I totally forgot to mention that I had about 4 inches of my hair cut off on Friday. I’m not really sure why, I just got the sudden itch for a change. It’s cute, though – still long enough that I can put it up in a ponytail, and it doesn’t seem to take as long to style in the morning, so that’s good. I’ll have to post photos soon. Kris and I took some pictures at the park on Sunday, but I don’t have access to her camera at the moment.
In other news, I have apparently latched on to the idea of getting a dog – somehow my brain keeps thinking, well I can’t seem to get pregnant, but I can get a puppy! (I know I’m not the only person to have this thought process. See? It is so totally normal. I swear.) Dave seems to think we should wait a while, at least until I get used to the idea of Lucky not being around, to make sure I still really want a dog, and that we aren’t getting a “rebound” dog. It’s probably a good thing that I married someone who isn’t quite as impulsive as I am when it comes to making major decisions such as these.
Besides that, I can’t seem to figure out what type of dog I want. There are several types of dogs that I already knew I liked, but then I’d go look them up and find out that they’re predisposed to some major health problems, or they aren’t good to have around kids because they tend to bite, that kind of thing. It seems that people in our neighborhood tend to have big dogs, which makes sense because it’s the boonies and we all have lots of land. And I like the idea of a big dog because I’d feel safe on the nights when Dave isn’t around (not often, but sometimes he has to travel for work), plus big dogs are good for giving full-body hugs without the fear of crushing them. On the other hand, I tend to gravitate more toward the tiny, foofy dogs because my god, the cuteness, it is overwhelming. If you don’t believe me, go look at Sarcomical’s dogs – seriously, can it get cuter than that? I think not.
So I’ve somewhat narrowed it down to two different breeds – on the big dog side, we have the Australian Shepherd. Easy to train, good around kids, no major health problems. Check. And they’re pretty. Plus, the puppies that I’ve seen are just about the cutest little furballs ever. Although that’s the thing about getting a big dog – we would have to get a puppy so the cats can teach it who’s boss from day one. They tend to freak around dogs, but I think if they were around a puppy – which isn’t a threat because its size isn’t intimidating – they’d probably be ok. Lucky is kind of a big dog (35 pound range), and they were terrified of her the entire time she was here, even though she’s really good with cats because she was raised with Kris’s two kitties.
(Actually, that was funny, because Lucky wanted to play with our cats, but they didn’t know that, so the poor pup got swatted and hissed at on a pretty regular basis. She never seemed to understand why she couldn’t join in their reindeer games. However, Teenie, the one cat who had never met a dog in her life until Lucky, seemed totally unfazed by her and only hissed if Lucky was up in her face for too long. It pretty much cemented my belief that Teenie has delusions of grandeur and probably thinks that she herself is a dog. Which is why she hates the other cats and wasn’t the least bit bothered by Lucky.)
On the tiny dog side, I seem to have become obsessed with the Havanese. I’d never even heard of the breed before, but they’re related to the Bichon Frise, so you know they’re adorable. (Although the first picture on that link is not a good representation. I’m not into show dogs, so if I were to get one, it would have a cute short haircut, like most of these guys.) They seem to have a good temperament, get along with cats and kids, and allegedly can be trained to use a litter box(!). So major bonus points there. Plus, they’re just heart-achingly cute.
I don’t have any idea where this is going to end up, or if we’ll get a dog at all, but feel free to pitch in your opinion on the big dogs versus little dogs debate. I’m going back to searching Petfinder.
I had a lab for 11 years, he was a pound puppy. He loved the cats. The cats didn’t love him back except for Cassie. She loved him right up to his last days. He was good natured dog, he loved kids but hated the mail carrier, meter guy and the UPS guy. I guess that is pretty normal behavior for a dog.
Ahh! Basset, basset, basset hounds. Scott and I are getting 2 basset hounds. Eventually. 🙂 They’re great, good-natured, wonderful with kids and cats, and freaking adorable! Big plug for the bassets.
i have 1 dog and 2 cats. my dog is a mutt but i LOVE mini poodles. they are soooooooooo cute!!!!!!!!! my cats just ignore my dog so get a puppy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
🙂 🙂 😉 😛 😮 😀 q:-P
[Edited by me]: Hi Curlybeard, I don’t know who you are, but I removed some of your exclamation points because they had hosed my formatting. Sorry – I generally have a rule not to edit people’s comments, but I think you still got your point across.
okay. the only thing i heard about the shepherd (i was TOTALLY obsessed with those for a while, too) is the twice? a year major shedding blowout they have. i don’t know. the cat thing? well, our cat wouldn’t take it, i know, but maybe if you introduce as a puppy and he can get beat up a bit by the cat first to learn his lesson, there won’t be any troubles.
of COURSE i’m all small-dog biased. we tried to adopt a bigger dog once. and it went horribly during our “trial weekend” together. first, the dog stalked the cat and definitely would have eaten him given the chance, though she was sweet sweet sweet! that was sad. second, the MESS is so much bigger. i’m not talking just the poop, i mean when this dog drank it slurped and glurged and then walked away leaving a 7-foot trail of water and spit on the kitchen floor. being that we were used to the small, that was weird.
but you know, i think if you do start with a puppy you can get them trained into your lifestyle, so…
Ah, here’s the thing. In my experience, you do not get to pick out the puppy. The puppy chooses you. 🙂
Every breed has “issues” related to it- pugs are delicate and frequently get colds, shepherds have a congenital predisposition to hip displasia, Rottweilers are naturally territorial, very small dogs (chihuahuas and the like) can break their legs just by jumping off a chair or couch. It’s just like population data in human communities, i.e. Tay Sachs is common in families where both parents are of Russian Jewish descent; vast amounts of empirical data show that sickle cell anemia occurs at a much higher rate in African-American families.
But back to dogs, some people will tell you that mutts are healthier because they’re more genetically diverse and therefore less pre-disposed to a specific breed’s health issues. On the other hand, breed data allows for sweeping generalizations that may or may not predict your personal experience… I grew up with a smallish, gentle golden retriever. Jesse, Scott’s parents’ dog, is giNORMOUS (but sweet) with a serious drooling issue. It all varies on a case by case basis.
Then again, if you find a puppy who has lived in a home with cats for the first 12 weeks of its life, you’re probably stacking the deck in your favor. I’m not sure if it ultimately matters how big the dog gets, as long as it’s small when it comes home. I’ve seen giant dogs become “couches with paws” for cats in their households. I’ve seen Black Labs assist in raising tiger cubs. (I’ll post photos over on Idiosyncratic Life later.) You take the data for what its worth, look around and see who chooses you. 🙂