What mightaswellbe said – I was just going to point that out. And “picking favourites” by giving one dog a treat in front of another who isn’t getting any is a recipe for fights, and making them dislike each other – especially if your “favourite” (as they see it) is not the top dog, as they have it worked out themselves. I think EVERYONE with a dog should get some basic training themselves! Problems usually start with the HUMAN!
I’ve always thought there were two kinds of work – work you “do” and work you “are”. FAMILY Farming (that is disappearing), teaching, preaching, motherhood, writing, music & art – and some others – are usually inseparable from the person’s identity – and most of them are poorly paid, and not respected in our society. Maybe the other rewards make up for that, but people keep doing them – because they HAVE to; they just have a need to keep plugging away, though the challenges are many and the going is often hard. A little recognition sure would go a long way for people like “us”!
Kitties get a LOT – studies have shown(can’t quote actual ones right now) they have a significant impact on bird populations, which is worrying. There are more and more cats – feral ones, and pets – and people don’t think their sweet little kitty could or would catch birds, since they’re well-fed and all. Ha! Of all the cats that go out at all, probably at least 75% of them hunt at least a little. And if just those only caught 1 bird a year – that’s still a major amount. And it’s not just “nature’s way” – since humans are taking over more and more habitat, these are “extra” predators introduced onto the scene. We HAVE to limit our pets’ access to wildlife before many species of (our favourite) birds are extinct – a real “silent spring”. I know this because I have cats, who go out (on a limited basis), and one who DOES hunt very successfully – which I work to curtail. We all have the responsibility to limit this predation, though it isn’t always easy!….(And the snails in trees! OMG – that sounds just horrible!! My sympathies.)
What mightaswellbe said – I was just going to point that out. And “picking favourites” by giving one dog a treat in front of another who isn’t getting any is a recipe for fights, and making them dislike each other – especially if your “favourite” (as they see it) is not the top dog, as they have it worked out themselves. I think EVERYONE with a dog should get some basic training themselves! Problems usually start with the HUMAN!