Your Thoughts on Impulse Buying

[GadgetGirl]

I understand what you're saying DaisyGP and I'm not saying that impulse buying is okay. I'm just saying that I have done it in the past and have learned the error of my ways since I have come to know more extensively about guinea pigs since coming to this site and others. I have a tendency to be an impusle buyer and I'm really working on not doing it. With that said, I love my girls very much and couldn't part with them ever.

Gadgetgirl the piggie lover

 

[C&K]

Sure, some impulse buyers (or collectors) are very responsible. I read a freecycle ad, "free to good home", thought about it for about 5 minutes, responded to it, and told husband we where going for a 45 minute drive!

I brought Boots home, then started looking into it, realized I knew nothing. Cage inadiquate, diet expensive, and we needed another one!

I made all the right changes, but how many people would? Unfortunately, for every impulse buy that gets looked after properly and kept for the duration of its life, how many don't? Probably 10? 20? So, if 1 pig is kept and made happy, 15 are ditched, neglected or die pramaturely, it really does not seem like a good arguement for justifying impulse buying:

Sometimes, they get lucky! Just is not good enough, and encourages over population!

 

[spoonyspork]

I never really had a problem impulse *buying* - the only one I ever did was a hamster when I was 9. It was *complete* impulse - I saw him, I held him, I begged my mom , we bought him, a cage, and some food, and took him home. I'd done no research, and had noooo idea what I was doing. But I toiled away like an infinate number of monkeys on typewriters, and wound up with a masterpiece - he was seven when he died. Seven! The average is what, 2-3 years? Looking back, I wonder how he even lived through the first few months. He went everywhere with me, literally, including while biking and (I only did this once - I forgot he was in my pocket!) jumping on a trampoline. I got better at, well, not inadvertanly torturing the poor guy as I got older, but still!

I fully admit to having a problem with impulse *adopting* though. All the sentence has to include 'but it'll die if...' and I'm taking it home. This has so far included an iguana, two horses, a huskey, a guinea pig, four cats, a squirrel (by far the most interesting), a chicken, and three gerbils.

This isn't including various wild baby animals I pulled out of the pouches/out of nests/out of bushes after seeing the parents get killed by car or cat, only because those I gave to rescues after realizing taking care of those types of animals was WAY beyond my capabilities... especially being a kid in school without a job and with a mother who HATES ANIMALS (which is rather ironic when you think about it).

Right now the household (which is my own now, of course, being all growed up with my own family and home) consists of two cats, three gerbils, and two guinea pigs. The only one I didn't rescue is one of the guinea pigs, who is only the second pet store animal I've had since the hamster so many years ago (and I wouldn't have gotten one from a pet shop had I known about piggies in shelters). The most recent is the second cat, a kitten I found by the pond at work during the tropical storm we had a few weeks back.

But, really, if you have the ability to give a suffering animal a good home, even at your own suffering, how DO you say 'no... my house smells enough like a zoo already and I've only lived there a month, and I'm already balancing child, pets, and a full time job'?

If only I could, I would quit my job and open an animal shelter. If only... :sarcastic

 

[katiecavyNC]

being a kid in school without a job and with a mother who HATES ANIMALS (which is rather ironic when you think about it).

Just your form of rebellion....my kids will all have no kids, no pets and a totally clean house, LOL.

 

[daftscotslass]

I've never really impulse bought but I've impulse rescued if that counts! I saw Lucy's picture online on the SSPCA website, phoned the centre and drove 120 miles (round trip) to get her - all in one day!

 

[PiggieMom]

I'd just like to say, though I've never impulse bought pets I impulse buy a lot of non living things. It's not good. I really need to stop. Just the other day I spend around $500 at target.

 

[DaisyGP]

Sure, some impulse buyers (or collectors) are very responsible. I read a freecycle ad, "free to good home", thought about it for about 5 minutes, responded to it, and told husband we where going for a 45 minute drive!

I brought Boots home, then started looking into it, realized I knew nothing. Cage inadiquate, diet expensive, and we needed another one!

I made all the right changes, but how many people would? Unfortunately, for every impulse buy that gets looked after properly and kept for the duration of its life, how many don't? Probably 10? 20? So, if 1 pig is kept and made happy, 15 are ditched, neglected or die pramaturely, it really does not seem like a good arguement for justifying impulse buying:

Sometimes, they get lucky! Just is not good enough, and encourages over population!

