Doug Kanter wrote:
Actually, I'm having a GREAT day, but mentioning dogs to me is like
mentioning skinheads to a survivor of the holocaust. :-) I'll admit, though,
that I have met ONE good dog in 20 years. Just one.

Glad to hear you're having a GREAT day. Mine has only been mediocre. For
one thing, I'm having a hard time rounding up boat parts for a job I'd
like to complete Friday evening.

As for dogs, some people just plain don't like them. And some dogs are a
good reason to not like dogs. But IMHO most of them are better citizens
than most people. Dogs are intrinsically honest & pathologically loyal.
They reduce stress & the crime rate. It's unfortunate for people & dogs
both that our world is changing such that there is less & less of a
place for them, when about 20,000 to 125,000 (depending on how you try
to figure it out) years of evolution have fitted dogs for life within
our civilization.

Personally, I figure a man who cannot train a dog is not fit for the
higher stages of evolution, either, like owning weapons or driving
powered vehicles.



.... Would you kill a dog, who was otherwise
better company and has more to contribute than most humans, just for
pooping on your lawn?


It's one thing to keep them on a leash. It's another thing entirely to argue
with the property owner over a simple (and totally valid) request.

I've had property owners attempt violence just for walking my dog past
their house. In one case, a man and his wife who had newly moved into
our neighborhood both came out and screamed at me because my dog stopped
& sniffed at their mailbox. We have a neighbor who used to tease my dog
through our fence and then complain the dog barked at him.


... The world's full of slobs. Last night, at my son's high school band
concert, there was an entire family talking through the music. Adults.
Unbelievable. The principal finally led them out the door. WTF? Where do
people like this come from? We used to say they were raised in a barn, but
that's an insult to cows and pigs.

Yep. For some people "born in a barn" would be an improvement.


Actually, I'll be moving outside the city a bit. Legally, you can liquidate
any animal which destroys food crops, as long as your method doesn't
threaten your neighbors, like shooting a .30 caliber rifle toward someone's
home, with no idea that the round's gonna travel for a long way.

AFAIK there are similar laws in most states. If you want to get rid of
your neighbor's dog, tell the police and/or animal control that you
think he acts aggressive. Very little tolerance for that anywhere.

One of my friends had a neighbor sic a big Rottweiler on his dog when
they were out for a walk. He was reluctant to report the neighbor, whom
I think sounds like a psychopath.


Sounds like a good deal, especially if he also rounds up unwanted cats.


No self-respecting cat would fall for animal control tricks. :-)

Yes they would. Cats are hard-wired to respond in certain ways to
certain stimuli. All you have to do is know how they're programmed.

Dogs are programmed too, but they have an advantage in that they can be
re-programmed more easily & reliably; and to a wider variety of tasks.
It's no accident that the first behaviorist psychology research was on dogs.

Regards
Doug King