Welcome to Compendium Chimerus, chapter 4b. After 9 months in development, hopefully it was worth the wait. I plan to continue ‘Training Day’ soon™!
SECTION I.II (1.2) – DISCIPLINING YOUR FLUFFY
Like the above section, I’ll be laying out a few scenarios, and providing differently measured responses. Do keep in mind however that this book is meant to be reference material. Not every situation here and each response will be applicable to you and your fluffy. Fluffies tend to react to discipline in different ways depending on their temperament. Due to their emotional sensitivity, it is important to communicate that you love your fluffy and are doing this for their own good. Let’s get started!
SCENARIO A: Bad Poopies
This is a common issue with fluffies. Due to the acidic nature of their feces, it is important to litter train fluffies as early as possible to prevent accidents outside of the litterbox. If your fluffy has free roam of the house, I suggest placing them strategically around the house so that your fluffy does not have to waddle all the way back to their saferoom to eliminate waste. There are designs that allow you to stealthily have them in your home (shaped like potted plants, or even toyetic designs sure to catch your fluffy’s eye) without stinking up the place.
It’s also worth noting that there are different responses to these kinds of problems by fluffies depending on their age. Whereas an adult fluffy will come up with some kind of nonsense excuse such as having too much fun and forgetting to use the litterbox, a common excuse given by foals (and their mother/father) is that they are just a “widdew babbeh”. While cute, this is undesirable behavior. Let’s go over a few possible solutions.
A) Talk it out
One simple solution is to simply speak with your fluffy. Why did it defecate and or urinate on the floor? While it is certainly true that with a fluffy’s limited and feeble intellect it can disregard the urge to properly eliminate waste due to it being distracted with other things (playing, watching television), you should not let this excuse fly. Reinforce the fact that them doing this is making you very sad. Fluffies are very emotional creatures and appeals to emotion will typically work in your favor. If your fluffy has a more churlish and insubordinate personality, then, I recommend reminding it that the luxuries you afford it are privileges which may be revoked at any time. Failing that, refer to “The Stick”
B) The Carrot
Another solution to keep in mind is what I call “The Carrot”. As the name suggests, you find a nice juicy metaphorical carrot to dangle in front of your fluffy. Some might refer to this as mere bribery, but it may help to think of it to positively reinforce behaviors. Now it’s worth remembering something here: you don’t want to make this hypothetical reward to be too extravagant or exciting. Perhaps a new flavor of treat, or showing them their favorite episode of their favorite show. After all, going to the bathroom is a simple task which can be accomplished by even a 3 year old.
C) The Stick
Ah yes, the stick. The stick can take on many forms, usually in the shape of the sorry stick. I would not recommend anything tougher or harsher than a light tree branch. More harmful implements can lead to long-term emotional and physical consequences, which depending on your circumstances might not be ideal. Simply take the sorry stick/punishment tool and give your fluffy a good crack on the tummy. Their underbellies are one of the softer and more vulnerable places on their body. Lashes to the legs, face, and mouth can be more dangerous for a variety of reasons. Injuries to legs can cause fractures, whereas striking their mouth can cause swelling and difficulty eating.
Strikes to the face are likewise discouraged because you may strike out the fluffy’s eye. Getting struck with the sorry stick can be a very traumatic experience which is what we’re aiming for. The very mention or thought of the sorry stick will then fill the fluffy with a sense of fear and dread. The stick is also a valuable technique to use in larger groups of fluffies. Simply strike the alpha or smarty, and it should cause a chain reaction. The smarty/alpha should then begin to police the rest of its family or herd to prevent further defecation outside of the litterbox.
D) Appeal to Shame
The shame appeal is something I’ve found to be very effective, especially on colts, fillies, stallions, and mares. I will cover more on the psychological effects of this in chapter 5. Essentially, you must present the fluffy with a diaper. Establish the diaper that is something for “babies”. You see, much like young children, fluffies generally do not like to be thought of as being a “baby”. Then you must let the fluffy know that if it has an accident outside of the litterbox then it will be forced to wear a diaper. This is effective in situations where you have one or more fluffies, as with the stick treatment, other fluffies will be more vigilant about using the litterbox. After all, they don’t want to be forced to walk around in a diaper full of shit and piss and be called a “dummeh babbeh”.
Closing Thoughts
“Bad poopies/peepees” are one of the more common yet also severe issues for first-time or veteran fluffy owners. Like dogs, they must be made aware of the rules and the pecking order within the home. While these are certainly not ALL the solutions to the problem I have presented, I feel these four are the most useful depending on what kind of owner you are and your relationship with your fluffy. It is also worth considering also having your fluffy examined to see if they have any bladder/sphincter control issues. Next, we’ll be looking at some other common negative behaviors that will more than likely need to be manually corrected. Overall, many of these solutions I’ve outlined are just as useful and effective for many behavioral issues, so I shall next begin to cover some more unique ones.
