Pets

[TheXDarkXDragoness]

I was wondering, I know many pets (Such as rats or snakes) have bad reps. With these pets (Particularly Snakes, Spiders, Mice/Rats, Skunks, and Scorpions) how can you prove that they are not just 'creepy' animals, at they can be good pets too?

[Aesop]

I was wondering, I know many pets (Such as rats or snakes) have bad reps. With these pets (Particularly Snakes, Spiders, Mice/Rats, Skunks, and Scorpions) how can you prove that they are not just 'creepy' animals, at they can be good pets too?

The only thing that I think has a chance of working is proper education. But there are still those who will never change their minds about certain pets. I used to try to educate people about scorpions as pets, but there is just so much bad pr out there, it does not help matters.

[sammythethief]

I was wondering, I know many pets (Such as rats or snakes) have bad reps. With these pets (Particularly Snakes, Spiders, Mice/Rats, Skunks, and Scorpions) how can you prove that they are not just 'creepy' animals, at they can be good pets too?

What is a 'good pet'? That definition varies for every individual. To some, a good pet is a bouncy, active, large dog. To others, that would be a nightmare. Some people think that a good pet is a quiet cat that is independent and comes around for affection only when it wants. Perhaps a good pet is a low maintenance snake or turtle. Maybe a good pet is a guard dog, or a chatty bird, or a rat that likes to sit on your shoulder. What makes a 'good pet' is all up to the pet owner, and is different for everyone.

I have a large, active dog that would love nothing more than six hour hikes through mud every day. That sounds like hell to me, but I still love him and consider him to be a good pet (though he's not so much a pet as he is my best friend and my son). I also have a ball python. He's quiet, healthy, and low maintenance. I don't play with him every day; sometimes he doesn't come out of his hide at all. I still think he's a good pet.

I can only put my piece in about snakes, as I have no experience with the other pets. But I firmly believe that education is the only way snakes will ever be seen as anything other than gross, dangerous, and slimy to the general public.

For example: Last fall, there was a very warm day here where I live. I had my snake, Slash, out of his tank for a feeding and a bath. I decided that I would walk up to the mailbox with him to let him enjoy the sunshine. I put him around my neck and walked up. A woman stopped her car and told me that her children wanted to see the snake. I told her that he was used to people, and asked if her children wanted to touch him. Her son said yes. I walked over to his side of the car and asked him if he thought snakes were slimy. He said yes, and then I held Slash out and told him where to pet. I told him that they weren't slimy at all, and he grinned and said that he was very dry and smooth. I told him that he liked the sunshine just as much as kids do. He said that he was going to tell all of his friends at school that he pet a snake that wasn't slimy, and that he didn't get bitten. His mother thanked me for letting him pet the snake and for telling him about him. Hopefully the kid learned something, and maybe his mom put on the Discovery Channel that night instead of Nickelodeon.

On my way back, a full grown Marine literally jumped out of my way and yanked his son away from me, telling him not to go near it because it would bite him.

I knew jack squat about snakes when I started caring for Slash (he belongs to my husband, but I became his primary caregiver when B left for boot camp), but I took to the internet and learned absolutely everything I could about ball pythons and their care. It paid off - I was told by a vet we took him to a few years ago that I was doing everything right and that Slash was healthy.

It really all comes down to proper education and supervision. I personally don't believe in 'bad pets'. Through improper handling, or a lack of any handling at all, any pet can become dangerous. But that's not the pet's fault. I'll use snakes as an example: some species are less aggressive than others. Burmese pythons are typically less aggressive than reticulated pythons, and retics are less aggressive than rock pythons.

Some people will never change. I think that the Bible can be blamed for painting snakes negatively, and that way of thinking has been ingrained into society around the world. Some people simply do not care one way or another, or will err on the side of, "Eh, just kill it".

I think I've rambled a bit. Back on point, whatever makes up a 'good pet' is wholly dependent on the individual person. What traits does a 'good pet' have to you?

[Silenxia]

You found a publisher before the story is fully written? It does sound cute though.

Oh for this one there is one in place. It's for my Children's Literature Class and we get to design our own book. It's going to take a while, but so far I got the story in mind.

Story aside, I have a question. Can Huskies have the 'brindle' gene? A person on DA has a RP character who is a striped Husky and she told me that they do, in fact, exist. But on Google there isn't any much success in them.

Good question though...you really can't define a 'good pet' because it varies. Some people go as far as to have exotic pets...I don't like spiders though so...Scorpions are okay, but they're rather risky I suppose...I kind of like small rodents, they can entertain themselves mostly but that doesn't mean that they don't like to interact with their owner. Muka, being the common hamster, sleeps most of the day but is up at night, but he does like attention and sometimes will chew on the bars of his cage (wanting out). Petrie does the same, but he's more mellow (except in the morning when he's hungry).

There is a problem with our Dachshund, Jackson. He's drinking a lot of water and...well to be clean for this topic, you can guess what comes out when he potties because of it. But it's a lot and my mom has to change his potty pads almost everyday because they're covered. There is also the fact that he's still getting fat, 18 pounds is NOT healthy for a Dachshund, of course I've seen fatter ones, but at the last Vet visit, we saw a dachshund who was his age (4) but it was small. The big thing is that Jackson doesn't eat that much. There is a slight snapping problem on the side, but that isn't too bad.

