Dog

[Pilch]

To a point, but the experience that my nan had with a dogs trust near her has put me on a negative slide towards them.

My grandad was registered blind and a guide dog owner so it wasnt as if my nan had no experience with dogs, infact she was besotted by anything with 4 legs and a long cold snout! The dog she had choosed had been known to be potentially abused by a man in its life but they where not sure of what had happened. Anyhow, my nan grew fond of Benson, and took him home, only to find that he wouldnt let any males into the house without being aggressive and also attacked a neighbour and nearly a postman. Suffice to say he quickly went back to the home.

There are some real loving dogs that are in kennels, but I wouldnt take one on without knowing the full on background of the dog.

[plod]

first off all i would check with your boss that you can have a dog with you as some places you go to wont let dogs on the site and if someone else uses the vechicle they might not be happy with dog hairs etc

Can't see that as a problem, as I am the business - my boss does sod all, sits on his arse all day watching daytime telly
I do all the work, and he benefits, and I earn peanuts for it

Used to be 4 or 5 different drivers until the recession, but now it's me who drives the lorry 99% of the time
Probably might still be an idea to have a dog that isn't prevelent to molting greatly

I'll just say it's company for me in the lorry, he can moan if he likes, but without me he's nothing as he's far too lazy to do the work himself, and who in their right mind would work for the paultry sum I get

[Bailes1992]

Get a dark coloured short haired dog. All dogs molt, just weather or not you can see the hair.

[sirwiggum]

Me ma has 2 dogs, Labrador moults like crazy, and a wee 1/2 Norfolk terrier 1/2 jack russel that doesn't seem to moult (as much). He is like a wee tonka truck, nothing phases him!

[lozz]

Plenty of oily fish helps a dog stop molting,
we Give the hounds Tuna, sardines etc, fish thats in Brine is no good tho ,
abit of virgin olive oil in there food helps too,

groom a dog once aday and it cuts out alot of molting,

[sirwiggum]

They try and brush the labrador as much as possible, but still a lot of hair.

Have you seen the price of tuna these days btw? !

[grasmere59]

Years ago we used to hoover our old dog,he loved it and kept the molting down!

[lozz]

They try and brush the labrador as much as possible, but still a lot of hair.

Have you seen the price of tuna these days btw? !

You can get tuna cheap mate,
tescos etc do there own branded tins,

or theres the fish markets go at the end of day and they will sell you it at areasonable price,

My dogs cost me £8 aday to feed so sometimes ilook for bargains to keep costs down,
the shop branded stuff is more than good enough for a dog

[highlander]

Cats are fussy animals, but I love them more than I love dogs. Mum and Dad's last cat (a ginger Persian long-hair we named "Smeagol" after the Lord of the Rings character) would turn his nose up at one flavour of food if you gave it to him one day, but would eat it if you gave it to him the next day. We loved that cat and he really loved us back - he was a real people person, loved attention and hated being by himself. He lived to be 16 - not bad for a cat born with a heart defect that the vets thought would kill him by the time he turned a year old - and he was deaf as a post for the last 5 years of his life. Died of heart failure nearly 2 years ago now, RIP

Their current cat (an Abyssinian Blue we named "Marco" after Marco Polo, because of the way he explores EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE around the house) is a bit less fussy than that, but has been known to turn up his nose at Tuna. Not all cats like fish. He's funny though, he's so energetic - hardly ever sits still (really, the term "pedal to the metal" applies), but he is fascinated by... the kitchen sink! Every morning he'll jump up and sit staring at the drain on the sink - when the washing machine is on, it makes a kind of gurgling sound every so often. He also likes it when you turn the tap on; he finds water very interesting. He'll also drink from the tap, preferring it to water from his bowl.

Had to put something cat-related on here, there's just too much dog.

That said we did have a Scottish Terrier named Dougal (after the dog on Magic Roundabout) and he wasn't fussy in the least, he'd eat damn near everything, and had a particular fondness for prawn crackers from the Chinese restaurant. He died a year before Smeagol did, having developed inoperable tumours. He was partly deaf and developing cateracts by that point, so he'd have gone blind within a year if he'd made it that far.

