Quote:
Not all men and boys are alike. I wouldn't call it a guy thing so much as a social dynamics thing.
Some humans have a sadistic, neglectful streak. Maybe they're born that way. Yet as a child grows, the viciousness tends to be corrected and disciplined out in females but encouraged in males. Also girls tend to be required to take on responsibility in ways that boys, especially younger boys, are not.
In my family, my parents encouraged my brother from a very early age to get animals and then abuse them, neglect them, or dump the care and feeding onto other people. My brother liked having animals but not caring for them. So I generally ended up feeding his budgie along with mine, or walking his dog. When he failed to feed his fish and one of the bigger ones ate a littler one, my dad forced me to watch by way of punishment, because as an eleven-year old who was three whole years older than my brother, I should have noticed that the fish hadn't been fed and taken care of it. (Apparently, that responsibility didn't extend to him as a parent). He sure didn't force Number One Son to watch... which is probably just as well because my brother would have found it amusing. My brother is a great guy in many respects, but he has a sadistic streak a mile wide that I was never able to correct.
My brother's most recent dumped animal (besides the cat he offloaded at the Humane Society and various reptiles he tired of or gave away) is a Schutzhund with doggie PTSD. My brother used to work as a dog handler, and he enjoyed sic'ing the dog on criminals. The dog, who is almost preternaturally intelligent, developed the behaviors that best pleased his handler. So he wound up with an enhanced chase and attack behavior, but he will not "out" and cannot be called off. The dog is ruined for guard work and apparently can't be retrained, so to keep him from being euthanized my brother basically stole the dog from his employer. The employer knows where the dog is but doesn't want him back because of the viciousness.
In addition to the people the dog chewed up in his line of work, since his retirement he has attacked and severely injured at least two other dogs plus at least one person who was just walking along and minding his own business. He hit me in the face once when I was petting him during a visit to my parents, but it wasn't a serious attack, just a warning. My parents continue to feed and care for the dog since my brother is long gone. How they get homeowner's insurance is beyond me.
But they must like and enjoy the situation, and it must be working for them at some level, otherwise they wouldn't keep participating.
Not all men and boys are alike. I wouldn't call it a guy thing so much as a social dynamics thing.
Some humans have a sadistic, neglectful streak. Maybe they're born that way. Yet as a child grows, the viciousness tends to be corrected and disciplined out in females but encouraged in males. Also girls tend to be required to take on responsibility in ways that boys, especially younger boys, are not.
In my family, my parents encouraged my brother from a very early age to get animals and then abuse them, neglect them, or dump the care and feeding onto other people. My brother liked having animals but not caring for them. So I generally ended up feeding his budgie along with mine, or walking his dog. When he failed to feed his fish and one of the bigger ones ate a littler one, my dad forced me to watch by way of punishment, because as an eleven-year old who was three whole years older than my brother, I should have noticed that the fish hadn't been fed and taken care of it. (Apparently, that responsibility didn't extend to him as a parent). He sure didn't force Number One Son to watch... which is probably just as well because my brother would have found it amusing. My brother is a great guy in many respects, but he has a sadistic streak a mile wide that I was never able to correct.
My brother's most recent dumped animal (besides the cat he offloaded at the Humane Society and various reptiles he tired of or gave away) is a Schutzhund with doggie PTSD. My brother used to work as a dog handler, and he enjoyed sic'ing the dog on criminals. The dog, who is almost preternaturally intelligent, developed the behaviors that best pleased his handler. So he wound up with an enhanced chase and attack behavior, but he will not "out" and cannot be called off. The dog is ruined for guard work and apparently can't be retrained, so to keep him from being euthanized my brother basically stole the dog from his employer. The employer knows where the dog is but doesn't want him back because of the viciousness.
In addition to the people the dog chewed up in his line of work, since his retirement he has attacked and severely injured at least two other dogs plus at least one person who was just walking along and minding his own business. He hit me in the face once when I was petting him during a visit to my parents, but it wasn't a serious attack, just a warning. My parents continue to feed and care for the dog since my brother is long gone. How they get homeowner's insurance is beyond me.
