2 ms·

I live in Japan now, and for the dogs I see in the city, the vast majority would easily pass this test. However, from what I saw in America during the pandemic

I live in Japan now, and for the dogs I see in the city, the vast majority would easily pass this test. However, from what I saw in America during the pandemic and before, the vast majority of American dogs would not. That said, the bigger problems I see here are 1) how to deal with the bathroom problems (train trips last hours, and dogs don't hold it in very well), and 2) how to deal with peoples' allergies, and 3) how to deal with people just not wanting to ride near other peoples' animals. I think it's an insurmountable problem really, unless there's SO much demand that they can dedicate a whole train car to being pet-friendly (not likely). We already have ways of moving pets around: taxis and cars. Inside a city, just use a taxi. If you need to travel between cities, just rent a car. Yes, it's a lot of money, but if you can't afford that, then you can't afford a dog. Or just leave the dog at home. (If it's a cat, the cat doesn't want to take a trip with you anywhere.) (edit) Finally, I just did a little research, and this isn't really a problem at all. You can already bring dogs and cats on trains here, both the intercity Shinkansen and the local trains. The catch is that it needs to be a small dog (or cat), and inside a carrier, weighing a total of 10kg or less. It looks like there's a small fee (less than $5) for the Shinkansen. So I don't see why any of this is necessary; it's a solved problem.

paganel 4y ago
And then you're forcing dog-owners (which is a bigger and bigger percentage of the population) to rely on cars.
- midoridensha 4y ago
  No, re-read my last paragraph. As long as their dog is small, they can take the train no problem. If they have a large dog, they should already own a car. Apartments in Tokyo do NOT allow large dogs, and anyone living outside the city should already have a car anyway. If you can't afford a car, you can't afford a large dog. I live in Tokyo; there's almost no large dogs here. Having a large dog is a luxury.
  - paganel 4y ago
    I was thinking mostly about outside of Japan, where the same discourse of "why do you need a car for?" has beginning to show up more and more. I need a car because otherwise having some outside activities with my dog is close to impossible, but I would love to have the possibility of not having to have a car while still giving my (medium-sized) dog a decent outdoor life. > I live in Tokyo; there's almost no large dogs here. Having a large dog is a luxury. Which I find sad that we've basically internalised and made it a normalcy. The same and even more so goes to having kids. Having a dog (or a pet, more generally) shouldn't be a luxury, because it gives one a better life (having kids even more so, but as I don't have any I can't comment on that).
    - midoridensha 4y ago
      >but I would love to have the possibility of not having to have a car while still giving my (medium-sized) dog a decent outdoor life. You can have one or the other. Owning a dog is a ridiculous luxury for ultra-wealthy people; go back 150 years and this was exactly the case, but now somehow people have come to expect it. >Having a dog (or a pet, more generally) shouldn't be a luxury, because it gives one a better life (having kids even more so, but as I don't have any I can't comment on that). No, it really doesn't. It's horrible for the environment, and it's bad for society and is a disruption and inconvenience to people around you. The idea that dogs should be commonplace is utterly ridiculous and downright offensive, and similar to the idea that carrying guns should be commonplace and normal. And then you compare it to having kids. Do you realize how many children are maimed, disfigured, and killed every year by pet dogs?

paganel 4y ago

And then you're forcing dog-owners (which is a bigger and bigger percentage of the population) to rely on cars.

midoridensha 4y ago
No, re-read my last paragraph. As long as their dog is small, they can take the train no problem. If they have a large dog, they should already own a car. Apartments in Tokyo do NOT allow large dogs, and anyone living outside the city should already have a car anyway. If you can't afford a car, you can't afford a large dog. I live in Tokyo; there's almost no large dogs here. Having a large dog is a luxury.
- paganel 4y ago
  I was thinking mostly about outside of Japan, where the same discourse of "why do you need a car for?" has beginning to show up more and more. I need a car because otherwise having some outside activities with my dog is close to impossible, but I would love to have the possibility of not having to have a car while still giving my (medium-sized) dog a decent outdoor life. > I live in Tokyo; there's almost no large dogs here. Having a large dog is a luxury. Which I find sad that we've basically internalised and made it a normalcy. The same and even more so goes to having kids. Having a dog (or a pet, more generally) shouldn't be a luxury, because it gives one a better life (having kids even more so, but as I don't have any I can't comment on that).
  - midoridensha 4y ago
    >but I would love to have the possibility of not having to have a car while still giving my (medium-sized) dog a decent outdoor life. You can have one or the other. Owning a dog is a ridiculous luxury for ultra-wealthy people; go back 150 years and this was exactly the case, but now somehow people have come to expect it. >Having a dog (or a pet, more generally) shouldn't be a luxury, because it gives one a better life (having kids even more so, but as I don't have any I can't comment on that). No, it really doesn't. It's horrible for the environment, and it's bad for society and is a disruption and inconvenience to people around you. The idea that dogs should be commonplace is utterly ridiculous and downright offensive, and similar to the idea that carrying guns should be commonplace and normal. And then you compare it to having kids. Do you realize how many children are maimed, disfigured, and killed every year by pet dogs?