4 ms·

> more intelligent than most pets This was something I didn't believe until my mom and dad recalled what it was like growing up on small farms with a house cow

by screye 5y ago

> more intelligent than most pets This was something I didn't believe until my mom and dad recalled what it was like growing up on small farms with a house cow in India. The they are incredibly intelligent and excellent judges of emotion. They are protective of their owners and can be trained quite well. This was their rational argument for asking me to not eat beef. I still eat beef, but I can imagine that it's quite distressing when a cow is no different than a pet dog to you. (religious reasons aside)

onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
Most people that have had pigs as pets will also tell you that they are ridiculously smart - and in many ways similar to dogs.
- leeoniya 5y ago
  a coworker who has 2 pet pigs says they are smart but are not particularly eager to please their masters, as dogs are.
  - munificent 5y ago
    > smart but are not particularly eager to please This describes my dog, two cats, and fairly often my children.
- pvarangot 5y ago
  Pigs are smart but they have extreme "I'm prey" personalities. They will usually only be social around few people or in few circumstances. I think cows are just less shy, maybe because of their size, and they will definitely intimidate animals they don't like.
- nate_meurer 5y ago
  A couple years ago I went to a party where a lady brought her pet pig-- a fifty pound potbellied pig named Penelope. Penelope had her hooves painted with nail polish and rode in a stroller. I noticed that Penelope was chewing something, and had been since she arrived. I later asked the lady what the pig was chewing. The lady said it's gum. It was one of the rare times in my life where I was struck dumb and mute. I could only stare at her, and she further offered that it's Trident gum. After a moment I asked whether Penelope swallows the gum, and the lady said no, never. She chews for an hour or two and then spits it out, presumably after it's lost its flavor. I felt like everything I knew about life up to that point was wrong.
  - rsj_hn 5y ago
    > I felt like everything I knew about life up to that point was wrong. No way does the flavor of trident last an hour
    - tpxl 5y ago
      to a human.
    - aitchnyu 5y ago
      If we make an ultra long lasting flavor X, I believe a brain perceiving X gum will make that sensation the baseline. Like we forget the sensation of socks or a strongly smelling restaurant after a few minutes.
  - noisy_boy 5y ago
    > I could only stare at her, and she further offered that it's Trident gum. Of course it all made sense once the make of the gum was revealed.
- csomar 5y ago
  I once was hiking with friends and met a pig's family (father, mother, two small children). It was surprising (I didn't know that pigs were monogamous, let alone run a family better than half human out there); we kept looking surprised so the male came on front kinda to assert his position on or protect his family. Then he led his family into the woods. A really unusual interaction.
rpmisms 5y ago
In my experience, dairy cows are much more personable than beeves. Don't feel too guilty about eating beef, but do try to eat happy beef. Grassfed pastured cows are happy cows, and I like my meat to have had a good life.
aitchnyu 5y ago
Now I understand why sacred cow persons "otherised" western cow breeds and okayed foreigners eating their meat. One guy even said (present day) westerners are actually eating aurochs. Speech (with cancer warning): https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/west-bengal-bjp-chief-dilip-ghoshs-bizarre-remark-intellectuals-can-eat-dog-meat-too-2127420 https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/west-bengal-bjp-chief-dilip-...

by screye 5y ago

onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago

Most people that have had pigs as pets will also tell you that they are ridiculously smart - and in many ways similar to dogs.

leeoniya 5y ago
a coworker who has 2 pet pigs says they are smart but are not particularly eager to please their masters, as dogs are.
- munificent 5y ago
  > smart but are not particularly eager to please This describes my dog, two cats, and fairly often my children.
pvarangot 5y ago
Pigs are smart but they have extreme "I'm prey" personalities. They will usually only be social around few people or in few circumstances. I think cows are just less shy, maybe because of their size, and they will definitely intimidate animals they don't like.
nate_meurer 5y ago
A couple years ago I went to a party where a lady brought her pet pig-- a fifty pound potbellied pig named Penelope. Penelope had her hooves painted with nail polish and rode in a stroller. I noticed that Penelope was chewing something, and had been since she arrived. I later asked the lady what the pig was chewing. The lady said it's gum. It was one of the rare times in my life where I was struck dumb and mute. I could only stare at her, and she further offered that it's Trident gum. After a moment I asked whether Penelope swallows the gum, and the lady said no, never. She chews for an hour or two and then spits it out, presumably after it's lost its flavor. I felt like everything I knew about life up to that point was wrong.
- rsj_hn 5y ago
  > I felt like everything I knew about life up to that point was wrong. No way does the flavor of trident last an hour
  - tpxl 5y ago
    to a human.
  - aitchnyu 5y ago
    If we make an ultra long lasting flavor X, I believe a brain perceiving X gum will make that sensation the baseline. Like we forget the sensation of socks or a strongly smelling restaurant after a few minutes.
- noisy_boy 5y ago
  > I could only stare at her, and she further offered that it's Trident gum. Of course it all made sense once the make of the gum was revealed.
csomar 5y ago
I once was hiking with friends and met a pig's family (father, mother, two small children). It was surprising (I didn't know that pigs were monogamous, let alone run a family better than half human out there); we kept looking surprised so the male came on front kinda to assert his position on or protect his family. Then he led his family into the woods. A really unusual interaction.

rpmisms 5y ago

In my experience, dairy cows are much more personable than beeves. Don't feel too guilty about eating beef, but do try to eat happy beef. Grassfed pastured cows are happy cows, and I like my meat to have had a good life.

aitchnyu 5y ago

Now I understand why sacred cow persons "otherised" western cow breeds and okayed foreigners eating their meat. One guy even said (present day) westerners are actually eating aurochs. Speech (with cancer warning): https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/west-bengal-bjp-chief-dilip-ghoshs-bizarre-remark-intellectuals-can-eat-dog-meat-too-2127420 https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/west-bengal-bjp-chief-dilip-...