Pet Advice

Morgan has seen that video of dogs talking, and she’s practicing. She knows that if only she can master the talking thing, all the pizza she wants will be hers.

This is frickin’ ridiculous . . . feed them a healthy diet and EXERCISE them, and they won’t be overweight. Gahhhh . . . what this is is really an excuse for owners to get out of walking the damn dog often enough. I hate the idea of people medicating their pets to get out of the responsibility of taking good care of them :/

— A <3

Interesting theory, and true as far as it goes, I think. I’m not sure the leader/follower dichotomy is absolute: at work I have to take orders, to a dog I’m god. (I think that feeding pets so they’ll love you is akin to overpermissive parenting, by the way.) I’ve also known some supposed alphas who were very good at training pets, but who were rigid, insecure human beings who collapsed in the face of confrontation.

I’m more alarmed by the kitty porn stashed under the couch.

Amen! As I said above, I think there’s a lot going on with such people, beyond responsibility. And there’s also a cultural bias against looking too closely at the psychological issues that underlie such behaviors. Have trouble in bed? Don’t dare think too hard about what’s going on emotionally for you: take a drug for erectile dysfunction that’ll get you hard no matter what you feel.

Should I worry, or do you suppose that this is a normal outlet for all species concerned?

Well, I’ll tell you, we’re not going to spank her.

Good points. I do think some people are good at both leading and following — myself, for example. I make a good lieutenant. And I completely agree that indulging a creature dependent on you to gain their affection is the same whether the dependent is pet or child. Plus it gives the dependent an impossible job to do, which is highly unfair.

And of course people’s histories and baggage can play into how they lead and/or follow, and how they deal with confrontation. I’ve just noticed that some people always shy away from laying down the law, and others always chafe when others try to lead them. But of course it’s more complex than that.