# So pets shouldn't be called pets... It's insulting.



## Mrs B (29 April 2011)

I will leave you to read and discuss this latest piece of drivel while I decide whether to bash my head into a wall or have a large drink. Or both.

Can you tell what I think of it yet?


_Calling animals 'pets' is insulting, academics claim
Animal lovers should stop calling their furry or feathered friends pets because the term is insulting, leading academics claim.
Domestic dogs, cats, hamsters or budgerigars should be rebranded as companion animals while owners should be known as human carers, they insist.
Even terms such as wildlife are dismissed as insulting to the animals concerned  who should instead be known as free-living, the academics including an Oxford professor suggest.
The call comes from the editors of then Journal of Animal Ethics, a new academic publication devoted to the issue.
It is edited by the Revd Professor Andrew Linzey, a theologian and director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, who once received an honorary degree from the Archbishop of Canterbury for his work promoting the rights of Gods sentient creatures.
In its first editorial, the journal  jointly published by Prof Linzeys centre and the University of Illinois in the US  condemns the use of terms such as critters and beasts.
It argues that derogatory language about animals can affect the way that they are treated.
Despite its prevalence, pets is surely a derogatory term both of the animals concerned and their human carers, the editorial claims.
Again the word owners, whilst technically correct in law, harks back to a previous age when animals were regarded as just that: property, machines or things to use without moral constraint.
It goes on: We invite authors to use the words free-living, free-ranging or free-roaming rather than wild animals
For most, wildness is synonymous with uncivilised, unrestrained, barbarous existence.
There is an obvious prejudgment here that should be avoided.
Prof Linzey and his co-editor Professor Priscilla Cohn, of Penn State University in the US, also hope to see some of the more colourful terms in the English language stamped out.
Phrases such as sly as a fox, eat like a pig or drunk as a skunk are all unfair to animals, they claim.
We shall not be able to think clearly unless we discipline ourselves to use less than partial adjectives in our exploration of animals and our moral relations with them," they say.
_


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## teagreen (29 April 2011)

Animal Aid say the same thing. Enough said. 

The world is getting madder and madder.


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## perfect11s (29 April 2011)

Sadly this is the result of sending idiots to uni  we now have this sort of crap And instead too  few usefull people, so we  have to import polish and eastern europeans  to keep the county running,,
 round up these muppets  flog soundly untill they bleed  profusley and then   put them to work cleaning  the streets or public toilets ....


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## Mrs B (29 April 2011)

perfect11s said:



			Sadly this is the result of sending idiots to uni  we now have this sort of crap And instead too  few usefull people, so we  have to import polish and eastern europeans  to keep the county running,,
 round up these muppets  flog soundly untill they bleed  profusley and then   put them to work cleaning  the streets or public toilets ....
		
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Ummmm - I think there we have the opposite end of the spectrum, Ladies and Gentlemen...


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## perfect11s (29 April 2011)

Mrs B said:



			Ummmm - I think there we have the opposite end of the spectrum, Ladies and Gentlemen... 

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 problem is these morons get some sort of qualification,  come out with a load of  hair brained crap  and the papers,  sometimes the goverment  and   people who are hard of thinking take it seriously...


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## Mrs B (29 April 2011)

perfect11s said:



			problem is these morons get some sort of qualification,  come out with a load of  hair brained crap  and the papers,  sometimes the goverment  and   people who are hard of thinking take it seriously...
		
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And on that point I agree with you entirely. The thing is - do we ignore this type of report or do we attack it? If we ignore it, to my mind we tacitly agree with it and allow others who don't understand to accept its findings.Therefore I feel we must point out its er.... 'errors' in a robust manner


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## Kokopelli (29 April 2011)

Until my pets learn fluent English and begin to have human feelings I can call them every name under the sun and they'll think I'm praising them as long as it's said in the right tone.


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## abaddon_1974 (29 April 2011)

I call my pets Rasputin, Jack and Herbie. Is that insulting?

