Oh, for god’s sake. His sister wants a dog. He came in looking for advice on what kind of dog.
Now, some of the time I do think he’s just kidding around and poking. But really, he doesn’t sound like the world’s worst dog co-owner, in fact, far from it.
I will say here that I have a dog, I give my dog two walks a day, a couple of training sessions, and I’m teaching the dog agility and flyball. But I am kind of into it at this point, and it’s a lot of work. I have had previous dogs that mostly got walked every day but they sure didn’t get the kind of attention my current dog has, and they were perfectly fine with it. They were loyal, they loved me. Maybe they would have liked more walks, and maybe they would have liked their own doggie doors instead of being left in the yard all day by themselves (unless it was too cold, but that dog was a husky mix and it was very rarely too cold). Okay, full disclosure, the dog before the husky mix was mostly an indoor dog, even though she was a large dog, but once again, she was pretty much left alone all day, and she didn’t mind.
I’m just saying, not everyone is all that into dog ownership, and getting all focused and intent about it seems to be a new thing. Now you can’t just have a lovable old family pet, you have to nurture the dog as if it were a child.
There are probably a lot of dogs that would be perfectly content with this situation. Maybe not a border collie or a weimaraner. But that’s what he was asking: What kind of dog is okay with this situation?
Also, one of my neighbors has a poodle (or maybe he’s a mix, but anyway, poodle-like). She got this dog from a breeder. She just asked me where I got my dog trained (ha!). She, a grown woman with a teenaged daughter, also thought there was a place where you dropped the dog off at school and he came home trained. That is a false assumption but not necessarily a stupid one.
I don’t have anything to add, I already said it in the original thread. But I wanted to say that I thorougly support this pitting. I do think wishing death on the girl is over the top, though.
Yes, he’s being an irresponsible idiot, and everyone involved, especially the dog, would be much much better off if they don’t get a dog.
However, I have to wonder if he’s not trolling at least just a little bit. The SDMB’s Pet Brigade is often so self-righteous and sanctimonious that it’s hard to resist pushing their buttons. I remember a thread I once started about our dog. I was informed, in all seriousness and sincerity, that I should not be allowed to have a dog unless I was devoted to allowing it to play off-property for a minimum of two hours per day. Not “he needs enough exercise”. It had to be off of our own property. Throwing frisbees for hours in our two-acre backyard? Insufficient. I must find him other places to go play and explore - not just now and then, or even a few times a week. Every single day. For at LEAST two hours. Minimum. If I didn’t do that, I was a monster and animal abuser.
A short haired cat is fine. But Maine Coons are long hairs requiring a certain amount of grooming to be okay. My own Maine Coon needs a daily brushing and a monthly bath or she gets all knotted. Maine Coons are sweet and lovely but they are not the sort of cat for someone who wants a low care animal.
The point is, don’t get an animal unless you’re prepared to properly care for it, not just, “what’s the best dog to get that I can just ignore all day?” And then whine that he has to attend obedience school with the dog, rather than just drop it off. Why get a dog if it’s just going to sit outside all day? Not to mention if the dog is outside all day, and if it gets bored, it’ll probably spend the day barking and digging holes in the yard.
It’s not about “being animal obsessed”, it’s about being committed to taking care of said animal in the first place, not just doing the bare minimum so you can get back to WOW.
And yeah, before anyone starts on me, I live at home too. But I don’t give a shit how old you are – you get a pet, you take care of it. I don’t just shove my animals outside all day and let them in when it’s convenient for me. Even when they’re annoying.
Well, since we’re in the pit now… I do think he’s mostly trolling. He’s 32 years old, lives with his parents, and spends six hours a day on the computer. This is how he amuses himself, folks.
I’m unsurprised that his respectively scared and allergic parents haven’t vetoed the dog, since they’re apparently okay with having their 32 year old son live with them and spend 6 hours a day playing computer games. Parenting fail.
