What are the most interesting facts you know?

#troysflorist

Answer by Ivan Chau:

Source and thought: A Toothpaste Factory Had a Problem

A toothpaste factory had a problem. They sometimes shipped empty boxes without the tube inside. This was caused by the way the production line was set up, and people with experience in designing production lines will tell you how difficult it is to have everything happen with timings so precise that every single unit coming out of it is perfect 100% of the time. Small variations in the environment (which can’t be controlled in a cost-effective fashion) mean you must have quality assurance checks smartly distributed across the line so customers all the way down to the supermarket don’t get angry and buy another product instead.

Understanding how important that was, the CEO of the toothpaste factory got the top people in the company together and they decided to start a new project in which they would hire an external engineering company to solve their empty boxes problem since their engineering department was already too stretched to take on any extra effort.

The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor  allocated, RFP and third-parties selected. Six months (and $8 million) later, they had a fantastic solution – on time, on budget, high quality and everyone in the project had a great time. They solved the problem by using high-tech precision scales that would sound a bell and flash lights whenever a toothpaste box would weigh less than it should. The line would stop and someone would have to walk over and yank the defective box out of it, pressing another button when done to restart the line.

A while later, the CEO decides to have a look at the ROI of the project and sees amazing results! No empty boxes ever shipped out of the factory after the scales were put in place. There were very few customer complaints and they were gaining market share. “That’s some money well spent!,” he says, before looking closely at the other statistics in the report.

It turns out the number of defects picked up by the scales was zero after three weeks of production use. It should have been picking up at least a dozen a day, so maybe there was something wrong with the report. He filed a bug against it and after some investigation, the engineers came back saying the report was actually correct. The scales really weren’t picking up any defects because all boxes that got to that point in the conveyor belt were good.

Puzzled, the CEO travels down to the factory and walks up to the part of the line where the precision scales are installed.

A few feet before the scale was an inexpensive desk fan blowing the empty boxes out of the belt and into a bin.

“Oh, that,” says one of the workers, “one of the guys put it there ‘cause he was tired of walking over every time the bell rang.”

What are the most interesting facts you know?

Why would anyone own a pitbull?

#nuvetplus

Answer by Zoe Serafina:

I can't speak for anyone, only myself.

There are a lot of reasons why people get pitbulls, and a lot of them have been covered here. There are so many pit and pit mixes dumped in shelters and rescues, you can find one that suits you easily. The population is huge, sadly, so there are a lot to choose from.

The whole concept of breed-specific behavioral traits, especially in mixes,  has been researched  and found somewhat wanting. If you are interested, look for Janice Bradley's detailed report for the National Canine Research Council.

Here are a few of the reasons why I love my pit. (in no particular order)

I'm lazy about vacuuming, and she barely sheds.

She's sweet and cuddly.

She's gorgeous.

She's very food-motivated and therefore easy to train (a lot of pits do tend to be chowhounds.)

She's whip-smart and a creative problem solver.

She's a good judge of character.

But the question was why does anyone own a pit, wasn't it? I own my pit because we connected instantly when we met; that was it, she was my dog, I was her human.  She has a lot of issues due to long-term abuse, but it doesn't matter; she is who she is, and I love her. She has unconditional trust in me. She made that choice, despite having plenty of evidence in her life that humans will do bad things to you, and I do my best to be worthy of her trust every day.

 Since I don't think anyone has mentioned rescues here, let me do a small public service announcement and say that a well-run rescue that fosters dogs in volunteer's homes can be a great place to get a dog. Most rescues will work with you to find a dog that's a good fit, and since the dog has been in a home, more is known about their behavior.

Why would anyone own a pitbull?

Why would anyone own a pitbull?

#troysflorist

Answer by Adriana Heguy:

Here's the best reason for having pitbulls: they are dogs! If you are a dog lover, you'll love having, well, dogs. Dogs are individuals, just like people, with their own personalities, and though dog breeds were created by humans to select certain characteristics, the selection is not perfect, meaning, not all dogs belonging to that breed have them.  Pitbulls do tend to be energetic dogs (though I've met some couch potatoes among them), they tend to have high prey drive and like to chase critters (watch out, squirrels, here they come!), but they also tend to be adorably affectionate and goofy.

I have two of them, both rescues. They are both very smart and very affectionate. Whenever I'm feeling a bit down, a good walk in the park with Lola and Nero cures my blues.

And though I cannot know for sure, this question sounds a bit to me like asking "why have kids?" after reading that the Boston marathon bombers were someone's kids.

Why would anyone own a pitbull?

Why would anyone own a pitbull?

