Old wives tales that need to DIE!!!!!!!!

bigpinkelephant

There are so many old wives' tales about animals that need to be put to bed... what are the ones you hear the most???

Mine is

"Dogs/cats have to be allowed have a litter before being neutered." usually folowed by "It's cruel to deny them motherhood".

No, THEY DON'T.

There is NO biological reason why having a litter is beneficial to an animal. It actually wears them out.

And as for "it's cruel to deny them a litter"- cats/dogs only come into season once or twice a year and mate because of instinct, they don't do it for pleasure like we do. Once they're neutered, the hormones are gone and they won't have any desire to mate at all.

The Sweeper

(Cats come into season every two to three weeks after their first season, which happens at the age of 4 - 6 months, and only stop being in season when they're mated. Cats will breed like rabbits if they get the chance, so it's even more important to get them neutered early.)

One I hate:

"Once a dog tastes blood, they'll be vicious."

peasant

"you can't teach an old dog new tricks"

Oh yes you can ...and you should

Whispered

What about the one that has seemingly informed people think that certain dogs are dangerous dogs because of their breed. It's how they are brought up, not their breed.

A friend recently spent ages getting my pup over excited, screeching, jumping around, rough play, despite me asking her not to and trying to explain that it's inappropiate for him to jump around and play rough so she shouldn't encourage it. When the pup nipped playfully she told me "it's obviously in his blood" :eek: I then had to correct the pup for HER mistake

Or people who would have you think your dog should be with you 24/7, this leads to a clingy over dependant pet. A dog should be able to spend a bit of time alone without fretting. (I'm not talking hours btw before anyone gets the wrong idea )


Train a dog not to go in the house by "wiping its nose in it" <- ridic and still so widely thought to be the right way of doing it.

animalcrazy

One of the biggest one in the rabbit world is the mother rabbit will kill her babies if you handle them or touch them, nope! Even some vets will tell you that one...

gino85

animalcrazy wrote: »

One of the biggest one in the rabbit world is the mother rabbit will kill her babies if you handle them or touch them, nope! Even some vets will tell you that one...

same can be said about dogs, one of my dogs would let me and my mother handle the pups as long as she was near, anyone else she would growl if they went near her bed

boomerang

---> Cats are selfish, solitary creatures who only "use" you for food and a warm bed.


---> Cats need to roam and it's cruel to prevent them from doing so.


---> An adult (rescue) dog won't bond with you the way a puppy would.

MsFifers

The amount of times someone has said to me "I don't like cats. A cat would eat you if you died" is unreal.

Seriously?!! Have you ever heard of ANYONE being eaten by a cat??

Honey-ec

MsFifers wrote: »

The amount of times someone has said to me "I don't like cats. A cat would eat you if you died" is unreal.

Seriously?!! Have you ever heard of ANYONE being eaten by a cat??

Acksherly a cat locked in with a dead owner is more likely to feed on the corpse than a dog in the same situation...

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1922/will-cats-eat-their-owners

EGAR

Pit Bulls jaws lock - myth.

Pit Bulls have an extra tooth in the roof of their mouths - utter baloney.

Hares drink milk from cows and cause them to get mastitis.

Pine martins will attack you and suck your blood.

Black dog = devil's dog.

The list is endless...

hadook

animalcrazy wrote: »

One of the biggest one in the rabbit world is the mother rabbit will kill her babies if you handle them or touch them, nope! Even some vets will tell you that one...

IMO that depends on the rabbit and the person. An inexperienced doe won't kill the kits because you've handled them but may do because you've disturbed the nest and she's not sure what to do or a stressed doe will kill a litter of kittens and even if you get there first you're faced with having to handraise them. It is good practise to leave the nest alone as much as possible for at least the first 5-7 days to avoid stressing the doe anyway.

I have handreared a few abandoned litters (with fairly high fatality rates, it's not easy) and I would personally advise inexperienced breeders to leave the kits alone for the first week as they might not notice the initial signs of a stressed doe. It's very easy to say "I know what I'm looking for, so it's fine" on the internet but not everyone reading this will so I'd always err on the side of caution.

I've known human mothers who'd nearly take the hand off you if you disturb them in the first weeks after birth too.

Honey-ec wrote: »

Acksherly a cat locked in with a dead owner is more likely to feed on the corpse than a dog in the same situation...

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1922/will-cats-eat-their-owners

I don't think I'd mind if my cats or dogs ate me after I died. What with being dead and all

Jack B. Badd

Cats who throw up grass kill... Terrible lie.

CeilingCat

Jack B. Badd wrote: »

Cats who throw up grass kill... Terrible lie.

LMAO.... hilarious

sillymoo

Jack B. Badd wrote: »

Cats who throw up grass kill... Terrible lie.

Yes but incredibly funny

MsFifers

Honey-ec wrote: »

Acksherly a cat locked in with a dead owner is more likely to feed on the corpse than a dog in the same situation...

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1922/will-cats-eat-their-owners

Hey - thats just one guy giving "an opinion"! And I think he showed his true colours when he started going on about dogs having more loyalty than cats!

Anyway - ok - heres another cat one: Cats routinely smother babies by sleeping on their faces.

Rory123

MsFifers wrote: »

Anyway - ok - heres another cat one: Cats routinely smother babies by sleeping on their faces.

They do! That happened to a girl in my school's uncle's cousin's friend's cousin's granny's baby's granny's baby's baby!
Evil cat!

animalcrazy

hadook wrote: »

IMO that depends on the rabbit and the person. An inexperienced doe won't kill the kits because you've handled them but may do because you've disturbed the nest and she's not sure what to do or a stressed doe will kill a litter of kittens and even if you get there first you're faced with having to handraise them. It is good practise to leave the nest alone as much as possible for at least the first 5-7 days to avoid stressing the doe anyway.

