What is your pet logic?

Originally I was going to post this in the Dogs thread, but it kinda spiraled off topic. So, here's it's own post. Not sure it'll get any traction, but we'll see. On to the questions!

We have a dog thread, cat thread, etc. but what are your ideal pet ratios?

How many of any given pet is your perfect number and why?

Do you have preferences on sex?

Do you have preferences on species?


Because I am asking I'll go first. I am a 1 dog and 2-3 cat person. 1 dog because I only have to convince one canine mind it's a bad idea to get into the trash, etc. and there aren't any devils on their shoulder to undermine the lessons. 2-3 cats because I live in the country and if raised together they are like their own little pride of lions. They take care of each other, go on patrols, and strays and neighbor cats don't come over when they have to deal with a group. They keep each other safe and keep the mouse population in check.

For temperament and behavior I prefer Female dogs and Male cats. Can't stand dogs peeing on everything. Lawnmower, truck wheels, deck posts, anything that sticks up they have to mark, and I hate it. Plus, I want to rub my dog's belly and not run into anything uncomfortable, so female dogs only for me. Female cats are a bit more pissy in attitude from my experience, so I lean toward males. I get them neutered as early as is safe so they don't go full Tom and spray stuff, and it seems to keep their attitudes to a generally tolerable asshole level. They are still cats, after all.

I really only have cats for pest control, as they are generally aloof and what not. Kittens are hilarious, and cats are cute, but I'm just a dog person. I've learned that I really only want a companion dog, too. I've got friends who get working or hunting dogs, but don't treat them as such. They wind up having to deal with so many behavior issues because the dogs are bored or cooped up. Meanwhile, my little pug just wants to hang out and be friends. Guess you just have to get a dog for what you need.


Love seeing everybody's pets on here. The stories, experiences, and knowing that there are pets out there getting the love they deserve.

 

Husband had one cat, I had one parrot. Both passed away last year at 20 and 21 years old respectively. I havent cried that hard since my brother passed away, I was laying on the couch holding him when he took his last little breaths and honestly my heart cant take going through that again.
We vowed no more pets (in the house). We have 11 chickens and Im overly attached to those damned things as it is.

I had a greyhound prior. Picked him because he was the runt and didnt care about gender. I always picked the runts or rescues. My parrot, Elliott, was abandoned. Rescued him from a pigeon cage at a wildlife rehab center.

 

I can relate, because nothing hurts the same way as losing a pet. Nothing can fill the hole but another pet for me, though. It takes time, but I have to have a dog. I held my last dog as she slipped away, and it crushed me. Yet, months later, I met Stella and just knew she was supposed to be my friend. It's been an amazing 11 years so far, and I know when she leaves my I'll die inside. They are worth it.

 

We used to always have 2 dogs . . . we'd get a younger second one when 1st one was getting older.
This seemed to bring new life to the older one, and gave him/her a new friend and prolonged it's life.
I'm trying to convince the Boss it's time for the 2nd one now, as our Aussie Shepherd is 12.

 

I would say my pet logic is driven by my wife with me trying to temper her enthusiasm.

Dogs only for us. She only likes male dogs. I don't have a strong preference but I don't really know anyone who's had a female dog so I guess I'm more comfortable with males.

I think one dog is plenty, especially if we're going to have 2 kids and keep the Tundra. That's a lot of creatures to shove in there for a road trip. My wife keeps saying "oh we should get one of these types of dogs" or "oh, we should adopt that dog we saw in the paper" but I keep reminding how much work one dog and one baby are already and how our dog is hit or miss in terms of getting along with other dogs. The worst thing would be to adopt a dog and then have to send him back to the shelter because the two of them didn't get along.

 

One dog is more than enough for me. I just have this doofus. He is very stubborn.

 

@Cpl_Punishment I agree that 2 kids and 1 dog are plenty. Not only for space but it turns into absolute chaos most days.

 

My sister adopted an american bulldog that seemed chill with zero back story. It randomly went batshit crazy one day with no warning and attacked both of my nephews while they were sitting on the couch and basically tore the throat out of her lab that she had for ten years. The lab amazingly survived, the nephews had a hospital visit and stitches, my brother in law ended up jumping on top of it and choking it to death.

 

We were a 2 dog family until our elder dog passed away about 4 years ago. 2 years ago I returned home from hunting in Colorado to find that we were now a 1 dog and 2 cat family. It's a good ratio. Our Border Collie is the poster dog for ADHD and the cats help to keep him occupied throughout the day. They actually get along very well. I prefer females for hunting dogs but our BC is a Male and he's very well behaved in the house. The cats are brother and sister and are also pretty well behaved other than shredding the back of the couch.
If it were up to my wife we'd rescue every dog and cat that popped up on the news or Facebook.

 

Sorry to hear that. My wife has similar fears about rescue dogs, which is why we have a purebred from a breeder. I'm not that happy about it as I would have rather adopted from the SPCA or something like that but I can see the other side of it.

Also, my wife has allergies so she needed a dog that we were sure wouldn't shed. Our Australian Terrier isn't technically "hypoallergenic" and he leaves a lot of hair all around the house but her allergies aren't bothering us so that's all that matters on that front.

