies. She said at first she was so excited because she was going to breed them, and then she found out the person who gave them to her had already altered them, and she was so dissapointed.

It is so hard not to just jump down people's throats when they say stuff like that.

[theGOOCH]

Originally Posted by D.Schäferhund

Hmmm
this always is a tricky subject...

You never know what to say...
I myself have my own oppinion if a dog needs spayed/ neutered or not.
I think It would be more in the hands of the owners to watch for their dogs....
but well i know how you feel, they don't seem to be overly concerned having a intact dog in their place and appearently are not really thining about that whole thing!!!

I had a Teen yesterday, and we talked for somereason about potty training, and she said, yeah you just rub their nose in it, and spank them, uhhhh I had to hold back so much! Because i have to deal with that Teen every day, but Iwas about to burst, it was hard to stay nice and gently point out that this is animal upuse!!!!!

I really know that feeling, like beeing about to explode because you cn't let all out.....
I am so sorry you had to listen to that, that kinda stuff really is upsetting...

Agreed. I have an intact dog and no puppies. It's not that hard to control

[Novel]

It is troubling.. and I bet you all can guess I have a real hard time keeping my mouth shut.

When a co-worker (not the fellow that shows) came to me and told me his lab was having puppies that day I just about lost it. (I didn't even know he was going to breed, I know where he got this bitch and she was NOT breedable) In fact I did say, "Oh that's too bad!" When he acted all offended I told him exactly why I was upset. Since then he has come to me for advice about the puppies.

When I went into one of my favorite pet supplly shops and found out that they were now selling puppy mill puppies instead of adopting out puppies from the shelter, I just about had a coronary. MrsGrubby and I had to say something, and I can drive past that store now and feel less guilty because I know that I was at least true to myself and my beliefs.

The way I see it, I get to still say what I want, educate as it is, and if they don't like it, too darn bad, but, even if they don't like it, they respect me for my views, and more times than not, know that I know more about dogs than they do. Only a complete fool will not take into consideration the opinions of someone that knows more about a subject than they do. and if they are that big of a fool, being nice and coddling wasn't going to help either.

Just me... (and yes, my husband is mortally embarassed every time I go off on someone, and he knows when I'm about to say something and has found it very convenient to just walk away... LOL! I am a fanatic, and you know what, it's the fanatics that change the world)

[SpringerLover]

My friends at school, my co-workers, and my family even still don't "get it" which drives me up a WALL!

My brothers girlfriend asked me at easter if there were "mini springers" to which I replied "GOOD doG HELLA NO, there's ECS, and ACS though..." Now she wants a "toy aussie" and I'm gonna hit the wall. They don't understand that ALL THE MONEY we've spent on Buzz (BYB pupper) wouldn't need to be spent if he came from a RESPONSIBLE breeder.

She's also unwilling to pay "a lot" of $$ for a dog (in her opinion, a lot is $600). Ok then, go find one that NEEDS a home at the pound, for some unknown reason... SO many people are unreceptive to that idea.

I begrudgingly told her I know of an aussie breeder who breeds smaller, working dogs that are unregistered. I told her I'd put her in touch. This situation is FAR better than getting a toy aussie and at least this dog still DOES something (which is my big thing). I'm just hoping she holds off and I can talk some sense into my brother but... GRR!!!

I've also been known to give people the third degree about breeding. It should NOT be taken so lightly! Heck, there's MANY breeders I STILL wouldn't buy from that some say are responsible.

[Rivsky]

Though it's hard I'd think I'd have to say something about having in tact females and males in homes where people obviously aren't as knowledgeable as most of us here. If we say nothing they aren't going to learn anything and often people out there simply do not know any better. Even if they didn't listen at least I know I would have tried to make them see sense.

I just wonder whether thesepeople have been asked by their vet about desexing them or obedience school or anything like that - all of these places discussed desexing our dogs and how important it is to do this for varying reasons - the main one of course being to protect against unwanted puppies.

[Pearlulm]

Imagine if this person was a relative. Well, I have one. She not only breeds these dogs that she purchased at a flea market, she also registered a litter with the wrong father listed because the real father did not have papers! Talk about biting my lip!

[IceyBlueSibes]

I have a similar situation at work, but as someone else already said, it's my boss!

