Where does cruelty start?

palaver

I've been thinking after reading the "doggie pulling" thread where does cruelty actually start?
My dog loves pulling, the more the better.

I'm not talking about obvious cruelty, like abusing/mistreating/torturing your animal whatever animal you have. Which means that you deliberately cause pain and distress to the animal.

But sometimes I get the feeling that do-gooding is occasionally more distressful to an animal than letting them explore their own nature - whatever that nature might be.

Anyway, sometimes I think that some dogowners are too "human" to acknowledge the needs of an energetic animal, who's nature is to pull, fight, hunt and generally trying to get the better of you.

Where is your limit or start of cruelty?

P.S. I think that moddlecoddling can be a torture as well.

Padjo1981

I am of the same opinion, someone said that it is crule to get your dogs to pull weight, is it not another form of exercise for the animal?? I mean is not the job of any dog owner to enrich the dogs life??
I think that carrying the dog and not letting it live like a dog to be cruel, feeding a dog to much and not bothering to exercise it are the 2 most common forms of abuse to any animal.

Killme00

I dont think weight pulling is cruelty. I do think it is very bad for your dogs health in the future. Older dogs suffer immensely from sore shoulders and hips especially if you do something like this to them when they are younger.

peasant

From a more philosophical point of view, cruelty starts where you put your own wants and needs above those of the dog.

For example: Weight pulling as such may not be cruel, but it will be once you want your dog to win by all means and start pushing it beyond its limits, asking it to perforem when it doesn't want to/isn't able to, giving it steroids, etc.

Or at the other end of the scale where your own want and need to "be loved" results in a dog that is pampered and spoiled so much that it doesn't even know it's a dog anymore.