4 ms·

It's not as unintuitive as it sounds... It seems like a tautology but you have to actually enjoy interacting with dogs to find dog ownership enjoyable and rewa

by astura 7y ago

It's not as unintuitive as it sounds... It seems like a tautology but you have to actually enjoy interacting with dogs to find dog ownership enjoyable and rewarding. Many people just don't find any sort of joy in a dog's company. Personally, I don't really care to be being around dogs, I'd strongly prefer to take walks myself (and I do). The more time I spend with friend's dogs the more I dislike them. However I absolutely love being around cats and few things are more enjoyable than a cat in my lap.

scoutt 7y ago
I was a "dog only" type of person until recently (a year ago) I saw this poor cat being hit by a car and left there to die. I quickly took her to the vet and then home. Now I own two dogs and the cat. The dogs know when it's the time to go out for a walk so I work on side projects at home (coding) between walks. Now it's over, since the cat would come over the keyboard and push her head on my mouse-hand for petting. I can't say no so it became a much needed stress-relief and natural pause from working. I wonder if that accounts into survival studies. BTW, give dogs a chance :)
tjr225 7y ago
Well, of course someone who doesn't like dogs isn't going to enjoy walking dogs :)
MisterTea 7y ago
Horses for courses. I've had both my whole life though presently I have two cats (male siblings). I'd love to get another dog but after having to put down the last two, one due to cancer and the other, a shepard mix, who had Degenerative Myelopathy and could no longer walk, was too much of a mental drain. I don't want to deal with the heartbreak of that again. Plus im high anxiety so it's a maddening panic when it comes down to those decisions. Takes too much out of me. Cats are easier in some ways (self cleaning, no walking) but they can be a hand full as they can get EVERYWHERE. Nothing is safe from them and they love to play and need attention just as much as a dog. So if you don't play with them, they will find things to play with. That is why they love knocking shit over; they're entertaining themselves and maybe sending us a hint. I kick myself for not leash training them and taking them out with the dogs. The neighbor walks her dog and cat together and the cat seems to enjoy it as much as the dog.
magduf 7y ago
I'm exactly the same. I generally hate being around dogs: they're smelly, dirty, and require far too much attention. I really hate it when other peoples' dogs jump up on me when I'm just trying to walk down the sidewalk. I like to take walks myself too, but in walkable districts downtown usually. I can't take a dog there, because that would require taking a dog on the subway, which isn't allowed (thankfully). I honestly don't see how dogs even make any sense in a city for people who don't have cars. They make some sense I guess as a rural or suburban pet, but lately it seems like every single woman in my city (DC) has one.
- tjr225 7y ago
  > I honestly don't see how dogs even make any sense in a city for people who don't have cars. Why would you think that dogs that live in the city get any less exercise than a dog who lives in the suburbs or somewhere rural? Often cities are more walkable than the alternative.
  - magduf 7y ago
    >Why would you think that dogs that live in the city get any less exercise than a dog who lives in the suburbs or somewhere rural? Often cities are more walkable than the alternative. You can't take dogs on the train. So if your apartment is in a nice, walkable place and you don't mind never walking someplace else in the city, then ok. But if you want to walk in a different neighborhood miles away that you need to get to by subway, then forget it; you can't bring your dog there. I don't even know how you'd get your dog to the vet in a city, unless perhaps you can get an Uber driver to let you bring it in the car with you (not too sure about that; I wouldn't want to ride in an Uber/Lyft after someone had a dog in there, and other customers could very well be allergic, so services like this would be wise to ban dogs).
    - miranda_rights 7y ago
      I guess it depends where you live. My city (SF) allows dogs on public transit in off peak hours. The 24/7 animal hospital is 1.5 miles away from my apartment. If it were a real emergency (minutes to live), I can zipcar or uber since my dog is carrier trained and I'd be happy to pay a $50 tip in exchange for letting us ride for an emergency of that urgency. (As of recently, Uber is piloting a pet-friendly option in select cities as well, although this doesn't apply to me yet). In the suburbs, when I had a car, I lived about 15 miles away from the animal hospital so it's not actually better. My dog gets significantly more exercise now than when I lived in the suburbs because there are more parks, interesting sights, etc right outside my door and I don't have to drive to them. But otherwise, sure, I'll walk. According to my fitbit I take about 25k - 30k steps a day so walking a little extra to get to a different neighborhood isn't a big deal to me. Edit: It appears that dogs are allowed on the train/bus in DC if they are in carriers.

