Any dog people on this board?

[jmcphail]

I haven't seen much mention of our canine friends here, so I thought I'd thought I'd ask - Are there any dog lovers?

I am a dog lover, I suppose they are substitute children for my wife and I. We have two male Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs, aged 6 and 4, and a male Whippet, aged 2. They are very friendly and are house dogs, and we spoil them rotten.

When we lived in Texas we attended a few lure coursing events with the oldest Ridgeback and had a blast. They are our "best friends", we have good little pack at our house, and it gets pretty funny sometimes.

[Coffey]

Love dogs! My family has a Giant Schnauzer, and a Scottish Terrier. There has never been a time when I haven't had at least one dog.

[Craig de Tering]

I absolutely love dogs.

I grew up in the caribbean so our dogs just stayed in our oversized garden all their lives. At home we had a minimum of two but at one point with a fresh litter we had 15. Dang.

Now I live in Holland and I can't imagine a dog's life here is a comfortable one.
A dog has to stay inside and ignore nature's call until the owner comes home.
Homes in Holland are small as hell so there's no "wandering around the house" either. I'd wager most dutch canines are friggin' suicidal.

Oh, and how much dog taxes do you guys pay? Around here you pay
# voor de eerste hond € 60,-- (1st dog)

# voor elke volgende hond € 120,-- (subsequent dogs)

# voor een kennel € 300,-- (kennel)

I really want to have a nice doggy but I just don't see how keeping a dog holed up inside a house 23 hours a day/350 days a year would be making my dog happy.
I'll be leaving this half-commie country sooner or later anyway.

[jmcphail]

It varies by locale, but the dog licenses we buy are minimal - $7 USD per dog if neutered, $30 if intact.

We have a fenced and gated yard that makes it easy to allow them to do as they please, but they seem to prefer spending their time near us, so depending on the weather they spend more or less time outside. They stay by our sides.

They all 3 get rowdy and misbehave if they don't have enough regular exercise, so we have a session outside when I get home from work in the evening - they chase around the yard while I have a wee dram Later they come in for the evening and "help" us with dinner...

I've met Giant Schnauzers, they are impressive to say the least, but the closest real experience I have was with my uncle's Bouvier, which seemed to have a similar temperament but a bit smaller.

[Stargazer]

I love dogs!
have always wanted one.
But as my folks don't whant one I'll have to whait intill I move out.

dog tax?!!!!
that's insane!

[alex]

I would love to have a dog, expecially a huge mastiff or st. bernard. Unfortunately I am not home enough to take care of a dog... So my girlfriend and I have a cat.

[jmcphail]

The large dogs have a pretty good "presence", and their personality seems to come out a bit more than smaller breeds, IMO. Large dogs are rewarding in those ways, but sadly their lives are shorter than smaller breeds.

That being said, I prefer larger dogs, but I'm learning to love "the white devil" - my name for the speedy white Whippet that I inherited as a pup. He's got *plenty* of personality, and holds his own with the Rhodesians when they're scrapping, it's funny as hell!

I would love to have a dog, expecially a huge mastiff or st. bernard. Unfortunately I am not home enough to take care of a dog... So my girlfriend and I have a cat.

[Soft Morning, City!]

While I'm more of a cat person, I love dogs as well. Back in Southern California at my mom & dad's house, we have a massive golden retriever. He's goofy as hell and very sweet.

Prior to that dog, we had another golden retriever, a female named Sadie. My parents had her prior to me being born and we had to have her put to sleep at the age of 14. Sad.

My friend has a rather interesting combination of breeds. His dog is a cross between a German Shepard and a wiener dog. Now, how that happened I have no idea, but it is one of the friendliest dogs I've ever been around. Plus he's odd looking in a very cute way.

[OrderOfSolve]

My Bud & My girl!

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Trag & Minuet!

[Shrewd]

I'm all about dogs. Can't get used to cats, but fortunately I don't have to. We have a giant Newfoundland - we're into big breeds in general. She's in the neighborhood of 150lbs and when I stand her up on her hind legs her front paws can go over my sholders (I'm about 6 ft) and we can dance . Yes, she's larger than my wife in both height and weight . She's also great with our two kids - very docile - "The Gentle Giant" is what they're typically called. She's also very careful to step around kids on the floor - I've never worried about her stepping on my 4 month old daughter, but my 18month old son stepping on her is another story . Minnesota is perfect for them, she loves 20 degrees below zero (degF). We also have a fair bit of space and cabin to go to with lots of space, although one could probably own a Newfie in an apartment - they're pretty darn lazy .

[victoryredchevy]

I'm honestly not a big fan of cats so, naturally, I am a dog fan. I actually enjoy the smaller breeds as pets better. I love dachsunds and miniature dachsunds. Ya, I know they're yappers and have an attitude, but they are great dogs. I had a dachsund/chihuahua(we called it a chiweenie) as a pet for 7 years that had to be put down about 2 months ago because of renal failure. He was a great dog. His name was Chico. My mother had a full blood red dachsund as a pet for many years named Sally. Also, a great dog. She passed away, too. Last, but not least, my mother also had a miniature dachsund named Samson. He was a good little dog. He died of parvo. If you have a problem with moles in your yard, just unleash a weenie dog on them!

[yummi4tunekookie]

I actually used to dislike dogs until I started hanging out more with a girl who is now one of my best friends. She's a huge animal lover and goes absolutely crazy whenever she sees a dog. I guess she rubbed off on me since I now love dogs. They're much more personable than cats, and I'm much less allergic to them, haha. I'd love to have a dog some time in the future--preferably a bigger one. A golden retriever, German shepherd, husky, or yellow lab. Someday...

[RealmofOpeth]

They're much more personable than cats, and I'm much less allergic to them, haha.

Cats aren't necessarily bitchy or worse than dogs. I think they have a bad rap. I have a cat along with 2 other cats my roommate owns. 2 of them are very easy going and sociable. the third is just nuts. she's like an emo cat. it's those emo cats that i think pisses people off a lot. however, dogs can be absolutely retarded and otherwise viscious or whatever.
so dogs aren't always that great. I do love dogs though, i like them about equally.
dogs are more fun to mess around with outdoors of course, but they're smelly and messy. cats are more for the cuddling, light playing around, much cleaner.

[yummi4tunekookie]

dogs are more fun to mess around with outdoors of course, but they're smelly and messy. cats are more for the cuddling, light playing around, much cleaner.

I do agree with this, though I've met more dogs who are willing to cuddle than cats. Which is fine with me, since cats tend to make my eyes itch and hurt like hell :cry: The smell of most dogs does make me cringe a bit, though!

[Kindrd]

I have a Rott and 3 pugs. No dog tax around here unless you have over 7 dogs.