Instapundit: "If you want to meet women, buy a French Bulldog. If you want to meet men, buy a Great Dane"
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As I approached four years as a widow, the loneliness of a one-person household began to drag me down. Acquiring a four-legged companion, rather than a two-legged one, appealed to me."
And so, in February, I adopted a 5-month-old puppy, a hypoallergenic Havanese small enough for me to pick up and carry, even into my ninth decade, when I travel to visit family and friends.
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| Havanese |
While most dog owners I know encouraged my decision, several dogless friends thought I had lost my mind. How, with all my work, travels and cultural events, was I going to manage the care of a dog?
No one asked this when I decided to have children. In fact, few people consider in advance how children will fit into their lives. If you want a child badly enough, you make it work. (read more)
27 comments:
This woman moves in NY Times circles where people keep "a laughter log." Nuff said.
I meet too damned many women without a dog. They do constitute half the human race, and they like this misogynist Old Dawg.
I would like to have a dog again, but I'd like to have another Springer Spaniel.
I like a sporting dog. Sporting women are good, too!
After raising a family, I've now lived alone for 13 years. Recently I've mentioned some of my initial romance with a woman I've known well and have loved for for 33 years. Apparently, it's been mutual all that time, but we were never both single at the same time, so we always consciously or subconsciously avoided acknowledging it or allowing ourselves to ever be alone together. Now after 2 months of a long distance relationship, I asked her to move with me. She is currently finding a renter for her house and a manager to run her business and she moves in next month. Dog count increases to 5: 3 Pit Bulls, 1
German Shepard and 1 Australian Shepard.
13 years alone. I hope I still remember how to get along with another human up close. It's scary, but I'm ready, and I'm totally in love, so I really have no choice.
@bagoh
Good luck. A woman transforms your entire life.
That's one hell of a lotta dogs! Hope the dogs get along.
I'm thinking about renting my house and moving in with the girlfriend in NJ. Change my mind every day.
It's a huge change. I've been very content living alone all this time, but since we have finally got together, I can't stand it now. We are completely opposite on the big issues like politics, religion, & money, but we still just enjoy each other so much that it never gets in the way. That worries me some, but like I said, I really have no choice. Love is some powerful dangerous stuff.
Wow. Good luck, bags. If you have any trouble, just remember, there's always the dog house. Sounds like you'll have plenty to choose from.
She keeps the dog in a freaking crate at night. And apparently thinks that's normal.
I can't imagine living alone without at least one dog. That would make me feel incomplete and out of balance.
Women start out liberal and, generally, switch sides once they get married, bagoh. Pissing on men doesn't make so much sense when you've actually got one.
Once they get married to a man... have to qualify that these days.
My dogs have free run of my whole property in and out, but I also think dogs are comfortable in a crate for a couple hours. They are den animals, but it just doesn't work with my basic love of freedom, and I worry about them being trapped during a fire or earthquake.
I think most people move more right once they get honest exposure to the real ideas rather than the caricatures they get in the media.
3 Yorkies is plenty.
Awesome Bags. Here's hoping it works out well for both of you. And for the dogs :-) You CAN do it!
I read this article this morning and thought about my father and step mother. They are now on their 3rd Miniature Schnauzer. Smart, funny and engaging dogs. Dog ownership has been a wonderful thing for them. They get out 3 at least times a day and walk along the beachfront in Pacific Grove. Generally about 3/4 of a mile. Something they might not do at their ages if they didn't have a dog. I went dog walking several times when I was visiting and you DO meet a lot of people. Other dog owners. Kids who want to pet your dog. We stopped many times on the walk to visit with complete strangers and share stories about their dogs and just have general conversation.
We don't have a dog but occasionally consider it. I'm not ready to commit to the duties of daily walking, especially when it is sub zero and icy outside. Our cats give us plenty of entertainment and are low maintenance. Someday a dog. Just not now.
Even though we live in the country, I wouldn't be able to let a dog outside to just roam around. Mountain lions, foxes, racoons, bobcats,skunks, porcupines, coyotes!!! We have had enough problems with maimed and missing cats.
