Critter thread got me thinking....

[JBonez]

How many of us have animals? How many of us take the time out of our busy lives to spend time with them??? You see, im no activist, but in the animal kingdom, we humans with our ability to reason are the superheros. I believe that all animals are created equal and it is every humans moral obligation to respect them, care for them and do as much as humanly possible to preserve their natural way of life.

Dogs, cats, birds ect.. are the most common, but animals really do depend on us. Im sure most would agree, my dogs have always been family. I get so mad when i see a stranger mistreating their pets, or not providing optimal living conditions. Know what im sayin??? I hope so, most may not love animals as much as me, but if you do have a pet, take the time to let them know how important to the family they are, no matter what species. TheY will give you a joy like no other, that i can promise.

 

[That crazy vancouver guy]

oh ya, man... my dog, Ace, is my second in command of defence of "his" property...

he's my son, man :aok: ... the 'ol fart(14+)....

 

[yimmy capone]

I talk to my Leopard Gecko every night. Problem is I be waiting for an answer.

Then I visit my Jack Dempsey fish and he just splashes me.

 

[Dexter]

I here ya, My dog is my best friend, I know after 8 yrs i can trust him and he never answers back.
"but in the animal kingdom, we humans with our ability to reason are the superheros"

I could be wrong but I think it is the frontal lobe (?) (the reason we have large foreheads) that we have the ability to plan ahead etc. My misses lectures in this stuff but is interstate atm.
Although more and more I think from 'learning ' dogs do have this ability
eg: I feed my boy in a cat two bowl kind of thing. In the morning b4 i go to work he eats exactly half...when I get home he eats the other half. Heres the catch if i go away for a weekend or a week he 'SAVES' half a bowl until I get back. Freakin amazing! learned behaviour that is not meant to be possible.
Personally I sypathise with all animals.I often feel Humans are the scourge( is that a word) of the Earth.

Some Asshats here recently bashed the oldest living captive Flamingo in the world at our local Zoo (and it is blind) ***?

A lot can be learned from mans best friend

Hope not too off topic...on a bender 6am just opened another bottle of shiraz cab

 

[Dexter]

*** is banned ***?

 

[Dexter]

Thats Angusbullshit ....uutf

 

[kaotik]

actually what you say is what i believe to be our "meaning of life"..
we are at the top.. we have the power to do whatever. we can kill entire species off or save them from extinction.

every critter has a job/reason on this earth and without one of them, the whole eco system falls out of balance.
our job on this world IMO is to be the caretakers of everything, making sure this world survives. we are the only ones on the planet with this power, and it is what i think we are on this earth for.
*we're sure doing a horrible job at that currently though.

 

[ArtVandolay]

oh ya, man... my dog, Ace, is my second in command of defence of "his" property...

he's my son, man :aok: ... the 'ol fart(14+)....

My pugs would hold the flashlight for the burglar.

 

[umbra]

My sons came home from college for thanksgiving. My oldest son brought his dog. I wasn't sure how well she would get along with my female lab. Well the 2 of them are the best of friends. The furnature is getting moved daily with them playing all the time. My lab is an 80 lb female and Luna is a 10 month old, 174lb neopolitan mastif. What a pair. I took them for a 2 hr walk today. They are finally sleeping. So my oldest son asked if he goes to med school next fall if I'll keep luna...hell yeah. My gf has 2 german sheperds and an aussie sheperd. We're starting a pack. We got them all together last night...OMG

 

[JBonez]

I here ya, My dog is my best friend, I know after 8 yrs i can trust him and he never answers back.
"but in the animal kingdom, we humans with our ability to reason are the superheros"

I could be wrong but I think it is the frontal lobe (?) (the reason we have large foreheads) that we have the ability to plan ahead etc. My misses lectures in this stuff but is interstate atm.
Although more and more I think from 'learning ' dogs do have this ability
eg: I feed my boy in a cat two bowl kind of thing. In the morning b4 i go to work he eats exactly half...when I get home he eats the other half. Heres the catch if i go away for a weekend or a week he 'SAVES' half a bowl until I get back. Freakin amazing! learned behaviour that is not meant to be possible.
Personally I sypathise with all animals.I often feel Humans are the scourge( is that a word) of the Earth.

Some Asshats here recently bashed the oldest living captive Flamingo in the world at our local Zoo (and it is blind) ***?

A lot can be learned from mans best friend

Hope not too off topic...on a bender 6am just opened another bottle of shiraz cab

I agree to a certain extent, obviously our mental fortitude separates us from the rest of the kingdom, but animals make choice based on instinct driven criteria. We interpret a loyal dog as a loved guardian to our family, sure our pets have a fondness for us, but dogs for example are pack animals. You may be amazed that your dog would give its life for you in a split second, but for the dog there is no reasoning behind it, just pure unadulterated instinct to preserve the integrity of the pack. Which believe it or not, you are your dogs pack leader, or at least you should be, if you are then you probably have a well behaved dog. if not, your dog may carry his weight differently (going pottie in the house, chewing things up, which is a form of communication btw, to even challenging you.

reptiles, well, they are in a class of their own as it is not possible to domesticate a reptile, purest form of instinct there.

birds are fascinating, being closely related to reptiles, you may think of a talking bird as smart, but that is just mimicking. My bird (r.i.p.) blue and gold, could get his cage opened no matter what, but that still isnt reasoning.

when i say reasoning, i mean that people carry out complex thoughts animals are simply incapable of doing. For example, animals do not manifest a higher being than themselves because they dont understand why they exist, they run their course with tools embedded in their blood.

