[foxthegoldfish]

any time i find out about someone getting a dog i assume they are going to do a bad job.

i just found out my SOs sister and her partner got a puppy, he will be 8 weeks on monday, a shar pei X staffy. why do i assume they wont do a good job as parents to this cute wee puppy, he isn't 8 weeks old yet, they both work/study full time, he is a mix obviously a BYB and her partner has had lots of dogs in his family so has a handle on it.

i feel sorry for the poor wee thing, only 7 weeks old and taken from his mum and left alone at home 8 hours a day. poor wee boy.

do you assume the worst as well?

how can i help?

i have holidays for the next 3 weeks, i would offer for him to stay here during the day but he is not vaccinated yet so i cant. i don't live close enough to go over there during the day, and don't know her well enough to try tell her how to raise him. also her partner 'knows dogs' so they prob don't feel like they would need my help.

it makes me so upset to think about the poor we puppy.

 

[ThoseWordsAtBest]

It's not really assuming if you know them personally. Like my idiot sister. She has tons of birds, guinea pigs, and rabbits while still living with my parents (she's 21) and she just leaves them in her room all day and never really gives them any attention. One of her birds showed signs of stress, by pulling it's feathers out, and she still ignored it. Then it threw itself into the side of it's cage until it died. She replaced it with two more birds. I came home for the holidays and found all the animals with nails OVER an inch long.

She tells me she and her boyfriend are going to get a Newfoundland puppy when they get their own place. I have no doubt in my mind that they will turn that dog into a mess, physically and mentally, and am trying to discourage her, but that is about all I can do for now while the puppy is still fictional.

 

[MrsJohnnyG]

I guess I do assume the worst (unless proven otherwise). We urged our friends who had 6 kids not to get a dog unless they fully understood what it took to raise a dog. They didn't listen, and a year later (after making the dog stay in the laundry room all the time and hitting it when it misbehaved) gave their sweet dog away. They couldn't understand why it kept running away and being so friendly with the neighbors yet hated being at home. Gee, I wonder.

 

[skelaki]

I think perhaps it depends on your experiences with people and their pet owning. I've been fortunate to have a family and friends who, while they may not be perfect, are generally very good, responsible pet owners who care for their pets properly to the best of their ability. And, since at least one dog lived to age 23 years, they must be doing something right.

So I guess, I'm more of an optimist about this even though I do know there are a lot of ignorant and uncaring pet owners out there.

 

[MonicaBH]

I'm a pessimist/cynicist by nature, so I definitely assume the worst with people. I'm trying to change my outlook, but it's definitely hard. My mother told me she wanted a kitten, and I lost it on her; she can't take care of herself, let alone a freaking kitten. It was relatively easy to un-convince her when I reminded her that a kitten needs its litterbox scooped daily!

I have to say, though, that recently at work I was very surprised by a young owner with a new pit bull puppy. I assumed that this person would be like the majority... don't want to neuter, no interest in obedience classes... but I was proven wrong! Owner wanted to neuter ASAP and was very interested in obedience training and willing to listen. I was so happy, and encouraged that not all people are complete idiots. It was especially neat because the puppy was just amazing. Picked up on stuff quickly even during the appointment, and was beautiful to boot.

 

[Independent George]

I assumed the worst about myself.

Before adopting, I spent months researching training methods, breeds, behaviors, etc., and scared myself out of getting a dog. I love dogs and have taken care of them for neighbors before, but there's a huge difference between watching over an already-trained dog for a weekend, taking care of my own dog for life. I didn't want to make the commitment until I was sure I could be a good owner.

Strangely, it wasn't until I started watching It's Me Or The Dog and The Dog Whisperer that I thought to myself, "I couldn't possibly be THAT bad!". With some encouragement from my friends, I finally decided that maybe I could do it after all. I remained cautious throughout the adoption process, got a great match, and Dilly-Dally & I have never been happier.

 

[lulutoo]

I thought I was the only one! I have very high standards for what is acceptable dog owner skills and commitment level and have to bite my tongue so often it probably has callouses. I think you have to put in your time with obedience, exercise - and a big back yard doesn't count for that, family time and my biggest peeve - getting a dog breed and complaining about the breed behavior! Our former neighbor bought a beagle and then complained that it made too much noise!

And don't get me started on Jon and Kate! What were they thinking!

 

[BentletheYentle]

I have to say, though, that recently at work I was very surprised by a young owner with a new pit bull puppy.

As a 21 year old dog owner (and various other animals) I have to say that way too many people in this world assume that all young people are going to be bad owners (and I am NOT directing this in any way at you, MonicaBH, I'm directing it at the people I know personally). Way too many people are shocked when they find out that all of my animals are fully vetted, eat the best diet instead of grocery store food, and that my dog has been through multiple classes. I do realize that many people my age are fairly-to-greatly irresponsible but it is frustrating when people assume that I'm an awful pet owner because of my age.

I do admit, though, there are times when I worry about some people being dog owners. I know one couple who have 3 young children just got a very young (barely weaned young) Aussie puppy and they seem to expect that it will just turn into an awesome dog because "its such a smart breed." I also work at a pet food/supplies store and had a customer a couple weeks ago who came in saying that his puppy was whining and he wanted it to stop. Turns out he just got it from a breeder the day before and it was 9 weeks old so it was just missing its mom...This guy asked me if we had shock collars and anti bark collars I've never come so close to snapping on a customer.

 

[Jessieanne]

I feel the same way! My sis inlaw has a beautiful sweet and energetic dog and leaves her in a cage all the time. My sis inlaw is a stay at home mom and does this to this poor pup! It really pisses me off. I tried talking my huusband in to letting us take her but he said no. Makes me soo sad everytime I go over there and see her in the cage!