Pets

Palum_sl said:

My dog doesn't know how to play with other dogs. He was in a shelter for 9+ months and most of that time supposedly in a cage with several other small dogs, so he was OK with them around him. Before that, not sure if he was on the street at all or what. He's about 5 years old.

He will 'sniff' and approach but any sudden moves or playful actions by the other dog will make him growl very softly and snap defensively if they get too close, he will also retreat a lot. He is fine 'around' them but he doesn't really know how to interact with them. If the other dog is sitting/laying down, he will be fine next to them. What can be done?

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We have/had a lot of trouble with this. Our dog was in a foster house with her litter mates, then Parvo broke out and she was quarantined for a couple months. A bunch of the dogs died as well.

We don't really know if the quarantine did it, or she was always skiddish, but she's basically afraid of anyone/anything that comes near her suddenly.

For people in the home we've basically given every person that walks in a treat, get down on her level, and let her come to you for it. Usually she loosens up then.. for dogs it's a shitshow.

Dogs that are equal energy, size, and demeanor she loves to play with. Bigger dogs scare the absolute fuck out hof her. For instance, yesterday we went on a walk and a 100 pound lab came trodding up and she panicked and started squeeling like the dog was murdering her in the street. It caught the attention of several people walking by and they thought the big dog was killing my dog.. no sorry guys, she was just scared.

I offered really no help here because I Don't know what to do either. Going to obedience class for a couple months did help her a bit though as she was forced to socialize.

Noodleface_sl said:

I've always wondered if pet insurance was worth it - I mean, do they cover any medical necessity? Is it like our health insurance where big stuff gets denied and you have to appeal 90 times?

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I have it for both of our dachshunds and they do pay a good portion of it. However, at times (and this is quite often), I do wonder if it's even necessary. I think it is a good idea to get, though. I'm pretty sure the pet insurance will deny owners with pets with pre-existing conditions like humans. Lol.

Everything I've read online pointed to pet insurance rarely being worthwhile

It's nice to have in a pinch. If your pet has a medical emergency that costs about 8k, then you (the owner) will most likely only have to pay about $800 for it.

I looked at insurance for my Bulldog and it wouldn't cover any breed related medical issues. About all that it would cover were physical accidents or illnesses common to all dogs.

Frenzied Wombat_sl said:

I looked at insurance for my Bulldog and it wouldn't cover any breed related medical issues. About all that it would cover were physical accidents or illnesses common to all dogs.

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Yeah pet insurance got wise that only people with generally sickly breeds were buying it so they cut off a bunch of breed specific coverage. Like I believe my corgi wouldn't have it's hips covered. Its far better (if possible, obviously not if you rescue the animal) to check the pedigree of the animal to make sure it's parents weren't prone to some breed specific stuff. But obviously for some breeds like pugs and frenchies being sickly is kind of baked in at this point.

Just don't get a purebred dog in the first place. As a general rule mixed breed dogs are much smarter and healthier than purebred dogs.

Twilight Sparkle_sl said:

Just don't get a purebred dog in the first place. As a general rule mixed breed dogs are much smarter and healthier than purebred dogs.

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With the bonus of unknown size, temperament and exercise requirements. Please don't turn this into a pure vs mutt debate. Both sides have pros and cons.

I have a cat that helps me hunt squirrels. She sits there and listens and will wak around a tree and the squirrel will come around to the other side to avoid the cat and that's when I shoot them. Her brother used to sit in the yard/field for hours and listen for moles. He would hear them and dig down and catch one every few days. He was really good at it. I'll have to find a pic. Before these two I had a cocker spaniel that lived to almost 17 years.

Mole hutner, he died about 5 years ago.



Squirrel hunter. Coming up on about 12 years old now.

Palum_sl said:

My dog doesn't know how to play with other dogs. He was in a shelter for 9+ months and most of that time supposedly in a cage with several other small dogs, so he was OK with them around him. Before that, not sure if he was on the street at all or what. He's about 5 years old.

He will 'sniff' and approach but any sudden moves or playful actions by the other dog will make him growl very softly and snap defensively if they get too close, he will also retreat a lot. He is fine 'around' them but he doesn't really know how to interact with them. If the other dog is sitting/laying down, he will be fine next to them. What can be done?