#troysflorist

Answer by Graeme Shimmin:

Ok, repeat after me for the millionth time:

IT'S NOT THE DOG THAT'S THE PROBLEM.

It's not the gun's fault when the owner shoots you with it. Practically any dog can kill a baby or small child. A Standard Poodle can severely wound an adult. A Pit Bull can be a soft, lazy goofball.  It depends how the owner trained it. If you give a scumbag a Labrador he'll train it to be dangerous. If you give a responsible dog owner a Pit Bull, he'll train it to be a normal dog. Dangerous dogs are abused dogs. They respond to their training. Abuse them and train them to be aggressive and lo and behold – an aggressive dog. People aren't surprised when dogs are trained to lead the blind, why are they surprised when they are trained to be aggressive?

In the UK, Pit Bulls were banned in a knee jerk response to a tragedy. So what happened do you think? Did scumbag hard men just stop having dogs? No. They switched to having Staffordshire crosses. Guess what people who just don't get it are talking of banning now?

If you are a responsible person and know how to train dogs, get whatever breed you like. If you aren't a responsible person, don't get any dog at all.

Why would anyone own a pitbull?

Why would anyone own a pitbull?

Answer by Vinati Singh:

I would own a Pitbull for the same reason I would own another breed. Because I want the love of a dog in my life and because I refuse to buy that love. Every pet I've ever had has been a rescue and Pitbulls are more in need of being rescued than any other breed.

It's not the dog- It's his environment.

It's not the dog- It's what he's been taught.

It's not the dog- It's the people.

A few years ago I was actively volunteering at a shelter in Queens when I came across a dog named Chance. He was a huge young Pitbull, packed bulky and solid. Among other signs of abuse on him, he had jagged mutilated stumps of bloody scar tissue where his ears should have been. The shelter speculated that it was an at home scissor job to get him angry and aggressive. Since Chance was too gentle and probably still refused to fight, he was dumped on the streets to die. And he still had the heart to gently lick and nudge a human's face when I held him and cried. Shelters across America are filled with Pitbulls. They are the most abandoned and least adopted breed. They have a horrible reputation, despite the fact that plenty of dogs are like Chance. In these shelters I saw plenty of 'harmless' breeds like Pomeranians who would act horribly aggressive to strangers. My own dog, a sweet Chihuahua mix was biting every hand that came at him so aggressively in addition to refusing food and water that he got placed on a kill list as 'unfit for adoption'.

Pitbulls, like any other dog (and people) have their good and bad temperaments, are smart and not so smart, are obedient or stubborn… But done right, they can be trained. No creature is its best self without proper training. They can be sweet, gentle, responsible, and playful, like any other breed. There are too many dying because of people's perceptions about them.

Why would anyone own a pitbull?

Why would anyone own a pitbull?

#nuvetplus

Answer by Victoria Vertuga:

I have two pitbulls that are both rescue dogs. I love them to pieces.

I grew up with golden retrievers and, probably like a lot of people, didn't have a ton of firsthand experience with pitbulls for the first part of my life. Shortly after college I started volunteering at a local shelter. The vast majority of dogs at the shelter were pitbulls. By and large, they were extremely affectionate, sweet, resilient dogs. Many of them were used as bait dogs in dog fighting rings, or turned in by owners who intended to fight the dogs but were disappointed when the dog turned out to not be a bloodthirsty killer.

I noticed that the pits were often times more affectionate, more resilient, more hopelessly optimistic than many other breeds in the shelter. When I would walk the dogs, it amazed me how if I had a pit, people would cross to the other side of the street, give me a very wide bearing, make comments, etc. If I had a German Shepherd or another large dog, this was not the case. The blatant ignorance about them and discrimination toward them began to really upset me. Most of these dogs would simply shower a stranger with kisses when given the opportunity.

In my experiences, these are largely dogs that are affectionate, loving, loyal, and incredibly smart. They score higher in temperament ratings than labs and retrievers. They are known to be incredibly affectionate towards people.  Pits are not the crazed aggressive maniacs they are made out to be. They are incredibly strong, yes. And when made to fight by horrible owners intent on making a profit off of the senseless fighting to the death of dogs, they will fight. 

Like any breed, every individual dog is different. They should be evaluated as individuals, not judged based on media frenzy. An individual dog can have issues. They can certainly have aggression toward other dogs if they were used to fight or as a bait dog. Or some dogs simply will not be social butterflies and are more selective about the dogs they will play with. Again, this is normal dog behavior and not unique to pitbulls. Rescue dogs of all breeds can tend to be a bit likelier to have some issues and need a little extra TLC because of abuse at the hands of owners, traumatic experiences, or a complete lack of kindness from people at all.

