I'm a huge fan of the species that we call dogs. Cat's are cool and the ones round about me come up to say hi from time to time.
Labradors and Retrievers are great fun. I don't have any pets atm. I would like a couple of Basset Hounds though.
Basset hound traits
Basset Hounds are among the most pleasant-natured and easygoing of all breeds.
Some are dignified, but most are clownish. Almost all are reliably good-natured, sociable, and peaceful with everyone – strangers, children, and other pets, too. At a dog show, one can count on seeing cheerfully wagging tails in the Basset Hound ring.
This is a hunting hound with a powerful nose and a yen for the chase, and if he picks up an interesting scent and launches himself, your shouting and arm waving will fall on totally deaf ears. "Come" is not a command that Basset Hounds are eager to obey.
Indeed, Bassets are not eager to obey many commands. Stubborn and slow to obey (you should expect thoughtful, deliberate responses), the Basset Hound can exhibit an amusing sense of humor while doing his own thing. Yet he responds amiably to patient, consistent obedience training that includes lots of praise and encouragement.
Basset Hounds live for food, which is why so many of them are fat. They are champion beggers, and will steal any tidbit within reach – and be forewarned that when they rear up on their hind legs, their reach includes countertops!
Finally, Basset Hounds bay and howl (especially when bored), and they are notoriously slow to housebreak.
( writing with my left hand, so be patient )
ToT - aw, your family are so cute! Love Milu, what a cutie! I'll post what I have, most pics are on phones, will try to get some more. My cat and dog are more than pets to me, they sport my last name on their certificates.
Thank you for sharing - I too am more cat than dog person, but we so love Hershey as much as Ashe.
Hershey
Age 3 ( we think - got him as a rescue, vet pegged him about a year old when we got him, so we designated his adoption day to be his birthday ). We think he's a min-pin/pit bull mix ). Super high energy, loves to play, friendly and has cured us of our hording by chewing up half the house as well as doing some nice damage to my wife's shoe inventory.
I get the hate, I'm one of those people who loves animals more than people.
Same, in our town people were moaning about dogs in the pubs on local facebook page, backfired as most would prefer no people and plenty of dogs instead.
I love basset hounds the most a wee less than 2 minute video demonstrating the breed, you think with ears that big they'd be better listeners lol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hntKbXJRhE
This the only pic of Ashe at the moment. Funny story, the neighbor was feeding a stray and one day the stray had a litter in their garage - doh! The neighbor went around giving away kittens and was pushing Ashe as she was the hardest given least cute - we we're like, awesome, she'll fit right into our island home of misfit toys. They told us the cat was male ( I didn't verify, she was just a ball of fur at that young age ), took "him" to the vet who clarified Ash was indeed a girl, "has no fancy plumbing". So Ash became Ashe since we've been calling her Ashe for a few weeks at that point ( she's a Dolute Callico and looked like ashes to us with her gray/burnt orange colors ). I only put the link, the picture shows up huge pasted in here.
https://i.imgur.com/6IS9M1n.jpg
It might not have been a problem if you had changed her name, since cats don't even care what their name is most of the time. I know that 3/4 of mine definitely know their names, and they still like to pretend I'm (or someone else is) not talking to them.
I get the hate, I'm one of those people who loves animals more than people.
To be perfectly honestly, I also feel that animals are better than the vast majority of humans. A feeling which can get stronger depending on the day. ;)Same, in our town people were moaning about dogs in the pubs on local facebook page, backfired as most would prefer no people and plenty of dogs instead.
I love basset hounds the most a wee less than 2 minute video demonstrating the breed, you think with ears that big they'd be better listeners lol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hntKbXJRhE
So stubborn, they just don't care at all, do they? Silly dogs. :D
I suspect a wee offering of cheese or another treat and suddenly you have undivided attention :)
Odin!
https://cloud.disroot.org/s/8ddps5dBcxwMiJR
Spoiler for size... Wow that's a big photo lol. Easier to see if you click the above link.(click to show/hide)
Odin is a pit bull(!). Laziest coach potato I've ever seen, dumb as a box a rocks, content to sleep on or next to you whenever the opportunity exists, and one of the friendliest animals I've ever seen. The perfect animal for me.
Rescued him from a shelter, I suspect he was abandoned and/or wandered off and got lost. Good thing someone put him in the pound and that a shelter took him in because the area we used to live in has a dog fighting problem. He probably would have ended up a bait dog or a fighter, so sad! Instead he's a semi-sentient potato :)
I suspect a wee offering of cheese or another treat and suddenly you have undivided attention :)
You know it would turn out just like that. ;D Ah, dogs.
Those giant floppy ears are very entrancing, though it makes me wonder if the poor dogs aren't super prone to ear infections (I know floppy-eared dogs usually are, my youngest Labrador, Zuri, has been a real martyr with those ever since she was young).
If i get a basset hound i want to name him some grand name like Bartholomew the Duke of the Royal burgh of Linlithgow, and just call him Duke.
Ahh, I miss having a dog. But, with a young one at home still in don't think its fair to have a dog and it get neglected in anyway. I told the kids when the oldest reached 10 we'd get a dog and most of the responsibility wpuld be theirs. The feeding, walking and so on. Right now I can't imagine adding the craziness of training a pup, when no still have a kid in diapers....you know.