I never said that people who know nothing about guniea pigs or who don't have the time and money for them should impluse adopt. And adopt is the key word since no case of buying is responsible.

Impluse adopting is *only* ok when the adopter has the time, knowledge, experience, money, etc..and happens to run into a homeless guinea pig that they can adopt without supporting the people that put that homeless guinea pig in the situation it is in to begin with.

That's the only point I was trying to suggest.

 

[Access]

My first pig was an 'impulse adoption'. The firm I used to work at (about 2 years ago) had an electronics lab. Over time we noticed a lot of chewed-up wires, papers, etc. One of the engineers was 'sure' he had seen a rat. So first the facilities staff set up these glue-traps and baited them with cheese, but never caught anything. They tried calling a pest-control guy, who showed up and sprayed this gas all over the place but never found anything. About a week later they tried the same pest control guy, and again, he didn't find a thing. Then once around lunch some guy had found the 'rat' and cornered it, but couldn't get it to come out; I told him it was a guinea pig and just to sit tight, thinking maybe someone had 'lost' their pig or that he had been abandoned nearby and found his way inside. I eventually lured him out with a carrot-on-a-string, but afterwards no one claimed him so I kept him in a small box until on the way home, stopped by a pet shop and picked up a 2' by 1' cage, carefresh, oxbow cavy performance, hay, basically all the stuff the guy at the shop told me I needed. These days he has a much larger cage and a buddy, all my real-life friends think he is spoiled and the 'luckiest pig alive'.

I didn't know much about guinea pigs at the time, I knew how to tell one small animal from another (kept hamsters when I was young, once bred our hamster with a friends') and had been in boy scouts, but that was the limit of my experience with small mammals. I did a lot with bugs, but that was mostly photography and I never kept or physically captured them.

 

[C&K]

I never said that people who know nothing about guniea pigs or who don't have the time and money for them should impluse adopt. And adopt is the key word since no case of buying is responsible.

Impluse adopting is *only* ok when the adopter has the time, knowledge, experience, money, etc..and happens to run into a homeless guinea pig that they can adopt without supporting the people that put that homeless guinea pig in the situation it is in to begin with.

That's the only point I was trying to suggest.

In no way where my comments directed at you, or really anyone, just several people where explaining their "impulse buy / adopt" stories with the shiney happy ending. I just wanted to point out that this is not the normal ending for the animals involved in these types of decisions.

I too am guilty of it, and every time I go through an emotional time, I get on my husbands case about how another guinea pig will "fix" me up. Which of course is stupid, and he knows how to have me ride out my hoarding instincts! (A very good thing indeed!)

Again, sorry if you thought I was stepping on your toes, in no way was I trying to do that!

 

[janetangel]

I have not ever impulsed adopted, it has always been planned. It may have not always been the best idea. I had to rehome one dog I adopted, I felt really bad and still miss her, but she often started a fight with my other female dog who almost killed her. I could not take that or the vet bills anymore.
I have impulsed bought at Target, that store is my weak spot.

 

[DaisyGP]

In no way where my comments directed at you, or really anyone, just several people where explaining their "impulse buy / adopt" stories with the shiney happy ending. I just wanted to point out that this is not the normal ending for the animals involved in these types of decisions.

I too am guilty of it, and every time I go through an emotional time, I get on my husbands case about how another guinea pig will "fix" me up. Which of course is stupid, and he knows how to have me ride out my hoarding instincts! (A very good thing indeed!)

Again, sorry if you thought I was stepping on your toes, in no way was I trying to do that!

oh

 

[Guinea_Gal]

Oh, i despise this subject. It is one of the main reasons the overpopulation problem is such a problem. Errrr! I have so many people asking to adopt, yet only about 25% of them actually adopt from me. Well, think about it. If all of theose people walked into a petstore, it is likely that all of them would purchase guinea pigs. But, in the end, only 25% would keep the and the other 75% would end up at the SPCA!

