I want a dog. I want a dog really bad. When I was in Scotland living with my parents my Mum and Dad always had dogs. Lots of dogs. At one point we had eight dogs living inside our small house. It was insane. Now I live in an apartment and I can’t have a dog. I really don’t want a cat because I don’t like cats. They are psychopaths.
In this post I propose we talk about pets.
I was thinking maybe I could get another type of pet — any suggestions? When I lived in Japan I looked after a massive turtle for a while and that was amazing. It seems as though there are some hurdles there in terms of licenses and stuff, but it might be worth it.
How about you guys and girls — anyone got any weird pets? Or just regular ones? Tell us about your pets!
Comments
47 responses to “Off Topic: Let’s Talk Pets”
I have a cat – and like most people, I hated them until I spent some time with an affectionate one. I looked after a friend’s for a while and got a kitten the day I had to have her back.
If you get a cat which genuinely likes human attention, and they adopt you as their person, they’re just as loyal and affectionate as a dog. Except they clean up after themselves, and piss off occasionally to plot or whatever.
As much as I love dogs (well-trained dogs, that is) my cat is awesome and I’ll be devastated when she dies.
I’ll be honest, I had a cat until 2 weeks ago, he was 12 years old, poor thing, had to put him down, was just getting very sick and barely able to eat or move. His name was Mali and probably one of the most affectionate cats I’ve ever known, even family and friends of ours that hate cats, loved him, because he was more like a dog with his personality, so that’s saying something hehe.
But, in saying that we still have another pet, a 20 year old Cockatiel named Charlie.
Wouldn’t mind another pet in the next year or so, possibly either an Eclectus Parrot, Quaker Parrot or Long-billed Corella. If I was loaded enough (who knows!) maybe a Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo 🙂
Wow, that’s a good age for a cockatiel.
We’ve got one too, he’s something like 13 now. Noisy little bastard. Actually, he’s gotten slightly less bad lately I guess. Used to talk a lot, but now it’s mostly just squawking.
As for pets in general, I’m not really a fan. I’ve always liked cats, and wanted one pretty badly when I was little (but couldn’t due to both my mum and sister being allergic), but these days I’ve been turned off the idea. Every time I go to a pet owner’s place, the house just smells like animal. And there’s always animal fur on everything, and it’s all just gross. I don’t want that for my place, and particularly don’t want some little source of destruction ravaging my precious games collection 😛
I’ll be fine without any pets, thanks.
yep, Cockatiels can get quite noisy! But ours has definitely mellowed out in the last few years, still squacks a bit, talks a bit and even whistles at times still.
Trust me, when it comes to pets, it really depends on their nature and how well they might be trained, but to be honest, my cat was always quite good, he was both outdoor & indoor cat, so we never really had the smell and hardly any fur around the house. Also my games collection and all my tech altogether… pristine condition! 😉
Heh, fair enough. Another thing about pets though is they kind of make me nervous. Like, I kind of don’t really know how to “handle” dogs or whatever when I meet them, probably since we never had any growing up so it’s just something I never learnt to do. So it’s always just an awkward pat and trying to kind of ignore them :p
I’m the same, never really had pets when growing up other than budgies but after my cousin got a staffie, I realised, don’t be too rough with pets unless they’re built like a brick shithouse ie. staffies xD
Otherwise, I find the more time you spend with animals, the more you learn about what they like and dislike and the more comfortable you are around them, the more likely they are to be affectionate towards you 🙂
I have some of my fondest memories of playing Gran Turismo 4 with one of my dogs sitting by my side, judging my driving style with disdain.
I am sure, there is a certain amount of dog hair flying around, but in the end issues like smell and hair greatly depend on the animal. Of course, if you are happy without a pet, good on ya, in fact this is an honest and intelligent assessment, that I wish more people could make for themselves. The tragedy is with people getting pets and only then they realize they actually find them bothersome, too much work or simply annoying etc.