Craig


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## perfect11s (29 April 2011)

Mrs B said:



			And on that point I agree with you entirely. The thing is - do we ignore this type of report or do we attack it? If we ignore it, to my mind we tacitly agree with it and allow others who don't understand to accept its findings.Therefore I feel we must point out its er.... 'errors' in a robust manner [/QUOTE  ] who knows??? like you say ignore  and it spreads  maybe  however I  dont think many  will take it seriously   look how much creadence has been given to global warming  and the mad predictions !!! and now the wheels are coming  off that scam  largely due to active debate and people not being as stupid as the politicians would like us to be,  no I think it will be seen for what it is = the work of a nutter!!! help yourself to your favorit tipple  dont worry be happy 

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## c2b (29 April 2011)

There are times I call mine a damn sight worse names than pets.....


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## Mrs B (29 April 2011)

abaddon_1974 said:



			I call my pets Rasputin, Jack and Herbie. Is that insulting?

Craig
		
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You should worry - I call one of mine 'Small'....


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## Jennyharvey (29 April 2011)

Lol it made me laugh.  Even tho i am pro animal rights, it does sound a tad 'extreme'.

I agree however, that the terms we use for animals can determine how we view that animal, and treat it.


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## Ranyhyn (29 April 2011)

I call my dogs - rats, weasels and curs


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## MurphysMinder (29 April 2011)

Jennyharvey said:



			Lol it made me laugh.  Even tho i am pro animal rights, it does sound a tad 'extreme'.

I agree however, that the terms we use for animals can determine how we view that animal, and treat it.
		
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Hmm, not sure what you would make of me calling my dog Evil then .  Her name is actually Evie but most of the time Evil suits her better.


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## Happy Horse (29 April 2011)

I don't think my dog gives a stuff what I call him as long as I fill his dinner bowl twice a day and take him walking!


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## Doris68 (29 April 2011)

Took my mare and foal to a well known Veterinary practice in Newmarket a few years ago and was asked what the mare did and what I expected the foal to do....??  Said I hoped to show him and was told that both the dam and foal were "pets".  That meant that they weren't racehorses I think.....still not sure??!!

Wotevvver.............


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## Spook (29 April 2011)

God help the Geordie "Bonnie Lads" calling their girlfriends/wives "Pet" then!


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## JanetGeorge (30 April 2011)

Andrew Linzey is an AR nutter!  He got his 'professorship' at Oxford courtesy of IFAW (did you know you can buy a research spot at Oxford).  When it happened, I wrote an article about it/him for The Oldie (I was a freelance writer at the time and getting published in The Oldie was considered a good career move!)  I confess I fibbed a bit and told him I was pitching my article at The Vegan - so he was a bit more open than he might have been otherwise!

I've never forgotten what he said about foxhunting.  He basically said it wasn't cruel - it was just morally wrong.  But staghunting WAS cruel - because it would take the dogs [sic] a long time to rip a stag apart!  When I told him that hounds DIDN'T kill the stag - they just held it at bay until it could be shot - he got VERY flustered and said it was still MORALLY wrong!

He later accused me of lying about what he had said in the article - but shut up when I told him I'd taped the whole thing!

Of course he's MANY years late with this 'companion animals' thing - Peta, the nutty John Bryant, the even nuttier Andrew Tyler - have been going on about it for years and years.  John Bryant - formerly League Against Cruel Sports - published a booklet called Fettered Kingdoms in the late '80s in which he sprouted rubbish like - animals were slaves, dogs and cats should be neutered and neutered until they ceased to exist. etc etc.  And he HATED it when I brought those views up in a hunting debate - because he knew it lost him ANY credibility with the vast majority of the population!


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## Piglet (30 April 2011)

Hee hee I used to have a hamster which I called Squidge, am sure the mad boffins will gave something to say about that


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## LadyRascasse (1 May 2011)

is it wrong i call my car "machine"??????? or will it get upset and sulk?


