I had heard grapes were bad for dogs, but ours have gotten one or two that dropped before we could stop them. I guess they need to get a lot to cause problem. Hope her recovery is quick.

 

Thanks. It really depends on the dog. The vet said that the previous week they had a dog vomit up a whole bunch and it was fine afterwards, but another who got very sick after eating just a single one.

 

Boney has been sick lately and been on a chicken and rice diet.


Hard not letting him have any treats, have to sneak bones to Tilly

 

Good to know. Thanks!

 

We had a really warm day on the Front Range yesterday. Had a blast at the lake.

 

Lovely shots of a lovely dog, nice use of depth of field

 

The old “nobody loves me, I’m starving to death” eyes.

 

I LOVE dogs and I really want one. I’m newly married and bought a house with my wife. She likes dogs and finds them cute but is worried about raising a child around a dog in a small house. Also, we both work 9-6 on weekdays and are planning on travelling away from home fairly frequently.

Any advice from you experienced folks about getting a dog? Should I listen to my wife and not get one until we have a baby and the baby turns 3-6 years old? Or, do you have any advice which I can use to convince my wife into getting a dog?

 

Short answer? Yes. Listen to your wife. THIS TIME.

have fun
kfw

 

Maybe capital letters is too much? I don't know.

have fun
kfw

 

Not at all. Thanks for the reply, @time flies. Wish I didn’t have to see your response

 

Dogs in my experience require time just as children and it sounds as if you just may not have the time to devote to a dog/puppy at this stage

 

It depends. my inclination is to tell you that this is not the right time for you. however, there are different issues that you bring up in the post.
1) raising children with dogs , in my experience was great. our dogs were terrific with infants, toddlers and energized kids. not all dogs are. so a lot depends on the temperament of the dog.We have adopted all our dogs, all were adult dogs , so we were able to evaluate their temperament pretty well before we brought them home. i like having a big dog in the house with a big bark. i am not firearm trained, and dont feel comfortable with firearms (not anything political, its just me), so a big dog is my best home alarm/security.
2) not being home for long periods of time can be a problem for most dogs. they are pack animals, and a human family becomes their adopted pack. dogs can get depressed and un-socialized if left alone for long periods of time. if you plan on leaving a dog alone for long periods of time, and traveling frequently, my advice is dont do it. Now may not be the right time for you.

however, say you did get a dog, my advice is:
a) adopt an older dog from a shelter - over 5yrs. puppies are like babies. they need ATTENTION NOW! adolescent dogs need EXERCISE and DISCIPLINE or they will grow up to be poorly behaved and bad companion dogs. this requires time on your part. typically older dogs are bit more mello, have an idea of what it is to be a pack member, usually potty trained. and there are so many older dogs needing good homes.
b) access to the outdoors to a SECURE backyard during the weekdays
c) adopt a second older dog to keep the first dog company

dogs are a commitment. dont be the family that gets a bunny for Easter ,then gives it away cause its too much effort after a week. the bunny doesn't really care, but it is very traumatic for the dog.

dogs are great family members but dogs are a commitment. good luck and congratulations

 

Get a dog now but do the whole puppy school, socialising and training.
(Made that mistake early on with my first dog when I was younger.)
A walk in the morning if you are a 9 - 6
Not sure your travelling is where you can’t occasionally take the dog.
Have two dogs and we both work 7-4 daily and they are OK

Just pick the right dog for your lifestyle.
Don’t be the trendy dog people.
Live in hot and humid Northern Australia and when I moved here 12 years ago, Alaskan Malamutes were all the rage and I wanted to punch every idiot that would walk a Malamute in 35C in 90% humidity.

Don’t think you have to wait for a child to be 3 to 6, how many cute YouTube videos do you see with dogs and toddlers

PS: bringing a puppy home your only in trouble for a few minutes

 

Sorry but I don't agree. Both working 9 - 6 means that, with adding commute times, the poor dog could be in a crate for over 10 hours a day, maybe longer. And if not crate trained to like it and feel safe in the crate, then they'll come home to a puddle for sure on the floor. Once the pups pick a good spot, good luck stopping it when they're alone all day, because you won't be there to correct them at the time, and after work it's too late to correct them. Plus, the poor thing will be bored to death.

 

I see my cancer cat got a few likes, thank you. Damn I had this cat when I still lived with my parents. By the way her real name is sooper dooper. I give her shots and meds every few days. The doc wanted me to put her on these pills that they use in humans with cancer. They are the size of horse pills and when I went to fill them they were 340 bucks for one pill. That’s a tough call, I mean I love her but spending 1,500 every couple weeks on a 19 year old cat seems a bit overboard. Her current med regime really helps and she is actually gaining weight. Sooper dooper thanks u for the likes.

 

Yeah, it's a tough call. By the time our 5.5 yr old cat, Cinder, was diagnosed with probable GI lymphoma it was really too late to do much. We did the ultrasonic guided needle aspirate that was $500 and inconclusive, so without another attempt via exploratory laparotomy which could be more successful (but $1,500) we could not get any chemotherapy that was stronger than Prednisolone.

After $3,300 and 3 months we had to put him down (at home, in my lap, with a vet who did the service via house call). Thankfully, the pet health insurance that we'd paid for the previous 5 years paid 80% (effectively giving us our premiums back). But it was close to having paid the max per year benefit. Our new kitten and pupper have $10K in max annual benefit now, not $3K.

 

People bringing dogs home and are not ready to really take care of them?

That is why I have 12 of them.

 

I get you, not sure if they have a yard or not.