Chewy- wrote:food, sorry, I don't wanna feed my cats dead animals
I do feel the need to inform you that cats are obligate carnivores and NEED to eat dead animals. Diseased animals is another thing entirely but cats most definitely need to eat meat.
So many of you need to STAND UP FOR YOUR ANIMALS!
So many of the things I'm reading are avoidable. "Friends" who treat your animals the way you say they do? Don't let them do it. The first time you see them do it, tell them to knock it off or get out. People who come into my home and treat my animals without respect get ONE warning. I tell them to get their act together or they will no longer be welcome anywhere on my property. That's usually enough to straighten them out. If it continues, they are escorted off the property and told not to come back. ANYONE who smacked, kicked, or otherwise disciplined my dog (other than what I have instructed them to do like telling them "off" and gently pushing them away should they jump up which is thankfully not an issue in my dogs) would be immediately dismissed from my home.
When people ask me why I am so protective of my animals, I say, "They live here. You don't." Guests do not get to treat residents with disrespect no matter what species they are.
If you have an animal that needs space, don't wait until guests try to approach the animal before telling them. Instruct them on how to behave before even letting them inside. If they disregard those instructions, ask them to leave.
Some of what I read here is straight up abuse. Some things only make an animal uncomfortable or frighten an animal a bit and that's fine so long as you are taking measures to stop guests from doing those things or to help your animal overcome it but some of it is abuse that shouldn't EVER happen. I am not one to call small things abuse and I am very stern with my animals. I hunt, I raise meat animals, etc. Animals are not people but there are quite a few things mentioned here that would have me calling the authorities. Please think about whether some of these friends truly deserve that title.
I understand that some of you are young and don't have the authority to kick someone out of your home but you need to tell your parents what's happening and tell them you don't want to have that friend over anymore. Don't just quietly accept it.
I really needed to get that off my chest. Thank you to those who read it.
MY OWN PET PEEVES:
My pet peeves all generally happen in public. We live in a very pet friendly area so we almost always have at least one dog with us. My Standard Xoloitzcuintli (my heart dog) rarely gets left home.
I came across a Petsmart trainer who, when told not to feed my dog, said, "It's okay. I'm a dog trainer". Of course, we all know that that doesn't make it okay. Mind you, this was the same woman who, when seeing my Bluetick Coonhound, asked, "When's the last time you wormed him? He looks really wormy." My boy is very lean for a Bluetick. He never developed that huge, bulky body you see on a lot of males and we keep our dogs lean and fit because it is terrible for their joints to carry around unnecessary weight. As a result, my dogs are solid muscle and our vet is forever telling us how refreshing it is to see dogs at proper weight. In addition, we had just moved so our poor worrywart hound had dropped a few pounds (he's a Nervous Nellie who doesn't like change). Not much, but a small amount. Nor did behave a wormy belly. Anyhow, this woman decides to make it her personal mission to tell everyone else in the store about how underweight my dog was.
Drive by pettings are another pet peeve of mine. People we pass in aisles will pass close to us so they can run a hand down our dogs' backs. I don't understand what makes people do that. We stop what we can see coming but we can't see them all.
I'm another who hates when people just run up and try to pet my dogs. Another one is when I am working with my dogs and people start trying to get their attention. Great practice for a dog but it can be overwhelming for a younger dog who struggles to listen all the time when there AREN'T any distractions.
No matter how hard you try, stopping 100% of people in public will never happen but we stop most of them just by being aware of our surroundings. When I bought a Standard Xolo (a 60 lb, black, hairless dog), I knew what I was getting into. I know and accept that, when we are out in public, we will be constantly stopped by people who want to touch him. If people ask and we aren't in a hurry, I will always let people feel his skin. If you ask me, there will rarely be an occasion where I will say no, you can't pet (insert dog here). Unless your'e a kid with sticky fingers. Kids with visibly filthy hands covered in food or snot aren't allowed to pet my dog because then I feel like they need a bath. Other than that, if you're nice, you ask, and I'm not in a hurry, I'd love for you to pet my dogs.
I have a ton of pet peeves but I thought I'd stick to the ones with strangers because this post will probably already qualify as a novel by the time I'm finished.
. Some of these things are like abuse. My friend wanted this cat we had for sale (my mom breeds them) and I secretly told my mom that she kicks and hits her own cat so I would never let her have one of our adorable Persians! This is just so sad 
