12 Common Pet Myths - Polidicks

[quote] For centuries, people created fanciful stories to explain puzzling animal antics. Many of these myth-understandings about cat and dog behaviors linger on, even though modern veterinary and behavior experts have uncovered scientific explanations for these issues. Here we lay 12 common myths to rest. Myth 1: Dogs and cats enjoy being hugged. People are by nature touchy-feely creatures. Dogs and cats on the other hand, grab and hold prey, and "hug" during mating or fighting. Pets may enjoy nuzzling and getting affection akin to hugging, or there may be a reason why they should be sensitized to being hugged, but it is good to remember that your pet may also confuse a hug with aggression. Myth 2: Cats seek out people who hate cats. It can seem that way. A cat lover's admiring stares and "kitty, kitty, kitty" calls can be off-putting. So in a crowded room, a cat often seeks the only person ignoring her. Besides, cat lovers may already smell like strange cats, so she'll be more attracted to the cat-free-zone human. Myth 3: Dogs that are aggressive are showing dominance. Actually, it is fearful dogs that most often aggress to make a scary situation go away. A top dog rarely aggresses because other dogs accept he's the boss. You do however see pushy dogs learn to use snarls to get their way, or clueless adolescent dogs act up because they've gotten too big for their furry britches and want to challenge the real boss. Myth 4: Dogs and cats are jealous of the phone. The phone rings and suddenly your pet demands attention. This can certainly be annoying but their behavior is logical when you realize why they're doing it. From you pet's perspective, you're talking and there's nobody else around -- so you must be talking to your pet! Myth 5: Dogs wag their tails when they are happy. Not always. Dogs wag when excited, when fearful, when happy or even to signal imminent attack. The position of the tail, and frequency of wags, is a better indicator of happiness. Low-held tails with slow, loose wags usually signal, "Come closer; I want to be friends." Myth 6: Dogs and cats learn only if you punish them. No. Punishment actually can interfere with pets' ability to learn. Punishment can make behaviors worse and can cause fear aggression. Instead, you need to teach an alternative to bad behavior. Myth 7: Dogs catch on to house training more quickly when you rub their noses in their accidents. Absolutely not. But this does teach the dog that humans sometimes go nuts and seemingly want them to eat their poop! Talk about confusing. Punishing for a normal behavior like going to the bathroom encourages dogs to hide it better the next time. Instead, catch your dog in the act of targeting the right spot and reward with praise or treats for the most effective lesson. Myth 8: Cats always land on their feet. It is true that cats have balance organs in the inner ear that allow a cat to contract and flex the spine, shoulders and flanks to land on her feet in amazing ways. But there are many factors involved. Falls from too short a distance -- being dropped by a child, for example -- won't allow enough time for a paw landing. Conversely, landing feet first from a fall from a great height can break bones and seriously injure the cat. Myth 9: Cats purr when they are happy. Often they do. But think of the cat's purr as a feline smile -- do you smile only when happy? Purring soothes kitty emotions (and humans as well), and the vibration relieves pain and speeds healing, so purring can happen when a cat is happy, injured or just needs to comfort himself. Myth 10: Cats wet the bed and dogs destroy furniture and other items in the house because they are angry. There are many possible physical, emotional and/or instinctual reasons for these normal behaviors -- none having to do with anger or vengefulness. Items that smell like you (bed, shoes, purse) are targeted because your scent comforts the pet. Consider that a back-handed compliment, not spite. Myth 11: Cats suck the breath from babies. Yes, this old wives tale is still around. Curious cats may check out milky-smelling infant breath or be attracted to a warm crib. They are not trying to harm the baby, but pets should always be supervised around infants. Myth 12: Dogs alpha roll each other. A study of captive wolves (later debunked) gave rise to this theory. Dogs roll onto their backs to expose their tummies to other animals -- or people -- and signal deference and nonthreat. Dogs willingly show their tummies to people or other dogs they want to placate or acquiesce. But even alpha dogs show their tummies to invite puppies and subordinate dogs to play. Dogs do not force other dogs onto their backs to prove leadership. Alpha rolling your dog may confuse or frighten him and some dogs even fight back. Don't risk it![/quote] Source: [url]http://www.pawnation.com/2011/01/21/pet-myths-dont-be-fooled/?icid=maing|main5|dl5|sec1_lnk2|40037[/url] I find some of this to be bullshit. My dog will usually cry if I don't hold him, but according to number one I'm being aggressive by hugging him.

But I like hugging my cat, and he likes it when I hug him as well :(

I knew all of these were myths. And OP, your dog may be used to your behavior with hugging around humans and itself from since it was a pup, it's the same reason why dogs smile - it's called a phenocopy, basically the animal changes to a behavior that isn't normal around its kin. So your dog will not like a hug and will not see a 'smile' as something positive when it's coming from another dog, but it will when it's towards or from a human.

Myth 2 is true though.