SCENARIO B: Colorism & Favoritism
One of the more common behaviors I’ve seen amongst first-time and dams that have yielded multiple litters. These behaviors can also be found by the sire, though, they are not as common. Colorism manifests when upon birthing and cleaning her young, the dam decides that she does not like a certain colored foal. This may be due to simple preference, past negative experiences with fluffies of that color, or other factors such as you, the owner, saying something negative about that color or perhaps even the sire.
Likewise, a dam may express favoritism for one foal. Some typical reasons for this include preference, the foal in question resembling the dam or the sire, and sometimes even simply just smelling good shortly after birth. These are all negative behaviors which can be detrimental to the entire litter (since many of these behaviors can and likely will be mirrored and passed down). There is also the likelihood that not all of the litter will thrive due to a lack of milk provided, or in more extreme cases, the dam or sire killing them. Let’s look at some solutions.
A) Pre-conditioning
This is an invaluable “solution”. This isn’t quite a “true” solution as it is more of a preventative measure. If it is possible, it is important to instill good behaviors in your fluffy(s) before deciding to have them breed. Establishing that your fluffy must care and love all of her litter equally is key. Doing so will lead to better outcomes for your dam, but also for yourself and your fluffy. Your fluffy will appreciate you sitting and watching all of their favorite ‘mummah teebee’ shows with them and will so strengthen your bond with her. If for some reason this fails to take, then, I suggest “Talking it out” as outlined above. If the situation does not improve, escalate to hand-rearing and fostering.
B) Hand-rearing
This is a simple solution, and very effective. Similar to newborn kittens, puppies, and other small animals, newborn foals require quite a bit of attention. You must simply separate the dam from her foals, especially the one it calls “bestest”. This will induce a strong separation anxiety response, resulting in the dam becoming anxious, depressed, and perhaps even agitated. Simply bottlefeed the foals and provide them with warm bedding (perhaps after applying some dam pheromone, which can easily be harvested via your dam’s tears and any shed fluff.
One noteworthy anxiety response in dams is biting and removing bits of their own fluff). The key here is that during the separation that she witnesses you provide the foals with this care, or at the very least be allowed to see them. If out of sight for more than 4-5 days, the dam will spiral into an even deeper depression assuming her foals have all died. Lastly, you must establish the principles and values from “Pre-conditioning”. Afterwards, return foals one by one with the “bestest” being the last. If situation does not improve, repeat process or escalate to fostering.
C) Fostering
Not all mares are suited for motherhood. Fluffies have a wide variety of personalities, so this is inevitable. This can be due to circumstances like laziness, irresponsibility, or other factors which will be covered in the next chapter. This is where fostering comes into play. Foster dams are typically very experienced with handling and caring for foals and will usually happily accept all foals into her care. This is an excellent long term solution, and while it does work short-term, you must be careful. If the newborn foal has opened its eyes it may view the foster as its mother. Dams may likewise sink into a very deep depression if it recognizes one of its babies only for it to reject her in favor of the foster mother. In these situations, the foster mother should be able to assist in returning the foals to their mother.
Closing Thoughts
Among fluffies, dams are one of the more sensitive and more difficult types of fluffies to handle. Not quite in the same way as a “smarty” fluffy is, but can be trying, nonetheless. It is the simple fact that their simplistic and fragile minds are loaded with hormones which only amplify their capacity to feel and express emotions which leads to some of the issues I laid out above. They are still your (hopefully) sweet and well-mannered fluffy underneath it all, so try to be gentle yet firm. I will now proceed with a few more common scenarios before we move onto chapter 5.
SCENARIO C: Sexual Assault (also known as “Bad Huggies”)
Much like humans, it is a commonly known fact that stallions are known for their potential to put their well-being and needs over others. One of the most egregious examples is when a stallion forces itself onto a dam or her foals. It’s a complicated issue to be sure, as fluffies are more susceptible to hormonal changes/influence than us humans. I would perhaps say that half of the time it’s due to a stallion driven into a frenzy catching the scent of a mare/dam/foal still coated in pheromones, or the other half being actual malice and ill intent. These are done by male fluffies (and the occasional female) in an attempt to establish dominance among groups in which more than one male is present. It is also not unheard of for stallions to mount other stallions in a fit of desperation, anger, or desire to subjugate. However, one small footnote that I should mention. Sometimes, in industrial settings, these traits can be very desirable if the male in question has desirable traits (good coat, unicorn/Pegasus, possibly alicorn, intelligence, etc) then it is very simple to induce these behaviors. Spray them in the face with mare pheromones and watch them get to work. In any case, it is important to remember what we are dealing with here: idiotic little creatures with the IQ of a 4- or 5-year-old. Projecting human morality on these things is an exercise in foolishness and tedium. These traits can be easily adjusted, and when handled properly, stress and trauma can be easily mitigated. Let’s look at a few possible ways to handle this.
