Do you have a dog, or any other pets?

[TBurban]

Well, I stole this from the Grand Rapids Forum and switched it around a little, I hope you guys dont mind

Im a dog person, and Ive got one of my own. She's an English Springer Spaniel, and her name's Sophie

[suburban george3]

I luv animals in general, but due to my job (I take frequent trips of 1-2 nights out of town, plus may return late at times) a dog isn't practical for me. However, I do have 2 cats.

Lars, whom I've had now for 8 yrs.

Bobo, whom I've had now for 2 yrs.

[runawayjim]

when i lived at home, i had a dog and 3 cats. then 2 cats, then 1 cat, then 2 again (the dog still alive). then i moved out. then the girlfriend/fiancee moved in and i had a cat. now i have nothing (unless the fiancee counts ). she gave away the cat because she lives in philly for grad school and is always coming back and forth here (and the cat needs to be fed twice a day or else it eats and pukes everywhere) and i'm not allowed to have animals in my place. sometime after she finishes school and moves back to providence, we'll get a cat and then after we buy a house, we'll get a dog.

[Recchia]

My parents have two pugs and event though I no longer live with them I consider them mine. They're not obese like most pugs are, which kinda makes me mad so I try to feed them donuts whenever I'm visiting.

[runawayjim]

My parents have two pugs and event though I no longer live with them I consider them mine. They're not obese like most pugs are, which kinda makes me mad so I try to feed them donuts whenever I'm visiting.

so your dogs are on the donut diet too?

i consider the cats and dog at my mother's to be mine as well... which is why i listed them.

[AuLukey]

Laying on my bed behind me is my 2 year old Rat Terrier, Mick. As you can tell, I am awake at 4am. Any takers as to why?

At the moment he's talking in his sleep and kicking. It's amazing the noises he can make that sound nothing like his normal bark. It's kinda like he is actually talking sometimes because he breaks up the noises and has pauses in them. On the rare occasion he does this, it gets kind of weird. Anywho, the other night I took this creepy picture of him by trying to take a picture without getting the weird blue eyes he gets from the flash. So, by putting my finger over the flash, apparently the light went through my finger thus causing the casting of blood-light in the flash and here you go:

[FromCityToRural]

I had a dog, but he died in May this year of liver failure. He was only 12.

I also have a cat. He was a stray and my dog found him while I was walking him. He was just a kitten then, the vet estimated him at 8 weeks old. Him and the dog became the best of friends, and he moped around for a few days when the dog died.

[dimebag1980]

I've had dogs all my life and never had much to do with cats until my parents got one when I was a teenager. I'd always disliked cats before, and getting one certainly didn't change my mind. I still don't like cats. Aside from being allergic to them, I'm just not a fan of the typical cat temperment.

I've always been a dog person, and right now I have a little Lhasa Apso. I like big dogs as well, but having experience with large dogs jumping fences as a child, I will likely never own another large dog. My parents have two large dogs right now, and one of them jumps the fence every chance he gets. I don't want to get attached to an animal and risk it getting out and hit by a car. That's been a fear of mine ever since I watched my favorite Pit Bull get run over by a truck as a child. He rolled, got back up, and ran straight into the house. And ran back out in the road the next day after he escaped. Silly dog. Regardless, that's always scared me. I've also seen too many childrens' hearts get broken after finding their pets dead in the road, and I can't stand to see that either.

[runawayjim]

I've had dogs all my life and never had much to do with cats until my parents got one when I was a teenager. I'd always disliked cats before, and getting one certainly didn't change my mind. I still don't like cats. Aside from being allergic to them, I'm just not a fan of the typical cat temperment.

I've always been a dog person, and right now I have a little Lhasa Apso. I like big dogs as well, but having experience with large dogs jumping fences as a child, I will likely never own another large dog. My parents have two large dogs right now, and one of them jumps the fence every chance he gets. I don't want to get attached to an animal and risk it getting out and hit by a car. That's been a fear of mine ever since I watched my favorite Pit Bull get run over by a truck as a child. He rolled, got back up, and ran straight into the house. And ran back out in the road the next day after he escaped. Silly dog. Regardless, that's always scared me. I've also seen too many childrens' hearts get broken after finding their pets dead in the road, and I can't stand to see that either.

we got invisible fencing for our dog (the actual invisible fence company brand one) and it has worked wonders in keeping him in the yard. and he loves to chase things.

[AuLukey]

we got invisible fencing for our dog (the actual invisible fence company brand one) and it has worked wonders in keeping him in the yard. and he loves to chase things.

Yea, I'm not so sure my dog would even notice the shock. He'd probably just keep on running. He's horrible about chasing squirrels while we're walking him. He often yanks the leash out of our hands when he gets to the end. Once he gets momentum going, that's it, either let go or loose a limb. Luckily the squirrels usually jump up the closest tree once he catches up and he jumps at the base barking. I stopped chasing after him now, I just walk towards the barking.

Anything smaller than him is in trouble the second it steps in our yard. Outside the yard, no big deal. Just ask our neighbor's chihuahuas. I can't count the times he's nearly drawn blood from them. But he's a rat terrier and that's what they're bred to do, I've accepted this.

