I find this reply rude and snarky. We are just talking here. You shared your POV, I shared mine, and MoD shared hers. The first three words of your very first post here sum it all up: "I don't understand..." Me and some of the other posters here tried to share our experience with you. Because we've kept a lot the animals that you commented on for a lot of years, some of us DO understand, and we tried to help you understand.Well thank you Dr. Reptile. I assume you must have a PhD in Canine and Feline research as well. You probably could make a generalized statement, however it would be inaccurate and uninformed. The “Nuisance” behavior of dogs is normally due to uneducated breeders who don’t understand the biology of breeding out negative genetic traits. I can accept you may find a peaceful feeling from a lizard, but what you call “Bond” is not a two way street. Cats and dogs “Destroy Everything”? That is not at all true. You do have to understand the difference in dog breeds. Specifically “Working Dogs” who were bred to perform physical tasks. When they do not receive the stimulation that was bred into their DNA by their owner, they are going to act out. People do need to do their research and make sure they provide the enrichment that any breed requires to have successful results. Your statement about Tortoises only caring about the person that feed them is simply incorrect and not true. I am sure you will reply with a snarky rebuttal, but you should take all of your knowledge and education to the Lizard forums. This is a “Tortoise Forum” why do you have your nose in here. P.S.: Your wasting your time rushing to your keyboard to “Hunt & Peck” your reply because I will not give you the satisfaction of wasting my time to read it. ❤️🐢U💩
I thought @MotherofDragons did a great job explaining about her Ctenosaura, and her doberman. I used to keep Ctenosaura in the early 90s, and I can attest to what she says. The breeder I got my dragons from also breeds Ctenosaura and she had a few that had amazing outgoing and engaging personalities. She called them like dogs and they came over and walked right up her arm. It was so "dog tame" that it would even walk up a stranger's arm and did so with my daughter. I don't know how that doesn't qualify as a "pet" in your mind. It seems like you have
not experienced snakes and lizards as some of the rest of us have.
I'm a career professional dog trainer. I love dogs, but I have been around a few dogs that were annoying and a pain in the arse, like what she described. I can understand when people don't want the responsibility, work load, expense and hassle of having a dog. I find it rewarding and worth it, but man there are days when I can understand why a person wouldn't want one. You don't seem to understand dogs either. Nature vs. nurture. The breeder and breed certainly have something to do with bad behavioral traits, but the vast majority of the blame for ill-behaved dogs goes to the person doing the training, or in some cases, not doing the training when they should be. What I frequently say to clients is: "Would he be doing that if I was holding the leash?" Their answer is always a resigned, "No." I have been to many households where the dog really did "destroy everything", working dog breed or not. I don't blame the dog or the dog's breeder. I blame the person who gave an untrained or undertrained dog free access to "everything".
Anyhow, there is no need for sarcasm or rudeness. No sense in asking another tortoise owner why their nose is in a tortoise forum and telling them to go elsewhere. That's just mean. You stated that her comment about tortoises only caring about us because we offer food was incorrect and not true, and then you went on to insult her. Why not make your argument about your tortoise experience instead? I want to know what makes you think your tortoise likes you for more than the food you offer. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with you on that point. I'm saying that I was looking forward to you making your point about it and instead you decided to lash out. Bad form.