A) The Guilt Trip
As mentioned previously, fluffies are creatures of emotion. They may not be thinking entirely clearly while rutting, so, give them some space to calm down. Approach the mare/fluffy it forced itself upon and try to comfort and soothe it. Talk to them, give them space, give them extra treats or food, and give them lots of pets and scratches. It is important not to touch the affected areas as the sensation may re-traumatize them and think they are being assaulted again. Once this has been accomplished, approach the stallion. It may or may not recall the assault, or it may remember it fondly. Gently yet firmly talk to the stallion, and inform it that it has done something very bad. That it has deeply deeply hurt (or given ‘worstest heart hurties’, this is far more simple for them to comprehend) to a fluffy that may be its friend, sibling, mother, or special friend.
The stallion is likely to grow confused or even irate at this, so, keep pushing.
Place the stallion in a sorry box or container, and bring them to the mare. Instruct the mare to tell the stallion what happened, and why it “gave her wowstest heawt huwties”. If your stallion is repentant, it may be deeply, deeply saddened by this. It will likely attempt to apologize, at which point it’s important to remind the mare that she doesn’t have to forgive him. Most will accept the reconciliation, and life will resume as normal. However, the stallion may lose an interest in sex due to associating it with the thought of hurting or harming someone close to him. If the stallion yet remains unrepentant, continue to the next step.
B) Castration
As Bob Barker said, “Spay and neuter your pets!” But somehow I doubt he predicted the rise of fluffies and what prolific breeders they are. So here we are. The nuclear option. I would recommend neutering a male fluffy if you intend to keep it as a pet. Males can grow to be stubborn or aggressive, though mostly they will just be full of vigor. I recommend getting them snipped as early as possible, as this removes the whole rigamarole of your fluffy asking “whewe am fwuffy’s speshuw wumps? Wai nu hab?” or it growing depressed at it being unable to perform activities it was once able to. If it’s present, this sense of melancholy and sadness will go away over time. In its place, however, your fluffy may become more lethargic.
Similar to animals of other species who have been neutered, they may become more sedentary or not be as energetic as they once were. In either case, try to keep your fluffy active. One caveat to this solution. If your fluffy has recently had children that have died, it will sink into a deep depression. For your fluffy, the most obvious solution to “Aww fwuffy babbehs hab fowebah sweepies…am wowstest daddeh ebah…” is “Fwuffy jus’ hab mowe babbehs!” as it perks right back up. In the case of a castrated fluffy, the memory of its deceased progeny will be forever engraved upon its heart.
C) Brutality
If for some reason you wish to be rid of your fluffy or severely traumatize it, then, this solution might be the one for you. Take your fluffy to fluff-care, and let all of the other fluffies there know that it gave “bad huggies” to another fluffy or even a baby. This is a surefire way to ignite a sense of anger and hatred into their hearts, where they will either refuse to associate with your fluffy and exclude it, or more commonly, may result in it being set upon and beaten by other fluffies. It might die, but, if it survives then it has just been taught a lesson it will never forget. Alternatively, you can just smack the hell out of it with a sorry stick or simply just kill it. Whatever works for you. This is my least recommended solution, as then all of the time you spent bonding with and caring for your fluffy will have been for nothing.
Closing Thoughts
This is one of the more sensitive topics covered in this issue. If you stop and really think, it’s a bizarre feeling for a person to have such a thing in common with their pet fluffy. Now, the important thing to remind you, dear reader of. I am not trying to compare the pain and suffering of a human being to that of these abominations. I would not dare trivialize such a serious matter. With that out of the way, let us continue to chapter 5: Fluffy Physiology and Psychology! It’ll be a bit of a whopper, so, settle in for a read. Consider this chapter just a small taste of the psychology portion. I’ll be covering the differences between the four types of standard fluffy (‘earthie’, unicorn, Pegasus, and alicorn.) I will also be covering details on the two types of sea fluffy (freshwater and saltwater). Some topics regarding psychology you should expect are maternal and paternal behaviors, how behaviors are molded and can change over time.