Still thinking about dogs

[sorana_stargem]

So out of curiosity I googled the American Eskimo breed. Dakoda being part American Eskimo I thought I'd like to see what one actually looked like. They are gorgeous. At least the standard American Eskimo is. It looks like the mix breed dogs have a harder time pulling off the hair... I hope that Dakoda does not have that problem when he grows up. I

Comments

[adularia]

Does the indoor/outdoor concept for cats work for dogs as well? Probably it depends on how excitable the breed is... my parents had a cocker spaniel who was pretty happy with both.

[sorana_stargem]

In what way are you asking? I'm keeping my cats as indoor pets only. I've heard too many sad stories of the cats let outside to roam. But dogs do need outdoor time.

[ymp]

Mungo is mostly an inside dog, but in the summer we leave him out in the backyard during the day. If it rains he can hide out in the garage, but he sleeps inside in my parents' room, and in the winter he's inside all day. He does need his walks, though! Although he doesn't really get walked twice a day, poor mutt, but mum jogs with him two or three mornings a week, and Dad takes him on hikes on the weekends.

Also, dogs shouldn't be left alone outside all the time. Dogs are social creatures - pack animals - and when they're excluded from the family inside, they can go a little crazy. Dogs need love! :)

But I do like Irish Setters... :) lol - I never pictured you as a dog type, Oceania! :P

[sorana_stargem]

I still don't think I'm really a dog type. I adore my kitten. I _like_ the dogs. Dain's the one who wants to get a dog and then keep it outside. That way you don't have to walk it, but can still do other fun things with it like jog or hike or canoe....whatever. Mostly I'm just realizing that there's a certain size of dog that can work for me and a certain temperment. And I know that if we do have a dog that must be walked twice a day I will probably enjoy the opportunity for exercise. The thing is that I've never really looked seriously at the possibility of owning a dog. Being cat-obsessed precluded that. But, like I said, Dain really wants one and I'm taking this unusual opportunity (dog-sitting w/ dogs at my house for two weeks!) to analyze how I feel about it and what I might want out of a dog. Other things I'm discovering: it's kind of fun to have more than one pet about the house. Dain, on the other hand, doesn't like it because there's too much in the way of "politics."