Short of Funds, G.O.P. Recruits the Rich to Run

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Let me just say right now: I am not a dog person. I am not a mammal person. I grew up with both dogs and cats, and my overall impression was that both were smelly beasts who shed hair on everything and occasionally tore up the furniture and ruined the carpet.

That said, I actually considered--for the briefest of moments--the possibility of a dog this afternoon. Minifob just freaking loves them, goes nuts whenever we see one at the playground. And of course being family dogs, they're always so gentle and nice and he gets to get right up and play with them... All boys are supposed to have a dog, right? But I know I would regret it, I know I would. At the very least, not until he's old enough to really care for it. I will never, ever, ever scoop another pile of poop out of the backyard. No way no how.

Let me just say this right now: I am a dog person.

Yes. All boys should have a dog. Right.

And do not let your love for your son and your urge to do the right thing blind you to the fact that all dogs come with poop. You will be picking it up. No escaping that one. Sorry. It can be ... deferred (not recommended), but not avoided.

But daily doodie duty is a small price to pay for the reward of seeing a boy and his dog.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by BigV

You will be picking it up. No escaping that one. Sorry.

Oh no, I assure you I would not. That is what the dog's owner and his father would be for. Worst case scenario, I hear that if they don't eat they stop pooping very soon.

[Shawnee123]

Reminds me of an old old Letterman stand-up thing. Talking about Cycle Dog foods, and the like. He said something about dog food for constipated dogs and he said he figured "if my dog is constipated why mess with a good thing?" He also talked about dog food "without a speck of cereal." He said "my dogs roots through garbage and drinks out of the toilet. I don't think he's going to mind a speck of cereal."

[queequeger]

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHA!!!!!

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Let me just say right now: I am not a dog person. I am not a mammal person. I grew up with both dogs and cats, and my overall impression was that both were smelly beasts who shed hair on everything and occasionally tore up the furniture and ruined the carpet.

That said, I actually considered--for the briefest of moments--the possibility of a dog this afternoon. Minifob just freaking loves them, goes nuts whenever we see one at the playground. And of course being family dogs, they're always so gentle and nice and he gets to get right up and play with them... All boys are supposed to have a dog, right? But I know I would regret it, I know I would. At the very least, not until he's old enough to really care for it. I will never, ever, ever scoop another pile of poop out of the backyard. No way no how.

Don't do it!

Boys only needed dogs back in the days when they left the house after breakfast on summer vacation and didn't come home til teatime. Oh and in the days when you could feed them scraps from the table and nothing else and not have any idea you were being unfair.

They're expensive, smelly, create loads of extra cleaning, get worms and ticks and fleas etc, they take up the space of another half person at least. And need good training so as not to be a liability.

(Quick aside - are dogs not taught to walk to heel any more?! The amount of kids I see being dragged along by dogs! And they don't come when they're called - I often have them come sniffing and jumping round me while the owner is 50 yards away saying in a feeble voice, "Lennon, Lennon, come here....")

Your son will get plenty of pleasure out of other people's dogs for years yet. Review the situation in about 8 years.

BTW I am not a dog lover
But I've had dos in the house both growing up and an adult and it's horrible sharing your house with a needy animal if you have reservations - any issues are magnified x 100.

[lookout123]

Lennon, Lennon,

how appropriate, they name their dog after a tottenham player.

[classicman]

Many great childhood memories were spent with my dog. I agree with BigV - Every boy should have one. Many life lessons can be learned from having a dog.

[Aliantha]

Hey...there's nothing wrong with having a dog for a pet, and if he's your sons dog, then he should do the picking up after him. That's part of being a responsible pet owner.

We have two dogs and a yard. We don't pick up the poo every day. It gets mowed up once a week. That was the choice my kids made on how to deal with the poo. Since they're the ones that use the yard the most, it's their choice to step around it till it gets removed. Also, dogs tend to always go in about the same area, so it's not too bad.

They're not stinky or smelly either SG. Shame on you...you feline fondler!

Our dogs smell lovely after they've had their bath, and they don't get stinky unless they roll in something, which they don't have the option of doing if you don't leave stuff to rot in the yard. We don't even have dirt for them to roll in.

Dogs can be a hassle, or they can be a valuable part of your family structure. I can't imagine not having one, but if the animal is only going to be viewed as a nuisance, then I say don't get one, because that's not fair on the animal, or the rest of the family.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

It gets mowed up once a week.

Are you saying the poop just gets run right over with the mower?! I've done that, on accident, when a pile stealthily eluded us during pickup time (as a kid, our family dog never pooped in the same place twice.) Poop is flung everywhere, and the smell is horrific. I guess maybe you have a riding mower? I don't see how it's even possible otherwise.

And how often do you bathe your dogs? Ours got a bath maybe once every 3-4 weeks, and she stank again within a day or two. And there was no getting around the permanent dog smell in the house.

I think the fact that you live in a very dry climate may be a huge factor, both in the poop consistency and the smell of the dogs.

[Aliantha]

Don't you have a catcher on your mower? It just goes in there with the grass clippings and then gets emptied into a compost pile down the back corner.

They get a bath every weekend pretty much.

Often dogs get a smell if they have an allergy, and of course, like humans general hygiene and diet can affect the smell too, although with dogs not as much because they don't sweat like we do.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Don't you have a catcher on your mower?

I've certainly seen them, but most don't around here. The clippings are just left to compost in the yard. I still maintain that your piles of dog poop must be dry for this to work though--ours could stay wet on the inside for a week or more. Nothing would go in the catcher because everything would just be smeared all over the mower blades.

[Aliantha]

we have a pretty humid atmosphere in my part of the country most of the time. We do use a catcher though, and it picks up the sloppy ones too, although it does tend to leave a smudge.

[Aliantha]

oh, and just to be clear, there's no way I'd mow up dog poo without using a catcher. lol Can you imagine the splatter on your legs?

[Undertoad]

[Aliantha]

haha...that's funny UT. Poor SG. She's going to think the dog lovers (I nearly typed god lovers) are picking on her.