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oakers

Pets

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Ok, so as the topic suggests this is about pets. Who has them, what variety are they and what do they mean to you?

 

I have a gorgeous little girl Patterdale called Lottie. She's about 1.5 and she's the best thing to have happened to me in a long time.

 

I got her at 7 weeks, just as my physical health was becoming more of an issue and she helped me through a particularly rough period in my life. She gives me the motivation to get up and out, although she's not too keen on rain, which I'm quite glad in a sense as walking in the rain is definitely not a favourite pastime.

 

I make sure I walk her through areas in which we'll have to go past people and I know she can't help herself from wanting to socialise with every human and dog possible. Given that she forces me to talk to people so that can only be a good thing.

 

When I get in after work there she is to keep me company and sit there, no judgements, just her unconditional love. She adores being near you when she's tired and loves a good cuddle every now and then.

 

She keeps me sane and in relation to my physical health she keeps me moving. She means the world to me and I adore her.

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I have always had pets - guinea pigs, mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, turtles, fish, birds.

 

At the moment I have a fat lump of a british blue called Spudball(was Smokey), and a wee female budgie called Beaks - both very affectionate and fun :)

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She sounds LOVELY! I love animals too but we don't have any pets at the moment. I had a guinnea pig called Su once, the best guinnea pig i've ever had. He used to run around my home and sit on my lap for cuddles, and used his cage like a litter tray! He was my best friend when i used to live on my own. Pets are definitely part of a family.

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We have two polish lowland sheepdogs which look like Old english sheepdogs , but are smaller.They are very lovable, energetic and clever.We have a selection of chickens and ducks, about 20 or so.They are all pets too, they all have names and are very tame.We also have 3 ponies, a welsh section b chestnut mare who my daughter competes with.She is very sharp and fast and loves to jump.We have a welsh sec d mare who is a cremello, which means she was no pigment and is white with blue eyes.Shes a broodmare and we hope to have a foalie soon.Next we have a lovely sec d gelding who is dark bay/black.He came from a market and is a rescue pony, he is a lovely boy , but has been abused so is very nervous .I love animals they play a big part in my life and I would have more if I could afford it !!

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Me and my mum share between us two golden retrievers, I work so she has them and I go and walk them and train them.

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I like dogs but I couldn't keep one as a pet. The sole reason for that is that they may be playful and cuddly to you but I couldn't live with the fact I'd still have a carnivorous animal in my care which jumps up and tries to attack the postman every time he comes near the house or chases cyclists as they cycle past innocently. I couldn't live with that side of owning a dog. Because at the end of the day everything they do would be your responsibility including scooping up their mess which I'm sure the dogs find highly amusing! Eww!

 

But I do really like cats. They're much more manageable and don't take over the whole house. And what's more they're independent too! So they're perfect companions and will come and go as they please. Purrrfect!

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they don't all do that. Bonnie doesn't, she's quite good, that's where training and socialising comes in. Dogs don't find the fact you have to pick up mess amusing, its all part and parcel of owning one, comes in second nature to me.

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But I do really like cats. They're much more manageable and don't take over the whole house. And what's more they're independent too! So they're perfect companions and will come and go as they please. Purrrfect!

 

That's one of the main reason I don't like cats... they are far too independent, and hunt which I REALLY don't like. They also mess in other peoples' gardens, very often never doing so in their own gardens, so their owners haven't the responsibility of picking up after them, everyone else does :(

 

No, no cats for me! Unless they were house trained and house cats... but give me a dog any day :)

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That is one of the reasons I do like cats, one can hoof them out the door to go and amuse themselves if you don't want them in. But my old cat never used outside, it knew it had a litter tray in a warmer house. But the thing is with cats, human boundaries are unrecognised so they will go in other people's gardens as it is their territory and part of taking a dump on the edges of it's territory is to tell other creatures they are stepping on thin ice. It's all about smell you see, but most cats bury their efforts as mine did with the litter tray throwing gravel all over the bathroom.

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I like both dogs and cats, the only problem I have with dogs is their barking which I'm sensitive to, and also it can keep me awake at night.

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I really hate dogs barking too Nesf... we have a few round here that seem to bark quite a bit, one especially. We're very lucky with ours as she barks very infrequently.

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Isn't there a breed which doesn't bark? I can't remember where i was reading about it...but I remember reading that it's the breed which is closest to the original wolf.....I think they still howl though. It seems barking only evolved in the domestic dogs we see today as an attempt on their part to communicate with humans.

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That's really interesting Merry... I had a Samoyed and to be fair he didn't bark really, although he did howl... at sirens mostly! haha... I'll have to look into that further.

 

I had a staffie back home in Australia, and we all thought he didn't know how to bark... until one time when we were broken into and the police were walking around where he must have seen the burglars and he let rip... he knew how to bark alright, he'd just kept quiet since he was a pup!

Edited by oakers

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I don't think there's any breed of dog that doesn't bark, but there are some that bark less. As far as I know wolves can also bark, but not as frequently or repetitively as dogs. We have a Staffie, an Akita and a German Shepherd. The German shepherd barks a lot, the Staffie very rarely. The Akita barks, but also howls like a wolf, which the other two don't do. I think the Akita is closer to a wolf.

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I like both dogs and cats, the only problem I have with dogs is their barking which I'm sensitive to, and also it can keep me awake at night.

 

I also don't like dogs barking up close, the same with screaming, wailing children the sound sort of sends shivers through my mind, it is most unpleasant and usually causes me to exit the situation fast, but I guess barking like screaming and crying is a distress noise that is designed to alert and if one cannot attend to the distress, the only option is get out of there.