I am open your theory tho, after all, it is our frontal lobe that indeed separates us, and that pesky little digit we call the thumb. Monkeys dont even have the grasping power we do, their thumbs are fixed, therefore they could never do what humans can do.

 

[umbra]

What you describe is correct. But understanding animal behavior is the key to communicating effectively. Even if it is on a limited level. There are many behavior studies with animals that lead to conflicting results to say the least.

 

[JBonez]

What you describe is correct. But understanding animal behavior is the key to communicating effectively. Even if it is on a limited level. There are many behavior studies with animals that lead to conflicting results to say the least.

wow, im totally with you bud, ever see the people that communicate with dogs, and have them totally submissive in seconds?? I think its body language or something, at least thats how dogs interface with each other primarily, along with their keen senses. Who knows, all i know is that i love my animals and would give my life to protect them, some say thats a waste, but its just how i feel, call me crazy.

 

[SmokinMom]

*** is banned ***?

Um ????

My 2 dogs demand attention and make you pet them. It's pretty cute, especially the 125 pound female. Big ol ball of fluff.

I have hermit crabs but don't handle them very often. Don't want to get pinched. However they are super cool to watch.

 

[Dexter]

I agree to a certain extent, obviously our mental fortitude separates us from the rest of the kingdom, but animals make choice based on instinct driven criteria. We interpret a loyal dog as a loved guardian to our family, sure our pets have a fondness for us, but dogs for example are pack animals. You may be amazed that your dog would give its life for you in a split second, but for the dog there is no reasoning behind it, just pure unadulterated instinct to preserve the integrity of the pack. Which believe it or not, you are your dogs pack leader, or at least you should be, if you are then you probably have a well behaved dog. if not, your dog may carry his weight differently (going pottie in the house, chewing things up, which is a form of communication btw, to even challenging you.

reptiles, well, they are in a class of their own as it is not possible to domesticate a reptile, purest form of instinct there.

birds are fascinating, being closely related to reptiles, you may think of a talking bird as smart, but that is just mimicking. My bird (r.i.p.) blue and gold, could get his cage opened no matter what, but that still isnt reasoning.

when i say reasoning, i mean that people carry out complex thoughts animals are simply incapable of doing. For example, animals do not manifest a higher being than themselves because they dont understand why they exist, they run their course with tools embedded in their blood.

I am open your theory tho, after all, it is our frontal lobe that indeed separates us, and that pesky little digit we call the thumb. Monkeys dont even have the grasping power we do, their thumbs are fixed, therefore they could never do what humans can do.

Obviously a dog is a pack animal, that has been trained over hundreds of years to respond to humans, I've wasted plenty off time trying to domesticate Dingo crosses.
I'm not exactly sure what "theory" you are relating to or if I expressed one at all...I was'nt even aware i was making a differing opinion. As far as the observation I shared re my dog ..thats all it was...just sharing a storey about my M8.

Re: reptiles. Growing up I have stepped over maybe 5 of the ten deadliest snakes in the world, usualy on my way to school,. Not bravery, just good luck that i did'nt get tagged although I have lost 2 dogs to Tiger snakes(dog killed snake every time) and 1 to a King Brown. Realy bad feeling when they come staggering up to you and then splay there legs out at 90degrees and die ...:lump in throat now :cry:
Reptiles do not have a personality, I respect them as I do Gr8 Whites when I surf but would not want one for a pet.

thats enough from me sorry for interupting thread ,just thought i'd share from other side of this big planet

 

[Dexter]

On 1 of the above occasions re the Tiger the lil ***** sacraficed herself for my neice, ***** survived and got tagged again 2 weeks l8tr

 

[killa kev.]

Yeah man, in most cases, animals are innocent, and it's wrong to mistreat them.

 

[JBonez]

Obviously a dog is a pack animal, that has been trained over hundreds of years to respond to humans, I've wasted plenty off time trying to domesticate Dingo crosses.
I'm not exactly sure what "theory" you are relating to or if I expressed one at all...I was'nt even aware i was making a differing opinion. As far as the observation I shared re my dog ..thats all it was...just sharing a storey about my M8.

Re: reptiles. Growing up I have stepped over maybe 5 of the ten deadliest snakes in the world, usualy on my way to school,. Not bravery, just good luck that i did'nt get tagged although I have lost 2 dogs to Tiger snakes(dog killed snake every time) and 1 to a King Brown. Realy bad feeling when they come staggering up to you and then splay there legs out at 90degrees and die ...:lump in throat now :cry:
Reptiles do not have a personality, I respect them as I do Gr8 Whites when I surf but would not want one for a pet.

thats enough from me sorry for interupting thread ,just thought i'd share from other side of this big planet

**Sorry dexter, i think i really misunderstood your post, i was busy at work when i read it!**
With the whole 2 dish thing, isnt that an example of Pavlov's associative learning? Or a form of conditioning?