The Pet Thread

[CrimsonWeltall]

CW, how does a vet make uh an awful mistake?

 

No clue.

[illinilaw08]

Yeah, having lots of high places for cats to escape is key to their being comfortable in general. Having an up-high path out of the room is good, too.

 

High spaces are huge for the cats' sanity.

 

Our more social cat has been fine with the dog since day 1. She likes to be chased by the dog and tease the dog and lets him know if he's too aggressive. Our other cat who is very little and shy stays away from him when he's awake (in fact, we rarely saw her the first week the puppy was home), but she has adjusted pretty well and now likes to cuddle with him while he sleeps. The dog is sweet and loves them both but absolutely plays too rough sometimes.

 

If your cats are ok in the car, see if you can bring them to meet the dogs.

[Steve9347]

[StrangeSox]

High spaces are huge for the cats' sanity.

 

Our more social cat has been fine with the dog since day 1. She likes to be chased by the dog and tease the dog and lets him know if he's too aggressive. Our other cat who is very little and shy stays away from him when he's awake (in fact, we rarely saw her the first week the puppy was home), but she has adjusted pretty well and now likes to cuddle with him while he sleeps. The dog is sweet and loves them both but absolutely plays too rough sometimes.

 

If your cats are ok in the car, see if you can bring them to meet the dogs.

 

Our cats don't leave the house except for the vet, they'd be melting down the whole time.

[Steve9347]

To add. Check out Jackson Galaxy and his show "Cat from Hell" on Animal Planet. Yup, dude's "name" is Jackson Galaxy. Anyway, and we've always had one so it didn't matter for us since our cats are really well behaved yet mischevious, always have a high spot for the cat.

 

Get a "cat tower". Whenever the cats have had their fill, they go over, beat the s*** out of that thing, then go up top. Cats really like having a "perch". Honestly 90% of problems with house-only cats are directly related to their having no "escape".

 

Once you understand the feline, it can be quite rewarding. I love my two cats so hard.

[illinilaw08]

To add. Check out Jackson Galaxy and his show "Cat from Hell" on Animal Planet. Yup, dude's "name" is Jackson Galaxy. Anyway, and we've always had one so it didn't matter for us since our cats are really well behaved yet mischevious, always have a high spot for the cat.

 

Get a "cat tower". Whenever the cats have had their fill, they go over, beat the s*** out of that thing, then go up top. Cats really like having a "perch". Honestly 90% of problems with house-only cats are directly related to their having no "escape".

 

Once you understand the feline, it can be quite rewarding. I love my two cats so hard.

 

Our cats love to sit perched on the back of a loveseat and watch outside. Well, our 5 month old puppy has absolutely picked up on this habit, literally perching like a cat on the back of the loveseat. You see three heads moving in unison as they watch birds, squirrels, etc. The dog, however, isn't quite as passive about it. The animals outside end up winding him up and he jumps off the chair and runs around. The cats, in turn, just seem to give us looks that say, "that dude has NO idea how to watch outside." Love the cats. Ours have tons of personality.

[StrangeSox]

Our cats love to sit perched on the back of a loveseat and watch outside. Well, our 5 month old puppy has absolutely picked up on this habit, literally perching like a cat on the back of the loveseat. You see three heads moving in unison as they watch birds, squirrels, etc. The dog, however, isn't quite as passive about it. The animals outside end up winding him up and he jumps off the chair and runs around. The cats, in turn, just seem to give us looks that say, "that dude has NO idea how to watch outside." Love the cats. Ours have tons of personality.

 

Our cat just about knocked herself out jumping at some birds perched just outside our (closed) window once. Had it been open, she probably would have gone right through the screen.

[southsider2k5]

Our cat just about knocked herself out jumping at some birds perched just outside our (closed) window once. Had it been open, she probably would have gone right through the screen.

 

One of our cats lived in the wild for the first couple of months she was alive. She learned to click like a squirrel and do a rough imitation of a bird tweet. 13 years later she will still sit in our window and try to draw them over to kill them.