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I also don't like dogs barking up close, the same with screaming, wailing children the sound sort of sends shivers through my mind, it is most unpleasant and usually causes me to exit the situation fast, but I guess barking like screaming and crying is a distress noise that is designed to alert and if one cannot attend to the distress, the only option is get out of there.

 

Children screaming really gets to me too, as does whistling, especially between fingers - it's torture!

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We have always had cats in our family until I lived on my own again......ours were always so loving and had the run of the house and local area which was quiet and safe, so they were happy......I do miss them, but it's not so safe here unfortunately so no cats now.

When I met my partner online, my profile specifically stated that I disliked dogs.....I don't actually dislike them as animals at all, but I really struggle with their unpredictable behaviour (even when trained) and the smell (wet dog....hmm, not for me thanks) and most of all the poop scoop......I am paranoid OCD about this! However, on meeting Lynne, she came complete with a huge Malamute dog called Raphael. This is the breed that you mean that is closest to a wolf.....quite hard to tell apart.

Needless to say I was very anxious about starting this relationship, and when Lynne eventually moved in with me I had very strict rules as to what Raph was allowed to do.......yeah right! You try telling a dog that stands taller (on hind legs) than you do, what he's not to do!......oh, and I'm 5ft 9ins btw! I have to say that it wasn't very long before I was won over...even though he would walk past the kitchen work top and "hoover"....he could rest his chin on the top without stretching!....and I even took him walkies on my own and poop scooped!!!! What was really interesting though, is that immediately prior to moving to this house (which is when Lynne and Raph moved in) I lived next to a barking dog.....drove me mad! But owning a dog that barked (very little though) cured me of my annoyance of dogs barking to a large extent. We are surrounded by barking dogs, but it doesn't bother me nearly as much as it used to.......I think it was the realisation that owners can't really completely control their dogs from barking to some extent when I bacame responsible for a dog....yet I'm still bothered by all the other irritating sounds that we Aspies seem to suffer.....if anyone starts whistling I'm likely to shout at them or possibly throw something ....yes, ...at them! Raph was generally very quiet, but so amusing if there was an ice cream van or a police siren in the area.........he would automatically start howling, (or singing) even if he was asleep.....hilarious watching a dog sleep-howl. He was very useful too.....if the pic has come out you can see him repairing the exhaust on our pick-up!

Unfortunately we eventually had to re-home him, as our accomodation just isn't suited to a dog of his size and needs.......if anyone had told me a few years ago that I would own a large dog, and then miss him when he went, I would have laughed a lot!

 

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Edited by watergirl

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I've always had animals all my life but at the moment I have a 13 year old crossbreed dog called Cassie, although I think she thinks she is a cat(hates water, loves to sit on windowsills and watch people), she's even taken to making a noise that sounds similar to a meow lol

 

I also have 2 corn snakes a snow corn called Yuki and a lavander corn called Tokyo (my little girl named that one)

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I have two Staffordshire bull terriers, walking them helps me keep fit, builds my confidence when outside and allows me to meet new people so I guess they mean quite a lot.

I look forward to walking them now and tend to take them on at least 2 hours walking per day, in some way it's a therapy for me.

 

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I don't think there's any breed of dog that doesn't bark, but there are some that bark less. As far as I know wolves can also bark, but not as frequently or repetitively as dogs. We have a Staffie, an Akita and a German Shepherd. The German shepherd barks a lot, the Staffie very rarely. The Akita barks, but also howls like a wolf, which the other two don't do. I think the Akita is closer to a wolf.

 

"I saw it on TV so it must be true!" :lol: My favourite Bart Simpson quote for you there!

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I too hate the noise of kids screaming. It's different if I think it's for a valid reason, but kids in shops screaming because they can't get their own way... ohhh that goes through me.

 

The pics you guys have posted are so cute. I LOVE staffies, and malamutes. It seems Lottie loves them too and is convinced that she's big enough to play with dogs of any size, but is particularly partial to malamutes and huskies... who always tower over her and weigh goodness knows how much more than her. I'm convinced she'll get crushed by one :/

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I live with my parents and we have a cat called Leo, a large tabby with white paws. He's currently being kept indoors as one of his paws is bandaged, following an accident earlier this week in which he managed to wrench one of his claws nearly out of its socket. So far this week I've had to take him to the vet to have the bandage replaced after he'd torn it off, and I've had to empty his litter tray and clear up some sick. Oh joy...

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When my German Shepherd moved in, she didn't make a sound. Until she got settled, and then she started! She rarely makes a sound away from home, barks occasionally when she's outdoors, and goes absolutely nuts with excitement when she's indoors and something happens outside! But it keeps her happy, and 13 years of living with my previous hairy monster made me pretty immune to the effects of barking! She has to put up with living with me, but is very loyal, does almost everything I ask her to do, and jumps all over me when I get home on the odd occasion I leave her on her own. She likes people, and she reads other dogs very well, so knows when to say hello, and when to run away. She has a nice calming air about her, so people who are nervous of the breed feel comfortable around her. About the only thing that irritates me a bit is that she likes to clean up what the neighbour's cats leave on her land!

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Hello!

 

I've grown up with animals, there has never been a time where we haven't had a pet. I've been told many times that my Autism effects the way animals see me, and vise versa. I think that's because I have a very relaxed aura about me.

 

I have a Jack Russell cross Border Collie called Pippy.

Four cats, Mitzie-Mae (Silver Tabby), Coopurr (Pedigree Self Black British Shorthair), Jaspurr (Pedigree Self Black British Shorthair) and Harpurr (Pedigree Blue Smoke British Shorthair.)

I also have a guinea pig called Roo who is a Chocolate Dutch.

Finally, an Anery Corn Snake called Shadow.

 

Quite the variety I know!

 

Anne.

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