Rabbits can actually make a great indoor pet, perfect for apartments. They’re trainable for keeping their mess in a corner area (much like a cat with a litter) and are super soft and cuddly. And they can’t jump up on the kitchen counter while you’re out.
In the same situation here in Melbourne…….
Every week or two, I head out to visit my “dad”….. when in reality I spend 90% of the time playing with the dogs 😉
Wouldn’t want to change where I live at all, I simply love city life. But not being able to have a dog is the single worst problem we have…..
Been looking at what pets to have, but generally our issue is that the pet has to be something that a) can live indoors most of it’s life, and b) doesn’t smell [!!!!!!!!!!] . If my wife is reading, find me a cat that is worth our $2500 security bond! 😉
Thinking maybe some fish is the way to go, because there is also point c) needs to take up naff-all space!!!
Get an exotic cockroach, y’know those huge ones.
That’ll be a conversation starter.
Or a turtle, I like turtles.
I have had a dog since I was 10 or so.
I have had a healthy sense of dog superiority in these past however many years.
Then I moved to Canada, leaving the dog behind (with my parents).
Then I moved to my current apartment, where my roommate has 2 cats.
After a few days, they filled the void I had pining for a pet.
One is a year and a half. Pretty antisocial, likes to sleep. I get along with her really well. Sometimes she sleeps on my bed, and we both seem to enjoy each other’s silent company.
The other is a kitten. Cute, active, social, and I’m pretty sure is some sort of reincarnation of the devil.
I miss having a dog.
I have a mastiff x staffy. Great guard dog. Affectionate yet intimidating. I don’t like cats. I also live near a world heritage listed national park – so it would be selfish and IMO unethical to have one.
@mark – get a chimp and teach it to smoke! Hours of fun right there.
He can call it “chim chim” and train it to…
We’ve always had dogs as well! We just got a a Kelpie cross Border Collie back in December, first time we’ve had a dog since it was a pup. She’s all types of energy, especially with the hole digging. Currently she is attacking me because I am giving her attention haha,
I’ve got 2 dogs, 2 cats and a bunch of fish. Looking at getting a scorpion sometime in the future.
Hermit crabs are fun, I had those as a kid! I also had Guinea Pigs, they were fun until one day they bred like rabbits do.. NOT FUN.
I had a Kelpie cross Border Collie. We got him from the pound when I was 4, he lived to be 18. He was awesome. I have two dogs at the moment. One of them is a Golden Retriever cross Poodle and the other is a Dutch Shepherd cross Siberian Husky. They’re wonderful dogs.
We had a border collie cross German Shepherd when I was growing up – man I loved that dog. Intelligent, loyal, scared off some burglars once despite not having had any training – just an awesome animal. She lived to 19 until her hips gave out for good – having her put down was humane, yet heartbreaking.
Poor thing, she was the best.
My old German Sheppard pup was the best. Smart as a raptor, cheeky as shit and creative and thorough in her revenge. When I was younger, if I came home from a night on the sauce and my folks were out of town, she would take it upon herself to mother me to sober up by hanging out with me as I lay passed out in the driveway or back lawn, whinge or bark at the fridge to encourage me to cook something greasy, possibly due to her addiction to bacon, and my personal favourite, she’d go outside to fart! I’ll never be able to train another dog to do that ever again!! It was great, because whenever she did fart, it was like someone had slaughtered a goat full of dog food in the room and that smell never quite goes away. I used to watch her ‘mum’ my two little nephews too, making sure they didn’t get into trouble. Unfortunately cancer got her on NYs day 2010. Miss that mutt. 🙁
Boy I wish my dogs would have the decency to go outside for farts. Every time they let one go and visitors are around, I get astonished looks and questions along the line of “What the hell are you feeding them?”.
