RolePlayGateway™

Hello again, everyone. =)

I was recently in the OOC chat today, and was accused by Sonata and Dinocular of animal cruelty, and beating my dogs. Well, it occurred to me in chat that this was all just a big misunderstanding, and it made me think of a good topic for debate in this thread. You see, there is obviously a communication barrier between those people who chat on-line, which is usually the cause for a lot of heated arguments and discussions which lead nowhere. A lot of times, misunderstandings are what lead to accusations, which in turn lead to arguments and a lot of unappropriate behavior in the OOC chat. So, rather than falling into this pit of destruction and name calling, I decided I would just start this thread to help people out.

Now, first of all, what happened in chat today pertains to me and my dogs. I own a couple of pittbulls, who are rescue dogs taken from the pound. Both of them were fighting dogs in a previous lifetime before they came to me. The male is a rednose named Roger, and the female is a blue pitt named Cedes (I was surprised when people in chat didn't know what a blue pitt was). Any ways, the discussion was pittbulls and I made a comment about how I train my dogs by playing tug of war with a junkyard tire, by hanging heavy bricks from their necks, and also by kicking my dogs in the stomach or ribs. Immediately, some of the chatters saw fit to accuse me of animal cruelty.

Well, rather than getting into a heated argument in the OOC chat, as I've noticed that most people just immediately resort to false accusations and name calling, I've just decided to conduct this argument in a more civilization and more ethical way, in order to end the hatred that most chatters start feeling towards one another after a while. The truth is, I don't beat my dogs, I've never been cruel to animals, and everything that I do with my dogs is strictly for fitness and exercise.

Take also into consideration that I own pittbulls, not poodles. Both of my dogs are only a year old, but they are already fairly big compared to other dogs. Why? Because I make them play tug of war with a junkyard tire, I hang bricks from their necks while walking them, and I kick them in the ribs when we're playing. This is a normal past-time for a pittbull. The rope and tire makes their teeth and jaws strong, giving them big heads. The heavy bricks make their necks strong and tough, giving them thick necks. These two exercises are very important to a pittbull's development, especially if you are training your pittbulls to be good guard dogs around the house. But nobody had anything to say about that training regiment in the OOC chat.

What really started the argument is when I told everyone that I sometimes kick my dogs in the ribs. Now, all of a sudden, I'm being called a dog killer, an unfit owner, and a person who abuses animals. Well, instead of calling names back, I'd like to just clarify what I do with my pittbulls. Again, these are pittbulls, not poodles, so please don't get all offensive and angry when I tell you that I wrestle with my dogs, and smack them around all the time. That's what pittbulls do, they are big dogs who can take a lot of pain and torment. I don't abuse my dogs, I train them to be guard dogs. If people don't like the way I train my dogs, that's too bad, that's what I bought these dogs for and that's what I'm training them to be.

I'm not defending anyone who hits their dog. I'm not a friend of those people who would beat their animals. I don't beat my dogs, I play with them. It's just that pittbulls are bigger, heavier set animals who play rougher than other dogs. If you want to train your dog to be tougher than other dogs, you gotta play rough with them. I don't mean whacking them with sticks, pulling their tales, and going ballistic on them. I just mean, it is okay to play rough with your dogs. Both of my pittbulls love me to death. They are very loyal pets and good with children. Roger and Cedes love people, they just don't like other dogs. Again, I trained them this way, because I want my pittbull's to be very good guard dogs.

Now if there's any questions you have about me or my dogs, and how they act, or how they were trained, then please feel free to ask. Also, if you have a misunderstanding or you think that someone else in the OOC chat has falsely accused you of something, then please use this thread to conduct your arguments in an orderly and civilized manner. Thank you. =)

You should watch out, there are a lot of people on this site who are... volatile, to say the least. You can get insults thrown at you for trying to give advice some times [especially with the newbies, no offence, it's just that the newer people don't seem to be able to handle criticism] and the Moderators will lock a thread is a single swear word is so much as hinted at, it's bull--phew that was close.

Yeah, people can get that way, the way you work with the pit-bulls doesn't seem abusive at all I work with Rhodesian ridge-backs. They too are fairly large tough dogs. And sometimes you can play rough with them. It's normal for the dog's development. So I would just.. not entertain those other people if they decide to stoop to a level to insult you and call you abusive.

