To reDog or not.

@Chuck von Yamashita said:
Never thought I would have another dog after eating Otis.

I hope you aren’t hungry for more.

@Chuck von Yamashita said:
Never thought I would have another dog after eating Otis. My wife is terrified of most dogs. 4 years ago Paris moved upstairs from us and 3 years ago she moved in with us. Don’t think I will ever have a dog as good as she is

Jesus H. Christ on a stick! I used to think you were joking about the, uh, canisphagia, but now I don’t think so.

1 Like

@kayamedic said:
Everyone has to do what is right for them
Somehow this turned into a debate

we hesitated and our kids went to an adoption event . We went to meet their new adoptee.
And no dog turned into that terrified dog that no one had wanted for two months
The new light of our life

What debate? People can say they do or do not want to get another dog, hopefully without any passive-aggressive or judgmental comments.

Yes, everyone has to do what is right for them.

Hey Chuck v Y. You told her to wok the dog.

And String, one last thought; all that money spent on vet bills, dog medicine, grooming, dog food… that could be play dough for YOU! That’s what AHM talkin’ bout.

@qajaqman said:

@Chuck von Yamashita said:
Never thought I would have another dog after eating Otis.

I hope you aren’t hungry for more.

I missed that story! Maybe I should not enquire.

Had the “what will we do when dogless” conversation recently. We have always had multiples( going back to the mid 70s)and fortunately the acreage and space to do so. We are down to 3-- 2 boxers who are deaf and an Olde English Sheepdog. The motly crew will be 11, 10(boxers) and 8(sheepie) this year. Our double lot in the city is fine for sizing now as they group is starting to age a tad.

I am sure even those people who say no more dogs— will at times question that decision. The sheepie is a long lived large breed–past experience with sheepies suggests/hope he will be around for another 4-7years. Guess we will cross that bridge at that time.

@Rex said:
Hey Chuck v Y. You told her to wok the dog.

And String, one last thought; all that money spent on vet bills, dog medicine, grooming, dog food… that could be play dough for YOU! That’s what AHM talkin’ bout.

OOF, hope he did not ask for cat-sup.

No more dogs for me. It’s tough traveling with them, what I’m finding out is that a lot of house rentals down south are not dog friendly.

“to redog or not”… Obviously you are not married to my wife. Otherwise you’d already have another dog.

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I’m the animal lover. My wife could care less. We have another 10yo dog and a 14yo cat who is really showing his age. Wife suggests “we” wait until these 2 are gone before looking at any others. We’ve lost a cat and a dog in the last few months.
I’m tending to agree with her.

@string said:
I’m the animal lover. My wife could care less. We have another 10yo dog and a 14yo cat who is really showing his age. Wife suggests “we” wait until these 2 are gone before looking at any others. We’ve lost a cat and a dog in the last few months.
I’m tending to agree with her.

It’s tough. Dogs have been in my family since childhood, but I haven’t replaced my beloved standard poodle since he died some years ago. Would love to have another standard because it’s such a great breed, but it wouldn’t be fair to leave him home alone while I’m at work. Or paddling. Fortunately a relative has a goofy Irish Water Spaniel pup, so I can play with him.

Careful with that ‘good breed’ thinking. My wife had a Cocker Spaniel that was extremely intelligent and obedient and had a great temperament. When it died she replaced it with two Cocker Spaniels (brothers). Dumb as doorknobs and didn’t care one bit about obeying anyone.

My mother liked Cocker Spanials. I have scars on my fingers where one bit me when I was a toddler. I’ve never owned one.

Our remaining mutt is 13 and declining. Enlarged heart, almost deaf but is still having fun.
We
have a pair of cats we adopted when they were 6 weeks old. Both think the dog is their mother.

I’ve had quite a few dog s over the years. Some were better suited to canoe camping than others, though they all loved it. Going from most recent to earlier…
Patch - actually belonged to a room mate who ended up in a hospital for a long time. The Ozark crowd will remember him.


Before that was Petey and Ewok. They weren’t very obedient and seemed disconcertingly unaware of the possible intent of the eagles perched in the trees they would always run toward upon landing on an island.

Before that it was Sam & Echo. The best campers of the bunch, though they took up a lot of space in both the canoe and the tent. Easy to train - they just wanted to be with you and do whatever it was we were doing. Sam used to lay down in the shallows with his chin resting on shore and minnows would take shelter in his coat…

And Nimue - we’re back to the 80s now… Dumb as a rock but a bundle of energy and very loving when she felt like it. She once followed a ledge on a cliff behind where we were camped until it was too narrow to turn around on. I had to free climb the cliff to rescue her.

I miss dogs, but I have cats now. It makes traveling easier.

2 Likes

No dogs in the house because they have needs that my schedule could not meet, always have had cats because of the wonder of kitty litter.

But I like dogs tremendously and have found ways to keep them in my life, at least until the recent shut downs. I have done some puppy socialization at a place that breeds German Shepherds and needs them little ones to leave for new homes used to women. And to know how to climb stairs. I used to be able to take out the adult dogs for walks too which I loved but an older volunteer was an idiot and they had to stop that. But I do get time with the moms when I let them back in after doing the puppy stuff.

If you can find some place that will allow this, I highly recommend it.

I had some major faves when I was doing more pet sitting, and the transition I ran into may be more manageable for you. The owner of the service had a second child and cut back around the same time that some of my favorite older dogs started to go from old age. I tried for a bit but was glad of her cutting back the service - the young ones that people got when they did get another dog were major jerks compared to the old guys that I had a relationship with.

The other thing I have thought about if I ran out of other options was to walk dogs at a local no kill shelter. It takes advantage of two things I can do, size up a dog fairly quickly and figure out how to get to a basic relationship.

I have the same problem coming, though several years down the road, with cats. My rational brain says these two should be my last. Whether I will be able to hold to that is anyone’s guess.

Comes a time when you have to face reality and realize you are on your last cat.

And a bunch of other things.

When I was single there were no new animals. Now there is a new retriever that can’t stay out of the water. . I think cats and dogs come with wives.

Good swimmers. The vests are more for visibility and training.

I love dogs. We can barely get by with 3. We lost our male Welsh Corgi last year, and replaced him within a week. Dogs are important. Get another one.