Dogs? Ooh… that’d be so much worse! lol! Nothing that goes into a dog, let alone 2 of them, ever comes out smelling like roses. :p
That night we had to take her to the vet to put her down (and that’s a night I’ll never forget. 🙁 ), she’d hadn’t pooped in a day or so, and we found her, she’d had a seizure so she couldn’t move, I lifted her into the car and my folks drove me to the vet. The whole ride there, she laid with her head on my lap, unable to more. We got her to the vet, she was examining my poor old dog when a torrent of poo just exploded from her. She held on for that entire day and even more so during the car ride and then let go on the examination table. THAT, and the going outside to fart thing, is how I know my dog respected and loved me. 🙂
I have a quarrion (cockatiel…bird for you heathens). Affectionate, relatively low maintenance, and doesn’t require a large space. They are fun to train, and kid friendly (when trained) too.
I used to have one of those little guys too. He became a grumpy shyte in his later years, but he still loved to snuggle up behind my ear or making a mess eating cornflakes on the table. He’d damn near deafen me when he chirped on my shoulder. And they pick up tunes very quickly when they’re young. I think I had my little guy for about 7 years before I realised his ears were under his red feathers too. :p
I stay at my mums as often as possible so I can hang out with her dogs 😛 I miss having a dog so much, my partner and I have decided to buy a house instead of renting just so we can get a dog. I had dogs my entire life, so being without one is very upsetting for me. I’m not a cat person, I had a cat as a child who was really lovely though, but he’s the only pleasant cat I’ve ever met, the rest of them are feral beasts who piss all over everything.
As for alternative pets, I used to have rats when I was younger and I loved them. They’re much less smelly than mice and they eat bugs 😀 I also bought myself a siamese fighting fish a few years ago to fill the petless void, but it died within a few weeks 🙁
Rat’s are pretty interesting pets. They’re smart, fairly clean, compact and are kept in a cage for east clean-up.
Yeah rats can make pretty good pets, though if you let them just run around they will chew up your everything.
I have a dog and love him. I’ve also had fish, birds (budgies and cockateils/weiros), young goats, a rabbit, mice and a rat.
I’ve also kept a baby seagull, which I would not recommend.
My girlfriend has a cat which we are struggling to train as we cannot keep him off counters and he will eat any food left unattended for more than 30 seconds. Including chocolate.
One pet I hope to own one day is a ferrett, although I would be happy with another rat.
The best pet I ever had was a hand-reared cockateil who mimicked us, would put his seed on a “table” before eating it and try anything you were eating.
Native birds like budgies and cockateils are usually quiet enough for apartment living and easy to take care of.
Has anyone ever had a Magpie as a pet? I’ve always kinda wanted to have one because they’re just straight up gangsta! And I love hearing them warble in the mornings. I know in some states owning one as a pet was restricted for a while (Vic?).
Once helped a magpie outside after he got stuck in a sunroom and beat himself senseless against the glass.
He stood on my arm outside for a good 15 minutes before my arm stated to get tired and I gave him a flick so he could take off.
I think they’d make good pets if you had a big enough aviary, but don’t know the rules regarding ownership.
My vet has a pet magpie. Not sure how you would go about having one yourself. They’re smart birds
I’m not allowed to have pets but I have a healthy imagination.
You mean @trjn has a healthy imagination
(since you are he and he are you)
I have 2 chickens
I have an Old English Sheepdog. Best breed, IMO. So much fun.
Dogs>cats.
I have a worm farm…I know they’re not really pets, they’re working animals and all, but I do have much affection for the little guys. And they make tasty poo water for my garden.
I have two dogs, a couple rabbits and a cockatiel.
If you can’t have a dog and you don’t like cats, I’d seriously suggest getting either a rabbit or a bird. Rabbits can be incredibly affectionate, as well as being one of the cutest animals alive, and birds will sit on your shoulder and try to talk to you (if they’re parrots and are male), plus if you get the right sort you don’t have to worry about it dying for a long time.
I have a sausage dog.
I put him in a hot dog costume so he knows he’s a jerk.
I do believe that is the definition of animal cruelty… it is well funny though.
I also have a Dachshund and gets dresses as many different things and loves it. He’s a bloody champion.
I also have a staffy x kelpie, and tropical fish.