Incase anyone doesn't know what a Ridgeback is, cause I get that a lot. Here is an image.

I think you need to elaborate a bit...there is huge chasm of difference between *playing rough* and kicking a dog in the ribs...

I play *rough* with my dog, I smack it, around pull its tail and wrestle it, however I am not hurting it at all, I am play fighting in the same way that when she bites me she is not biting hard enough to hurt me, there is no teeth marks.

I do not get that impression from your post, you seem to be side stepping that point using the cover that they are pit bulls and not poodles. Perhaps I am getting the wrong tone or impression from your post as its text over the internet which is why I want you to elaborate.

However I must be blunt here, the tires and bricks are fine. But if you are actually kicking them in the ribs because they are tough dogs and you are making them tougher. Then you are in fact abusing them and you could be and in my opinion should be arrested for doing so.

Gorman Conall wrote:I think you need to elaborate a bit...there is huge chasm of difference between *playing rough* and kicking a dog in the ribs...

I play *rough* with my dog, I smack it, around pull its tail and wrestle it, however I am not hurting it at all, I am play fighting in the same way that when she bites me she is not biting hard enough to hurt me, there is no teeth marks.

I do not get that impression from your post, you seem to be side stepping that point using the cover that they are pit bulls and not poodles. Perhaps I am getting the wrong tone or impression from your post as its text over the internet which is why I want you to elaborate.

However I must be blunt here, the tires and bricks are fine. But if you are actually kicking them in the ribs because they are tough dogs and you are making them tougher. Then you are in fact abusing them and you could be and in my opinion should be arrested for doing so.

I was wondering about the same thing, actually. I can accept the tires and bricks, but... how exactly is it beneficial to kick a dog in the ribs and stomach? I would personally NEVER kick a dog no matter how big it is (nor would I condone someone doing it), but I'm just curious to hear why someone who loves them would want to cause them pain (and possibly injury, which would result in a huge vet bill). But to be blunt myself, I really don't see how kicking an animal is going to toughen him up. What happens if you give him a good kick in the right place and break a rib and something gets punctured?

I don't understand why everyone jumps to the assumption that he's actually violently kicking the dogs in the ribs. Take a moment, and think, "Hey, maybe it's not?" In my opinion, based on what I've heard so far, he's not kicking them hard. It probably doesn't go any further than a 'play-kick.'

Aliath wrote:I don't understand why everyone jumps to the assumption that he's actually violently kicking the dogs in the ribs. Take a moment, and think, "Hey, maybe it's not?" In my opinion, based on what I've heard so far, he's not kicking them hard. It probably doesn't go any further than a 'play-kick.'

I think its just when you say, "So I like to kick my dogs in the ribs," it just sounds violent. I mean, if you verbally said that to someone, don't you think you would get a really strange, possibly horrified look from them? Besides, generally, when you say you kicked something, its hard to picture it not being done violently, at least to some degree.

Some people here are dicks. They like to annoy you. It's a fact of life.

Jesus Christ on a stick, have you never heard of woleslaw, which is something martial artists use to harden their bones, which is why they are able to punch and kick through such hard objects. On a microscopic level, deep within the bones, there are special beams made of calcium called tribeculi, that start off little, but after repeated physical trauma, the body begins to produce more calcium, thickening those beams within the bones, thus -- making them far more dense than ever before. In the case of a pit-bull, the same process is being applied here to increase the dog's durability.

Of course the physical trauma that the bones go through is minimal, and not nearly enough to cause the dog to feel a great level of pain. It may be mild at best, but nothing so significant that it would be considered animal abuse. People use the same process with their muscles, by taking repeated hits to the abdominal areas and other such parts of the body in order to increase muscle-durability.

That's pretty much all Entity was doing, and if anyone thinks that's abuse, then they obviously have never been through any type of fundamental physical training exercises.

On Alucroas' example, muscle building is all about tearing your muscles so they repair themselves, whenever a body regrows/repairs an injury, it makes it stronger/more durable/larger.

Its why when people shave too often, the bristles become really large rather than fine.