Are you a dog, cat, exotic or no pet person?

[muwarrior69]

I am a dog person. I have had at least a dozen dogs during my 78 years. I have had mixed breeds, Cocker Spaniels, Beagles, St. Bernards, Rottweilers, West Highland Terriers, Golden Retrievers and Black Lab and presently two Yellow Labrador Retrievers.

One of my dogs even wore sunglasses.

[tower912]

No pets. 

[ATL MU Warrior]

Beagles are idiots.  I would never want one. 

[Scoop Snoop]

We have had Great Danes and a Beagle as well as 3 cats. I find the "either/or" dog/cat dichotomy as strange. I think the biggest problem is not the pets but rather the humans who, despite bragging about being the most intelligent of all creatures (this is very debatable  ), refuse to accept the innate behaviors of different animals.

The most telling sign of this is a person saying, "my dog thinks he's a human." You rarely hear this from a person who has a cat because the way they interact with humans is so different. They act like cats. The old joke "Dogs have owners. Cats have staff" has a lot of truth in it. And dogs act like dogs, often training their humans very well.  If your dog drags you along and is front of you when walking on a leash, the dog is clearly the leader-not you. In Prague, we saw dogs walked off leash and completely under control (and they seemed very happy as well). Against all advice, our first dog was a Great Dane. I knew that it was very, very important to have him be well trained, especially on a leash.

[Scoop Snoop]

Beagles are idiots.  I would never want one. 

That does it! I'm putting you on ignore.

[ATL MU Warrior]

That does it! I'm putting you on ignore.

Sorry, my sister-in-law has two and they are the dumbest creatures on planet earth.

[Hards Alumni]

I love all animals but don't enjoy living with them.  My wife loves cats.

We have two cats.

[reinko]

Dog person, Charley, the bestest doggo.

[wadesworld]

I like enjoying other peoples' dogs but don't want to take care of one myself.  My wife had a cat before I met her, so the cat and I co-exist fine.  My wife is constantly commenting about how the cat needs a friend.  She'd be choosing between a second cat and a husband at that point.  Guessing when the cat passes away (she's older already) my wife will get a new cat.

[Scoop Snoop]

Dog person, Charley, the bestest doggo.

We rescued an abandoned pup about 6 months old right before the Xavier game in Milwaukee. We missed the 1st 5 minutes of the game and gave the pup the temporary name of Shaka. She was probably a beagle/dachshund cross with big, beautiful ears. She shook with fear and was very emaciated but quickly became attached to us. We kept her for 9 days as a favor to Animal Control over the Christmas holidays as they were very short-staffed. It was SO hard to "surrender" her, but we are too old to have another dog. It was really tempting.

Had I known that she was going to be taken up to a DC area shelter, I would have contacted you immediately so you could adopt her, and Charley would have a canine friend. I have seen so many sweet pups in my life, but never one sweeter than this girl. 

[warriorchick]

We never had pets. Too much work  when the kids were younger, and now we travel too much.

However, Chick jr. has a Golden Retriever and I am completely in love with that dog.

Still don't regret getting one for our home.  It's like a grandkid.  I get to play with it, but I don't have to actually take care of it.

[Uncle Rico]

You can always spot an a-hole.  Anyone that's never owned a pet is almost certainly an a-hole

[rocky_warrior]

I'm only a part-time cat herder.

[The Lens]

Was raised in a house with a Dad with very severe allergies so was always a no pet guy.  We lived that way until Covid and my wife went nuts (pre-jab) and brought home a bassett hound.  My wife's older brother had one in college and would bring it home in the summers.  What my wife blocked from her childhood is all the shedding. So now we have this beautiful dog that's not allowed in key rooms (like our TV room) bc she doesn't want his hair all over the couches or his nails on the rug. My dumb brain is like half the reason you get a dog is so it lays there when you watch TV.

The dog is fine.  Very chill.  It likes to sleep in, which is nice.  On those rare mornings where we both need to be out the door by 8am, getting the dog situated is harder than our 3 teenagers. 

If it didn't shed and didn't need help when we'd go out of town I'd like it more.   I'm not in love it.  It's fine, but dogs are like running.  I ran three marathons and still never got that "runner's high". I'm fine with the dog but's not life changing emotionally like kids are.

[tower912]

I'm only a part-time cat herder.

Goat rodeo works, too.

[Hards Alumni]

Was raised in a house with Dad with very severe allergies so was always a no pet guy.  We lived that way until Covid and my wife went nuts (pre-jab) and brought home a bassett hound.  My wife's older brother had one in college and would bring it home in the summers.  What my wife blocked from her childhood is all the shedding. So now we have this beautiful dog that's not allowed in key rooms (like our TV room) bc she doesn't want his hair all over the couches or his nails on the rug. My dumb brain is like half the reason you get a dog is so it lays there when you watch TV.