[dimebag1980]

The first experience I ever had with that electronic invisible fencing was very strange, indeed. When I was a teenager I used to ride my bike about 17 miles a day. I'd ride 8-1/2 miles out of the city limits and then come back. However just before the point where I'd turn around there was a house with two large, intimidating dogs. The one thing I noticed, however, was that there was no gate attached to the fence around the yard. I was so afraid those dogs would get out, I'd hae my pocket knife ready. However every day I rode past, the dogs just ran to the fence line and stopped... they never escaped. That's when I realized they had the invisible fence.

[runawayjim]

The first experience I ever had with that electronic invisible fencing was very strange, indeed. When I was a teenager I used to ride my bike about 17 miles a day. I'd ride 8-1/2 miles out of the city limits and then come back. However just before the point where I'd turn around there was a house with two large, intimidating dogs. The one thing I noticed, however, was that there was no gate attached to the fence around the yard. I was so afraid those dogs would get out, I'd hae my pocket knife ready. However every day I rode past, the dogs just ran to the fence line and stopped... they never escaped. That's when I realized they had the invisible fence.

one of our cats figured out the invisible fencing. my dog would chase him around teh yard. he would run just over the line and lay down. the dog would stand inside and just bark. i swear the cat was laughing at him.

[michaelskis]

Thread Thief! (Just kidding)

As indicated in the GR thread, I am looking for a Irish Terrier without having to spend too much (The few that I found cost $600 to $1000)

I am keeping my eyes and ears open, and have yet to find anything.

[AuLukey]

Maybe some of you can settle my worry about invisible fencing. I don't live in a bad neighborhood and my family gets along with our neighbors really well. But, what's to keep somebody from picking the dog up and walking off with him? Also, those damn neighborhood kids, I can see them messing with him once they realize it.

[runawayjim]

Maybe some of you can settle my worry about invisible fencing. I don't live in a bad neighborhood and my family gets along with our neighbors really well. But, what's to keep somebody from picking the dog up and walking off with him? Also, those damn neighborhood kids, I can see them messing with him once they realize it.

that's just something you have to deal with. my dog, a kerry beagle (which is a larger beagle about 2 feet tall to the top of his back, looks sort of like a beagle/pointer mix), has gotten out of the yard and, like i said, my cat used to taunt him by running away from the dog and stopping as soon as he crossed the line knowing the dog couldn't go farther.

i can let the dog out without his collar on anymore and he knows not to leave the yard. he has, on occasion, chased an animal out of the yard, yelping as he crossed the line. but as soon as he realized he was outside of his boundaries, he stopped and barked at us to get him back (which they say to remove the collar and carry the dog across or keep it on a leash). the only way they say you shoudl allow the dog to cross the line is in a car, in your arms, or on a leash. my dog has gotten used to that and won't leave without permission. there's no neighborhood kids, so that's not a problem.

the invisible fence is made to keep your dog in the yard, not keep people out. as for kids taunting it, that can happen with any sort of fence and is just as bad (and even worse if the dog is tied up, some kids like to get the dog to run and get choked at the end of the line).

[Neo]

We have a cat named "Nano" after the current trend in technology and for the fact that she is petite:

[DruidCity]

I have a 13-year-old spitz (American Eskimo).

Spitzes are among the healthiest and longest-lived of all dog breeds.

I like the fact that she doesn't dig, is very low maintenance, and doesn't bother animals or plants.

She sits there and watches the birds and squirrels just like a person would.

She's very intelligent, almost like a little person in a dog suit.

[ironchapman]

I lost a cat a couple weeks ago.

Now, I have one dog, one cat, and some fish.

This is Tux, the one we still have:

This is Beau, the one we just lost:

[suburban george3]

I lost a cat a couple weeks ago.

I hope you're doing OK. I would be beside myself if I lost one of my kitties!

[MadVlad]

I currently have one cat, Mia:

I had 2 others, but lost them in a custody battle of sorts:

Loki

Trevor

[ZachariahDaMan]

I have 4 dogs. We only actually own 3 though. We foster one for the Golden Retriever Rescue of Michigan until a home is found for it. Then we will receive another dog for a bit.

[dtown]

ive got a golden retriever.

[Recchia]

One of my parent's pugs(I still consider it mine though):

[AuLukey]

One of my parent's pugs(I still consider it mine though):

There's a face only a mother (or owner) could love. I've always loved pugs, they always make me smile.

[suburban george3]

we got invisible fencing for our dog (the actual invisible fence company brand one) and it has worked wonders in keeping him in the yard. and he loves to chase things.

We have 3 houses in our neighborhoods with invisible fencing, and the dogs are very well behaved there. (thanks to the Neighborhood Nazis (the HOA, which I'm an officer of) you can't have a front yard fence or any type of kennel, pen, or doghouse in you're yard, but we'll allow the invisible fencing.) The dogs never bother folks who are walking by even if they have dogs with them. I would recommend them to anyone.