Fun Discussion - Dog Ownership

[joji732]

To me, the difficulties are different from dog to dog.

With my first Lhasa, the biggest difficulty was potty training. It turns out that a good deal of his issue was caused by allergies. Eventually, it got to the point that I would go away on business, call home, and my husband would tell me the dog had peed on the floor. All I had to do was ask what he had fed him that he shouldn't have eaten (beef, chicken, turkey or pork) and that made hubby shut up.

With my second Lhasa, the most difficult thing was breaking her of her penchant for eating socks and underwear. We were very blessed that she never got an obstruction - not even when she ate a complete pair of my husband's socks! (And he has extra large feet!)

My current dog is a Jack Russell mix. (The other two live with hubby, who is now my ex.) He is a bit territorial and reactive, so my biggest difficulty with him is all the poeple in the world who think they should be able to just walk up and pet your dog because THEY want to.

[Paul&Muttley]

Putting Depends on the dog might be a way to stop him from peeing

Sorry - couldn't resist... Oops, gotta go!

[MaiasMom]

My biggest challenge is that my dogs, Standard Schnauzers feel they need to announce everyone that comes down the street. No matter they are across the street and not on our property, they just need to let me know that someone is around. Where I live currently our winter/spring weather is nasty, rain and snow which makes wanting to get out for a walk not very interesting. That will change in the next couple months and they will have miles and miles of open space to run and play. And of course there is batheing and groom 3 dogs. I usually plan a whole day for this with a quick brush every couple of days unless they went to the off leash park and are full of mud and dog spit.

[Fundog]

Maiasmom, I've got two long-coated, heavily feathered dogs (Annie is a long coated springer spaniel, and Dottie is a Llewellin English Setter). My 13 year old son is responsible for keeping them mat-free. Part of his daily chores includes brushing and combing both dogs, paying special attention to their feathers. He does an excellent job, and it only takes him 15-30 minutes each dog, unless he's in the mood to give them the full "spa treatment," which essentially means brushing the belly for a full hour, lol! They only have to be bathed a few times per year, since daily combing keeps them pretty clean. Even our red dirt (clay and sand mixture) brushes out well, once it dries. Granted, Dottie isn't that snow-white that she probably should be, but she's white enough to call "white," rather than "pink."

In addition to grooming the dogs, my son's other responsibilities include laundry, dishes, vacuuming the carpet, cleaning the bathroom, and homeschooling. And he still has a lot of play time! So if you comb your dogs a few minutes each day, instead of two or three times a week, it may same you some time in the long run. And mud brushes out very well once it dries, reducing the need for bathing.

[Nettle]

Fundog, is your son for hire? I pay well and plenty of tea breaks

[Fundog]

LOL, Nettle-- one of the skills he's lacking in is swimming-- I don't think he could make it across the Atlantic Ocean.

[Paul&Muttley]

Michael Phelps was practically my neighbor. Maybe he could give your son some training, and a few Red Bulls, and he could make it across the "pond"!

[Noobs]

Fundog, what kind of brush does your son use for brushing the dogs?

[Fundog]

It's a relatively simple, inexpensive, dual-sided brush: One side is stiff bristles, all close together-- he starts out with that one, to help reduce pulling and hurting them, especially if they've got tangles. This side is also preferred on tender spots, like the belly, and the thin hair on the legs, and the ears. The other side is a "pin brush": fine metal spikes, spread farther apart. He uses that on rough spots and furnishings, before combing, and after the bristle side. It really looks an awful lot like a people's hairbrush. The combs really are people combs-- very inexpensive, but gosh, they work well!

