one thing i DESPISE about people right, is when they get a dog for the sake of getting a dog.

they're cute, they're cuddly, they're amazing. great lil buddies that come in a variety of sizes and colours.

love them.

but.

when someone gets one just because "they're cute" and they "couldn't leave without them" and then proceed to not do anything with them. that's when i get pissy.

you get a dog. you work with it. you take it to training. you socialise it. you walk it. you feed it. you love it.

you don't just. get it.

offered to walk a dog for a friend and it was HELL. the dog is described as "excitable" when it sees another dog or a person. but i don't deem running and jumping on its hind legs and wailing like a crazy chimpanzee as "excited". that's something that needs to be addressed, and it is embarrassing to walk them?

which is crazy seeing as it isn't even my own dog. and then having to apologise to some other person who's walking their dogs cus the one i've got is bouncing on its back legs like a kangaroo or a kid on crack, and is screaming like a banshee, snd all the while is spinning around in a circle in an attempt to go and see said dog.

like that's an issue? a dog shouldn't be like that. that is what you call reactivity.

and reactivity comes in all sorts of ways. barking, lunging, dog reactivity, cowering etc.

one of my own is reactive — he used to back and growl at other dogs and people. but guess what? i worked on it. i sorted out the problem, and now he's fine. i see an issue coming? i can avert his attention and prevent it from happening.

and its taken time. and people don't grasp that i don't think. it's all well and good having a canine, but there's so much to them it's unreal. i think people think that it is just — get a dog, have a dog, life complete?

like. i knew someone who got a mal just purely because of the fact that she was "adorable". she was in a poor housing condition, so i guess that's nice that they did help her out of it — somewhat. but for the next like 3 weeks of them having her, she would bark and bark after being locked out in the back garden.

and because they have a dog already, that they don't really walk ever mind you, i think they figured "hey, a second won't hurt".

mal's are crazy. they are not a dog for everyone. ong i'd love for one at some point in my life. i know how much work they require, the fact that they need SO much mental stimulation (like all dogs do). but i know that as of right now, i won't be able to have one as i've got 2 other dogs of my own currently and a 3rd wouldn't be ideal seeing as these 2 already cost me so much money with their food, etc.

they then asked if i wanted to have her seeing as i know what i'm doing when it comes to animals. but i had to turn the idea down as i have no idea how the hell she would react to mine, or other dogs, or me, and i didn't want to risk stressing her out, or my two out if i said yes. plus, all the above.

AND. people who get rescue dogs too for the sake of it. like that dog NEEDS extra work, and extra love. you don't just rescue it and that's it. you have to work on it as a dog, take it to training if it needs it, work on any issues or reactivity it has to prevent issues from ever happening. but i see it so much, people will rescue a dog cus they think it's the cutest thing in the entire world. and then they disregard the fact that "hey, this dog has a different background to a dog that i'd just go and buy from a reputable breeder — maybe i should do something about it"

and, while im on the topic of dogs. i'm just gonna go all out i guess.

stimulation.

dogs need it. be it a walk, enrichment from toys and frozen kongs / lick mats, playing in the garden, training, obedience etc.

it is a necessity for a dog. don't do it, the dog will have a pretty poor life.

but. i wish people understood that you don't need to walk your dog every single waking day. that just opens a can of worms to so many issues.

someone argued with me saying "if you get a dog you have to walk it every day". like no?

okay. your dog has an accident. he is crate bound for, let's say 2 weeks — and cannot walk, or if he does it is only a short walk. then what?

your dog which you've made walk every single day will loose its GOD DAMN MIND over the fact that it is in a cage for a number of days at a time because of what's happened to it.

dogs need breaks too. walking every single day can and will lead to your dog being reactive. you are giving them stimulation, yes. but you're also over stimulating them at the same time.

walk your dog two days, give them a day of "break" where they legit just stay at home, maybe throw a ball for them in the garden. you do something else that isn't walking them.

one dog i knew of, a rescue, was walked every day. the dog was reactive to: cats, cars, people and other dogs. the dog would bark and growl for a long time until the dog or people are out of sight and spin around in an attempt to get out and get said thing. would lunge into the road at passing cars and vehicles — which might i add is a bloody dangerous thing to do, and would growl and bark at kids, and attempt to chase cats down the road too.

and it's like. can't you see that you walking this dog every single day won't help? just walking won't help.

but, to "stop the issues" did they do training? no. they instead walk the dog in a field where nobody or no dogs go to just avoid their dogs issues.

and that's not ideal. things can be dealt with, you can desensitise dogs to the things they have issues with. it isn't hard, but it's time consuming. if you don't have said time to do it... then why bother going for a dog that's had a tough life?

like i am so thankful that my dogs are the way they are because of the time, money and effort i've put into the pair of them. yeah, one's still a bit hit and miss with his lead reactivity, but i've not had him go crazy with it for a good like 2/3 years because of the fact that i am still putting my time and effort into him.

not everyone is bad tho. have a friend who wants to get a dog maybe but he's weighing out the pro's and con's of rescuing a dog. he knows that "hey, i have to look into the dog i'm getting, how much it'll cost. what is the best food etc for that dog". instead of winging it n going "f it. i'll get a dog".

i just wish all people had some sanity.

people honestly are the reasons why dogs get all the hate that they do.

oh, someone has a big "scary" bully dog? or a rot, or a dobie? and they get the "i hope you have control over that dog!!!!" from some stupid idiot who's got some tiny little dog that's barking its head off. while said "scary" dog is as calm as a cucumber.

i hate it. i hate the stigma dogs get because people lack the god damn brain cells to do stuff for them. and that they forget that — CRAZY — dogs are animals, that have evolved from the god damn wolf. mfs think they are just machines i swear.

so yeah. basically, holly really hates it when people throw themselves into the idea of getting a dog without actually knowing the full ins and outs of it all.