She has two dogs; Duke is a black lab that is VERY hyper, and Charlie who is a yellow lab that is very laid back. She has to feed Duke about 5 cups of food a day just to keep him from becoming too thin! She has to feed Charlie only 1 1/2 cups of food a day just to keep him from becoming too fat. He is a very mellow fellow, and tends to be more submissive in the order of the pack. I didn't ask her to bring him over because the other two dogs end up tackling him all the time and rolling him. They all have fun, but poor Charlie ends up sore and muddy.
When I called my neighbor, I told her that she could bring Charlie if she wanted, but I knew that he would end up just being rolled in the mud by the other two dogs. She said, "Well, if I don't bring him, he will have his feelings hurt." I don't know, do you think a dog can get his feelings hurt?
4 comments:
I sometimes worry about how some pet owners over humanise their animals. I know someone with two dogs and a cat. She saves a choice piece of her main meal - be that steak, salmon or chicken - to feed them from her hand while still at table. The animals are also allowed to sleep on her bed!
My husband's mom was in the hospital recently for about a week. When she came home, her cat wouldn't have anything to do with her. He ignored her for about a day or so. She thought he was mad at her for going off and leaving him, even though he had people coming over to feed him twice a day. :0) I wondered if, because of medications and anesthesia, she really just smelled different - like a hospital. ?
In psychological terms, it is called transference. The owners transfer their own emotions to their pets. Non human creatures exist purely on instinct. By taming them and making pets out of them, we change their natural lives, and end up thinking up all such bizarre ideas.
oh I totally do, and cats can too, one of my cat books said cats get their feelings hurt if you laugh at them, and they really do!
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