Dogs!

[Solkia]

Does your doorbell sound similar or did they have a previous owner? They may think it's the doorbell.

[-blank-]

The doorbell is hardly ever used and besides, it sounds nothing like the phone.

[Nepenthe]

It's highly possible that- when you or someone else in the family have answered the phone before- you simultaneously let the dogs out or made a signal that they construed as being allowed out the front. You may have created a direct association between the sound and action by mistake! =P

 

As far as I know, my dog has no such associations with sounds we don't make ourselves. He used to bark at dogs on TV, but he got shamed enough into stopping that, and every now and again he'll confuse a doorbell on TV with our own. But he doesn't really take any random sounds as a signal for anything.

[Speederino]

Sadly I don't have access to any pictures of him at the moment, but for most of my childhood and early teen years, we had a beagle named Andy. He was fat. He was lazy. He was a bit disobedient about the "no going upstairs and digging through trash cans" rule. But damn it, I miss him anyways. It's weird to think he's been gone for almost nine years now.

 

I would love to have another dog someday, though.

[Vertekins]

More photos of our sweet beloved little Yorkies

 

Ruby. Photos of her as a young puppy can be seen earlier in this thread. She's now 14 months old. My younger sister owns her sister Rosie (Also shown earlier in this thread). She's such a little sweetie this one. She's a little on the timid side but she's also extremely loving yet she isn't timid when it comes to our cats. She seems to have a grudge against my cat Inky and sometimes attacks her without provocation.

 

 

 

Ben. He's Susie's half-brother (They share the same father, Gucci, who belongs to the breeder we got them from) and he's 8 months old. There is nothing that is bad about this lovely little guy, he's so good-natured and he never ever misbehaves believe it or not! For some odd reason though, he freezes-up whenever we've attempted to take him for a walk on his lead as if he's scared of the outside world. Hope he grows out of it.

 

 

 

Susie. Ben's half-sister. She's 2 and a half years old. She's got a very feisty and pushy sort of personality yet she, like her half brother, never misbehaves and is also very affectionate.

 

 

 

^ Heh, you can see Peggy in this one. She's the tortie cat behind Sue.

[Aero]

My dog is a toy poodle named Muffin. She was inherited from my great aunt who passed away in 2010.

 

She loves sitting in people's laps and propping her chin up on the table for some reason...it's too adorable help

 

 

The temperatures around here are over 100 or so. Muffin makes a smart move and lays down on the linoleum floors to cool off.

 

...I guess you could say she's a hot dog.

 

I'll see if I can take better full-body pictures soon. Her tail looks like a miniature dust mop.

[-blank-]

It's highly possible that- when you or someone else in the family have answered the phone before- you simultaneously let the dogs out or made a signal that they construed as being allowed out the front. You may have created a direct association between the sound and action by mistake! =P

 

Well, there have been times when my mom would talk on the phone out front, taking the dogs out with her. So, I guess that might be it?

[Nepenthe]

Most definitely. Sound association like that is a learned behavior, and learned behaviors are not necessarily intentionally taught by the owner. xP Dogs merely pick up on routine, and if your mom made a routine out of answering the phone not long before taking the dogs out with her, then they're probably going to start thinking "ring tone = go out to the front."

You could always reverse the behavior with a bit of training if it's particularly bothersome. :3

[Solly]

^Reminds me of this.

COUNT THE DOGS. 

 

Edited June 19, 2013 by Solly

[Nepenthe]

I just found a BBC documentary series yesterday that I think is imperative for dog lovers and even just those that champion animal welfare to see. It's called Pedigree Dogs Exposed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMyqH_Q_iPY

And the sequel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7RTsVfMHQk

(preemptive apologies about the huge subtitles)

Each is an hour long, but if you want a synopsis, it outs the horrendous breeding practices willingly going on in the UK for show lines, and the Kennel Club's complacency in the issue. The overwhelming amount of purebred dogs are inbred and/or carry a host of deadly genes in an effort to get the dogs to conform to ridiculous breed standards. Worse yet, these dogs are breeding at massive rates, and most of the puppies from these lines are prominent across the UK. There is a high chance that anyone who's bought a purebred dog in the UK is housing an unhealthy one, and it's basically destroying the very breeds of the dogs themselves. As an example and news to me: the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is burdened with a neurological disease that causes it immense pain because its brain is too small for its skull, and as high as 70% of the dogs have the propensity to display it.

I was semi-aware that purebreds- especially show lines- were prone to various conditions more so than mutts, but I wasn't aware of the rate of occurrence of these faulty genes, the amount of mutations going on in the breed lienes, and just how nonchalant both the breeders and the Kennel Club were to the issue, even going so far as to oust the women who blew the whistle on the Cavalier. Granted, this series focuses only on the UK, and makes mention that other countries like Sweden have more progressive breeding practices, but it does raise the question on how rampant this kind of dismissal of the dogs' welfare is. Hell, my little westie himself is an allergy sufferer, as is common in his breed. So it raises questions of his genealogy, and specifically how widespread it is in the US.

If nothing else, this will turn you off from wanting to own purebreds. It just seems the risk is too great and the benefits to the animals ultimately very little. Godspeed to the few breeders trying to do the right thing.

But in happier news, Americans make me proud and call the dog their most favorite pet. Go dogs.

[Solkia]

Dogs and cats are treated like crap all across the world. Whether it be PETA, dog fighting rings, abusive owners, etc. Animal Welfare is a pretty big issue, but unfortunately not considered a serious enough issue by many people.

 

Hell, I'll never forget those images of Zippocat.

[Solkia]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL6cFn9kj8U

 

Just watch it