so how far does the animal exploitation thing go, as far as vegan do’s and don’ts? I have a dog, rescued from an animal shelter 6 years ago. He’s great with the family but bites strangers and other dogs. When I take him out he wears a leash and is only let off when there’s no one around for him to bite. I tell him what to do i.e. come here, sit, stay, etc. He seems really happy to me. I wonder what the general opinion is on the leash and the training? I’m asking since the opinions I got on horse riding being exploitation, which fair enough, it is; although I don’t think every horse involved is terribly miserable for it. But what about the dog, does vegan values say I should let him run riot biting people and peeing in the house? I’m wondering where the line is drawn, the ‘me guy’ seems to think it’s a clear, bold line, but maybe it’s more fuzzy. While people continue to support the animal trade the abandoned ones will still have to be trained in their new homes.
The best answer I’ve heard by an animal rights author was that dogs have similar brain development to a toddler. You wouldn’t open the front door and let a toddler wonder out on their own, unsupervised, that would be neglect. The same goes for dogs and cats. They need to be supervised. My dog wearing a leash when we’re out on the street is just like holding the hand of a small child. Same goes for training, you teach (“train”) kids to behave appropriately, and that is beneficial to them. Same goes for training your dog. Also, my own opinion is that if your dog bites, you better keep him on a leash. If he bit someone and they sued or filed a complaint, the dog will be put down- and I think he will definitely be happier to be on a leash and alive! Good luck and kudos on adopting and being patient with a shelter dog.
DOG WHISPERER
I would never own a pet, let alone a carnivore.
most vegans and vegetarians i know are of the same opinion.
I don’t have a problem with people owning dogs or cats but I do have a problem with people treating them like pets instead of the animals they are. It makes me sick when I see toy breeds in purses or wearing clothes instead of walking around sniffing their surroundings or socializing with other dogs like they should be doing. Or when people get dogs and leave them outside with no socialization what so ever. Dogs live in packs and each pack has a leader. Your job is to establish the rules and make the dog follow. This can be done mostly with induceive training however some compulsion training is required. Pack leaders will often bite at disobedient dogs or pin them to the ground to establish dominance. This is not to be mistaken with abuse. Abuse is entirely different and involves pain not social correction. With my dog I always have him on a leash but the leash has plenty of slack and I never allow him to pull. This way he feels like he can walk freely but is never allowed to walk in front of me. I use a nylon leash with a collar an during our intermediate stages I used a simple choke chain but only used it about three times. As far as pinch collars and shock collars these are unnecessary and cruel. Anyone resulting to the use of these tools has no reason to be training dogs.
As for the biting, dogs will bite for three reasons; fear- fight or flight takes place, prey- they become excited and enjoy the thrill of the chase, and civil- the dog is trained to bite without the use of equipment. In most cases dogs bite out of fear. Most bites on children are due to prey drive stimulation when children run around dogs. You need to establish a positive socialization atmospher for your dog so that he feels comfortable and secure around people. At the same time you need to let him know it’s not acceptable by correcting him.
i wanted my dog to have total freedom, when i first got him, then he started being a pest and no-one liked him and they used to treat him badly when i wasnt around, so i started some basic training! now he is a much happier dog, and has since been registed as a Seizure Alert Dog, and has saved my life on numerous occasions, and has won awards as best trained dog, and dog of the year! i would never have an un-trained dog again
Veganism is about reducing suffering.
How does letting a dog train itself into a dangerous animal reduce suffering? It’s bad for the dog and everyone around it.
Would a vegan person let an anaconda go around eating people’s babies? It’s stupid to even ask ridiculous questions like this.
I will tell you one thing, if someone “buys” a dog from a breeder, pet store or from anywhere else as opposed to adopting from a shelter, they ARE NOT vegan.