[Tekla]

Story aside, I have a question. Can Huskies have the 'brindle' gene? A person on DA has a RP character who is a striped Husky and she told me that they do, in fact, exist. But on Google there isn't any much success in them.

There is a problem with our Dachshund, Jackson. He's drinking a lot of water and...well to be clean for this topic, you can guess what comes out when he potties because of it. But it's a lot and my mom has to change his potty pads almost everyday because they're covered. There is also the fact that he's still getting fat, 18 pounds is NOT healthy for a Dachshund, of course I've seen fatter ones, but at the last Vet visit, we saw a dachshund who was his age (4) but it was small. The big thing is that Jackson doesn't eat that much. There is a slight snapping problem on the side, but that isn't too bad.

For the first: I don't see why they couldn't have the brindle gene since it's not really uncommon in dogs.

For the second: you should discuss with a vet how to go about putting your dog on a diet to help him lose weight. Dachshunds come predisposed to spinal problems and excess weight is only going to hurt him, and you, in the long run.

I'm not sure what's wrong with him drinking a lot of water, but you might discuss that with a vet too. But, you know, dogs go to the bathroom. If going through the potty pads like that is an issue maybe you could train him to go outside instead.

[Rainwater]

There is a problem with our Dachshund, Jackson. He's drinking a lot of water and...well to be clean for this topic, you can guess what comes out when he potties because of it. But it's a lot and my mom has to change his potty pads almost everyday because they're covered. There is also the fact that he's still getting fat, 18 pounds is NOT healthy for a Dachshund, of course I've seen fatter ones, but at the last Vet visit, we saw a dachshund who was his age (4) but it was small. The big thing is that Jackson doesn't eat that much. There is a slight snapping problem on the side, but that isn't too bad.

It would be good to have him examined as dogs can have diabetes mellitus and drinking lots of water/urinating a large amount can be a symptom. Renal disease could also be a differential, as well as diabetes insipidus and hyperadrenocortisism. A vet visit with appropriate diagnostics would be best.

[TNHawke]

That's so cool that your class can do that! *grumbles* nothing in my college ever did.

I've seen a TON of dogs in my life, and a number of huskies. Let me ask my brother though. He loves them and has had two in his life, but he also goes to husky owner play dates at the dog parks and stuff. I imagine that they could come in brindle, but it would be uncommon. It may be that they would need to be a mutt and mixed with some other breed in which brindle is more common. Akitas come in brindle, and an akita/ husky could look very husky.

I did a Google search for "brindle husky" and got a bunch of hits. Most of them do appear to be mutts. A couple of the photos, I even recognized from my previous brindle akita search!

My kneejerk answer to drinking a ton, peeing even more and not eating much was going to be kidney failure, but I think Rainwater has it it on the head. There's a number of dysfunctions that can cause that.

[Anira]

Akitas and brindle.

Cassidy is an Akita/Pitbull mix. Got her at a shelter 6(?) ish years ago. Can't remember exactly. She's a big baby. She looks like a deer when she's out in the yard. Don't mind the chickens. These are old pics. One of the chickens, Charlotte, was killed by a neighbor's dog so I gave Vivienne, the other one, away to a different neighbor who has chickens so she wouldn't be alone.



My uncle has her sister, from the same litter.

[Silenxia]

It's really just a picture book (drawing Muka is going to be a pain, but maybe not). But it would be nice to have something published. But this isn't the story that I really want out for the world. I have a novella that is almost finished except for editing and it's about a blind pit bull puppy named Bobo. He's a silly little fella.

We've been reducing his food and even changed his food to something for weight, but it seems that he just gets fatter instead of slimming down. One of my thoughts was that he has a tyroid problem, as I heard that it can explain massive weight gain...but so far the vet hasn't found anything wrong.

@ Anira: They both look beautiful and each girl seems like they've inherit some part of the traits. They are pretty girls.

[Rainwater]

We've been reducing his food and even changed his food to something for weight, but it seems that he just gets fatter instead of slimming down. One of my thoughts was that he has a tyroid problem, as I heard that it can explain massive weight gain...but so far the vet hasn't found anything wrong.

Was bloodwork done to check the thyroid? Sometimes it can take a few tests to be sure if there is hypothyroidism or not. I guess another question is does the dog look potbellied? Any skin issues? Since you mentioned the drinking/urination aspect, I still wonder about hyperadrenocortisism. An initial round of bloodwork (CBC/Chemistry/baseline T4) and a urinalysis would be the best way to start. Beyond that, it really depends on what the vet sees.

Another thing is to determine how much he is really getting (if you haven't been). Some people I've met said they fed their dog a cup of food a day. Turns out it was a giant cup from the gas station! So, be sure to measure with a proper measuring cup and not just eyeball it. Also, while switching foods can help, always keep in mind that Brand A's low calorie food may have more calories than Brand B's regular food. You can even check online to see calorie content in many foods.

Our family used Hill's r/d to help a dog we adopted to take weight off (in addition to exercise and vegetables as treats, like carrots, tomatoes, and green beans). Obie the dachshund was fed a different brand of prescription diet food (Purina Veterinary Diet OM) and apparently did well. However, it isn't like those brands have to be used, though they could be an option. Also be careful of treats (those sneaky calories).