Originally posted by wolf_Q
I don't agree. My best friends dad has two "hunting" dogs. Bear the lab, and Trusty the german shorthair. When Bear was a puppy her dad wouldn't even let us play with him at all because "it would ruin his hunting." Well, now because of no social interaction other then hunting.......those dogs don't even know how to walk on a leash, they are wild, and they don't listen at all. Poor dogs are kept outside in cages all day, all the time. Sorry I'm not saying that's how the dog you were talking about was kept.....I'm not saying that dog had a bad life or anything.....just what you said reminds me of how her dad thinks of dogs. They are just property, not part of the family.
I see your point of View. But my mom, her mother, her father and brother were not that way at all. My mom used to walk Alfie when he wasn't hunting so he was good on a leash. They enrolled him in obedience till he was 2 and he was then trained for hunting. Alfie got table scraps because as my grandmother always said "There is no need to throw that away! Feed it to the dog!". LOL . Alfie had toys, a dog house, water, food and was very well takeing care of. The bottom of the barn was half carpeted because my mothers Brother insited it. I acctually recently went in the barn. When we went looking in the field for Milweed and Teddy got stuck on barb wire? Member? Well we went in there and the dog house was there and the dish and toys. I asked why it was still all there and she said because her brother lost Alfie and then died himself so her parents never had the strength to clean the mess up. The toys were just pieces of rop. My mom said that her brother used to go out in the middle of thunder storms and sleep with Alfie because Alfie might of gotten scared. Althought she said he was the most fearless dog she ever met. I think it brought her brother comfort to be near him. When he got mad at his parents she said he took Alfie into a field on top the moutan on a really long rop and let him roam around till he got tierd which was hours. Alfie was aloud to run in the cow field when the cows were not in there and he never once treid to slip under or go throw the barb wire. Alfie had a room that was huge. Bigger then my room ::Jelouse::. LOL from what I have heard he was a great dog. I saw alot of pictures of him but my fav picture was of the whole family and him standing in the front yard near a bush they all looked so happy together. So to them Alfie was not just a piece of Property he was part of the family. I think they treated him as a house dog althouh they will never admit it. "That dog was used for hunting not for love!" my grandfatehr constantly told me when I brought it up. But after that sentence a big smile always came across his face and he would always say, " He was a great dog, none better" then blink furiously trying to get ride of the tears at the thought of his son and dog who were both taken away to soon.

Ash

PS: I don't know alot about Alfie cause it was touchy subject being linked to her brother. It was hard for my mom to talk about it but she got offended when you said she treated him like property. I told her thats not what you ment but she is like yes it is you tell her this LOL. My mother loved that dog, you could see it in her eyes when she talked about him. She will even tell you "He was a great dog, none better, nor will there ever be"