[MaiasMom]

Fundog, my dogs are or should be a hard coated breed. I don't clip, I strip the coat to keep it hard, it takes about 3 years for their full hard coat to come in. Maia is the mother at almost 4 yrs, her coat is wonderful, never tangles even on the legs. Kai the father age almost 3 yrs, same thing, beautiful coat, then there is Tre the son, not yet 2 yrs old and just begining to get his hard coat, it starts on the back and takes a good year after that to reach the legs so he is brushed and stripped more often than his parents. That hard coat is nice because water runs off before it reaches the undercoat and dirty just brushs right out. Right now I have to check everyday for tangles in Tre's coat because he is still wearing his baby hair. I had a miniture Schnauzer that I stripped and did not get the back bumps so many of them get because the undercoat is not stripped out. I heard that working corn starch into a matt will help coat the hair like silicon and make is easier to remove. Since I don't do the "Schnauzer" clip that we see on so many, I leave them pretty natural. Mini's look cute like this but I prefer a more natural look on my posse. That longer coat protects them from rain, helps insolate in winter and summer not to mention all the deep brush they are so fond of running through. To each his own, I just like them more natural looking. About the back bumps, before I started stripping him to hard coat I got him clipped and he got the back bumps. I used dandriff shampoo to clean out the folicals. Never a problem after that and then began stripping.

[Fundog]

I'm with you there, MM. I like my dogs "natural" looking too-- and I really love those long, flowing coats and furnishings. Just gorgeous when they are running! Even though my girls are "soft-coated" breeds (very similar to human hair in texture), they do have that wonderful water resistant double coat also. If we bathe Annie, we have to rub her fur the "wrong" way so we can saturate her properly, lol. But being long-soft-coated, they will tangle easily, especially in the furnishings, so thorough combing is a must. Like I said, my son has it down to a science, and they feel very pampered by him!

[Maggie]

Most difficult thing about owning a dog for me is being able to go out in anything dark coloured and not get little stubby white hairs all over me that take hours to get off.

Not being able to eat anything without having 10 feet of slobber drooling from their lips.

Having to clear up poop the size of what an elephant would do, in the middle of a field, while trying to hold onto to the lead of 2 deranged loonatic dogs.

Trying to mask the smell of trump when we have guests.

Trying to stop my male humping the living daylights out of my female when we have guests, without getting very annoyed and embarrassed.

Trying to find a decent pair of going out in shoes that havn't had the heel chewed off.

Telling folks how well behaved the dogs are, and then being proved a total liar, not more than 10 seconds later.

Not being able to have a lie in past 7am on a sunday morning.


Having to say goodbye to them when we go away on holiday, when they give you the eyes and whimper... even though you know they are fine and have allways been fine everytime youve left them!

[MaiasMom]

Maggi I laughed my fanny off, I loved the one about your male humping your female in front of guests.

[spydre]

Oh, noobs, I'm sort of having the same issue with my husband....he gives the "but he's just a dog" or even, "if it was okay for Loth, why isn't it okay for Dodger?"

And I understand that seeing the look of disappointment - when Loth saw the leash, she knew it was time for a ride, and then seeing the accusing look she would give us when we walked her into the vet's office.

Okay - my favorite thing about owning a dog - the look that you get, that makes you feel like you are the center of your world. Or any of the other behavior that makes you feel like that. Or watching my kids cuddle with my dog.

Dislikes - okay with our first dog (Lucy - bassett) - that dog would eat ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING. Plastic utensils for cooking in non-stick pans, a tub of butter, tickle me elmo, you can get the picture. I have no idea how we never had to take her for an emergency visit to the vet due to this, but she always was right as rain, lol.

The city has a pretty strict leash law, so owners not controlling their pets (dogs and cats) drives me insane. And people that try to approach your dog, without making sure the dog is calm and approachable - well that drives me nuts.


But you know what? At the end of the day, it's all worth it, just for the feeling you get from your fuzzy pal.

[spydre]

Sorry about adding the additional post.

Maggie - you know, we've been very lucky with dogs adjusting to our sleep schedule. Well, with Lucy, at that time I was always up early with the boys, but with Loth, once the boys were old enough to let me sleep in, Loth slept in too. She had been known not to come down until really late in the mornings if my husband was still sleeping - but other mornings, she'd sleep until the first of the two of us got up, and then run back and forth, up and down the stairs, between our bedroom and the back door, since she felt I wasn't getting dressed quick enough. She would also tell us in no uncertain terms when she thought it was bedtime - she would come into the den, if she wasn't already in here, give a big stretch, glare at one of us, and go upstairs to bed. But if one of us was in bed, and one of us was up at night, she would position herself between the two - so she can protect everyone.