No, we’re talking about a dog that has to be outside all the time because most of the people in the household don’t want it. That’s not what most people do with their dogs. As explained repeatedly in the thread, dogs are pack animals, and intentionally segregating the dog out for the vast majority of its life is going to leave it messed up. It’s not to say that a dog can’t live a perfectly happy life outside – sure they can – with other dogs, with owners who spend a lot of time outside, and so on. Realistically, the OP and his sister are not prepared for the realities of dog ownership, and it’s cruel to expect a living, social creature to just deal with being neglected for someone’s occasional amusement. Dogs can and will act out negatively in such environments, and nobody in the picture seems to be willing to take any real responsibility for that eventuality. People who don’t have realistic ideas about dog ownership cause real heartache, both for the dogs and for themselves.
But yeah, I stopped bothering when it seemed like the OP was just trolling or way beyond any reason. I don’t mean to pick on the guy but based on the descriptions he’s given of his life, he has some real far-reaching problems that are best dealt with first before considering taking on some level of responsibility for a pet.
Smeghead, could you link to your old thread? I’d love to read that.
As to the object of the OP… his family definitely doesn’t sound like it needs a dog. Ownership of a pet doesn’t have to be perfect, but trying to do the best you can for your animal(s) is essential. Just getting a dog to exist by itself outside and having little else to do with it would be cruel. But I’m sure he knows that, yet doesn’t really care about much beyond WoW.
Maybe I just had a very easy Maine Coon. Snow cats don’t do well in the desert, so my big boy got crewcuts. When his fur started getting long enough to tangle, I’d call the groomer for an appointment.
Of course, by the time we were doing haircuts, he was a house cat who only went outside on a leash. (I trapped him, so he might not have had any Coon in him at all. He looked like a show cat and was 22 lbs of muscle.)
My suggestion for a cat instead of a dog was because if the sister is going to get a pet, cats are better about being ignored than dogs. If YS came to my rescue and wanted to adopt a pet, we would tell him no and then pass his name and discription around.
Considering that some of you think that its better for a dog to be euthanized than stay with us, you should be happy we’ll get tired of it probably and send it to a shelter
What’s odd about it? Parents aren’t pet people, I like pets but don’t want to take care of one, and she’s the only one who wants a dog. We have plenty of empathy and compassion, just not the disproportionate amount that people think we should have
I won’t deny that part of its juvenile, but that’s because I don’t want the dog. I’m not the one who has to “grow up” and take care of a dog, its not my decision. Besides, I’m being forthright and honest about it, that’s pretty adult of me. And don’t mistake the fact that I play games to be anything juvenile. Unless you’re born before people had electricity, video games are a perfectly normal and acceptable pastime for an adult.
If its suffering we’ll alleviate it. Just don’t compare being bored for a few hours in a yard to actual suffering
Its not my dog so why should I stop gold farming? She can choose to spend her free time with a dog, I’ll choose to spend it killing trolls and looting their corpses
Babies are different, its human, first of all, and you can’t drop them off at a shelter, at least not as easily. I’d help, but I wouldn’t suddenly become Mr. Mom. I’d put in the minimal level of commitment I’d have to in order to keep it alive and not suffering but I’m not going to be suddenly taking it to Disneyland or something. I think your problem is that you expect everyone, or at least me, to suddenly love this dog and pretend we’re the fucking Brady Bunch and come together and have group hugs and give the dog the best home it can possibly have. Well sorry, but no. It won’t suffer, it’ll be a little bored, but in general, its perfectly acceptable for someone to say they’ll do the minimal necessary but not more
I’m willing to do certain things, but if she has convinced the parents already then I am not going to go in and drag them back into the conversation. This is about her. Forcing our parents to be some kind of a mitigator would be like telling someone else who has power over a kid to deny them something that they already think they’re going to get. I need to change HER mind, not theirs, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do by getting suggestions from people. But failing that, I want to at least show her what she has to deal with. Not to toot my own horn, but that’s pretty adult of me to do it this way, instead of trying to prevent her from doing something like she’s a little kid. If she really wants a dog, she’ll get it
I’m going to kick a dog for that comment. Thanks! :rolleyes:
Yes, she just got a permanent nursing position. However, this isn’t a whim. She’s wanted a dog for years, like I mentioned in the other topic.