She has a female french bulldog, and she just got a male. A while back (before she got the male) she was talking about breeding Fleasha. But, she talked to her vet and he told her how it was very risky with her being a bulldog, and that she could loose Flea. I was glad to hear when she said she didn't want to just for puppies.

Well, a few weeks later, she gets a male frenchie. Jill (friend at work) asks "Are you going to breed them?" Her exact answer: "You betcha! He's an AKC registered boy, and he's got a nice big head!" K, AKC registration means squat and having a big head is just going to make things even worse. But, I don't want to say anything cause she's my boss. She's a very sketchy person... seems very two faced to me (tried to blame Lugar for an illness that broke out at work) and I don't want to lose my job. I like where I work.

So, I know what you're going through. God forgive me but I hope something happens to make her think twice about doing this again.

[Novel]

I may come across as a real female dog here, but come on people!!!

Every day we read articles and post stories about poor dogs being put to sleep because of these litters. And everyone bemoans the fact that it happens and oh my what can we do!! Well darn it... obviously you all are being presented with people you have direct contact with to fix the problem and you're not doing a darn thing because it's going to hurt someone's feelings. Oh yeah, that's right, euthanasia is painless..

You bite your lip, your tongue, don't say what you feel... what a bunch of bologna. I think the word is hypocrite!!

You have a chance to stop these people from making a huge mistake, to stop lives from being ended in horrible conditions...

It seems you put the value of your sister-in-laws feelings, your boyfriend's sister's feelings, your boss' feelings above the value of a dog or cat's life.

Having lost an excellent friendship over this exact thing, I can say that people get over it, and you know what, I educated them. They were given a choice. They don't have to take your advice but they're not wandering around in the dark and they're not coming here like a ton of other people asking us what to do their bitch is whelping!!

If you really feel for these animals, if you really care, you'll stand up for what you believe, to hell with the consequences.

I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't. It amazes me you all can!!!

[Ice Lady]

I am a firm believer in spay/nuetering your pets. Only qualified, knowledgable breeders should have intact animals. There are enough unwanted, abandoned, abused animals in the world. I believe that BYB fit in the same catagory as puppymills and they should be put out of business. In both cases the motivation is money not the wellbeing of the animals. I thank God every day for the "Angels Among Us" that do rescue work and fostering.

I also have another "pet peeve" that can get my blood boiling in a heart beat. That is pet owners who don't bother to get their animals vaccinated and vet checked regularly. If you are going to own a pet, at least be responsible enough to give it adequate care. I know vaccinations and vet examinations can be expensive but that has to be factored into the decision to own an animal. Putting a few dollars a month into a "pet savings account" will make their anual vet visit a financially feasable event even for people of modest income.

Well, that is my rant for the day.

Ice Lady and the Little Ladies

[SpringerLover]

I don't hold my tongue, if that's how it seemed. I told her flat out that it's not right, what problems crop up, and why she should NOT support this person.

She's not all that "into" caring for animals. She had a hedgehog, bought from a petshop, it got uterine cancer!!!

None of my relatives have intact animals (maybe a few cats but I consider even pushing to get the DOGS done a HUGE succes)... most are smart anyways, and there's two I trust completely to make the right decisions.

As far as buying from a responsible breeder, and not adding to the population... I sat down a kid from 4-H who had a "doodle" they were planning to breed. I said she can't show her dog while it's in heat. She was NOT going to understand, nor was her mother going to care, if I told them about irresponsible breeding. They quit 4-H I'm sorry to say.

In the case of Steph (brother's gf) I'm hoping she'll lose interest before she actually decides to get the dog. She shows horses, yet has no sense about buying responsibly. Buying from the breeder I said I'd put her in touch with would make me able to sleep at night.

[Cassiepeia]

Gotta agree with Novel on this. I mean I'm chronically shy, it's a big problem for me most of the time...but I find that when I'm presented with something like this I can't help but butt in and tell them my side of the story.
I also always direct them to join Global Paw or the Australian dog forum I'm a member of so that they can get good information on the subject and talk to experienced people.

Actually directing them to information is a great idea if you don't want to be 'in your face' negative about it. Be enthusiastic about the place and all the help it can be and they may just come here (or to whatever forum or website you suggest) and learn something.

Arm yourself with important information before you're confronted with someone like this and you should be prepared to speak to them about it.
Also, don't feel like you have to be rude about it. You can be happy and helpful, but tell the truth.

Cass.