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## Levade (1 May 2011)

Slightly late April fools? 

That is ridiculous, my affectionate names for my animals ("little fat man", "pea brain", "monster", "beastie" and "moose") are pretty insulting, doesn't mean I mistreat them...


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## bryngelenponies (1 May 2011)

LadyRascasse said:



			is it wrong i call my car "machine"??????? or will it get upset and sulk?
		
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 What?! You would actually be as cruel as to say that?! I hope you apologised.


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## Fellewell (3 May 2011)

Real life and animal husbandry have no place in the rarefied atmosphere of academia.
Excuse me while I chase 'Charles James' away from the hen-house


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## rosie fronfelen (3 May 2011)

What a load of tripe,not worth straining the eyes reading it--


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## Flicker (3 May 2011)

Ummm, I'm going to peek my head ever so slightly above the parapet here, and suggest that anything which recognises an animal's inherent rights and individualism cannot be altogether a bad thing.  

Yes, it is rather ridiculously worded, but just remember that not so very long ago the term 'owner' was used in the context of people...  Language can be a powerful tool, and the underlying connotations of certain words can have powerful positive or negative effects.  I kind of agree that maybe our language should change in relation to our animals to afford them more respect and recognise that we owe them a duty of care, are responsible for their welfare and not merely controllers of them.

***scuttles of*******


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## hudsonw (3 May 2011)

I bet they got funding to research such tripe...


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## Alec Swan (3 May 2011)

Flicker said:



			Ummm, I'm going to peek my head ever so slightly above the parapet here, and suggest that anything which recognises an animal's inherent rights and individualism cannot be altogether a bad thing.    You're right,  in that animals do have "rights".  Rightly,  or not,  those rights are restricted to the treatment,  which we as humans,  mete out,  in my view.

Yes, it is rather ridiculously worded, but just remember that not so very long ago the term 'owner' was used in the context of people...  Language can be a powerful tool, and the underlying connotations of certain words can have powerful positive or negative effects.  I kind of agree that maybe our language should change in relation to our animals to afford them more respect and recognise that we owe them a duty of care, are responsible for their welfare and not merely controllers of them.  I agree,  but only in as much that we have,  as you say "a duty of care".  If animals have the equal rights to humans,  then do we have the right to eat them?  Of course we do.  Some will take a pride in "their" livestock,  whilst sadly, others wont. 

***scuttles o***********  No need!!

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By and large,  I'd agree with Rosie and others,  that report is a load of nonsense,  and it was dreamt up by idiots!!

Alec.


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## Flicker (3 May 2011)

Alec Swan said:



			By and large,  I'd agree with Rosie and others,  that report is a load of nonsense,  and it was dreamt up by idiots!!

Alec.
		
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Yes, it does seem somewhat...  misguided.

Although, when Wilberforce launched his parliamentary campaign to abolish slavery, I am sure many, many people found it curious that slaves should be considered to have the same rights as the free.

Just a thought...


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## Alec Swan (3 May 2011)

Flicker said:



			Yes, it does seem somewhat...  misguided.

Although, when Wilberforce launched his parliamentary campaign to abolish slavery, I am sure many, many people found it curious that slaves should be considered to have the same rights as the free.

Just a thought...
		
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Whilst you have a point,  of course,  I would say that we have to deal with the world in which we live.  Humans,  be they enslaved or not,  come first.  Responsible animal management,  is no more than a responsibility.  Some are able to face it,  but others aren't,  and I will stand by my belief that those who wrote that report,  were near delusional!!

Alec.


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## Scheherezade (3 May 2011)

Now is this a real story, or is it another "PC GONE MAD!" made-up fantasy by a bored Daily Mail 'journalist'?


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## FairyLights (3 May 2011)

defo pc gone mad. totally ridiculas.


