I am Barximus Decimus Meruffius, Commander of the Puppies of the North, General to the Lamb Legions and loyal servant to the True Emperor, my owner Steve. Father to a murdered tennis ball. Husband to Steve’s leg. And I will have my vengeance, after this nap time or the next.
It's just fun for them. They get to chase sheep around and are rewarded for it. Honestly hard to think of a better life for a dog, what with all the open space as well.
I have a working dog. Retiring them would be the equivalent of telling your dog he can never go on walks or play fetch again. Their "job" is their happy playtime, and some are lucky enough to get to do it full-time. While that good boy may now need an apprentice, it would be cruel to take him out of the field.
I have 3 pure bred huskies. One Siberian and 2 Australian.
Have you?
What does that have to do with the fact that this dog is not only a liability to the flock and its replacement, it will die if put back out with the flock?
I think its also cute that you guys think this dog will even be able to make it out to the sheep again over rough terrain. Even with prosthetics this dog is not going back to working with the flock.
Not really. Its like saying a farmer might sacrifice one lamb instead of paying 10 worth to get a new dog and companion. Plenty of farmers plant feeder crops to keep deer satisfied and such. The vet bills alone here are worth more than a few sheep or some scrap meat.
Dogs don't understand retirement. Retiring an injured dog who had a job could be taking away it's will to live and you'd think you're showing it mercy but you're killing it.
Yeah, not really joining in the celebration here. Like, woohoo, you put an animal in danger, who couldn't consent to it, in order to protect some other animals that you'll then sell on to be killed for other people to eat.
Well done.
Edit: interesting to be downvoted for saying people shouldn't let their dogs be mauled by wolves.
No, I just don't sound like your average country person, there's a difference. I've spent my life working with horses and have spent time on plenty of working farms. I've seen exactly how livestock are treated and because I care about their welfare I don't agree with it.
I have a degree in veterinary medicine and work as a behaviourist. But what do I know.
If you have veterinary degree in medicine then you should know that working dogs get more vet checks and attention to their health and will being. You're forcing your human point of view into an animal and anthropomorphizing.
On reddit, everybody is an expert. I for one am a Nobel prize winning farm dog scientist and I can confirm that farm dogs will die if they don't work.and they like it. I've spent two lifetimes researching this, please believe me, because I feel that it adds weight to my argument
You ever seen a herding dog in suburbia? The neurotic, kid herding, shitting in the corner of the house, poor soul just wants a few acres and some sheep to chase. It's literally all they want to do.
And all kids want to do is eat sugar and run in front of cars, but it's not in their best interests so we don't let them. I never said it was better for these dogs to be suburban pets, just don't put them between your stuff and a pack of fucking wolves ffs
They put themselves there ffs. It's what they do. It's pretty obvious you've never interacted with a herding dog in it's element. They aren't trained to protect the herd, they are trained to move the herd in a specific manner. The protection is just what they do as a hobby
Yeah it's pretty obvious this guy has never interacted with any herding dogs. Shit even corgis will just naturally try to herd you and your family around and they are VERY good at it.
Again, a dog doesn't have the cognitive ability to decide whether it wants to risk its life for the herd. We've put those instincts there by selective breeding. I don't care how much my dog enjoys something, if it can potentially be torn apart by wolves I'm not going to allow it.
These dogs didn't just happen into existence,we made them for the specific reason of risking their lives instead of ours against predators - which is pathetic to start with - we could stop making them.
These dogs are typically extremely well cared for, and recieve more regular vet care and excercise then basically every single dog that lives in a city and not in the suburbs/country.
They have been genetically selected by humans to get enjoyment, fufillment, and happiness from doing this job. They are literally some of the happiest animals on the planet. I know it is difficult to understand given the danger, but it's the truth.
A comparitive human example is underwater recovery divers. We do not NEED them to dive into extremely dangerous situations to recover bodies, but they do it and love doing so. We could replace them with other options, but that would be extremely cost prohibitive and denies somebody doing what they love and have been trained to do.
But the difference is consent. Humans have the ability to decide how much danger they put themselves in, dogs can't.
Also, you cannot claim that farm dogs are all "the happiest animals on the planet", some are barely fed, left outside in all weathers and get little veterinary care. The same as some suburban dogs. But that's not what I'm discussing here.
How can we ask the dogs consent? shall we get him to sign a form saying he’s happy to do it? Also all the farm dogs I’ve met (and I work on a farm) are incredibly happy because their brains are literally hard wired to enjoy it as well as being incredibly well treated as to a lot of farmers they are not just a tool but a friend and companion who is vital to the running of the farm
You don't understand the science behind this, we literally have brain scans that show working dogs being happiest right after doing work when their human has seen them working.
It's not a debate thing, it's a literal fact. We can see the dopamine hits.
There is almost no chance that the human was there when this happened so he did jot force the animal to do anything. The dog could have easily just ran and Because it had the choice then it clearly did consent to this.
Working dogs who don't have jobs go nuts and eat drywall because that's what they were MADE TO DO. They need jobs. They beg to work. They go crazy if they do not work and are very happy after a day of doing their job. How tf is that not consent lmao. I simply don't believe you know anything about dogs at all (despite your claims if being a vet) and are straight up lying about it you nutcase
It's reddit, everybody is an expert. I for one am a Nobel prize winning farm dog scientist and I can confirm that farm dogs will die if they don't work.and they like it. I've spent two lifetimes researching this, please believe me, because I feel that it adds weight to my argument!
I mean don't ask animals for consent to do anything with them. If that is something to consider, we should probably stop breeding and raising animals in general.
Look-I understand the idea behind the, “that’s the way we’ve always done it” argument. But that doesn’t apply to EVERY situation.
You compared working dogs to child brides. These are two COMPLETELY different things.
I hope you can recognize this difference, however I feel this may be a pride thing for you at this point, and you’re just going to keep doubling down on it.
You don't know what you're talking about. But instead of trying to learn something you're being a condescending douche. That's why you're getting down voted.
I just mentioned in another comment that I have spent my life on farms, have a degree in vet med and work as an animal behaviourist, so I feel like I do know what I'm talking about.
Dogs actually want to work and have a purpose in life. You're being downvoted because of your obtuse refusal to understand that, but can't really blâme you, it must be an existential nightmare to be a human with no purpose or ability to contribute to society.
It's no different to sending children into that situation as far as I'm concerned. They don't have a choice and can't know any better, it's up to us to keep them safe, not intentionally endanger them :/
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u/Sap51SD Aug 12 '21
I hope Port is now retired and getting lots of love!