Pet Psychics say dogs can feel embarrassment and humiliation (in halloween costumes)

[Liberal_in_LA]

Experts differ on whether Halloween costumes embarrass dogs
By LANA BERKOWITZ STAFF WRITER
Oct. 20, 2010, 5:48PM

Search "why dogs hate Halloween" online and you will find a million photos of dogs in goofy outfits.

Dogs are dressed as lobsters, Yoda and Elvis. They sport bikinis, rabbit ears and superhero costumes. Those who upload the photos, as well as those who comment on them, usually assume the animals are unhappy or embarrassed.

Which prompts the question: Do dogs feel humiliation?

Experts who work with animals disagree.

Sonya Fitzpatrick, of The Pet Psychic fame and host of Animal Intuition on Sirius XM, says they do.

"They feel everything. And they know when people laugh at them," said Fitzpatrick, who lives in The Woodlands.

"I talk to thousands of animals, and even if people laugh at them if they have been cut too short, it really hurts their feelings," she said. She has seven dogs and uses only bandannas for their accessories. :cry: :cry: :cry:

Pet psychic Patrice Ryan of Los Angeles says one doesn't have to be a pet psychic to know some animals do not like to play dress-up. Just observe their body language.

A pet can tolerate a lot, but some animals don't like the tightness, weight or texture of material, she said.

But if the dog feels humiliated, it is the human's fault, Ryan said.

"The conflict lies where the owner might think it's cute and adorable, and then they take the pet out in public. They (pets) know they are loved by their owner, and then the owner is allowing people to look at them and have a good laugh. It sends conflicting messages to the pet. So the pet is not really happy with that," Ryan said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/7256270.html

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. 'pet psychics say' = disregard completely n/t

[KurtNYC]

17. dogs say "pet psychics can't feel embarrassment"

[ProdigalJunkMail]

24. now THAT is a headline that would make more sense... n/t

[GSLevel9]

2. lol.... great story!!!!! nt

[no_hypocrisy]

3. I can understand why

[Gman]

4. From what I've observed this seems pretty much spot on

if you know dogs and are around them a lot, you know this is true.

[FreeState]

5. My dog refused to wear anything, ever

he does not like clothes - he's a nudest by design:) (he does like his collar but thats because doesn't know any different, it only comes off for baths)

[EFerrari]

22. Of the three, one of the dogs liked her reindeer antlers

because she knew they meant a walk and a lot of nice attention from people. The other two didn't like 'em because they were not food. lol

[SidDithers]

6. When I talk to dogs, they tell me the exact opposite...

:shrug:

Sid

[Botany]

7. But if the dog feels humiliated ....

I love my lab but please "humiliated":

he drinks from the toilet
loves to lick dirty underwear
even though he is champ and has been out to stud he will hump and then be humped
by other male dogs all the time smiling
gets chased into a corner by a 20 pound border collie that lives next door
rolls in dead woodchuck when he gets a chance
lays in mud puddle in a horse pasture
and licks his balls in the living room when I have company

[VermeerLives]

14. LOL! Thanks for the chuckles!

[Michigan-Arizona]

19. Your reply was hilarious & spot on!

[Rebubula]

32. Awesome...

...dear god that was funny

[northernlights]

37. you think laying in pasture puddle is bad?

Mine eat horse pooh.

Drool while watching it dropping fresh from oven. Sadly, because they see me standing by at the ready, pitchfork in hand...:cry: :cry: :cry:

Best winter treat? Poopcycles. They last a long time while they slowly melt in your mouth. :puke: :puke: :puke:

And then roll in mud puddle with melting poo pile in the middle of it. x(

[baldguy]

8. You don't have to be a psychic to know that,

[Codeine]

9. Not enough *facepalms* in the fucking world for this shit. nt

[Angry Dragon]

10. But there are some republicans that can wear diapers and feel manly

[Sal Minella]

13. Dogs are INTELLIGENT animals.

[TexasObserver]

11. "She has seven dogs and uses only bandannas for their accessories."

Why does she do that? So the other dogs will snicker at them?

The whole thing about dressing animals is a form of animal abuse. It's nasty. It's a germ factory. It's silly.

Animals being dressed is about the owner of the animal, not the animal.

[sofa king]

26. Okay, I'll come forward.

It's true, one Christmas I dressed the family dog in a Santa costume, and she hated it and hated me for it. She particularly disliked the hat. After an embarrassing walk around town the outfit went into the Christmas decorations box, probably forever.