My cats learned to behave without punishing them... I love them so much

My cat doesn't shutup if I don't hug him or let him push his head in to my chin (I'm bending down, he's not 5'8 feet tall)

[QUOTE=Jookia;27731050]My cat doesn't shutup if I don't hug him or let him push his head in to my chin (I'm bending down, he's not 5'8 feet tall)[/QUOTE] My cat used to full front headknock me, my chin precisely,when I was sleeping. Cute little bastard.

[QUOTE=Jookia;27731050]My cat doesn't shutup if I don't hug him or let him push his head in to my [b]chin[/b] (I'm bending down, he's not 5'8 feet tall)[/QUOTE] I bet you have plenty of those.

[QUOTE=kanishnav;27731381]I bet you have plenty of those.[/QUOTE] HAHA would you like some ice for that burn haha XD, you gotserved

[QUOTE=Bloodrealm;27731422]HAHA would you like some ice for that burn haha XD, you gotserved[/QUOTE] Haha would you like some Refugee for that Camp?

Rate me dumb if you love dog schlong [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Trolling" - Pascall))[/highlight]

Myth 8: Cats always land on their feet. It is true that cats have balance organs in the inner ear that allow a cat to contract and flex the spine, shoulders and flanks to land on her feet in amazing ways. But there are many factors involved. Falls from too short a distance -- being dropped by a child, for example -- won't allow enough time for a paw landing. Conversely, landing feet first from a fall from a great height can break bones and seriously injure the cat. ...so they do but only if they have enough time to even turn over? Uh...duh

[QUOTE=Bryanrocks01;27730779]I find some of this to be bullshit. My dog will usually cry if I don't hold him, but according to number one I'm being aggressive by hugging him.[/QUOTE] Depends on the dog. My dogs cannot stand being hugged/ grabbed and will usually escape from my hands

I remember when a guy came to fix something at my house, can't remember what. I have two very big german shepherd huskie crosses, and they were barking their asses off from behind the fence. The guy asked me if they bite, and I said "Yes". So this idiot decides it's a good idea to try and pat them, and one of my dogs goes berserk and nearly gets his hand but ends up tearing at his sleeve instead. Then he looks at me and he tries to tell me my dogs are too aggressive and I shouldn't have let them bite him. I asked him if he was a fucking idiot, but the question was rhetorical. He got offended and drove off, without doing the job.

ITT cats and dogs are the only pets

One of my dogs is very touchy feely. The other one not so much.

Is alpha rolling referring to when you roll a dog on it's back and "head lock" him when he's acting bad/over excited or aggressive to show your dominance and calm the dog down? I thought that was generally considered far and wide by vets and such to be the proper way to deal with your dog misbehaving instead of smacking or "punishing" the dog.

[QUOTE=NotMeh;27731695]ITT cats and dogs are the only pets[/QUOTE] No, cats and dogs are just common pets.

[QUOTE=kanishnav;27731752]No, cats and dogs are just common pets.[/QUOTE] You point? There's a shit-ton more common pets.

Dogs see eye contact as confronting and agressive. its funny when i look at my dog in the eyes and stare cause he averts his gaze every few seconds

[QUOTE=NotMeh;27731768]You point? There's a shit-ton more common pets.[/QUOTE] he obvs didn't read the whole comment

A lot of this is just common sense, and a few of them are subjective to each dog. My yorkie loves being held and smothered. Obviously you can't just run in and pick it up, but if you are already showing it some love it'll be super calm and relaxed by being hugged.

But I always hug my dog, and she likes it when I hug her.

[QUOTE=Bryanrocks01;27730779]Source: [url]http://www.pawnation.com/2011/01/21/pet-myths-dont-be-fooled/?icid=maing|main5|dl5|sec1_lnk2|40037[/url] I find some of this to be bullshit. My dog will usually cry if I don't hold him, but according to number one I'm being aggressive by hugging him.[/QUOTE] They said that it can be interpreted as, not that it is. A dog or cat may greatly enjoy being held or cuddled with, or they may not. They were just saying that it isn't 100 percent of the time this, but that it could be any number of things.

[QUOTE=Killuah;27731143]My cat used to full front headknock me, my chin precisely,when I was sleeping. Cute little bastard.[/QUOTE] My cat would try to eat my face while I slept Can you explain this

My dog hops in my lap when she's scared, so I don't believe the hugging myth.

I'm more of a bird person. My family back home has a large cockatoo that loves to be cuddled and will consistently crawl under your chin when you are on the sofa to try and get warm.

[QUOTE=ChristopherB;27740358]I'm more of a bird person. My family back home has a large cockatoo that loves to be cuddled and will consistently crawl under your chin when you are on the sofa to try and get warm.[/QUOTE] Myth: Cockatoos are real pets.

my friends dog hid her poop in peoples shows to eat them later i found it oddly cute :3:

It's funny, because my cat always walks over to my allergic friend whenever he's here.