Pet Peeves About Pet Owners

I deal with people everyday. Sometimes people say and do things that drive me nuts. My frustrated rants about abuse, neglect and callousness are justified and reasonable. But then there are those annoyances that are just me and my "anal retentive" ways. (Hey, I know I have issues!) Here are some things from category two. 

• Full-Blooded -- I hate it when people ask me if a dog is "full-blooded." Uh, yeah. Nearly every animal I deal with is full of blood; anything less than full is usually dead. And please note, horses are "thoroughbred" whereas dogs are "purebred" (and not "purebread" like I saw on a sign outside the flea market -- unless they're made of pumpernickel; that would be appropriate and punny.)
• Rockweiler -- I cringe when I see "Rockweiler," "Chawawa" and "Datsun." If you're going to own a specific breed, please learn to spell it. And on that note, I own a German shepHERD (as in bred to herd sheep) not shepard (a common last name). I have seen many animal control officers mess these up. I carry a cheat sheet with breed spellings under my ticket book so I can properly spell dachshund, schnauzer or vizsla on the citation. 
• Canine -- Do not use the word "canine" when you mean "dog." It makes you sound pretentious. Cops are notorious for this. I keep telling them: think of canine as an adjective, as in canine teeth or canine behavior. Technically, canine refers to the entire dog genus. If you are referring to the species canis familiaris (the domesticated dog) just say "dog." You can also refer to a dog by it's breed -- but you'd better spell it correctly!
• Designer Dogs --You know: labradoodles, chiweenies, morkies, puggles. They're mutts -- not that there is anything wrong with mutts. I like mutts! But these are overpriced, intentionally bred mutts. And I despise designer dog snobbery. It's like "My mutt is better than your mutt because it has papers."
• Spaded -- The past tense of the word spay is spayed. If you spayed (sterilized) your dog I will think you're a responsible dog owner. However, if you spaded (used a garden tool upon) your dog I will charge you with animal cruelty. See the difference?

So yes, I have grammar and spelling issues. Be happy this is my DOG blog, because I could go on for days about "I could care less" and "irregardless." Anyway, I hope my quirks have entertained you. Even more, I hope you've learned something. Now watch, the next time you hear that someone "spaded a full-blooded Rockweiler" you'll cringe too. -- K