[kageman129]

My buddy Kyle just spur-of-the-moment bought a black lab/boxer mix puppy. He is only like 6 weeks old right now. Very tiny little guy. My roommate is dating him, so Kyle often brings little Duke over to hang out. He loves to bite and sleep, that's about it. When he is tired he will cuddle, but he seems kind of like a loner dog. He often hides when he is tired, or lays in tight spaces. He will climb up on the couch and try and wedge himself between the back of the couch and the cushion. It's kind of weird.

 

We looked up pictures of lab/boxer mixes, and this guy looks like he will be very intimidating when he is fully grown. Real badass and scary looking. This is what he looks like now though.....

 

 

My neighbor has a boxer/lab mix. Its like 7 years old right now and really does look like he will kill you. But man, he is just a big puppy. Not sure how he was raised, but man that dog loves to jump up at me and just is so nice. He plays really well with my golden retriever too. Thats an awesome mix dog though.

[StrangeSox]

One of our cats lived in the wild for the first couple of months she was alive. She learned to click like a squirrel and do a rough imitation of a bird tweet. 13 years later she will still sit in our window and try to draw them over to kill them.

 

The same cat that jumped into the window makes the clicking too, but she never lived in the wild.

 

My wife's old cat started as a stray they took in, so it was in the wild for a year or two. It still made these awful-sounding hunting noises when it would walk around with a toy. The first time I heard it, I thought she was dying.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

My best friend just bought a cock-a-poo puppy. Named it Upton (he is a big Dbacks fan, but probably loves Kate Upton too).

 

He paid $850 for the thing. Jesus. I can't imagine ever paying that much for a dog, or at least not while I am a college kid.

[illinilaw08]

The same cat that jumped into the window makes the clicking too, but she never lived in the wild.

 

My wife's old cat started as a stray they took in, so it was in the wild for a year or two. It still made these awful-sounding hunting noises when it would walk around with a toy. The first time I heard it, I thought she was dying.

 

One of our cats makes the clicking noise as well. She was a rescue from a shelter when she was 6 months old. I always wondered why she did that...

[G&T]

My best friend just bought a cock-a-poo puppy. Named it Upton (he is a big Dbacks fan, but probably loves Kate Upton too).

 

He paid $850 for the thing. Jesus. I can't imagine ever paying that much for a dog, or at least not while I am a college kid.

 

That's a little more than what we paid for our cockapoo. They are expensive but great dogs. Best breed of small dog I've come across. It better be first generation though. Otherwise he might be getting ripped off (at least in my opinion).

[southsider2k5]

The same cat that jumped into the window makes the clicking too, but she never lived in the wild.

 

My wife's old cat started as a stray they took in, so it was in the wild for a year or two. It still made these awful-sounding hunting noises when it would walk around with a toy. The first time I heard it, I thought she was dying.

 

She does the same thing. Freaked both of us out the first time she did it.

[iamshack]

That's a little more than what we paid for our cockapoo. They are expensive but great dogs. Best breed of small dog I've come across. It better be first generation though. Otherwise he might be getting ripped off (at least in my opinion).

What is a cock-a-poo?

 

Cocker and Poodle, I presume?

[G&T]

What is a cock-a-poo?

 

Cocker and Poodle, I presume?

 

Yup

[RockRaines]

My best friend just bought a cock-a-poo puppy. Named it Upton (he is a big Dbacks fan, but probably loves Kate Upton too).

 

He paid $850 for the thing. Jesus. I can't imagine ever paying that much for a dog, or at least not while I am a college kid.

Paying that much money for a dog when there are thousands waiting to be adopted at a shelter is beyond me. Rescue a dog, they usually turn out to live longer with less issues anyway. I have 2 rescues, and they are both great dogs and I know I saved them from a certain death sentence.

[IlliniKrush]

Paying that much money for a dog when there are thousands waiting to be adopted at a shelter is beyond me. Rescue a dog, they usually turn out to live longer with less issues anyway. I have 2 rescues, and they are both great dogs and I know I saved them from a certain death sentence.

We tried to adopt from a shelter, but the "selection" was very limited. A LOT of big dogs, not a lot of the type were were looking for, if any. That made it difficult even though intentions were there to adopt.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

That's a little more than what we paid for our cockapoo. They are expensive but great dogs. Best breed of small dog I've come across. It better be first generation though. Otherwise he might be getting ripped off (at least in my opinion).