 

[Guinea_Gal]

Another lovely impulse buying story . . .
My neighbors, who already had 2 dogs, walked into this horrible petstore called We LOve Pets (it should be WE HATE PETS in my opinion) and, on a whim, bought a cute black terrier. They brought it home and for the first month it was very cute. Then, it startd barking and biting and being abnoxious. She barks, i am not kidding you, half of the day at least. Even now, i can hear that dogs bark in my head!!!

SO, now, after she got into a fight with one of their other dogs, they decided that it was time to give her to a rescue.

Now, you can imagine my frustration!!! How is a rescue ever going to be able to adopt out a crazy dog like that?

 

[Susan9608]

How is a rescue ever going to be able to adopt out a crazy dog like that?

Maybe with the right care, time, and attention, the dog won't need to bark that way. A lot of dogs bark constantly because they are bored, frustrated, and /or lonely. And a lot of time biting can be trained out of them.

I hope this family doesn't get any more pets.

 

[C&K]

A lot of petstore dogs have problems because they are taken away from the mom and "pack" before they learn their manners and place in life.

The dog may need medication for anxiety, hopefully the rescue has better luck. Right now i am really frustrated with my dog, she just ate the straps off my daughters brand new $25.00 bicycle helmet, she also seems to suffer from mild anxiety, and does a 100 other things to annoy me, most days i regret having gotten a dog at least once! However, I knew it would not be easy, and remain commited, as time passes on and with training, it will get better!

If only people would remain responsible for the decisions they make regarding pets, this world would be such a better place!

 

[PiggieMom]

I have a yellow lab, he's a little over eight years old. He was bought from a breeder (way before I knew better.) When he was a puppy he hated to be left alone (well no dog likes it, but he was very "bad" when we left him alone). He would go potty in the house, chew on things, ect. Well we left him alone for five hours or so (I don't remember what we were doing) and he ate a whole through my parents mattress. Right through the middle. We came home and he was sitting in a huge whole in the center of their mattress. We rushed him off to the vet. Everything turned out fine and now it's just a funny story.

 

[spoonyspork]

lol, piggiemom... I've been told that for as smart as labs are, they DO NOT have brains at all until turning three.

Which reminds me...

In that list of pets I've adopted, I mentioned a Huskey... well, where she came from... just... ugh.

Three years ago when I started working where I'm at now, one of the VP's got a shitzu puppy for her daughter. Within a few weeks, the daughter was bored with it, complaining about it being a 'little wimp dog' that she couldn't rough and tumble with like she wanted... so she gave it to one of my coworker who still has it and absolutely loves and spoils the little thing. Well, a few months later, what does the VP do? Get a huskey for her! They got her at a store that sells *only* puppies. A friend of mine used to work there, and says it's horrible - they got puppies from 'puppy mills' and they often got there when they were *way* too young, sick, and full of lots of other problems. Well, she got lucky with this one, as she was pretty healthy and happy.

BUT, now, you have to think about this: The lady is a VP for a large company, as is her husband. They work long hours and are hardly home. When they're *not* working, they're vacationing at some exotic place for weeks at a time. The daughter is one of those preppy 'always doing extracaricular activities at school/church' and is *also* hardly ever home. Which meant puppy never got attention or training. Within a few weeks she was destroying their home. A few months later, she was posting signs up at work, asking someone to take her in. I told her that if no one else took her, I would. Someone *did* take her, but a couple days later they called and begged me to take her. She was just too nuts. I went and got her, and took her home. At first she started trying to destroy, but I patiently redirected her attention every time she tried to get into trouble. I also took her for several very long walks, and let her vent some energy running around at a dog park. She proved to be *very* intelligent and egar to please, and by the end of the day I had her doing 'sit' and 'shake'. I spent the night with her on the futon, and she actually woke me up twice to go to the bathroom by tugging very gently on my arm then directing me to the door.

Now, my SO's parents had just lost their dog of 15 years a few months before, and had been hinting around about wanting another dog. They could give her a much better home than I could, since they have a yard, and the mom doesn't work and is at home all day. They're also used to taking a dog with them *everywhere*. I brought her over for introductions... and now a year later she's still with them. She's still got a few quirks - mainly that she *hates* to be left alone, and eats *everything* she can get her mouth around, and has almost died and went blind for a couple weeks once from something, so has to constantly be watched... she's very sweet and loving though, and my son absolutely loves going over there to play with her.

