I’m gonna babble a little k?
I have, and pretty much have always had, dogs and cats.
I am to the point where I prefer a mutt. On average, and with plenty exceptions, they seem to be mellower than purebreds. I personally have this genetic hodge-podge theory to explain that.
Dogs, IMHO, require a much bigger investment than cats, timewise. And it’s worth it.
And it’s verrry good, that back yard you have.
Food- I don’t waste my time with Iams or any of that- I buy Purina, they’ve started to put omega-3 fatty acids in it, which is very good, and most other foods are starting to follow suit.
But- I supplement- my critters are spoiled- I eat lots of rice, brown and exotic varieties, and make lots of pork fried rice. I specifically get pork chops, and the dogs and cats get the bones- I cut out the lean meat, cook up the bones and attendant scraps, and eat a little of that, and give the rest to the cats and dogs.
Yeah, yeah, I know I’m gonna get jumped for that, but it ain’t like chicken bones- I’ve been doing this for a long time now with different dogs, and no ‘bone stuck in throat or digestive tract’ problems- the thing is, they’re fed good, so they don’t wolf it, don’t swallow big jaggy chunks of bone, so it’s ok, or has been for years and years now. One time, a new dog, I did this, and she did have a problem- she scarfed down the bone and had troubles shitting it out- that’s where I played dirty finger vet. But, I figured out it was because she was either starved beofre I got her, or in competition with lots of other dogs for food, so the wolfing her food reflex accounted for that- after she had been with me for a while, that reflex went away, and she had no problems with the bones.
Anyways, so I make the fried rice, and i eat, and mix some with the dog/cat food. veggies, rice, little meat, they love it,and a couple of them snarf the rice plain- I mix that in their food too, at times. I never use white rice- yuck yuck yuck. But, the nights I do the chops, (I do enuogh for a couople weeks worth of food at a time) are a treat for us all- we eat all the fat, lots of meat, etc. It’s nice. In a warm kitchen, chasing the dogs out, cuz they keep coming in to see what progress I’ve made, cuz they know what’s going on- it’s homey- the best domestic time since I used to have kids. Plus, I mix eggs in with their food occasionally.
Then, for a stretch, I go back to plain pet food- I kinda keep an eye on the critters, the weather, activity level etc, and feed rich or plain, depending. They stay outside when I’m gone, sleep with me more often than not, and are inside quite a bit when I’m home. They have good shelter and are part chow, so they can hack the weather.
And my dogs get a good walk every day, pretty much. I live by some fields and industrial area and so there’s good walks to be had- after hours, I let them go, once we’re out of the trailer court, so they’re all over the place, so I don’t worry about feeding them too rich.
I do my different ‘stupid walks’ for my back and legs, so I get excersize too.
The biggest thing is attention and the excercize.
And they get lots of dog treats to help clean the soft food from their teeth. They have the whitest teeth I’ve seen on dogs of comparable ages.
I don’t have too many rules when we’re snuggling and playing- they lick me all over, we wrestle etc- jsut no hard bites. If we haven’t done this for a while, man, you can really see a difference in their mien when we do.
my dogs are extremely healthy, happy and good dogs. Tough, too. I take time for plenty of kisses. They love it, it washes my face…
Ok, dis-jointed, ramble-bamble- (oh yeah- I have found that even if a cat hates a new dog, they will get over it at least enough to co-exist in a couple of weeks- proviso- are they indoor cats? cuz the edgy one might run off if not, when a new dog comes home to roost, and the dog has to be mellow with them- doesn’t matter about the cat, but if it gets the dog goin, well, you don’t want to come home to that)- useless gibberish.
I think that’s what I was goin for.
I think the main thing is do you like the dog you’re thinking about? and observe them for a few days to get an idea of whether or not they have the temperment you’re looking for.
Sorry about Smoke- best of luck in this very worthwhile endeavor.