[lozz]

Cats are ok but there atitude stinks

cats own there owners , they come in when they please and moan for there food and then they piss off
thats not a pet

a dog will greet you as soon as you come through the door,
well mine do anyway,

[highlander]

Cats are ok but there atitude stinks

cats own there owners , they come in when they please and moan for there food and then they piss off

Entirely depends on the cat in question

Smeagol was a lap cap - he hated being away from his people. If he was asleep and woke up with nobody else in the room, he'd go find them and shout at them (quite funny actually). He had a real soft-spot for my Dad; if he was on Mum's lap and Dad came into the room, most of the time he'd jump down, trot up to Dad's feet, rub against his legs and mew until he was picked up and petted. Persians are notorious for latching on to one particular person, especially in their old age. He was allowed out into the garden, and had the means to get over the fence and wonder about, but he just never did. If Dad was out in the garden doing the weeding, Smeagol would be right there with him (even if he was asleep in the flower beds Dad was working in at the time).

Marco isn't a lap cat - he will sit with people, but that's only during one of his power naps - he'll be there maybe 10 - 15 minutes, then he's off again, running up and down, playing with all manner of cat toys and household objects, climbing the furniture (on top of 6ft wardrobes and on top of kitchen cabinets are amongst his favourite spots), and shouting crossly at the birds outside from the window ledges. He is a riot; he's a very affectionate and vocal cat (they're known to be a chatty breed; you talk to them and they will chirp back at you). It's funny watching him sit on the window ledge; there'll be birds outside and he'll just sit there and huff and scowl at them When he's fed up of the smug feathery little bastards outside, he'll jump down from the window ledge and stomp (yes, cats stomp!) huffily off and have a bath/snooze somewhere else where he can't see them.

They're remarkable animals - lots of dog lovers just see them as arrogant and selfish little things that don't care about you. This is not true, and is a misconception that is largely due to the instinctive behaviours that domestic cats and dogs have inherited genetically. Dogs live in family groups (packs) - by training them, and by being the biggest, strongest "dog" in the "pack", you are asserting yourself as the pack leader, and by listening to your instructions, the dog is simply doing what it is told to do. Cats are different; they live as solitary hunters, relying on their own hunting skills in order to find food and defend themselves in order to survive. Mother cats can only get their kittens to comply by picking them up by the scruff of their neck (an action which causes them to go limp, not through any nerve interaction, but because of instinct). You can do the same with domestic cats and kittens - pick them up by the scruff and they will go limp.

Cats have a wide range of emotions, and the means to solve problems (opening doors, for example, when you don't have opposable thumbs). They will remember what you did to them, and what you've done for them, and will bear a grudge and plot revenge (seriously, don't piss off a cat, they can pull off some nasty counter-attacks) - or remember your actions fondly and choose to reward you as a result. If a cat brings in a dead mouse or bird, they've brought you a present to reward you for things you've done for them - it's their way of saying "thanks".

Did you know that cats have two vocal chords, and can produce more than 100 vocal noises to express themselves? All sorts of chirps, mews, clicks, purrs, growls, hisses, and sighs. Some of them aren't even audible to the human ear. The best thing about cats though is the way they look at you - their facial expressions can say an awful lot; it's funny when you're doing something the cat thinks is just plain daft and they just look at you with that "you are being incredibly stupid, please stop" look on their face. Their body language is very expressive in its own right - how a cats tail moves while it is walking is a good sign of its mood (high in the air, with the tip curled, is generally a friendly posture, for example).

You can train cats in much the same way as you can train dogs. Some cats will even play fetch. Americans are fond of leash-training cats and taking them out for walkies, just like a dog.

I love both dogs and cats, but I find cats to be the more fascinating animal. I could go on about them all night, but I won't and you're probably glad of it

[Welly]

I could go on about them all night, but I won't.......

Thank you

[sirwiggum]

Me ma has a couple of cats too, the older one is like a teenager, he will do that thing where he wont eat a particular dinner one night, then next night will wolf it down. If you tell him not to do something he will come back and do it with a vengance!
The other one is a rescue cat that at the moment is quite solitary, they give him a bit of space and he is starting to come out of his shell. He isn't sure about the dogs though (big harmless eejits that they are) so tends to stay upstairs.

[lozz]

Iused to hate cats, Especialy tom cats,
they can stink the place out,

we rescued acat about 4 yrs ago hes been ok,
hes not sprayed or messed in the house,
we buy him whiskas food and all that,but he seems to like greyhound food better,
abird couid land on its head and it wouid run away and hide,

[highlander]

Iused to hate cats, Especialy tom cats,
they can stink the place out

Neuter them - they don't spray after that, so the bad smells stop pretty much immediately. They also calm down a lot (especially if the cat was aggressive previously).