I hated cats as a kid. Why? I really don't know. Other than long hair cats I'm allergic to. Short hair, no problems. Kids have asked for a cat, and their less maintenance, in my mind. Maybe ill try that out first.
We've tried fish. Ill be damned if I don't kill everyone. I've tried different tanks and followed all instructions. I can't keep em alive.
I have never even entertained the possibility of getting fish (there were some my parents got when I was pretty young, but I barely remember them). I view them as even harder to keep alive than dogs or cats with all those minute requirements. I don't know how you feel about that - but I know that I wouldn't enjoy having a pet that wouldn't be able to form even the most tenuous emotional connection with me. I did say in the Quorum that I enjoy cats' more subdued affection in comparison to dogs' "clinginess", but with fish and the like you don't even get that.
You should give cats a second chance, they can be amazing pets!
Yea, I've seen dogs neglected because of kids and the like. Dogs are a mans best friend. If you can't give them the attention the deserve, don't get one. I hate to see when a dog or any animal is neglected in anyway.
I've been giving it a lot of consideration. As long aa its short hair, declawed, nutered or spayed, is be all for it. Plus there are so many at any shelter you go to. You know what happens if they can't get rid of them....
MSJ, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, I know this is a controversial topic, but please consider not declawing your future cat(s). It's a form of mutilation, basically the same as cutting off the first phalange of every finger in a human hand. It leaves them practically defenseless if they are outdoor cats/ever run away/etc.
There are other ways to discourage them from scratching things, such as giving them plenty of scratching posts and the like and using anti-pet sprays on the objects you don't want them to scratch. Plus, you can always trim their claws as you do with human nails. Of course, they will grow back, but if you get the cat used to this since early on, it might not be that difficult to have him/her tolerate the experience.
Haha, MSJ, you didn't realize what you brought up when you said 'declaw the cat'. Its a pretty sensitive subject for a lot of people.
I'm kind of not really sure how it compares to removing an animals reproductive organs rendering them both sterile and with permanently altered body chemistry, but hey I wouldn't want to lose my fingers any more than I'd want to lose other, squishier parts...
I don't want this thread to turn into a debate about it though. We need more pictures of furry friends!
Haha, MSJ, you didn't realize what you brought up when you said 'declaw the cat'. Its a pretty sensitive subject for a lot of people.
Ummm, no I didn't realize how it could be a touchy subject. As I said, not a cat person and never had one as a pet, ever. The one person I knew who was a cat lover, declawed all his cats. They all were inside cats. I kinda thought it normal......again, I'm sorry. I can definitely see that if they were outside cats it would render the defenseless.
Never mind, MSJ. Since, as you said, you're not a cat person, I figured you might not know what declawing a cat really entailed, that's all. :)
ToT, I appreciate you informing me. I am against any form of hurt/neglect towards animals. Now, if we got a cat, I would never do that after the information you provided me.
My sister had a dog when her kids was young. She would keep the dog in the basement or on a 5 foot chain in the backyard 90% of the time. Me and her had words many a time over it. I thought it was like prison for the dog. It broke my heart, I would go to her house and take the dog for walks all the time because of it. Dogs take time and patience, if you don't have it or life circumstances don't allow it......no pets. Should be a damn law.
That's a sad story, that poor dog. :( I have several acquaintances that have/had had pets in similar circumstances (especially locked up dogs like your sister's) and it sucks just hearing about it and not being able to do anything about it. Fortunately my friends and relatives are more responsible about those things and either do a good job caring for their pets or don't have any. People who get cats, dogs and other animals as they'd get a new sofa or something really shouldn't be allowed to have any pets.
This occurred with my sister when her kids were young. Her youngest now is 16 and they have two Boxers now and they treat them as they should be. Which makes me happy to know my sister wasn't just cruel, but didn't have proper time for the care of a dog then. Them Boxers are huge and they think they are lap dogs. My mom was mad when she got them, because off baseless stories of them being viscous. They're like two little babies. But, protective. You take them on a walk and see another dog and its all I can do to hold on to them. Well, the male at least, female not so much. I love those dogs and they have always been gentle with my kids. My 2 year old playa with them and its a sight. They let him do anything to them and then knock him down and lick him til he's sopping wet, lol. Its all about how you, the owner, treats a dog.
It is truly amazing how a dog will reflect its owner's behaviors.
I firmly believe that there aren't any 'bad' dog breeds.
I also believe equally strongly that not all people should be allowed to have any dog breed. Some breeds just take more work than others to behave appropriately.
They all take some amount of training, but some are more strong headed than others, and people who don't know how to take care of dogs end up making poorly behaved dogs. Toy breeds are the worst in that regard - you have owners who don't have to train their dogs properly because the damage they can do is minimal. No one is calling the police when the Chihuahua bites your ankle. Unlike, for example, everyone's favorite breed to hate - pitbulls. They can be intimidating looking to begin with, and they are stubborn. The owner needs to know how to be in charge because people will call the police if it sniffs impolitely in their direction.
But regardless of the breed, if you treat a dog like it needs to be treated (ie like a dog and not like a human child or a slave) its absolutely incredible how resilient and happy they can be, even coming from terrible situations.
I think people would be much happier with their dogs if they had an appropriate dog assigned to them by someone who knew what they were doing, rather than letting people get dogs because they like how they look.