Oh man, I read the first part of that thread but decided not to engage, and hadn't realized how bad that thread had gotten. I'm sorry you had to experience that (and I totally get the impulse to engage - especially when it doesn't seem like anyone else is going to engage, and I don't want those statements to just hang about unchallenged).
With dogs - I think a lot about this with 'working' dog breeds, and ones that don't really have the temperament for a sedentary housepet. Obviously there's individual variation, but some breeds need a lot of exercise or space to run around in - and what's the future of those breeds? I grew up in an area where a lot of the people who had dogs had them for security (and there were always rumors of the family member of a friend who was into dogfighting). So I knew people who had pits, but I also didn't grow up with the idea that dogs were friendly - when I went to college and met people who just ran up to strangers' dogs, it was the weirdest moment of culture clash. There were also a ton of strays in the area, but the difference is that people would adopt the cats if they seemed friendly enough and leave food out even if they weren't. Enough of the stray dogs were former fighting/guard dogs that were dumped that most people wouldn't trust them or want to encourage them to stick around.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2019-04-13 03:13 pm (UTC)With dogs - I think a lot about this with 'working' dog breeds, and ones that don't really have the temperament for a sedentary housepet. Obviously there's individual variation, but some breeds need a lot of exercise or space to run around in - and what's the future of those breeds? I grew up in an area where a lot of the people who had dogs had them for security (and there were always rumors of the family member of a friend who was into dogfighting). So I knew people who had pits, but I also didn't grow up with the idea that dogs were friendly - when I went to college and met people who just ran up to strangers' dogs, it was the weirdest moment of culture clash. There were also a ton of strays in the area, but the difference is that people would adopt the cats if they seemed friendly enough and leave food out even if they weren't. Enough of the stray dogs were former fighting/guard dogs that were dumped that most people wouldn't trust them or want to encourage them to stick around.