"When you domesticate a pet and own it for ages," I said, "letting them back into the wild is dangerous.

They won't be able to fend for themselves and they'll probably starve to death."

"That's true enough," replied my black history tutor, "but what's that got to do with decolonization of Africa?"

 

*Pericles*

Apart from cats. Cats will turn feral quickly, no matter what age (maybe apart from very young kittens and nearly dead old cats).

Dogs will also be able to fend for themselves, although they may have the tendency to seek out human contact.

Sheep...yeah, you're probably right. I don't know what wild sheep were like, before domestication, but they're pretty much useless for anything except eating grass, shitting and producing wool - which they need shearing, so if they were in the wild, they'd look like walking bushy white clouds. That bleat and gamble (sheep are brilliant poker players...!!)

Cows - hmm. I dunno. I think they'd do alright. They only produce milk when they're pregnant or feeding their young, so they'd only have full udders after they'd met a wild bull.

Horses are evil, conniving bastards at the best of times. Never trust a horse!!

*words of wisdom*

 

This was meant as a joke right?

 

Wild cattle have a herd leader, but it's generally difficult for other animals to figure out who that is. I would suspect that sheep would be similar. Remember, in the wild, these animals aren't mostly female. Bulls and rams have horns. Predators generally go after solo animals to avoid too much of a fight. A single cow or sheep released into the wild is fucked. (And I don't mean like their farmer used to do. I mean going to die quickly.) A herd might be able to figure things out well enough.

Cats are nature's ninjas. Stealth and clawing come very naturally to them, even if they've been domesticated. Healthy cats can also starve away most of their body weight with no ill effects. Domestic cats tend to be fatter than healthy cats, so they've got plenty of time to practice hunting.

Domesticated dogs would not be okay in the middle of nature. In a city or town, sure. They can rummage through trash until they run in front of a car. They don't really have much survivability after domestication. A group of dogs could potentially form a pack, but I don't see them as likely to figure out that hunting is how they can get food.

Cats and dogs have the added benefit of being usual pets though. Especially cats, because they're adorable. It's likely that some kid will say "Mommy! Look! A stray kitty! Can I keep him!?"

 

1. You reduce my post to "stuff"?
2. Domesticated dogs would not fare as well as domesticated sheep and cattle in the wild? Dogs - 'real' dogs, not talking about the over-bred pooches - will chase anything, from rodent to *probably* toddler size and bring it down. The hungrier they are, the more likely they are to rip at the flesh and eat; ergo, feed themselves.
3. Are we agreed that horses are evil?
4. Because there's always a number 4

 

1. Sorry, I do that when quoting long posts in general
2. I've never seen a domesticated dog hunt anything. I've seen them run after and bark at things, but it seems like it's more to get rid of intruders (of any species). Since cattle and sheep eat grass, and that's easy enough to find... Yes. I think the cattle and sheep would fare better.
3. Of course.
4. Also of course.

 

That a lot of shite OP.

Quite a few pets actually would survive in the wild.

As said, feral dogs and cats can fend for themselves quite well. If you've ever been to a place where there's no systematic animal control (dog pound), you'll see it.

Actually some 'escaped pets' have established themselves so well in non-native countries that they out-compete and endanger native species.

Now farm animals are a different story.

 

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=feeding%20the%20troll

 

I know. I recognise the stench

 

I've seen packs of feral (but previously domesticated dogs) attack sheep for food. . .
I've seen pet dogs attack sheep. . .

 

You're coming at it wrong - dogs are not that far removed from their wild wolf brothers. All dogs, given the chance, will rip a small animal to shreds. When the blood starts the saliva glands working, they'll chomp down and swallow.

I believe I read somewhere that all domesticated animals are only domesticated three degrees away from their wild relatives.

 

I thought this was a thread about throwing your kids the fuck out the house.

 

It's about whatever you want it to be.

Just chime in

 

So men are only 4 degrees away from a wild dog...no wonder the fleas like me so much.

 

I'm sorry, but is noone viewing the OP message as racist? Is it just me? I'm just hoping he's joking

 

It is. But let's not engage him in the kind of tripe he wants to get into.

I was going to call him on it, but thought better.

 

Why release rabbits into the wild, stew it, they would want to go that way. So would cats and dogs, Guinea pigs are good too but hamsters and gerbils don't have a lot of meat on them. Best thing to have as a family pet is a goat, plenty of milk, it keeps the lawn trimmed and when you get bored with it just curry it.

 

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But once you let it go to wild, you can hunt it down and kill it...