I heard on the news today that there is a population explosion of chihuahuas, and thousands are ending up in shelters, because folks run out of money and can't afford them, after bringing them home. Or, because of foreclosures, the entire family has lost their home and the chihuahuas are left on the street to fend for themselves.
Literally hundreds of these little cutie-pies are being put down at humane societies, due to mans lack of knowledge of what these tiny doggies are capable of doing.
Hence my idea; Guide Dog Training Schools for Chihuahuas, of America Inc.
It might take a wee bit longer to train them, but they are smart, and would easily be able to be taught to guide the seeing impaired.
Save the chihuahuas, and help mankind. Win-Win.-- blissmiss, May 14 2011 Guide Dogs for the Blind http://www.guidedog...t5qgCFcsZQgod1EaHDgThe experts [csea, May 14 2011] Do chihuahuas have the right temperment? http://www.yourpure...ews/chihuahuas.html [mouseposture, May 14 2011] Are chihuahuas intelligent enough? http://en.wikipedia...ntelligence_of_Dogs [mouseposture, May 14 2011] For [Ian Tindale] http://i923.photobu...lfbakery/photo2.jpg [MaxwellBuchanan, May 20 2011] Why are seeing eye dogs so large? Little ones could be quite convenient. You could even carry a spare. Maybe we could take the next step and go with seeing eye rats.-- Worldgineer, May 14 2011 We need to save these chihuahuas, [world]. They are in peril.-- blissmiss, May 14 2011 + If you have the energy, start with the experts [link.]-- csea, May 14 2011 Great links.-- blissmiss, May 14 2011 Bad idea. The incessant high pitched yapping would quickly render the unfortunate owner deaf as well as blind.-- 8th of 7, May 14 2011 //wee bit longer to train them//
Over 10 times longer, to achieve obedience about one-third as good as conventional breeds <link2>. Apparently.-- mouseposture, May 14 2011 //What other function does the eye have, other than to see?//Well, they can water.Anyway back to the idea - won't they have problems with stairs and kerbs?-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, May 14 2011 [AbsintheWithoutLeave] The solution to that problem isn't bigger dogs, it's abolition of stairs & kerbs. Universal Dalek (oops wheelchair, what a giveaway) accessiblilty.-- mouseposture, May 14 2011 So, with the overpopulation of chihuahuas it can't be much longer before we see roving bands of feral chihuahuas running the streets. I was FAR FROM DONE being annoyed by feral cats. I suggest rounding all of them up together and letting them fight it out. Let the best species win... MOOHAHAHAHAAAA! <GROG now wringing his hands in anxious anticipation>
But then again...
It *would* be fun to see YouTube video's of [blissmiss] trying to train a chihuahua (to do anything useful)! For that delicious thought, I award you a GROG bun... [+]-- Grogster, May 14 2011 Gracias, Senior Grog, the Chihuahuas on the chopping block thank you, and so do I. We shall cut that bun into a million little pieces, and feed the masses of our little fellow "huahuas". (Oye you naysayers. Wouldn't know until it's tried, and I bet it would...)-- blissmiss, May 14 2011 I think the problem of excess chihuahuas is more effectively dealt with by recycling and composting. I have been looking at bottle-banks, and noticed that the hole is just the right diameter for one of these pointless little irritations.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 14 2011 If only all pointless little irritations could be dealt with by stuffing them into holes.-- mouseposture, May 14 2011 Why does that sound nasty?-- blissmiss, May 14 2011 That is an awesome idea.
It is so awesome that I am going to do it.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 14 2011 I hear they are excellent as a Taco meat.-- RayfordSteele, May 14 2011 Chihuahuas are illegal immigrants. They should all be sent back to Chihuahua, where they came from.-- infidel, May 14 2011 // FAR FROM DONE being annoyed by feral cats //
<Quietly adds [Grogs] to the list of Chosen Ones to be saved when the Revolution comes>
By the way, [Grogs], you might find it useful to know that EOSSACR.H is a public-domain standard header, so it's OK for you to #include it in your own ideas and annotations.-- 8th of 7, May 14 2011 [Ian Tindale] - the link above is just for you.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 20 2011 I got thirty printed if you want me to bung a couple in the postmail to you.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 20 2011 Can we put another 345,000,000 on back order? We just need to finish calculating how many wheelie bins there are on your planet.-- 8th of 7, May 20 2011 //mans lack of knowledge of what these tiny doggies are capable of doing. //Au contraire, I have just scraped a great deal of what they are capable of doing off the sole of my shoe.-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, May 21 2011 Ian, that link is hysterical. However, it made me wanna come along and toss gray haired lady into "wheely bin for 18 hours". Ha!-- blissmiss, May 21 2011 It seems like you need the bigger dog, cos they are more trainable. That doesn't mean you couldn't have a chihuahua riding on the bigger dog, which could then go off on its own and do the remote sensing.
<sound of guide dog barking> "What is it Rex? Children down an old mine shaft?" (blind person can't be arsed to leave cappuccino behind in the cafe, sends seeing-eye but sadly lacking in working brain chihuahua out to check the mine).-- not_morrison_rm, Jun 02 2012 I make weekly visits to someone in a retirement home and, although the residents are well cared for, there's only the television and so they sit, sit, sit. I think a few of these companionable little dogs would make a huge improvement to life quality in that sort of environment.-- Phrontistery, Jun 02 2012 More to the point... the old folk could do with the extra protein a Chihuahua Maryland could add to their weekly diet.-- UnaBubba, Jun 02 2012 //I make weekly visits to someone in a retirement home
Did my time on that, anything to make the places less like a death camp is more than welcome. <in a rare attack of seriousness>-- not_morrison_rm, Jun 02 2012 Many retirement homes have resident cats that entertain and socialize with the residents. Since irresponsible people sometimes leave unwanted cats on our doorstep in the middle of the night, instead of taking them to an animal shelter or Humane Society (they are assuming, I suppose, that a veterinary service is the same thing), we've placed several cats at such places. Never had any dogs dumped on us, though.-- Alterother, Jun 02 2012 Many residential and retirment homes in the UK actively encourage relatives and friends to bring dogs to visit. It is interesting to see how some elderly people who are normally very unresponsive will react to the presence of a friendly dog.
There is a scheme called Pets As Therapy (PAT) which checks and registers animals to visit hospitals.
It is worthy of note that almost all dogs are cleaner, quieter and much better behaved than almost all small children - who seem to infest many unsuitable locations in vast numbers.-- 8th of 7, Jun 02 2012 Perhaps you are not aware of the movement to return the chihuahaus to the wild, where roaming packs of free and happy canine rodentia can drag down wild horses if they catch them by surprise?-- normzone, Jun 04 2012 You'll never get David Attenborough to do the voice-over on that one...-- not_morrison_rm, Jun 06 2012 random, halfbakery