I have handreared a few abandoned litters (with fairly high fatality rates, it's not easy) and I would personally advise inexperienced breeders to leave the kits alone for the first week as they might not notice the initial signs of a stressed doe. It's very easy to say "I know what I'm looking for, so it's fine" on the internet but not everyone reading this will so I'd always err on the side of caution.

I've known human mothers who'd nearly take the hand off you if you disturb them in the first weeks after birth too.



I don't think I'd mind if my cats or dogs ate me after I died. What with being dead and all

Usually they will only do it if you are always poking and proding at the babies, IMO it is important you check the nest 24 hours after the mother has given birth to see if the babies have round tummies (which shows they are being fed), dead kits that will rot and kill the other babies if you leave the nest for a couple of weeks, uneaten afterbirth, peanuts (babies you have gotten a double hit of the dwarf gene),babies that the mother might have over groomed and bitten off an ear or cut them.

True for you though, I wouldn't just go at the nest when I don't know what to do, I always rub my hands off the doe, especially a first timer, and I take her out of the cage or give her a treat to distract her, they don't mind being away from the babies, we have taken litters off the mothers in winter when it's very cold and raised them in the house, just bringing them out to her twice a day to be fed and it worked fine.

So it really is a myth unless you completely stress the mother out, by having her in a noisy room with lot's of unfamiliar people and objects, especially kids.

(By the way I just help breed netherland dwarf rabbits, haven't gotten into it myself yet)

foxshooter243

MsFifers wrote: »

Hey - thats just one guy giving "an opinion"! And I think he showed his true colours when he started going on about dogs having more loyalty than cats!

Anyway - ok - heres another cat one: Cats routinely smother babies by sleeping on their faces.

what about this story?

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9402EFD61531E033A2575BC0A9679D94659ED7CF

foxshooter243

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

There are so many old wives' tales about animals that need to be put to bed... what are the ones you hear the most???

Mine is

"Dogs/cats have to be allowed have a litter before being neutered." usually folowed by "It's cruel to deny them motherhood".

No, THEY DON'T.

There is NO biological reason why having a litter is beneficial to an animal. It actually wears them out.

And as for "it's cruel to deny them a litter"- cats/dogs only come into season once or twice a year and mate because of instinct, they don't do it for pleasure like we do. Once they're neutered, the hormones are gone and they won't have any desire to mate at all.

heres a link to a study on neutering which may cause a rethink about the benefits of neutering, and proof that there are medical benefits to a bitch having a litter of pups;
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

MsFifers

foxshooter - that baby story was printed in 1894! 1894!!!!

Now stop trawling the internet trying to prove these myths are all true.

Poutbutton

Magpies & it being unlucky if you see one on it's own. I know someone who believes if you see a lone one you should salute to ward off bad luck

Money spiders - what gives?

Black cats & luck?

foxshooter243

MsFifers wrote: »

foxshooter - that baby story was printed in 1894! 1894!!!!

Now stop trawling the internet trying to prove these myths are all true.

yes thats true!..and jesus was in the manger 2000 years ago ,but did that stop you celebrating christmas..:D:D..methinks not;)

Sigma Force

Even if a cat did eat a corpse sure people have eaten people when they have had no food film Alive springs to mind.

Nuther myth guineapigs and rabbits can be kept together ...not allowed in my book.

I think the letting an animal have a first litter is the biggest myth in the whole pet world it's amazing how many people believe it. Along with the other myths of neutering.

Honey-ec

foxshooter243 wrote: »

yes thats true!..and jesus was in the manger 2000 years ago ,but did that stop you celebrating christmas..:D:D..methinks not;)

Doctors in the 1950's said that smoking was beneficial to ones health, do you still believe that?

animalcrazy

Some farm ones

Dog poo causes cows to miscarry their calves.

(from my area)

We have to shoot all the deers and make sure there are none in the area because they will go into fields and breed with cows and the calves will be half and half and be worthless

bigpinkelephant

foxshooter243 wrote: »

yes thats true!..and jesus was in the manger 2000 years ago ,but did that stop you celebrating christmas..:D:D..methinks not;)

Yeah, and the earth is flat!!! Mind you don't fall off the edge!

SCI

Snakes are slimey lol
The sorry about the woman that went to bed with her python and it was
off it's food because it was sizing her up to eat her.
Reptiles are expensive or difficult to keep.
A reptile can not out grow it's tank.
Boa constrictor will all get to over 10ft.
Turtles don't need uv light, and can live in one of those small
crappy tanks in cold water!!

animalcrazy

animalcrazy wrote: »

Some farm ones

Dog poo causes cows to miscarry their calves.

Leptospirosis is transmitted by body fluids and it causes abortions in cattle, which is why people don't like to see Cats or Dog near fodder.

stovelid

Honey-ec wrote: »

Acksherly a cat locked in with a dead owner is more likely to feed on the corpse than a dog in the same situation...

They're animals at the end of the day. If they are stuck without food, and I'm here dead - what of it?

Has anybody mentioned the cats smothering babies (or sucking their breath out) one yet?

Maggie.23

The myth that rabbits are rodents. They are lagomorphs.

leadinglady

My hubby is in DFB and on a call one day they found a person in a room with their two dogs. The person had been dead for some time and the dogs became starved and had started to eat the body. We the lads went in there was no way the dogs were letting them near the body. I dont know it they were guarding their owner or their food!!!