Dogs that roam WILL be shot by the local cattle, goat and sheep ranchers and by annoyed neighbors. SO unless I'm willing to fence in a small area of the property for a dog run or chain a dog up outside (which I refuse to do) it would have to be basically an inside dog.
You can live alone dogless for a couple months while you line up a puppy. You need the time to puppy-proof the house anyway.
This happens every decade or so.
I'm happy to hear of bag's new life though.
I boundary train every dog. It takes about a year.
Then they're held in by their character rather than by gates that might be open.
Nevertheless they're inside dogs.
The secret of boundary training is
1. make the rule clear
2. supply fair(!) temptations to cross and consequences for crossing.
Soon you can't tempt the dog across the property line.
A search of my photostream on boundary.
I was looking for a video of a rabbit pursuit that stopped abruptly at the property line but don't see it.
Bags, wonderful news! Good luck!
Regarding crates, we have a beagle which will not be contained. He howled all night, chewed up the hard plastic lining on the bottom, destroyed the cushion, upended the crate, and crawled out the larger grid wire on the bottom. He now sleeps happily on the couch. Breaks my heart, but he only goes outside on a long cable hooked to two collars. We finally gave up trying to shore up the fence. Last time he got out, the neighbors from hell called animal control complaining of an aggressive chow intimidating their child. Animal control arrived to find a loose beagle on our front steps so happy to see the officer his whole body was wagging. Officer explained escaping is in the nature of beagles. The non-aggressive Chow, on the other hand, only needs a baby gate leaning against the opening to keep her contained.
Bag's that's great news.
I hope that everybody is house broken.
Thanks guys. 54 and never married, and I've only lived with a woman once for 12 years. I've always been very loyal and pretty easy to live with, but this is a big step.
Yes Troop, Even Harry Reams had to pick up dog shit now and then.
SonM recently describe a bomb sniffing exercise at that went on at his workplace. Apparently the explosive material to be sniffed out was transported in a different car than the dog, a friendly German Shephard who had no difficulty finding the hidden material. The reward: a bounce of the tennis ball the handler carried in his pocket.
This surprised me. No food. Nope. Just approval and a playful bounce of the ball, which the dog was also allowed to chew on for a bit before it went back in the trainer's pocket.
@rhhardin: I'd be interested the more information on the training method used for establishing yard boundaries for dogs. Is there a book or website describing the process? Or is this something you've adapted on your own? Our lab got the general idea through relationship patterns and random bursts of verbal disapproval, more reactive than intentional. In the later years, he faithfully go to a sit at the sidewalk's edge without being told, and wait for the OK to cross; but when it came to deer, he was off and running, charging across the street full speed without a stop. Heart in the throat stuff that I was unable to stop and didn't know how to control. He's gone now (due to a fast acting lymphosarcoma, not street charging) and I'm reluctant to get another because I don't know how to handle off leash chasing.
Congratulations to Bagoh20 on his new pack-expanding venture!
I wasn't referring to the dogs.
Just sayn'
So glad to hear your good news, bago! Best wishes to you both.
MomaM...I'm guessing that rhhardin uses postive reinforcement and signaled non-reward for teaching his dogs. The best "book" on the subject is by Ivan Balabanov titled "Obedience Without Conflict" ... which may be out of print as I cannot find it on the web. Ivan's videos are there and a single DVD can cost $70...the whole series of 4 about $245. If you can find the orignal book "Obedience without Conflict" ...buy it.
Otherwise HERE is the next best thing...the first two of Balabanov's DVD series of the same title, which will cover all you might need I think. Problem is the DVD's are not cheap.
I have had several German Shepherds that I could call off running deer. "Dera" has never seen one so I don't know....e.g., no way to proof.
Bagoh20 ...
What AllenS said...Wow and congratulations on forming a nice relationship.
Thank you Aridog! My first dog-love was the German Shepherd I used to jog with in my younger days. She belonged to my sister-in-law and had saved her life by insistently waking her up the night the furnace malfunction and carbon monoxide was filling the house. That dogs would not only serve as faithful companions but also function as life savers is an awesome thing. And yes, that's one of those places where the word awesome absolutely fits.
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