do hobbits have hobbit-sized pets?

[Beatrice]

okay, in the movie, remember when the black rider came, there was a dog and, whimpering, it walked backward into the hobbit hole. Okay, the funny thing is, it was totally in proportion with its owner, a hobbit! Now, this dog was no toy dog- I think was a German Shepard or something. But anyhoo... if ponies are like horses to hobbits, then how come the dog wasn't humongous? How come it was in proportion with the hobbit? Does this mean hobbits have hobbit-sized pets? Do they even have pets, period? My brother says that it was a glitch in the movie. What do you think?

[Airetalathwen]

If that was a glitch in the movie, then there are others too. Remember when Gandalf is riding in the cart, the camera pans through down-town Hobbiton, and you see a hobbit pulling a pig, and other hobbits with animals. Maybe the animals are scaled down...? <P>I think I just expanded your question rather than answer it. <P>~Airetalathwen

[Tigerlily Gamgee]

Yeah, I noticed that with the dog too & I was wondering the exact same thing. Let's just say that they do have hobbit-sized pets, otherwise it will just be added to everyone's ever growing "what's wrong with the film" list. How's about a "what's right with the film list?"<BR>I'm sorry, I am just getting tired of all of the complaints, though I am sure that many are valid.

[Beatrice]

I've got nothing wrong with the movie, I'm just confused. But thannks anyway for answering!

[Birdland]

Just about any animal can be bred small. Look at the Welsh pony, who if you saw it with no background references, would look to anyone like a full-size horse.<P>In fact, the dog in the film reminded me of my good ol' dog Rusty, when I was a kid. looked just like a collie-shep mix, except for his size. But to a Hobbit, he would have been the size of Rin-Tin-Tin!

[Aroaraniel]

There's nothing wrong with a small dog! There are "minature poodles" so there can be "minature german shepards" in Middle-Earth!

[Kalimac]

Hmmm...if you really want to get out there, you could always point out that since the Third Age takes place approximately 7,000 years ago, the animals then wouldn't have been quite the same as now. Didn't some animals evolve to grown larger? I'm no biologist, but I believe that certain kinds of horses actually began quite small, almost dog-sized, and only became larger later on. So maybe the same is true for the hobbit's dog - that species only became large later on.

[Orodhromeus]

Yes, but that was something in the order of hundreds of thousands of years, not just thousands. Man started breeding animals only some thousand years ago. See what he did with the wild boars & wild dogs. He created pigs, dogs, sheep & cows. Animals can be "domesticated" quite quickly. So we can expect Hobbits to have Hobbit-sized pets.

[Amanruthiel]

My interpretation of the animals within ME is that their size is not that important - unless it adds to the development of the plot.<P>For instance the Giant Eagles who rescue Bilbo and the dwarves in the Hobbit and then Gandalf are important due to their need to be large enough to rescue people. Otherwise they would not really have been mentioned.<P>The pets seen within the film are a normal size for the hobbits, and would appear very teeny to an elf (then again elves would probably not keep pigs themselves!!).<P>All the different races probably breed animals (be they pets or livestock) to their own requirements from the species which are naturally around them. <P>Perhaps I am getting too involved in this topic - anyway why weren't there any cats in the film is what I want to know! <P>A xx

[Beatrice]

Wow, you guys, I've never thought of all those ideas you came up with! But there WAS a cat in the movie! And I remembered! Being a cat-person I CAN'T forget these types of things! It was in Bree, in the Prancing Pony, the hobbits were looking around and stuff and there was a scary looking black cat staring at them.

[cookie_crazy]

Agggg. I hate cats almost as much as I hate Pippin. They are mean and quite disloyal. But, the cute little dog was downsized quite well by PJ I think.

[Birdland]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Agggg. I hate cats almost as much as I hate Pippin. They are mean and quite disloyal.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>But Pippin was kind and loyal, yet you hate him, too?<P>MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

[ElanorGamgee]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I hate cats almost as much as I hate Pippin. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Hate Pippin?<P>

[Susan Delgado]

This is probably inappropriate in a discussion about animal sizes, but I noticed the same thing at the end when Frodo and Sam take the boat. Hobbits are so much smaller than elves, they should have been swimming (no pun intended) in an enormous boat, but it was nicely proportional. That's bothered me every time I've seen the movie, and I've even thought about it in between times.<p>[ April 17, 2002: Message edited by: Susan Delgado ]

[Niere-Teleliniel]

I think that hobbits <I>may</I> have had <I>some</I> scaled-down pets, I dunno. But I do remember Tolkien mentioning that Bullroarer Took was big enough to ride a horse, so mabye horses were a standard size, and they just used ponies...hmmmmm.....

[Nevtalathiel]

Maybe the boats were made specially for them. But I didn't think that the boats were the wrong size - they were right for the Men and Legolas.<P>And how can you hate Pippin? I love Pippin! <BR>But everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If you don't like Pippin, fair enough, I'm not going to force my views down your throat.

[peonydeepdelver]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I hate cats almost as much as I hate Pippin. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Sorry, I'm afraid it's not possible to hate Pippin.

[Maeglanthirion]

Man! I've never noticed these things. But you're right! Every animals seemed proportionate to the hobbits. It's either an error or they breeded them small. Same goes for the boat thing. Now that you mention it, it is more proportional to the hobbits. As for hating Pippin, well, he's had his rough spots, but he's a comic relief (sort of). I love his line in FotR EE about the lembas!

[Lord of Angmar]

Not EVERY animal is proportionate to the hobbits. What about the horses of the Rohirrim in the Two Towers movie? Pippin ran right under one of them without crouching! And the hobbits were always quite smaller than the steeds of the Nazgul. Keep in mind how hard it must be to scale down normal-sized people in every single scene. Did you know that John Rhys-Davis (Gimli) is actually <I>taller</I> than Orlando Bloom (Legolas)? <P>Besides, if Middle Earth can have huge oliphaunts, giant eagles, and great wargs, why not tiny dogs and pigs?<P> <P>Cheers

[The Only Real Estel]

Cookie_Crazy: Apparently some things are better left unsaid. If you get hit 3 times for something, you must be hanging around black cats to much. I just kinda figured that the pets were the usual size. Maybe that's just me, though.