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## FairyLights (3 May 2011)

Alec Swan said:



			Whilst you have a point,  of course,  I would say that we have to deal with the world in which we live.  Humans,  be they enslaved or not,  come first.  Responsible animal management,  is no more than a responsibility.  Some are able to face it,  but others aren't,  and I will stand by my belief that those who wrote that report,  were near delusional!!

Alec.
		
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Very good post.


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## Fellewell (3 May 2011)

I find it interesting to compare and contrast with a thread on Hunting Forum entitled 'Hitler, Saddam and Bliar'.
The last post by Fiagai (no 56) cites Nazi ideology regarding animal welfare, which is indeed ironic. Do AR types really care for animals or is it just that they have little empathy with people?


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## mrs bingley (14 May 2011)

omg... what a load of stupid nonsense ...and we pay there wages for this .. im in the wrong job lol


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## CorvusCorax (14 May 2011)

In the city I visit a lot in America, you can't be a dog owner, the council says you are a 'dog guardian'.


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## Hebe (14 May 2011)

Gone way over the top there I think.  

if they spent less time on silly pc crap like this and more time on the REAL issues of live horse transportation and welfare cases perhaps I would give a fig!!!!!


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## mymare (14 May 2011)

My dog is called "Ike" after Kyle's little brother on South Park who ran away because he didn't want to be circumcised - is that insulting?


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## miss_bird (14 May 2011)

Kokopelli said:



			Until my pets learn fluent English and begin to have human feelings I can call them every name under the sun and they'll think I'm praising them as long as it's said in the right tone.



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Exactly this ^^^^^^


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## diet2ride (15 May 2011)

Hebe... That's just it good money goes on people trying to think up new terms and terminology. And not enough on actually dealing with the real issues. 

We love all our animals... And hubby calls NAS an overgrown pet. Pet to us equals love and respect.


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## basilcob (15 May 2011)

I've just been discussing this with my cat, Fat Dave. He says he agrees with the report to some extent. He does not like being referred to as my 'pet'. It has always frustrated him. But he does not want to be referred to as my companion either. He finds this is setting him up to fail, as sometimes he simply doesn't have time to keep me company and quite frankly somedays he can't be arsed. He would much prefer to be known simply as my 'fat friend'.


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## mymare (15 May 2011)

basilcob said:



			I've just been discussing this with my cat, Fat Dave. He says he agrees with the report to some extent. He does not like being referred to as my 'pet'. It has always frustrated him. But he does not want to be referred to as my companion either. He finds this is setting him up to fail, as sometimes he simply doesn't have time to keep me company and quite frankly somedays he can't be arsed. He would much prefer to be known simply as my 'fat friend'.
		
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But is he happy with the "Fat" part of his name?  And having his name shortened?  Wouldn't "Large David" be kinder?  You really have to be careful as he could end up requiring the help of a Feline Psychologist.


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## millreef (15 May 2011)

I think the government should create a QUANGO to deal with this issue.  Perhaps the board should consist of an equal numbers of animal and human elective so that we are sure that all are being equally represented.  I would like to put myself forward as too would my goldfish "the black one".


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## Hebe (15 May 2011)

snorts at My Mare, BasilCob and Millreef, bloody brilliant lol


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## mymare (15 May 2011)

millreef said:



			I think the government should create a QUANGO to deal with this issue.  Perhaps the board should consist of an equal numbers of animal and human elective so that we are sure that all are being equally represented.  I would like to put myself forward as too would my goldfish "the black one".
		
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My sheep would quite happily offer his services on the Board, but his attention span is lacking somewhat and he could wander off for a scratch half way through.  Maybe it's just a man thing..?


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## millreef (15 May 2011)

mymare said:



			My sheep would quite happily offer his services on the Board, but his attention span is lacking somewhat and he could wander off for a scratch half way through.  Maybe it's just a man thing..?
		
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I'm terribly sorry mymare, but I believe sheep are baaaarrrred from running for public office.