by astura 7y ago

scoutt 7y ago

I was a "dog only" type of person until recently (a year ago) I saw this poor cat being hit by a car and left there to die. I quickly took her to the vet and then home. Now I own two dogs and the cat. The dogs know when it's the time to go out for a walk so I work on side projects at home (coding) between walks. Now it's over, since the cat would come over the keyboard and push her head on my mouse-hand for petting. I can't say no so it became a much needed stress-relief and natural pause from working. I wonder if that accounts into survival studies. BTW, give dogs a chance :)

tjr225 7y ago

Well, of course someone who doesn't like dogs isn't going to enjoy walking dogs :)

MisterTea 7y ago

Horses for courses. I've had both my whole life though presently I have two cats (male siblings). I'd love to get another dog but after having to put down the last two, one due to cancer and the other, a shepard mix, who had Degenerative Myelopathy and could no longer walk, was too much of a mental drain. I don't want to deal with the heartbreak of that again. Plus im high anxiety so it's a maddening panic when it comes down to those decisions. Takes too much out of me. Cats are easier in some ways (self cleaning, no walking) but they can be a hand full as they can get EVERYWHERE. Nothing is safe from them and they love to play and need attention just as much as a dog. So if you don't play with them, they will find things to play with. That is why they love knocking shit over; they're entertaining themselves and maybe sending us a hint. I kick myself for not leash training them and taking them out with the dogs. The neighbor walks her dog and cat together and the cat seems to enjoy it as much as the dog.

magduf 7y ago

I'm exactly the same. I generally hate being around dogs: they're smelly, dirty, and require far too much attention. I really hate it when other peoples' dogs jump up on me when I'm just trying to walk down the sidewalk. I like to take walks myself too, but in walkable districts downtown usually. I can't take a dog there, because that would require taking a dog on the subway, which isn't allowed (thankfully). I honestly don't see how dogs even make any sense in a city for people who don't have cars. They make some sense I guess as a rural or suburban pet, but lately it seems like every single woman in my city (DC) has one.

tjr225 7y ago
> I honestly don't see how dogs even make any sense in a city for people who don't have cars. Why would you think that dogs that live in the city get any less exercise than a dog who lives in the suburbs or somewhere rural? Often cities are more walkable than the alternative.
- magduf 7y ago
  >Why would you think that dogs that live in the city get any less exercise than a dog who lives in the suburbs or somewhere rural? Often cities are more walkable than the alternative. You can't take dogs on the train. So if your apartment is in a nice, walkable place and you don't mind never walking someplace else in the city, then ok. But if you want to walk in a different neighborhood miles away that you need to get to by subway, then forget it; you can't bring your dog there. I don't even know how you'd get your dog to the vet in a city, unless perhaps you can get an Uber driver to let you bring it in the car with you (not too sure about that; I wouldn't want to ride in an Uber/Lyft after someone had a dog in there, and other customers could very well be allergic, so services like this would be wise to ban dogs).
  - miranda_rights 7y ago
    I guess it depends where you live. My city (SF) allows dogs on public transit in off peak hours. The 24/7 animal hospital is 1.5 miles away from my apartment. If it were a real emergency (minutes to live), I can zipcar or uber since my dog is carrier trained and I'd be happy to pay a $50 tip in exchange for letting us ride for an emergency of that urgency. (As of recently, Uber is piloting a pet-friendly option in select cities as well, although this doesn't apply to me yet). In the suburbs, when I had a car, I lived about 15 miles away from the animal hospital so it's not actually better. My dog gets significantly more exercise now than when I lived in the suburbs because there are more parks, interesting sights, etc right outside my door and I don't have to drive to them. But otherwise, sure, I'll walk. According to my fitbit I take about 25k - 30k steps a day so walking a little extra to get to a different neighborhood isn't a big deal to me. Edit: It appears that dogs are allowed on the train/bus in DC if they are in carriers.