 

This is their 3rd cock-a-poo. Their first one died very young of diabetes, I want to say less than a year old.

 

Their second one is still around. This family buys dogs like no other. His parents own 3, his sister owns 3, and now he owns 1. They are all cockapoos or Pomeranians.

Edited May 9, 2012 by JoeCoolMan24

[RockRaines]

We tried to adopt from a shelter, but the "selection" was very limited. A LOT of big dogs, not a lot of the type were were looking for, if any. That made it difficult even though intentions were there to adopt.

Yeah you've got to look a bit wider, both of mine were puppies from a shelter, my rot was actually within days of being euthanized.

 

www.dogsindanger.com is a very sad website to browse but they have a good selection.

 

I wasnt saying you werent looking hard enough, im saying that local shelters for whatever reason dont get alot of puppies which is a shame, because thats what people want.

Edited May 9, 2012 by RockRaines

[illinilaw08]

Yeah you've got to look a bit wider, both of mine were puppies from a shelter, my rot was actually within days of being euthanized.

 

www.dogsindanger.com is a very sad website to browse but they have a good selection.

 

I wasnt saying you werent looking hard enough, im saying that local shelters for whatever reason dont get alot of puppies which is a shame, because thats what people want.

 

I rescued a 3 year old lab back in November from a rescue organization. We had him for all of a week when he bit my soon to be mother in law, sending her to the hospital (on her birthday no less... the dog was sitting in my fiances lap when she walked by and the dog lunged at her). Needless to say, he had to go back to the rescue organization after that which was one of the saddest and most difficult trips I have made. After that, we decided we needed to get a puppy, so we went through a reputable breeder.

 

My sister has always had rescue dogs and they are some of the sweetest dogs I have ever met (and I have two shelter cats as well), but when you have a bad experience, you get gun shy.

[iamshack]

The rescue versus breeder argument is really a complex one...

 

Keep in mind that breeders are out there working hard to improve the breed and to place great dogs with great owners...most of them are responsible owners and most of the best breeders don't exactly make a killer living doing this...they are in it because they love the breed. When you support them you support the health of the breed and enable people who have the best interests of the dog in mind to actually continue their great work.

 

There is nothing wrong with supporting breeders and buying well-bred dog with the personality and temperament to fit in best with you and your family.

 

 

[Balta1701]

The rescue versus breeder argument is really a complex one...

 

Keep in mind that breeders are out there working hard to improve the breed and to place great dogs with great owners...most of them are responsible owners and most of the best breeders don't exactly make a killer living doing this...they are in it because they love the breed. When you support them you support the health of the breed and enable people who have the best interests of the dog in mind to actually continue their great work.

 

There is nothing wrong with supporting breeders and buying well-bred dog with the personality and temperament to fit in best with you and your family.

If I recall our discussion earlier in this thread, you suggested pretty strongly that a big key step if you're purchasing a dog from a breeder ought to involve personally checking out the breeder and the conditions where the pets are coming from.

[iamshack]

If I recall our discussion earlier in this thread, you suggested pretty strongly that a big key step if you're purchasing a dog from a breeder ought to involve personally checking out the breeder and the conditions where the pets are coming from.

Absolutely...there is a difference between reputable breeder and what are termed "backyard" breeders...backyard breeders are typically people who breed their b****es as many times as is biologically possible to create the largest number of saleable pups...they don't understand what they are doing and this is purely a financial ploy as opposed to trying to produce quality dogs and improve the breed overall.

 

 

[RockRaines]

Absolutely...there is a difference between reputable breeder and what are termed "backyard" breeders...backyard breeders are typically people who breed their b****es as many times as is biologically possible to create the largest number of saleable pups...they don't understand what they are doing and this is purely a financial ploy as opposed to trying to produce quality dogs and improve the breed overall.

Theres a difference between ones that make money and ones that make friends/family for life. Best way someone put it to me back in the day when i was looking at puppies. You are almost extended family to good breeders, others you are a paying customer.