Do not judge the breed because they are strong and therefore ignorant and abusive people decided to make them fight. Do not judge the breed because there may be individual dogs with aggression issues. This is true of any dog breed. My neighbors have a Yorkie that would skin me alive if given the chance.

Bottom line is, pitbulls can be fantastic family pets. In fact, in years past they were known as the "nanny dog" because they are so great with children. The dog from The Little Rascals, Petey, was a pitbull. Sgt Stubby, the first and most highly decorated military working dog, was a pitbull.  There are oodles of examples of heroic and awesome dogs that were/are *gasp* pitbulls.

Besides, they snuggle just like people 😉 My pits- Riley and JoJo.

Why would anyone own a pitbull?

What’s some good dating advice for a dog lover?

#nuvetplus

Answer by Alan Cohen:

A bit of a rehash of what Bernard Olupot has already said. Dogs are your friends they are not your babies. I have had many dogs and 4 children, believe me when I say I know the difference.

Secondly, I know a lot of guys who qualify as dog lovers. Most of them would put chihuahuas somewhere around 100 on the list of breeds they would consider owning.Tell them that you have 3 and that may move them down the list even further. In other words, even if you follow Phil Darnowsky's advice you may still strike out.

So my advice is:

1. Take your dogs to obedience school. There is nothing more annoying than a dog who isn't trained and socialized.
2. Take your pack for walks. All 3 at the same time. You and they will meet other dog walkers. Hopefully, you might find a human male attached to the high end of the leash and your pack will find and like the dog attached to the low end of the leash.
3. Adjust your attitude. Seriously, you are not those dogs' mother. They don't expect you to be the mom. You are the Alpha Female. Your job is to give those Beta's and Gamma's a purpose.
4. This breed tends to be loyal to one owner. Hopefully, you have socialized these dogs so that any male you invite home doesn't need to wear combat boots.

And what Karen Tiede said.

What's some good dating advice for a dog lover?

What’s some good dating advice for a dog lover?

#nuvetplus

Answer by Karen Tiede:

I don't want a man who feels the same way I do about some major parts of life.  If he felt the same way I do about cooking, we'd either starve, or eat straight out of bags.  If he felt the same way I do about socializing, we'd never go anywhere.

So:  the trick is to figure out exactly where you need a man to match, and where "close enough is close enough."  Now, if the #1 characteristic is truly that he love your dogs the way you do, you CAN find someone, but you have to do a national search.

What if he has rotties, or greyhounds, or some other dog?  Or cats, or a parrot?  Do you really want a guy who currently has no dogs and can't live without a Chi family, and can't figure out how to create one himself?

Personally, I've always favored GIB; not sufficient, however.  I have a list; when I'm dating (which I haven't been for a while), I work the list. 

Make your list.  "Loving Chis" should be one of the characteristics.  It simply shouldn't be the only one.

What's some good dating advice for a dog lover?

Why do most people like dogs?

Answer by Richard Barrios:

I think Native Americans sum it up the best in this story that I really love.

The earth trembled and a great rift appeared, separating the first man and woman from the rest of the animal kingdom. As the chasm grew deeper and wider, all the other creatures, afraid for their lives, returned to the forest — except for the dog, who after much consideration leapt the perilous rift to stay with the humans on the other side. His love for humanity was greater than his bond to other creatures, he explained, and he willingly forfeited his place in paradise to prove it……Native American folktale…an Ojibway tale

Source: What is the Native American legend on how the dog became man's best friend

Humans sometimes share a unexplainable bond with dogs.  Dogs seem to understand us better then most humans and sometimes better then our closest human friends.  Whether its their sense of smell, heightened primal awareness or just in their DNA.  Whatever it is, I really don't care if it ever can be explained, its just wonderful that it's real. 

On a personal note.  I seen my Dad cry only a handful of times in my life. One was when our dog passed away at my dad's feet.

Why do most people like dogs?

Got Change?

Fearfuldogs' Blog

Nothing to worry about here!

When we are training our fearful dogs we are facilitating a change in how they respond to events or objects (including us and other animals) they are exposed to. There is likely an endless array of ways we can come up with to do this, but ultimately what we are doing is making the scary stuff either neutral or good enough so that the dog can continue to seek out rewarding, reinforcing activities while in its presence. The ways that this can be done are based on how a nervous system reacts to stimulus.

Habituation occurs when constant exposure to something stops producing a response and in a sense becomes a non-event. When a collar is first put around a puppy’s neck it can be a big event. The puppy feels the collar and may be upset about it, some more, some less. Eventually, like…

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