Survival Instincts?

[PvK]

Animals, especially wild ones, don't have a human's understanding of human abilities and behaviors. They think differently.

I encountered a possum once in the middle of the sidewalk ahead of me, late at night, and decided to charge it, for fun. It turned to face me, and sat there. I was tempted to kick it fifty meters down the road, but instead just walked around it.

Humans aren't generally so smart, either. Recently here in the greater Seattle area, there was a dog (pit bull I think) which had chased a child, and a group of I think six armed police officers showed up to try to deal with it. The dog menaced them, and so, being the formidable and well-trained and brave and clever officers they are, fired several bullets at it and missed the dog, but shot one of their own party. The dog ran off and escaped that encounter.

Now, I know pit bulls are vicious, but I think their anti-dog training must be massively limited, if they think they need to resort to shooting metal bullets at a single dog that they outnumber 6:1. Not to mention accidentally hitting each other.

"Mouth rush" is not that sophisticated an unarmed combat technique, guys. There are countermoves humans can use on dogs.

Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:
Why do cats always park themselves right where people walk?

Usually the same reason they sit on newspapers or other projects people are working on - for attention.

PvK

[Gandalf Parker]

Actually Ive done animal control and pit bulls arent vicious. (did you realize that 3 purebred breeds are in the PB Category?). The problem with Pit Bulls is that they are dangerous. Not quite the same thing.

The crushing pressure in a pit bulls jaws make a "bite" alot more than just a bite. It can literally be an amputation. Most of the ones Ive ever been called on were actually quite friendly. The danger was that they arent very smart. They get out of the yard and get confused and scared. Of course there are people who will use a powerful bite dog for other purposes which are the scarey ones that hit the news. Luckily I only ever met one of those. The worst thing about them for me is that they ruin my favorite tactic for large biting dogs (shove your fist down its throat)

[ June 10, 2004, 21:46: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

[PvK]

Interesting. Ya for me that all falls under the police being poorly trained to deal with dogs. Ideally, of course, one dog handler with some padding is the team for the job, rather than six cops with guns who seem unable to handle one dog. Broad daylight and low foliage, by the way.

PvK

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Originally posted by PvK:

quote:

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Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:
Why do cats always park themselves right where people walk?

Usually the same reason they sit on newspapers or other projects people are working on - for attention.

PvK

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And then she complains when people step over her...

Obviously hasn't learned the difference between good attention and bad attention.

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally posted by PvK:
Interesting. Ya for me that all falls under the police being poorly trained to deal with dogs. Ideally, of course, one dog handler with some padding is the team for the job, rather than six cops with guns who seem unable to handle one dog. Broad daylight and low foliage, by the way.

They want to think they can.

The military police always seemed embarrased at having to call me. I tried to make them feel better by saying things like "no prob, not like I ever want to handle the animals you guys handle" and I point toward the barracks area.

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:
And then she complains when people step over her...

Obviously hasn't learned the difference between good attention and bad attention.

Does she hate being petted?
Try petting her with your feet. We have one that does that and its because she wants to be petted with feet. She loves it.

I was making fun of it one day. Pretending she was talking to the other cat. "Dont let them touch you with their hands! You have no idea where those have been." Then I realised that was probably true. We probably have alot more odors on our hands than on our stockinged feet.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Never tried that. Don't think she hates being petted, but she doesn't like very much of it.

Part of it might be that we think she got abused as a kitten. She's got a place in her spine and tail that's been fused.

[Randallw]

I have a cat who will cuddle up to me if I lie on the couch. She appears to like being stroked. You stroke her for 5-10 minutes, then when she gets bored with it she shows it by swinging around and biting your hand.

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally posted by Randallw:
I have a cat who will cuddle up to me if I lie on the couch. She appears to like being stroked. You stroke her for 5-10 minutes, then when she gets bored with it she shows it by swinging around and biting your hand.

Ive had pets do that to me (but only once)