At the moment I’m dog sitting an attantion whore of a german shepard and a chocolate lab who likes to play innocent and stupid but is ingenious when it comes to opening things. The week I moved in, he managed to open my bathroom window, nudge open the sliding door, navigate through the maze of boxes in my room and then just stare at me from next to the bed till I woke up.
They’re both butts and I’ll be kind of sad when they have to go.
Given the choice, I’d love to have a ferret, mostly because they seem awesome and are banned in queensland
My partner has been begging me for a Husky puppy for as long as we have been out of home (she had other dogs at home with her family) but living in an apartment makes that infeasible. In the meantime we have two guinea pigs (both male to avoid babies). They are fantastic, fun, affectionate, clean (not smelly provided we change their cage enough) and love sitting on our shoulders to talk in our ears. We have had rabbits too but the guinea pigs tend to show their affection a bit more. The rabbits did seem more intelligent though.
Get a Chihuahua! Small enough to keep/hide in an apartment, hardly bigger than a rat but still (technically) a dog. Plus chicks dig em.
Have two dogs, a Ridgeback x and a Kelpie. The Kelpie managed to get bitten by a brownsnake a few weeks ago, she pulled through though with a healthy bit of antivenom. This is after her ingenious idea of chasing after a bunch of birds right in front of a Landcruiser last year. Not the brightest bulb in the shed but I love her like a child.
Pets for apartments…well I had bird-eating spiders (aka tarantulas) when I lived overseas, but not sure about regulations on this here in Australia. I found them to be very intriguing animals, interesting to observe and easy to keep, some of them are quite beautiful too in color, esp South American breeds (again, Australian quarantine rules etc might see things different). What about a fish tank?
I have a pet budgie. He’s pretty low maintenance and is mostly amused by his mirror.
I have 2 Newfoundlands. They’re both show dogs but strictly they’re our pets before they are show dogs. They’re amazing, but I moved away for Uni and really miss them 🙁 Last time I came home one of them was up on his 2 back legs in my arms before I’d even made it through the door 😛
One of them is the smartest dog I’ve ever met, and the other is possibly the dumbest dog I’ve ever met. But yeah. Definitely not an apartment pet, or even a small property pet.
And you’ll need a good vacuum cleaner.
I’ve got a 4-year old Blue Heeler x Labrador male. Very friendly to family & friends, and would make a fantastic guard dog. He’s a great pet, and a great friend, being extremely affectionate (Just walking in the door and having him slamming his head against my leg and walking next to me without taking it away… makes me smile every single time) and being very obedient yet playful. The only problem is that some kids will go out of their way to annoy him, which ends in him barking back and me having to force him inside.
I have a dog. He’s a spoiled princess loved by everyone in the neighbourhood. Ignore the glowing “love-me” eyes if you wish to live another day: http://i.imgur.com/mJ1W6LM.jpg
This is my dog Sid
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/luckydogofdeath/P5290143.jpg
I love him but I do have a huge backyard. Rats and ferrets may be a good idea but both will need some cleaning of their cage. I suggest to fully research everything you’d need to do before deciding
I have a cockatiel named Jeffrey that we got as a rescue bird. My mum works at a vets and he was found by someone who brought him in. He’s a former pet, I can tell that much, but I don’t think he was hand raised or socialised very well. Combined with the fact he was pretty beaten up when he was found (probably attacked by wild birds – missing feathers and very scared and withdrawn) he’s a little bit moody, but I love him.
He loves me and my housemate to bits and when he’s in a sociable mood, he likes to sit on your shoulder and nuzzle up to you and make little clucking/chattering noises, and he loves his neck being scratched. He doesn’t talk or sing, but he’s a pretty special little guy. He has grumpy days where he doesn’t want much to do with you, but other days he can’t stand to not be in the same room as you.
I live in a two bedroom unit in Melbourne’s inner suburbs and can’t have a cat or dog, which I initially felt the bird was a compromise, but have since realised that’s definitely not the case.