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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / February 2005info request: cats + dachshunds?
So, I think I've resigned myself to the likelihood that Oscar will be upset by other cats. Frankly, she's happy now and I don't want to push my luck. But then, I've always been more of a dog person anyway ... and Oscar has cohabited with two dogs before, neither of which caused her the kind of upset that another cat did ... But then, while I love large dogs, I really don't have the time/inclination to take a dog on long hikes every day. I exercise a lot, but it tends to be stuff where a dog can't join me. We do have a yard, and not a tiny one as suburb yards go, but I'm reluctant to fence it right now. Most small dogs completely turn me off. But my parents had dachshunds when I was a baby, and while they're small, it always seemed to me that they *act* like big dogs. They're assertive; they bark, but they don't necessarily "yap"; they don't require their own personal hair stylist. I read all of the Dave Y. stories that Flippy has archived, so I see that at least two D-dogs got along with cats, although honestly, I'd rather there be a less adversarial situation in my house. Then again, Dave probably didnt' write gut-busters about the animals co-existing peacefully and quietly, if that ever happened. I read that they can be difficult to housetrain ... maybe an adult would be better, although there's currently an adorable baby at the shelter. Of course, he'll be snapped up in no time, no worries there. So. Anyone have any experiences with dachshunds + cats, or even just about dogs and cats? I am thinking I would make the basement offlimits, which is where the litter is, to avoid the whole litter-eating thing. Not sure what I would do about food; I'm sure wet cat food would be highly appealing to a dog, and Oscar takes a long time to eat. I can't pick her food up before I go to work. Any other thoughts? I haven't discussed this with Eric yet, and obviously I won't do anything he doesn't agree to, but it would be nice to get some info.  Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* ies there. > So. Anyone have any experiences with dachshunds + cats, or even just about > dogs and cats? I am thinking I would make the basement offlimits, which is > where the litter is, to avoid the whole litter-eating thing. Not sure what I > would do about food; I'm sure wet cat food would be highly appealing to a dog, > and Oscar takes a long time to eat. I can't pick her food up before I go to > work. Any other thoughts?//// I have both, and the dog is well and truly at the bottom of the pile. My main concern was that my timid feral, Pandora wouldn't adapt to living with the dog, but she learned to just wallop Bonnie (the dog) and ignores her. To get around the dog eat catfood senario, I feed the cats on my upstairs landing and keep a child gate at the bottom of the stairs with a rung taken out so the cats can get through but the dog can't. This was invaluable in providing space for the cats to escape the dog when I was giving intros, and it meant that Bonnie can't get upstairs to scraf food. HTH Helen M > I have both, and the dog is well and truly at the bottom of the pile. > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > providing space for the cats to escape the dog when I was giving intros, and > it meant that Bonnie can't get upstairs to scraf food. Thanks for the info. I'd really rather not have a situation where one of the animals beats on the other. When we lived with my brother, his german shepherd mix puppy Bear would definitely want to play with Oscar. When she got tired of him snuffling her, she'd bap him with her paw, but she never used her claws. It's like she knew he was a baby and that he didn't mean any harm; he was just being a rambunctious kid. I'm definitely thinking the basement will be off-limits to dogs. But actually, it's only a half-basement, with the other half being a 3.5-foot retaining wall. It occurs to me I could set Oscar's litter box up there and not need to make the whole basement off-limits. The basement also has beams that Oscar loves, because no one can get to her when she's on them. Hrmmm. Well, I guess I have plenty of time to think this over. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* > I haven't discussed this with Eric yet, and obviously I won't do anything he > doesn't agree to, but it would be nice to get some info. Well, Eric says no, absolutely not, so nevermind all of this =/ He says we don't spend enough time at home, we would absolutely need a fence, and that if we're to get a dog, he wants it to be a big dog, anyway. Unfortunately, quitting work so that I have time for a dog is not an option =/ At least we both agree that if/when we do get a dog, it will not be from a breeder. And he's not completely opposed to getting an adult dog. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* I've had a dachshund and cats for 12 years. No problem. My dachshund loves cats. She would sleep with them, protect them from each other. What a wonderful group of friends they became. Also my Weiner would chase cats outside, always wanting to play with them. Good choice for a cat. They are not intimidated by such a small dog. > > I haven't discussed this with Eric yet, and obviously I won't do anything he > > doesn't agree to, but it would be nice to get some info. > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > At least we both agree that if/when we do get a dog, it will not be from a > breeder. And he's not completely opposed to getting an adult dog. > I've had a dachshund and cats for 12 years. No problem. My dachshund loves > cats. She would sleep with them, protect them from each other. What a > wonderful group of friends they became. Also my Weiner would chase cats > outside, always wanting to play with them. Good choice for a cat. They are > not intimidated by such a small dog. Thanks for the info! Honestly, Oscar has never been intimidated by a dog (even my brother's puppy, who probably weighed 60lb when we were there). It's other cats she fears! Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* I honestly dont think that many cats are intimidated by dogs One Barnado worker, used to do visits with her dog 'Tilly' as it would put children at ease, Tilly was an adorable little dog of inderminate breed and whenever she came to our house she would hide under the table, because she was afraid of my cat Henri RB now, yet Henri just ignored Tilly and never made any aggressive moves toward her. Jean.P. > > I've had a dachshund and cats for 12 years. No problem. My dachshund loves > > cats. She would sleep with them, protect them from each other. What a [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* > I honestly dont think that many cats are intimidated by dogs One Barnado > worker, used to do visits with her dog 'Tilly' as it would put children at > ease, Tilly was an adorable little dog of inderminate breed and whenever > she came to our house she would hide under the table, because she was afraid > of my cat Henri RB now, yet Henri just ignored Tilly and never made any > aggressive moves toward her. Jean.P. When I was growing up, we had a neighbor with an outdoor cat. I saw some confrontations between him and dogs, including my dog when I couldn't prevent it. The cat always won. It was funny to see Puma's reaction when the tables inevitably turned and the cat decided to stand his ground and fight, rather than flee. Puma would screech to a halt and quickly find something else to be doing. Puma had a huge chase instinct, but some cats never roused it, simply by never running. I remember him chasing after a cat asleep on a lawn. I chased after Puma frantically, sure that the result would be a bloody mess. Instead, the cat never budged and Puma put on the brakes, sliding to a stop a few feet past the cat. He charged again, and again no response. So he just gave up and came trotting back to me. To my knowledge, Puma never caused harm to a cat directly, for all the chasing. One cat did misjudge her approach and slam into a hubcap full-speed, though. Poor cat =/ I don't think dogs for the most part hate cats per se, but when cats are running they do look like prey =/ Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* > I don't think dogs for the most part hate cats per se, but when cats are > running they do look like prey =/ In our case, it's like PLAY. Speedy really wants the cats to play with him. The cats think Speedy is either on drugs, or needs them. Pam S. ...> So. Anyone have any experiences with dachshunds + cats, or even just about > dogs and cats? ...> -- > monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We had a longhaired dachshund we brought home from the shelter to keep our other dog, Bonnie, company. Isabel was one of the sweetest dogs we ever had. A few years after that my husband rescued a cat that was about five months old. Mac, the cat, hid behind the bed for a night and then discovered that he was tougher than the dogs. There never was any problems at all. As the years passed, we got a kitten, Josh, and then had two cats and two dogs. Bonnie, who was in her teens at the time, died. Later, Isabel developed a back problem and did not recover and died at the vets as I was on my way to visit her. That left us with two cats and no dogs. So we got Heidi, a dachshund/terrier mix, who was about the size of a kitten. She would tease the cats, and they would chase her. Or they would tease her, and she would chase them. If she got too wild, Josh (who was 22 pounds) would hold her down with his paw on her belly and her head in his mouth. When she stopped squirming, he let her go. One of my favorite memories is when some friends came over for a barbecue and brought their cocker spaniel who had never been to our house before. As we were eating all the cats and dogs were sprawled out under the table as if they'd been friends for life. Annie > ...> So. Anyone have any experiences with dachshunds + cats, or even just > about > > dogs and cats? ...> -- > > monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My experience was brief and largely secondhand. Some of us (rpca people) met a few years ago at David Yehudah's house. At that time he had three dachshunds and three cats. They all seemed to get along fine. Joy > My experience was brief and largely secondhand. Some of us (rpca people) > met a few years ago at David Yehudah's house. At that time he had three > dachshunds and three cats. They all seemed to get along fine. I've read a lot of the stories about that bunch -- I don't know that I'd want quite such a lively crowd! Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* Piggybacking here... One of my sisters got a miniature dachshund. Evil dog at times, it would bite - no wonder, it was trained by my sister - both had foul tempers and utter arrogance. My sister thought it hugely amusing that her dog had a foul temper and would bite people. Even though the dog was vicious, the Siamese cat of the household ruled the roost. The cat was lovely - unlike my sister and the dog ;-) Cheers, helen s > Piggybacking here... > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > cat of the household ruled the roost. The cat was lovely - unlike my sister > and the dog ;-) Ugh. I can't imagine finding a biting temperament amusing. A larger dog would certainly have been euthanized for this behavior; it baffles me that people put up with it from small ones. A friend of mine was bitten on the lip by a small dog when she was 4; she still has the scars. (I'm not necessarily saying that dogs who bite should be euthanized -- it's situational -- but it's certainly not harmless behavior, and it *can* get your dog euthanized if the person who's bitten chooses to pursue the matter!) Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* > As the years passed, we got a kitten, Josh, and then had two cats and two > dogs. Bonnie, who was in her teens at the time, died. Later, Isabel > developed a back problem and did not recover and died at the vets as I was > on my way to visit her. This is one thing that worries me about those little guys. I remember both of my parents' dachshunds being very ill before they died, but then, I believe they were also very old. One was purebred, the other a mix. > That left us with two cats and no dogs. So we got Heidi, a > dachshund/terrier mix, who was about the size of a kitten. She would tease > the cats, and they would chase her. Or they would tease her, and she would > chase them. If she got too wild, Josh (who was 22 pounds) would hold her > down with his paw on her belly and her head in his mouth. When she stopped > squirming, he let her go. Ah, you had a built-in babysitter =) > One of my favorite memories is when some friends came over for a barbecue > and brought their cocker spaniel who had never been to our house before. As > we were eating all the cats and dogs were sprawled out under the table as if > they'd been friends for life. That's a beautiful image. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* > So. Anyone have any experiences with dachshunds + cats, or even just about > dogs and cats? I've never had a dog, but your mention of dachshunds reminds me of a woman I worked with, years ago - or rather, the situation between her dachshund (male) and Siamese cat (unaltered female). The cat was a thoroughbred, so the woman had considered breeding it. However, it came in heat sooner than expected, and a female Siamese in heat can be heard all over the neighborhood. The dachsy knew what her problem was, too - and did his best to help her out! (The cat did pay a visit to a breeder's kennel and became pregnant, but until the kittens were born, my co-worker came in for a lot of teasing about whether her cat was expecting kittens or puppies!) > I've never had a dog, but your mention of dachshunds reminds me of a woman I > worked with, years ago - or rather, the situation between her dachshund [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > pregnant, but until the kittens were born, my co-worker came in for a lot of > teasing about whether her cat was expecting kittens or puppies!) Doh! That is too funny! Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* My labs would always wait till you said eat it then dont just look at it the cat would often check the dogs food out first while the dog, Ralph or Sam, both RB would just stand and wait, maybe they were just making sure if anyone got poisened it would be the cat not them. Jean.P. > So, I think I've resigned myself to the likelihood that Oscar will be upset by > other cats. Frankly, she's happy now and I don't want to push my luck. [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* >My labs would always wait till you said eat it then dont just look at it >the cat would often check the dogs food out first while the dog, Ralph or >Sam, both RB would just stand and wait, maybe they were just making >sure if anyone got poisened it would be the cat not them. Jean.P. LOL, Actually, this reminds me of the dogs we had as I was growing up. We had a mutt that would wolf down his food and try to push our other two away from their bowls. I was the one who usually fed the animals, and found it fairly easy to stop. I trained them to sit and wait until they were told it was time to eat. It didn't slow our chow hound when it came to inhalling his own food, but once he got the idea that he had to wait to be told before digging in he would sit and wait until the others had finished and he was told it was ok to finish any leftovers. SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit stouchst@JUNKsirinet.net [remove Junk for email] Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html Thats really sweet, dogs can be very patient. Jean.P. > >My labs would always wait till you said eat it then dont just look at it > >the cat would often check the dogs food out first while the dog, Ralph or [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html > Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html > My labs would always wait till you said eat it then dont just look at it the > cat would often check the dogs food out first while the dog, Ralph or Sam, > both RB would just stand and wait, maybe they were just making sure if > anyone got poisened it would be the cat not them. Jean.P. Wow, what well-behaved dogs! I never got Puma to the point of being willing to give up his right to food. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* >So, I think I've resigned myself to the likelihood that Oscar will be upset by >other cats. Frankly, she's happy now and I don't want to push my luck. <snip> >So. Anyone have any experiences with dachshunds + cats, or even just about >dogs and cats? I am thinking I would make the basement offlimits, which is >where the litter is, to avoid the whole litter-eating thing. Not sure what I >would do about food; I'm sure wet cat food would be highly appealing to a dog, >and Oscar takes a long time to eat. I can't pick her food up before I go to >work. Any other thoughts? I know others will offer theirs advice and tell of their doxyies, but here's my take. Growing up Bobo was our a daschund - our top dog. To him everything was about his family, and species didn't matter. Dogs, cats, rabbits were all welcome, once he was convinced they were family. I've told the story before about how he found a sack full of kittens, only one, Mittens, survived. Bobo pretty much raised Mittens, and they were lifelong best buds. SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit stouchst@JUNKsirinet.net [remove Junk for email] Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html > I know others will offer theirs advice and tell of their doxyies, but here's > my take. Growing up Bobo was our a daschund - our top dog. To him [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Mittens, survived. Bobo pretty much raised Mittens, and they were lifelong > best buds. I love to hear stories like this =) I've certainly considered getting a rabbit, but I'm not sure I could convince Oscar it was family. And I'd hate to keep a rabbit in a cage all the time, but there are simply too many wires in our house ... Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* >So, I think I've resigned myself to the likelihood that Oscar will be upset by >other cats. Frankly, she's happy now and I don't want to push my luck. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >take a dog on long hikes every day. I exercise a lot, but it tends to be >stuff where a dog can't join me. ---------------------<snip>---------------------- We had a dachshund for about two days once. My sister wanted one in the worst way, so we went to a very friendly home breeder who was used to all the work of taking care of them and didn't mention the care required. My mother also bought from the breeder a book on care of dachshunds. The dog was a cute little thing. While my sister was playing with the puppy, my mother started reading the book. Gradually, as she read, this "What have I done?" look came over her face. To cut to the chase, we returned the puppy. Check it out for yourself, but as I recall they take a lot of care and require up to four walks per day. Regards and Purrs, O J > We had a dachshund for about two days once. My sister wanted one in the > worst way, so we went to a very friendly home breeder who was used to all [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > To cut to the chase, we returned the puppy. Check it out for yourself, but > as I recall they take a lot of care and require up to four walks per day. Ahh. That's an important point. Four walks isn't possible as long as both of us work outside the home. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* >So, I think I've resigned myself to the likelihood that Oscar will be upset by >other cats. Frankly, she's happy now and I don't want to push my luck. [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] >I haven't discussed this with Eric yet, and obviously I won't do anything he >doesn't agree to, but it would be nice to get some info. I grew up with doxies and, in fact, Fritz, our first dachshund, was responsible for us getting our first cat. He saw little Karma, who was a mess, and barked until he drew my mother's attention to the kitten. She brought him in, and after finally deciding he was there to stay, Karma and Fritz became fast friends. After I went off to college and things happened, I had to leave my cat, Isis, with my mother and their doxie at the time, Frisbee. Again, great friends. Both Fritz and Frisbee (esp. Frisbee) had gentle temperaments, though, so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. But it worked out well, so I'd say go for it! Ginger-lyn > Both Fritz and Frisbee (esp. Frisbee) had gentle temperaments, though, so > I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. But it worked out well, so I'd say > go for it! Yeah, I think the temperament is probably more important than the breed. Especially as we won't be getting a purebred of any sort, so breed temperament will only be a guideline. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* "Monique Y. Mudama" <spam@bounceswoosh.org> had some very interesting things to say about info request: cats + dachshunds?: >So. Anyone have any experiences with dachshunds + cats, or even just about >dogs and cats? I am thinking I would make the basement offlimits, which is >where the litter is, to avoid the whole litter-eating thing. Not sure what I >would do about food; I'm sure wet cat food would be highly appealing to a dog, >and Oscar takes a long time to eat. I can't pick her food up before I go to >work. Any other thoughts? I always had both species growing up, and everyone got along fine for the most part [you're going to get occasional squabbles between household members]. Signature"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding. :-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL > "Monique Y. Mudama" <spam@bounceswoosh.org> had some very interesting > things to say about info request: cats + dachshunds?: [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > the most part [you're going to get occasional squabbles between > household members]. Just two comments. We gave up a long time ago and started feeding the cats on the counter to keep dogs out of cat food. (Their dry food bowl is on the counter in the bathroom) And when you introduce the cat to the dog, don't be the person holding the cat. Jo Speaking of wienie dogs, has anybody seen the homemade DVD "Lord of the Wiens: A Dachumentary"? It's about the wiener dog races in Buda, Texas, held every April. It's hilarious!!! SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com > Speaking of wienie dogs, has anybody seen the homemade DVD "Lord of the > Wiens: A Dachumentary"? It's about the wiener dog races in Buda, Texas, held > every April. It's hilarious!!! Never heard of it ... Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* > Never heard of it ... http://www.lordofthewiens.com/ SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com > Just two comments. We gave up a long time ago and started feeding the cats > on the counter to keep dogs out of cat food. (Their dry food bowl is on the > counter in the bathroom) Yeah, Oscar's bowls were on the bathroom counter when she was a kitten. Perhaps that's the way to go. > And when you introduce the cat to the dog, don't be the person holding the > cat. *laugh* Does anyone have to be holding the cat? My thought is to put a baby-gate in the doorway to the basement, so that the cat has a "safe spot." So if Oscar wants to get away, she should be able to. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* > I always had both species growing up, and everyone got along fine for the > most part [you're going to get occasional squabbles between household > members]. That's what I'm thinking. Squabbles can be a problem if it's a large dog, but in my experience large dogs tend to be pretty cautious around smaller creatures. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* > > I always had both species growing up, and everyone got along fine for > > the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > in my experience large dogs tend to be pretty cautious around smaller > creatures. ...vaguely remembering the time my miniature dachshund ran under an intact male Irish Wolfhound, and bit upwards... >> > I always had both species growing up, and everyone got along fine for >> > the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >...vaguely remembering the time my miniature dachshund ran under an >intact male Irish Wolfhound, and bit upwards... ah yes, our doxy once did that to a german shepherd - but hey, when the other guy is so much bigger than you you just have to fight dirty SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit stouchst@JUNKsirinet.net [remove Junk for email] Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html "Monique Y. Mudama" <spam@bounceswoosh.org> had some very interesting things to say about Re: info request: cats + dachshunds?: >> I always had both species growing up, and everyone got along fine for the >> most part [you're going to get occasional squabbles between household >> members]. >That's what I'm thinking. Squabbles can be a problem if it's a large dog, but >in my experience large dogs tend to be pretty cautious around smaller >creatures. The most usual scenario when we had a tiff between pets was with both participants the same species (more frequently cat vs. cat, but occasional dog vs. dog. I recall exactly one serious dog vs. cat situation, that wound up with the dog getting rehomed to friends who didn't have cats (said dog had arrived in the family as an adult and turned out to be seriously aggressive with cats, which my parents hadn't known. He was fine in his new home with kids and no cats)). I don't recall any serious quarrels between furry household members, except for that one incident. Usually just minor growl/hiss "quit looking at me" sibling stuff. :-) Signature"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding. :-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL DH is 100% against small dogs. He thinks they're fine for other people, but if we're going to have a dog, he wants it to be a big dog. When we do go out hiking or biking where a dog can join us, he wants to have a dog who can physically keep up. DH points out that ... (er, let me interrupt myself, DH is currently meowing to Oscar. It's so cute how he's learned to get along with her!) ... anyway, DH strongly feels that we need a fence if we're going to have a dog. He's not convinced that two people with full-time jobs and other activities can care for a large dog, but I think that we can, as long as we have a fence and a heated or at least insulated shelter. I wouldn't leave a dog outside on most Colorado winter nights, but during the day it's pretty warm most of the time. Then he points out that the sprinkler system has been installed without expectation of a fence, so we'd need to dig the system up and reposition the heads. Ugh. But doable. After all of this is done, I think a labrador or golden retriever (I adore black labs and chocolate labs) old enough to already be housebroken and perhaps have received some training is ideal. There are plenty of dogs that match this description in the local shelters. So. I need to contract a fence, get the sprinkler heads moved, get some form of insulated shelter (neighbors said they put a dog-door in the garage wall and kept a space heater on a timer, but the way our garage is packed, a doghouse would be better), get a baby barrier, get a ton of miscellanious dog-related thingies ... and probably need to take some time off of work so that I can socialize with the dog and monitor interactions with Oscar. I definitely want to do this, but it will take time, especially as fences don't come cheap. Nor do many dogs, even from the shelter. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* |
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