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## mymare (15 May 2011)

millreef said:



			I'm terribly sorry mymare, but I believe sheep are baaaarrrred from running for public office.
		
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WHAT???  He is furiously typing an email to the Professor at Oxford as we speak, and it's not easy with cloven hooves.


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## millreef (15 May 2011)

mymare said:



			WHAT???  He is furiously typing an email to the Professor at Oxford as we speak, and it's not easy with cloven hooves.
		
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Listen mymare, there is no need to RAM it down our throats, it is what it is!  Sheep are well known to be dishonest - they often fleece people.


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## Spudlet (15 May 2011)

Henry has spoken to me about this too, and he says that since he comes to work with me from now on he wants to be referred to as my esteemed colleague, and he is going to speak to my boss about being paid a wage for his stress busting, poo picking and visitor greeting services.


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## JanetGeorge (15 May 2011)

millreef said:



			I'm terribly sorry mymare, but I believe sheep are baaaarrrred from running for public office.
		
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Rubbish!  Mymare's sheep would fit right in with the MPs at Westminster!


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## JessandCharlie (15 May 2011)

Members of the 'There's nothing like a knobber' clique you are cruel and degrading! 

J&C


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## mymare (15 May 2011)

Firstly, I have to say Janet George has a very good point!





Spudlet said:



			Henry has spoken to me about this too, and he says that since he comes to work with me from now on he wants to be referred to as my esteemed colleague, and he is going to speak to my boss about being paid a wage for his stress busting, poo picking and visitor greeting services.
		
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Ah yes the assistant poo pickers, and if they don't help remove it, they roll in it.  Do you think they would get paid for "accompanying and barking at quad bike" duties?




millreef said:



			Listen mymare, there is no need to RAM it down our throats, it is what it is!  Sheep are well known to be dishonest - they often fleece people.
		
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Oh Millreef, you are wrong on two points.  A) nobody is RAMming it down your throat, on the contrary he is only part male now  damn those elastic bands...  and B) he cannot fleece anyone, as it was removed yesterday!  He really is quite hurt by your woolly prejudices and has been bleating on about is all evening!


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## Spudlet (15 May 2011)

Henry is not allowed near quad bikes or Gators due to a distinct lack of self-preservation - I think any dog that can figure out that yes, they WILL get squashed and yes, it WILL hurt should get a performance related bonus. Possibly we should be drafting some SMART objectives tomorrow instead of me doing a presentation? After all, you have to take line management responsibilities seriously!


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## JanetGeorge (15 May 2011)

mymare said:



			He really is quite hurt by your woolly prejudices and has been bleating on about is all evening!
		
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Ah - offer him some mint sauce!  That'll shut him up!


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## mymare (15 May 2011)

Spudlet said:



			Henry is not allowed near quad bikes or Gators due to a distinct lack of self-preservation - I think any dog that can figure out that yes, they WILL get squashed and yes, it WILL hurt should get a performance related bonus. Possibly we should be drafting some SMART objectives tomorrow instead of me doing a presentation? After all, you have to take line management responsibilities seriously!
		
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That's a good plan.  Perhaps we, including Fat Dave, The Black One (goldfish) and Seamus my sheep should all discuss health and safety for any dog who wishes to chase quad bikes?  Each one should do a risk assessment, wear a hard hat and a back protector, and depending on the size of dog, travel boots??




JanetGeorge said:



			Ah - offer him some mint sauce!  That'll shut him up!

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GASP!!!  You meanie!!!


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## Spudlet (15 May 2011)

I think I should also sort out some Moving and Handling training for when I get him to retrieve. And some time management training to help him stay on top of his busy schedule of walking, slobbering, eating horse poo, jumping on people, sleeping, walking some more...


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## basilcob (15 May 2011)

My stomach is aching! - hilarious!


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## Polotone (16 May 2011)

I tell you what my horse is a pet but on our hack yesturday he reminded me who was incharge


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