House bears

[moonbreaze]

(House bear meaning a small breed of bear that was domesticated, like house cats or house dogs)

A comedian mention house bears as part of a skit he was doing today, but I got to thinking about it, we really should make house bears. Granted, it will take a hundred years or better to make them if we only use selective breeding and not genetic engineering or... what ever that phrase is that basically means looking at the genes in the haploid cells to seeing what would be the resulting offspring. Of course in either situation you are also looking at a huge amount of money being poured into this. But I also think it has the potential to generate a huge amount of revenue too. If one company were to do this and be the only provider of house bears that company would be in complete control of the supply aspect of the "supply and demand" aspect of the business details. There was a study going on in the Netherlands I think on the subject of animal domestication. Using foxes, they used only selective breeding targeting animals that were most comfortable with humans. They became so affectionate that they ended up selling them to make money to continue to fund their research.

So discuss, who could / would fund this idea, are there any flaws with the idea, is there a market for this kind of pet, would you like to have one, and anything else you feel is relevant.

[Bob Motley]

Better than a pit bull!
But nowhere near as cute!

[Christopher Columbine]

House hippos would be a far better idea.

[moonbreaze]

Christopher Columbine

House hippos would be a far better idea.

Not really, I mean they are so water based I'm not sure how they'd addapt to being in a house, which is usually very dry.

It would be very awesome though, I admit.

[Kuchen Fairy]

I want one.

[moonbreaze]

Kuchen Fairy

I want one.

Me too, xd

[Bouidicca]

Tasmanian Devil for me!

[Vice Admiral Romeo Mike]

Bouidicca

Tasmanian Devil for me!

Strongest jaws of any animal for its size. So, if you piss it off, say goodbye to whatever it bites.

[Rosetta Celestine]

I want a house polar bear! They're cuter because they're rare. pirate

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/03_02/polarDM1903_468x380.jpg

[Cassidy Peterson]

The thread title actually made me think of burly gay men taking the role of overseeing household duties, as "bear" is a euphemism for heavier and less-effeminate homosexuals. So instead of a housewife it would be a housebear.

[Kuchen Fairy]

Cassidy Peterson

The thread title actually made me think of burly gay men taking the role of overseeing household duties, as "bear" is a euphemism for heavier and less-effeminate homosexuals. So instead of a housewife it would be a housebear.

Same. confused

[Miguel Lobo]

You would need to breed the smell out of the bear. If you think a wet dog smells wait until you get up close to a bear, wet or dry!

[catspook]

Some animals have a temprement that makes it easier to domesticate them; bears do not have that temprement (polar and grizzly bears especially). Plus, with the extreme selective breeding required to make such an extreme trait (especially in a gene pool that has already been limited by low numbers) you are likely going to produce deformed bears a lot faster than pygmy ones. I saw a guy last month with a newfoundland dog that looked almost exatly like a bear and had the sweetest temprement; I'd say stick with one of those if you really want a pet bear.

[moonbreaze]

catspook

Some animals have a temprement that makes it easier to domesticate them; bears do not have that temprement (polar and grizzly bears especially). Plus, with the extreme selective breeding required to make such an extreme trait (especially in a gene pool that has already been limited by low numbers) you are likely going to produce deformed bears a lot faster than pygmy ones. I saw a guy last month with a newfoundland dog that looked almost exatly like a bear and had the sweetest temprement; I'd say stick with one of those if you really want a pet bear.

Couldn't you easily fix that by using genetic engeneering and not selective breeding?

[moonbreaze]

Cassidy Peterson

The thread title actually made me think of burly gay men taking the role of overseeing household duties, as "bear" is a euphemism for heavier and less-effeminate homosexuals. So instead of a housewife it would be a housebear.

Wow, I wasn't aware of that... Thanks for letting me know though, XD.