Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Arf

Everyone I know seems to be getting a dog or a cat or ducks or something and blogging furiously about them, so now I'm thinking maybe I should get a dog, too. Not just because everyone else is doing it or because I want to blog about it necessarily, just because it seems like something I'd like to do.

I went through a "must get a dog" phase a couple of years ago and ended up getting a cat. The cat could use some company.

I'd get a shelter dog, of course, not a puppy. Something small, but not one of those twig dogs that break really easily. It has to be bigger than the cat at least.

Something not too young and not too old. Happy to spend the day with just the cat while we're out. Lively enough to enjoy a couple of hearty walks every day, but mellow enough not to tear the house apart when we're not watching.

I'm thinking a Schnauzer, since they seem to crop up quite frequently on the shelter lists or some kind of poodle or terrier mix.

Advice/suggestions/warnings/leads/etc. appreciated.

7 comments:

JB said...

Everyone else you know getting a dog doesn't really seem to be all that good a reason for you getting a dog.
How about actually wanting a dog, regardless of what everyone else is doing?

XUP said...

Yes, I DO want a dog, which is perhaps is why I was noticing that everyone is getting one -- you know how that is?

Nice to hear from you, too.

Bob said...

Just as long as it's a shelter dog, I applaud you.
As you no doubt know, I am extremely pleased with Coffee The Prettiest Cat EV-er, who came to my "forever home" from the Ottawa Humane Society.

Anonymous said...

Yay! So glad to see you out and about.

Stay away from miniature pinschers or anything(dog)m.p. related. They're connoisseurs of panty crotches.

Cycling Goddess said...

xup, I'm thinking poodle because they're happy dogs, small enough that they can be picked up if need be and big enough that they don't feel everyone is after them and get all snarly. And they're very intelligent.

Schauzers are also very nice, although fairly territorial and will need a lot of firm guiding so it may not get along with the cat. Mind you, you'll be introducing someone new to the cat's home so do it carefully...

Ev said...

Beagles are nice. They're friendly, and energetic but not spazzy. They like cats, too.

The only thing you have to watch out for is that they'll take off following a scent if they're off-leash.

XUP said...

HP - two of my brothers have had mini- poodles & they were very smart, but also extremely clingy & they both coincidentally also developed epilepsy. Poodles always struck me as a bit high strung, too -- maybe all that inbreeding. We'll see what turns up. Choosing from a shelter will end up being more of a case of choosing the right dog rather than a breed.
Ev - I love beagles, but I have heard that about them having a tendancy to run off -- I guess that's why there's so many of them in shelters? How are the duck? I haven't seen an update lately