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I would try a dog day care place near you that does training and see if they are willing to work with him. They get dogs that can't interact with other dogs and those that don't even know what toys are.


I take my dog twice a week and they use him with your type of dog in training as he is oblivious to other dogs being aggressive. One exercise they do is to have both dogs (mine and the dog-aggressive one) secured to a wall by leashes so they can't quite reach each other. Then the trainer will play ball or tug of war with my dog. Then try and play with the dog that doesn't know how. Then back to my dog. Pretty soon the dog starts wanting to play the game also and gets used to the other dog's smell and having him nearby.


Your dog sounds like he needs socialization and exposure to more dogs in a safe environment. Hard to do that by yourself, but a dog day care place is usually pretty cheap and well worth it in the long run. The dog day care places will work with your dog to get it more socialized and should be experienced enough to do it safely. Plus, if you have a really hyper dog, 12 hours of exercise with other dogs does wonders for keeping their energy down the rest of the week.

Tenks_sl said:

With the bonus of unknown size, temperament and exercise requirements. Please don't turn this into a pure vs mutt debate. Both sides have pros and cons.

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Mutts are better.

Twilight Sparkle_sl said:

Mutts are better.

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To be fair, Tenks probably takes pure breeds as seriously as his selvage denim.

But seriously, I'm just giving Tenks a hard time. However, I do think that many, many, MANY people do treat pets as fashion accessories and status symbols. The current craze for flat faced dogs is not a good thing, no matter how you cut it:Researchers Warn Of Growing Trend For Flat-Faced Dogs | IFLScience

I was at a ski hill last November and there was some jackass driving a 200k Mercedes van (kind of like Westfalia, but way more douchey) checking in. He had this massive cat on a leash. My Asian friend recognized it as some sort of breed that was like 20k to buy. He probably thought it looked delicious or something. In any case, who the fuck spends tens of thousands of dollars on a fucking cat? Some asshole who wants to look cool, is who.

Tenks dog doesn't even have knees

Eomer_sl said:

To be fair, Tenks probably takes pure breeds as seriously as his selvage denim.

But seriously, I'm just giving Tenks a hard time. However, I do think that many, many, MANY people do treat pets as fashion accessories and status symbols. The current craze for flat faced dogs is not a good thing, no matter how you cut it:Researchers Warn Of Growing Trend For Flat-Faced Dogs | IFLScience

I was at a ski hill last November and there was some jackass driving a 200k Mercedes van (kind of like Westfalia, but way more douchey) checking in. He had this massive cat on a leash. My Asian friend recognized it as some sort of breed that was like 20k to buy. He probably thought it looked delicious or something. In any case, who the fuck spends tens of thousands of dollars on a fucking cat? Some asshole who wants to look cool, is who.

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Probably a Savannah cat

Tenks_sl said:

Probably a Savannah cat

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You know you want one:

I figure a Savannah would be like a giant Bengal.

Frenzied Wombat_sl said:

You know you want one:

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I really, really want one

koljec_sl said:

I figure a Savannah would be like a giant Bengal.

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Not quite. Bengals have varying amounts of feral blood in them. Generally when you purchase one it'll say how far removed they are from being crossed with a leopard cat (eg; 1 generation or 4 generations removed.) Obviously the closer they are to being crossed between the leopard cat the more "feral" they'll act. Savannah cats are just a straight hybrid between a domestic cat and a serval. AFAIK they don't sell multi generational Savannah cats. I'm sure they do I'm just not aware. Most typically they're just the offspring between a domestic and a feral. Not to mention servels being much larger than leopard cats.

Tenks_sl said:

Not quite. Bengals have varying amounts of feral blood in them. Generally when you purchase one it'll say how far removed they are from being crossed with a leopard cat (eg; 1 generation or 4 generations removed.) Obviously the closer they are to being crossed between the leopard cat the more "feral" they'll act. Savannah cats are just a straight hybrid between a domestic cat and a serval. AFAIK they don't sell multi generational Savannah cats. I'm sure they do I'm just not aware. Most typically they're just the offspring between a domestic and a feral. Not to mention servels being much larger than leopard cats.

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Not true, Savannahs follow the same multi-generational categorization Bengals do, with the least "hybridized" being the most expensive.

EDIT: 16K for a cat is crazy..

Savannah Cat & African Serval Price & Cost | A1 Savannahs