The following year, my 9-year old niece took a silk scarf and put it around the dog, and she happily wore it all day. My niece explained that the dog couldn't see the scarf, and soon forgot she was wearing it. Smart kid, eh?

So I assume the bandannas are also worn around the neck, where the dogs aren't aware that they're wearing anything other than a different collar.

But, um, you should probably consult your pet psychic before dressing your dog in anything.

[joeybee12]

12. I believe it...ever see photos of cats dressed up?

They HATE it...it's obvious on their faces.

[VermeerLives]

15. I think our dog is humiliated in costumes

Especially if you put something on his head. He just stands there like Eyor (sp?) and hangs his head.

[JonLP24]

16. Yeah... just look at mad's posts

The cat in his avatar is not a happy camper.

[tammywammy]

31. My favorite lolcats

[Lucy Goosey]

33. Yup...

[KurtNYC]

18. what if people are laughing WITH them ?

seriously. My dogs when they are doing something funny. I laugh with them when they lick my ears and they know they are making me laugh.

I think costumes tend to be uncomfortable, the human ones certainly are. That is physical discomfort, the inducing of which may make the dog feel punished but that is not embarrassment.

[spanone]

20. bwahahahahahahahaaaa

[hobbit709]

21. That should be psycho instead of psychic

[Owl]

23. pet psychic's are psycho

[CBGLuthier]

25. Pet Psychics scam the terminally stupid.

How fucking dumb does a person have to be to believe this horseshit?

[Xicano]

27. Play time?

[Arkansas Granny]

28. I am not a pet psychic and I have never dressed a dog in any kind of costume

or any garment, so I don't know if it humiliates them or not. However, at one time I had a little poodle who would strut out on the sidewalk in the front yard when she came home from being groomed as if to show the other neighborhood dogs just how pretty she was. There were no bows in her hair and no paint on her nails, just clipped, groomed and bathed. You would have sworn that she was on the runway.

[Jamastiene]

29. Some dogs love to wear clothes.

Growing up, my family had a toy poodle that absolutely WANTED his muscle shirt on. He acted like he felt nekked and ashamed when he had to take it off for baths and grooming. He sure was proud once he got groomed and got his shirt back on.

I would imagine dogs, and most animals, are not a monolithic. I'm sure most would have the opinions that food is good and unconditional love is something some humans seem to need.

I once had a dog that hated country music with a passion. I don't know who griped more when country music played in the soundtracks of movies, me or him.

[AlienGirl]

30. My sister's cat likes to wear clothes. Also, when I was a kid we had a cat who hated Gary Hart

Whenever Gary Hart came on TV, the cat would hiss and put his ears back. I think it was something in Hart's voice that irritated him.

Tucker

[Jamastiene]

34. The same dog that hated country music...

also hated the sound of footsteps in movies too. When we would watch a movie and there was a suspenseful scene where someone was walking on a hard surface and the sound of their footsteps had that sort of eerie quality to it, Benson would growl and grumble then too.

Sunday Girl loves Blondie but hates jazz.

Domino used to love punk, the faster the better. Both her and her brother Yogi would run and jump off the side of the bed while I watched my VHS of Another State of Mind (the punk documentary).

Animals definitely have their own distinct personalities.

[cbdo2007]

35. I feel embarrassment and humiliation when my dog sniffs random people's crotches.

So now we're even.

[Obamanaut]

36. I believe dogs can be embarrassed. When any of ours comes back

inside and has poo stuck on its butt, his head is hanging and his ears are down.

We clean them up and reassure them with kind words, and all is right in the world again.

[Matariki]

38. Wonder what the pet psychic would think of The Tailer of a Cat Cat Prin?

This site is SO awesome: http://www.petoffice.co.jp/catprin/english/

Frog transformation set:



This is a dear frog transformation set. It is made from bright green felt cloth, and the big eye of a frog is attached. Even if it takes, it is finished to the pop impression. Please observe the leg fin wound around a head. Since it can equip also with a hat and head volume on a piece of Velcro, attachment and detachment are easy!

[northernlights]

39. Depends on the dog. Depends on the costume.

One 4th of July, my labx was misbehaving at the 4th of July celebration. To punish him, I bought a really stupid looking hat and made him wear it. Everybody laughed at him because it was an incredibly stupid-looking hat. Not cute at all...just stupid. He LOVED it. He LOVED the extra attention. He LOVED people laughing at him. He didn't care. People laughing = good.

Upshot was he stopped misbehaving cause the attention and laughter got him out of his teenage-style sulk...