In the mean time, that VP lady has bought, and shortly gotten rid of, two more dogs. It just pisses me off every time I think about it. Rawr!

 

[PiggieMom]

It's stories like that that make me wish people needed a license to own pets.

 

[DaisyGP]

lol, piggiemom... I've been told that for as smart as labs are, they DO NOT have brains at all until turning three.

Which reminds me...

In that list of pets I've adopted, I mentioned a Huskey... well, where she came from... just... ugh.

Three years ago when I started working where I'm at now, one of the VP's got a shitzu puppy for her daughter. Within a few weeks, the daughter was bored with it, complaining about it being a 'little wimp dog' that she couldn't rough and tumble with like she wanted... so she gave it to one of my coworker who still has it and absolutely loves and spoils the little thing. Well, a few months later, what does the VP do? Get a huskey for her! They got her at a store that sells *only* puppies. A friend of mine used to work there, and says it's horrible - they got puppies from 'puppy mills' and they often got there when they were *way* too young, sick, and full of lots of other problems. Well, she got lucky with this one, as she was pretty healthy and happy.

BUT, now, you have to think about this: The lady is a VP for a large company, as is her husband. They work long hours and are hardly home. When they're *not* working, they're vacationing at some exotic place for weeks at a time. The daughter is one of those preppy 'always doing extracaricular activities at school/church' and is *also* hardly ever home. Which meant puppy never got attention or training. Within a few weeks she was destroying their home. A few months later, she was posting signs up at work, asking someone to take her in. I told her that if no one else took her, I would. Someone *did* take her, but a couple days later they called and begged me to take her. She was just too nuts. I went and got her, and took her home. At first she started trying to destroy, but I patiently redirected her attention every time she tried to get into trouble. I also took her for several very long walks, and let her vent some energy running around at a dog park. She proved to be *very* intelligent and egar to please, and by the end of the day I had her doing 'sit' and 'shake'. I spent the night with her on the futon, and she actually woke me up twice to go to the bathroom by tugging very gently on my arm then directing me to the door.

Now, my SO's parents had just lost their dog of 15 years a few months before, and had been hinting around about wanting another dog. They could give her a much better home than I could, since they have a yard, and the mom doesn't work and is at home all day. They're also used to taking a dog with them *everywhere*. I brought her over for introductions... and now a year later she's still with them. She's still got a few quirks - mainly that she *hates* to be left alone, and eats *everything* she can get her mouth around, and has almost died and went blind for a couple weeks once from something, so has to constantly be watched... she's very sweet and loving though, and my son absolutely loves going over there to play with her.

In the mean time, that VP lady has bought, and shortly gotten rid of, two more dogs. It just pisses me off every time I think about it. Rawr!

Grrrr!! Why don't these people see a pattern. Buy a dog, don't have time for it, dog starts developing bad behavior, daughter stops liking it, they get rid of the dog

Clearly, if they stopped and thought about this for a moment they would see that the problem lies with them and where they buy their dogs. They don't even sound like the dog loving type much less have time for one.

People should not be able to *just* buy dogs because they woke up one day a thought it would be a good idea.

 

[janetangel]

So many people do not even bother to think about the dogs emotions and feelings. They think of them more as an object rather than a living feeling entity. One has to be able to understand the behavior and the way they think before trying to figure out why they act the way they do. Dogs adapt to their environment the best they can. The way they think, their instincts, their personalities all have to be taken into consideration before someone owns a dog and before someone gives up a dog just because they do not like their behavior. Dogs are pack animals and being separated from their pack can bring on anxiety. They often chew and destroy to deal with the anxiety. To be left alone, they have to be conditioned they will be okay while you are gone and you will return. Dogs live for the moment. They do not sit at home and think, I wonder where my human went today. Oh they must be at work to make money to support me.
I have 6 dogs and do not always want to have this many, but I will not ever have less than 2 so they are not ever left alone. My world revolves around animals because that is where my heart is.
Although animal laws are becoming more stringent over the years, we still have a long long way to go with educating people about living with animals in this world.
I know in this forum we are preaching to the choir, but it sure feels good to air it all out sometimes, read other opinions and have faith there are others out there who feel for the animals.