 People around the world have been getting heavier as a group each and every year. Now it has been reported time and again that cats, dogs and other pets are putting on weight as well. According to recent research, more and more pet animals are becoming obese. Many people think that fat cats and chubby pups are cute, but the fact is an overweight pet simply is not a healthy pet. Veterinarians advise that overweight animals are very susceptible to a whole host of diseases and ailments, including heart disease, hip and joint problems, diabetes, arthritis and liver disease. As a result, it may be high time to put your companion animal on a diet. Take for example, the case of Mr. Whiskers. The 8-year-old golden retriever has been on a diet for the last few months and it is now time for his regular checkup. His vet reports that his weight is down, but the pet has about twenty more pounds to shed. In the end, overweight pets are obese for the same reason that their human counterparts are fat. They eat too much and move around too little. In the end, pets need better diets and more exercise - just like their human companions.
Historically, the taming of pets occurred, possibly, in different ways: the natural rapprochement of the human with the animals, forced taming of young ones, and then adult animals.
Out of many types of pets, various breeds have developed under the influence of the socioeconomic, natural-historical conditions and they have adapted for fulfilling one or the other requirement of man. The transformation of wild animals in captivity in a home and the creation of breeds were conducted gradually under the influence of new conditions of the environment and artificial selective breeding. In the beginning unconsciously, and subsequently purposefully humans have achieved the maximum productiveness from pets. So, if the wild hen lays about 15 eggs in a year, among modern cultural breeds of hens there are those which lay about 300 eggs in a year; wild large horned cattle gives a few hundred kilograms of milk (in one lactation), whereas the best modern cows of cultural breeds gives about 10 - 15 thousand kg of milk; the wild pig farrow once a year, gives birth to 5- 6 piglets, the modern pigs of cultural breeds farrow twice a year and annually give birth to 25 - 30 pigs and so on. A lot of work is being done for perfection of existing breeds and for creation of new breeds of pets. The crossing of local, historically developed breeds with stud, selection and selective breeding of the best animals, directed the development of young ones the cattle breeders create new breeds, meeting the requirements of agriculture and industry.
Pet animals are not easily transformed into wild. In America, before its discovery there were no domestic animals in the Old World. There were neither horses, nor cows, nor pigs, nor sheep, nor goats. All of these aboriginal house animals were brought to America by the Europeans and all of them have found such favorable conditions for themselves that they soon bred at a very fast pace. Their number began to exceed the requirements of population. Under such circumstances, naturally, some animals remained without supervision; they began to lag behind the herds, wander in the woods and gradually turned wild. In this way in America entire herds of wild bulls and horses started to grow. Natuzius says that he has seen the cases where pigs turned wild and mating with wild boars. What happened with our pets in America and what partly also happens in Europe, gets repeated in sparsely inhabited regions of Australia, where wild horned cattle and horses are even unsafe for people. Some see the wildness of pets as a proof of their origin from a wild species. Therefore as if some pets so easily turn wild, that their nature is wilder than the domestic ones, from which they want to come out. If domesticity was the nature of some animals, then it would have not been easy for them to live without the help of man and the transition of one type of wild animal into a domestic condition would not require much effort.
Anyway, the question about the origin of our pets, these almost servants and friends of man, is still open, as per the fair remarks of several authors; it is beyond control and experience.
Pets are reared by people of different ages and professions.
To some they bring the pleasure of knowing nature, others see friends in them who need love and care, and in turn respond to the attachment towards man.
Many animal lovers get satisfaction in taming the animals, the victory of kindness and patience over their natural wildness, achieving training and obedience.
When any animal is kept in apartments, the man takes upon himself many responsibilities, which require effort and time, expenses, and mainly - special knowledge. Animals must be reared only provided one is in a position to give them enough attention. One must know many things about animals: their behavior and likings. Some of them may be too delicate, requiring too much care, others - noisy and bulky.
It is not incidental that from among hundreds of types of pets, only a few live in apartments. |
