Dangerous Dogs

my BF has two lovely Black Labs. One now gone to live with her son because it if effectively his. They are lovely dogs, very friendly.

Yes, the dog slobber is another problem, if people are not cat people when they visit me I will put the cat out, if they don't mind the cat wandering over them then I let it be. Its a good thing cats don't slobber!

We had a friend who had a huge dog - can't remember what make - that was as big as our pond. We know that as he once leapt in it and had to be rescued - I'd have left him there!

The slobber came in thick wodges and was grey - he used to shake his head and spray it everywhere. And as for his huge evil farts, they would creep about her house like nerve gas! And his excretory offerings would have done credit to an elephant.

Why keep this ghastly thing in your house I ask myself? - answer comes there none.

Dogs smell, shed their coat everywhere, fart, growl, bark, scratch the furniture, irritate the neighbours, get fleas, crash about the place, fight with other dogs, jump up and cover you in mud, shake water off their coats all over you, menstruate on the carpet, cover your garden in worm-laden poo (risking the health of children), foul parks and beaches, lick their genitals, sniff poo in the street then lick your face.......I could go on! Why oh why!?

Ahh...mishap if you haven't been slobbered by a loving basset hound, you're missing somehing special! It's a daily occurence chez moi - I keep a pack of baby wipes handy, and I notice my visitors checking where they are on arrival. My drooling dog saves her slobber for when she sees us eating, then she'll have a quick shake and I have to be deft at removing the offending drool from where it's landed before anyone protests 'enough!' It's a dog thing - you either love 'em or you don't.

Whippets don't do any of the above [well, not many of them].

Mishap - don't agree with you, at least none of the dogs I've had suffered from fleas, worms, fighting, irritating neighbours, 'crashing about' or menstruating on the carpet! Regular grooming, picking up faeces and general training in 'good manners' is obviously what every dog owner should practice. Some don't, a lot do.

Can't ague with the fart factor though

But why would you want to do all the grooming, picking up crap and training when you could just have a clean peaceful life surrounded by civilized human beings?

The description of mealtimes chez whenim leaves me speechless!!

Let's hope no-one gives me a puppy for Easter!!!

Our relationship with animals is so ambiguous. On the one hand we hold our hands up in horror at the idea of eating horse; then happily slaughter the little lambs that are at this very moment skipping about outside our window. We idolise dogs and kill foxes. We spend millions on preserving big cats so that they can kill and eat other species - why are we not saving those other species? It's all very confused.

Mishap we do all those cleaning up tasks for our children, and cleaning/grooming/training dogs is so much easier. I hoover up dog hair, use poo bags, use preventative treatments to avoid fleas and worms, and my dog and I rub along together in happy companionship.

Compared with the messy, miserable husband I endured for longer than I wanted to, life with a happy, friendly dog who causes no-one any bother, is just lovely.

I quite agree with you about our inconsistent attitudes to animals Mishap I find it very strange as well

Can't agree about dogs though, most of them are far more civilised than many of the people I know

When they got rid of the predators at Yellowstone [ie the wolves] the flora and fauna eventually suffered and they have been reintroduced. Therefore big cats provide a role in the grand scheme of things [if we don't continue to upset the balance].

You'll never make Mishap understand.

Poo bags - I have no words to describe how I feel when I see people scooping up their dogs' poop! I am gobsmacked as to why anyone would choose to keep a creature for which this is necessary. Yuk and double yuk!!

Doing all these things for our children is a totally different kettle of fish - they are the same species and our future.

Mishap poo bags to you!

Mishap It's a doddle to scoop up poo, if you have a properly fed dog. It's not messy - not like the contents of my grandchildren's nappies that occasionally plaster their backs. I accept you won't see it like that. Dogs have enriched my life, so the minor tasks associated with being a responsible owner are no trouble to me

As someone said, you either love 'em or hate 'em! Clearly the gene that makes people love dogs passed me by!

Dogs on beaches is my pet hate, especially if there are children around. I once watched a dog piss up an unsuspecting woman's back as she sat innocently reading her book on the beach!

And the serious difficulty for the likes of me is that dog lovers do not understand how we feel and let their animals make a nuisance of themselves to us. That is not really very fair I think.

Bit like PE teachers who fail to understand that some people simply cannot do these things!

Yes, agree with you there Mishap. Dogs should be restricted to certain areas and/or times on beaches, and remain on a lead when there are children around, same as in a park. My dog is not allowed to approach strangers, and I appreciate them not descending on my dog.

You could always go and live in Reykjavík Mishap.

Are there no dogs there? - lead me to it!!!

I'm going there in June!

Let me know about the dogs!

My grandma used to have a bull terrier. Mum remembered that the dog at the time wouldn't allow her then fiance [my dad] kiss her and would growl like mad. When I was little grandma had another bull terrier as soft as grease. Grandma would brook no trouble with that dog and I wasn't afraid at all. These days, in spite of having grown up with dogs and then having my own, I'm very wary of other people's. One dog is OK if well trained - but NEVER 100% trustworthy - it is a dog after all with doggy ways. I'm amazed that parents are happy to leave a baby alone in the same room as a dog. Owning two dogs is beginning to create a pack and whatever breed, big or small, can easily cause a problem. Licensing and chipping a dog? It's better than nothing. Most people will do it but there will be a percentage of those who won't. Perhaps wardens / police could have a device to check out any dog they meet and have on the spot fines.

Will do!

I must admit to having a soft spot for bull terriers [I think it's something to do with seeing The Incredible Journey when I was a child] and have known some really sweet natured ones.

whenim, you're obviously a responsible dog owner, and I can understand that you enjoy being a dog person. I was brought up with (well-trained) dogs and that was OK, but now I find my views more like those of Mishap. Like you, I can't understand how anyone would want to pick up warm poo with a plastic bag (although I am delighted that they do as we suffer a lot from the pests who don't). What turns my stomach is seeing people who let their dogs lick their faces. We all know what dogs do with their noses, given half a chance!

I don't expect everyone to be overwhelmed with the charm of my grandchildren, who are all,of course, perfect, so why am I expected to be delighted when somebody's horrible dog wants to jump up at me?

Phew! - nice to know I am not totally alone!

Anyone else out there who does not like other people's dogs sticking their noses in her crotch!?