You know I didn’t respond to this in the other topic because it was a derailment of the issue, but here in the Pit’s I guess its ok. I think its quite stupid and ethnocentric of you, probably American, probably white, to think that everyone wants to or must move out of their parents’ house at 18. I’m happy and comfortable here. There is little that I would gain from moving out, except a higher bill. From our culture, Chinese, we’re not shy about living at home as adults. I realize that’s less swearing than is typically in the Pit, so take that in your fuck hole and shove it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with staying at home until your 30’s
Let’s see, things I was ignorant of:
Not understanding how obedience school works
And…that’s it. As far as everything else, I simply differ with people in thinking how much socializing a dog needs. Some people apparently won’t be happy until their dog marries their firstborn and the family name. I’m content with having a dog that lives in the backyard and goes for occasional walks and playtime, you know, like an animal
We’ve already had a dog and it was a perfectly fine arrangement. As usual, people tend to exaggerate
See, this is a reasonable response. I shouldn’t have to change everything about my lifestyle to accommodate something I don’t want. I’m actually trying to do the dog a favor by not getting it, but given that I don’t think I can prevent it, I needed ideas on what to do. But the shitstorm brigade in the other thread thinks that unless I’m raising hell and putting up an anti-dog blockage in my house, I’m not doing enough, and deserve to, apparently, get killed by a dog. So they can fuck themselves. I might get 2 dogs to abuse then, just watch me
And yes, I will suggest a cat to her
No, I just don’t believe I need to turn my life upside down to accommodate an animal
You know, up until that topic, I didn’t know the SDMB had a Pet Brigade. These people make PETA look normal. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were dogs and are posting because they’ve eaten their human masters. To call an outside dog abused is not only crazy, but stupid. Really really really stupid, like drooling on yourself and needing to be fed through a tube stupid. Those are the types of people who run these shelters that have more rules than an adoption agency, who took away Ellen DeGeneres’s dog because of some clause saying she can’t give her dog up. Frankly, the real animals in that thread isn’t the dog but people who thinks its normal to have a dog sleep with you in your bed
Yes! And all those would apply to me perfectly BUT, and this is a big BUT, I am not the one who wants a dog! So fuck yeah I get to whine about obedience school! Fuck yeah I get to stay indoors and not play with it!
If anything, WOW takes more commitment than a dog. You only have to play with the dog a few hours a day. To get really good in WOW, you have to spend all day on it
I totally agree with you. Except for the part about ME getting a pet, since I’m not the one getting it. But I totally agree with you except for that little point.
You’re part of that Pet Brigade I’ve been hearing about! Shun! SHUN! holds up fingers like a cross
No, we don’t need a dog. Who needs a dog anyway? A dog is an extra responsibility, nobody needs a dog. But I was trying to do the best I can in that situation until, you know, people started wishing death on us. Then they can just go fuck themselves. I think I’ll get 2 or 3 dogs, just so I can be extra cruel so them
Not planning anything immediate. If it happens it happens, but I’m not actively looking. I like it here. Why, does it matter?
It bit because it was a mean Chow. Some dogs are meaner than others, that’s all. I accept it, and like how a person can lose his cool once or twice and hit someone, I’m sure a dog can do that as well. Some people might want to read too much into it and say that any dog who’s ever bitten anyone is badly socialized, but I’m not one of them
The day-to-day life of that dog is much like how I’ve described our future dog would be like. This was years ago, so at the time, I was in school, so was my sister, and parents worked (though there were different hours and arrangements throughout the years of the dog’s life). In the afternoon we’d come back. I’d play with it a bit, so would the sister, but it didn’t come inside the house. Some days we’d walk it, sometimes during the day if one of us was home. She eventually got a disease and died and I was very sad
Don’t get all whitey self-righteous on me. I have a normal amount of self-respect for my age, I just don’t think I need to move out. Also, I have been in adult relationships, and can easily form one if the chance arose again. Perhaps you should stop letting your childhood daddy and mommy issues and how they wouldn’t buy you a dog color your still-existing anger at them today. I think your resentment at them is why you moved out
Well this is the Pit and I don’t owe them serious answers. Plus, I really am a hobgoblin. We’re a lot like goblins, but hobby-er