The dog is fine.  Very chill.  It likes to sleep in, which is nice.  On those rare mornings where we both need to be out the door by 8am, getting the dog situated is harder than our 3 teenagers. 

If it didn't shed and didn't need help when we'd go out of town I'd like it more.   I'm not in love it.  It's fine, but dogs are like running.  I ran three marathons and still never got that "runner's high". I'm fine with teh dog but's not life changing emotionally like kids are.

Ah, a masochist, I see.

[MU82]

The ultimate compliment a cat owner has about his or her pet is, "Oh, Tabby is great. She's just like a dog!"

We really like dogs, especially bigger dogs with real barks (rather than yips). We've had four during our marriage - Samoyed, chocolate Lab, yellow Lab mix, black Lab mix.

We got our black Lab mix from a shelter shortly after moving to Charlotte and she died last year at about 14 years old, so she had a great run.

We probably won't get another dog because we want to be free for travel and other activities. But our daughter's family lives nearby and we get to spend a lot of time with her pitbull mix, one of the most loving dogs I've ever known. So kinda best of both words.

[StillAWarrior]

We both grew up with dogs. My dad also was very allergic, so we always had dogs that didn't shed -- generally a poodle mix of some sort (long before that was all the rage and they charged extra for it). Because of that experience, I have a real aversion to pet hair even though I'm not allergic. So, my wife and I have had three dogs - a lhasa apso, a wheaton terrier, and a shih tzu (all non-shedders). They were all good dogs. I think the wheaton was the best -- they're wicked smart and fun.

But, believe me when I tell you that I am sooooo ready to move on from my dog-owning years. Our current dog is 16. I won't say I want him to die...that's not quite what I'm feeling...but it wouldn't be the worst thing ever. He's blind, deaf, and really can't walk much any more. So, he's pretty much just a stuffed animal that we move from couch to couch, but also have to feed him and take him outside several times every day. Despite his infirmities, he honestly seems fairly content.

My daughter got a dog last year and it's great. I'm definitely ready to enjoy my kids' pets rather than dealing with my own. I hope one of them gets a wheaton.

[TallTitan34]

Dog.

[BrewCity83]

My gf has been fostering a series of about a dozen dogs over the years we've been together, and I have found the pitbulls to be by far the coolest and sweetest dogs.  Right now she's got a 60-pound boxer mix, who's also a real sweetheart and a really smart, gentle, easygoing dog with a great, mellow temperament.  And she sleeps a lot, never getting up early, and not a barker.

[Scoop Snoop]

My gf has been fostering a series of about a dozen dogs over the years we've been together, and I have found the pitbulls to be by far the coolest and sweetest dogs.  Right now she's got a 60-pound boxer mix, who's also a real sweetheart and a really smart, gentle, easygoing dog with a great, mellow temperament.  And she sleeps a lot, never getting up early, and not a barker.

I helped with dog walking at the local SPCA and, being in a predominantly rural area, a lot of pit bulls are in the shelter. While they can be "trained" to be aggressive, I found as you did that they are so often very sweet-natured and loving. I was surprised, and I no longer regard them as a breed to be avoided. MU82 posted above about his daughter's pit-bull mix, and the neighbor's pit bull joins me on my walks.

[MU82]

My gf has been fostering a series of about a dozen dogs over the years we've been together, and I have found the pitbulls to be by far the coolest and sweetest dogs.  Right now she's got a 60-pound boxer mix, who's also a real sweetheart and a really smart, gentle, easygoing dog with a great, mellow temperament.  And she sleeps a lot, never getting up early, and not a barker.

As I mentioned, my daughter has a pitbull. This is her second one. Both were/are incredibly sweet, great with their kids, just awesome dogs.

I'll be honest - when she said years ago that she was getting a pit, I wasn't thrilled because of the negative stuff I'd heard. But I've been totally won over because of her two pitties. You couldn't find more gentle, tolerant, loving dogs. I've since learned that they are by far the norm for the breed. It's a few a-hole owners who train their pitbulls to be super-aggressive.

[muwarrior69]

As I mentioned, my daughter has a pitbull. This is her second one. Both were/are incredibly sweet, great with their kids, just awesome dogs.

I'll be honest - when she said years ago that she was getting a pit, I wasn't thrilled because of the negative stuff I'd heard. But I've been totally won over because of her two pitties. You couldn't find more gentle, tolerant, loving dogs. I've since learned that they are by far the norm for the breed. It's a few a-hole owners who train their pitbulls to be super-aggressive.

The dog will always reflect how they were treated/trained by the owner regardless of breed or mix. My police officer neighbor has a K9, a Belgian Malinois, and I always ask if I can approach as his K9 is not a search and rescue or drug sniffer but trained to neutralize a suspect. One command from him and the dog will know you are a friendly.

[MuggsyB]

Those that attack Beagles need to do some serious soul searching. 

[MU1in77]

My theory on pets: dogs yes, cats maybe and that's it.
Why would anyone want a pet snake, bird, rodent..?