SamK

I don't really understand why the pets-in-homes-thing is seen as such a distasteful activity of 'white culture' (whatever that is...for another thread...). Could it be simply that animals are perceived as not being house-trained and could be carrying diseases and are therefore unhygienic to have inside? Or is it something else?

Mr Zuma was alleging that 'white culture' cared more for pets than for people, evidenced by carrying pets in the front of a pick-up while workers were sat in the load bed, and by spending thousands on vets bills but leaving workers to solve their own health issues. Needless to say, both arguments were shot down and mocked by both black & white people (show me a worker that wants to share the load bed with a boerboel, or explain why government hospitals are unable to care for people despite having state-of-the-art equipment and enormous chunks of the national budget...?), such is the power of our dear president's rhetoric. His reasoning aside, it was clear that having pets, and taking them to vets, really is seen as a 'white' thing!

SamK

I hope it was an enjoyable stay!
Ja, they love it. Climate helps alot, and suburban properties generally have fenced-in gardens. In fact, here it is seen as unfair on the dog if someone lives in an apartment and has a dog. Even if someone has an apartment with a fenced-in garden it is seen as unfair, then more because of the disturbance to the neighbors but also because apartment gardens are considered too small for dogs (when compared to suburban gardens).

Toby'shuman

I'm glad that the frozen bones have worked their wonders.

Recently poisoning has become a big issue here in Spain. Outside and Inside Dogs are being poisoned in order thieves can gain access to the property they live on either because the dog is dead or because the owners have rushed it down to the vets to try and save it.
My friend has trained her Mali's not to touch food offerred/thrown over to them unless it is accompanied by a secret command word.
In my opinion it is probably one of the best pieces of training you can do after 'come'.

Kayree

That's an extremely smart idea. As far as I know, poisoning a dog to gain access into a house isn't a super common thing here but it does happen. My friend's house was broken into and they are pretty sure their lab mix was drugged in some way... scary what people do. I'd be mortified if I came home to find that had happened to Angus. Guess crating is a good thing for his protection in case someone DID come into the house. They'd be less likely to bother him as he's locked up...(I would hope).

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