 

All dogs only for my home. We have a 1:3 female to male ratio. It works perfectly because the female is an old bat and acts as the matriarch. She has a zero tolerance policy for bullshit. All of my pups are working pups. The Yorkshire is probably the only one I’ve ever seen that actually fulfills his purpose as a breed. He flushes out any critters that don’t belong in the yard and the two pit bull mutts finish the job by either chasing whatever unwelcome creature that’s in question out or... dispatching them with malice. The Newfoundland just sits around not giving a damn about anything until there’s playtime to be had. He keeps the kids busy. They ALL are working to teaching my kids the value of a job well done since the main play area is the back yard. If they want to play there, they have to keep it clean.

 

what are your ideal pet ratios? Two

How many of any given pet is your perfect number and why? 1 cat and 1 dog. easier to deal with and they can keep each other company

Do you have preferences on sex? Kind of private, but I have preferences

Do you have preferences on species? Female humans only. Very strict on that one.

 

I knew somebody would go this route eventually.

 

1 wife*
3 kids*
1 dog
5 chickens

We've lost a few chickens to raccoons, one to a neighborhood dog, and one to my eldest son not looking where he was stepping. If we lived in a more rural setting, we’d have outdoor cats. But we are definitely dog people. We had a female Lab we lost at 14. That completely wrecked us. Of all the things in our lives that we know we don’t deserve, the unconditional love and loyalty of a dog is pretty high on that list. It took a long time, but we ended up with another female Lab. She’s 5 months old and pretty mellow. She loves going on adventures with her humans and is incredible walking on a lead.

I kinda want a second dog. A pair of labs would be awesome. Pretty cliché, but they just fit our family so well.

*not pets

 

What are your ideal pet ratios? Two
How many of any given pet is your perfect number and why? Two dogs are better than one (no cats). They can entertain each other when the human's are busy!
Do you have preferences on sex? Female. For the same reason AzureNightmare mentioned. Our GSP pees on everything - he particularly likes to pee on my custom designed Kamado Joe grill table!
Do you have preferences on species? Based on my picture, no. However, I've always had Labs and Boxers.

We have three dogs now. Left to right in the picture:

• Male German Shorthair Pointer (GSP). My son's girlfriend gave it to him two years ago. Extremely high energy and smart (pees on my table!). He should be moving out early fall when my son gets married.
• Female Borador (Half Lab and half Border Collie). She's almost five. Absolutely the best, sweetest and smartest dog I've ever owned! She is incredibly loyal.
• Scrappy (his name and it fits him) - I have no idea what he is. He's 1.5 years old. My son and I found him while deer hunting (in a thunderstorm). He was maybe 3-4 weeks old? He was absolutely covered with fleas and ticks and very little hair. He is exceptionally smart and fast. All he wants to do is play with a ball. He absolutely could compete in agility competitions. It's amazing how fast and strong this dog is.

 

I wonder what our resident Vets would say to these questions... @jaredmillerdvm @Kerch71

 

No pets right now. My great Husky Halle passed over a year ago. She was a rescue. 6 months old when she rescued me. Spayed. She was an absolute delight other than chewing off most of my window sills and chewing off a good part of my 1989 Cherokee dash while on a quick trip into 7-11 early on. She rode all the way up to Alaska and back with me. A true companion. My landlord in Anchorage had two rescue mutts. Smaller than Halle but they got along bigley. Both of her rescue dogs had issues. "Amos" was severely beaten bad enough to have surgery. I noticed the scars. Quite timid towards me for good reason. Would occasionally let me pet him if I had a salmon snack. The other rescue dog, Bailey, was kuul as hell. The first day I got back from the lab, Bailey snuck by me out the front door. He ran down the street and I'm yelling "Bailey" over and over. Nothing. Kept sniffing around and leaving his pee at various neighbors bushes. He finally came back. I told my landlord that I accidentally let him out. Landlord...."Bailey always does that. By the way..he's deaf." HA!! Needless to say Bailey would be the only dog out on New Year's eve checking out the crazy big ass fireworks everybody was setting off on our street. Meanwhile Halle was freaking out under my bed. Long story short.....never under estimate how good a rescue pet can be. They can be a joy in your life. Hoity toity purebreds can have issues too. After being raised on a ranch I truly believe animals respond according to how you treat them. My 2 cents.

Edit...I finally remembered "Amos" he was beaten bad. Small Terrier. Bailey was a larger Terrier. Bailey had to have grain free dry. Some sort of allergy. All the dogs shared a self feeder. Halle being the female was alpha...ha
I want another rescue Husky but too much going on now. We shall see!

 

I'll play.

We currently have 3 dogs, 1 pig, 1 ferret and 1 ball python. We recently had to let a dog go and we were fostering but the adopter didn't work out so we took her back in.

Here's a quick video of the litter mate pups we adopted that we took the next morning we brought them home back in 2017. They were about 6-7 weeks old.

 

Excellent!

 

We have 3 dogs and that seems to be the magic number for us.
We have lost a few over the years and understandably my wife was upset to the point she didn’t want another. Then one shows up. She had one jump in the car with her. One that wouldn’t stay in our neighbors fence and was always here so they gave her to us and the latest showed up at our door Christmas before last. So I guess we are just meant to have 3.

 

What are your ideal pet ratios?
I think if you have mamals, less than 5 per household is pretty good but depends on size and house. A small house with 5 great danes is no good, but a small house with 2 dogs and 3 cats is okay.

For myself, I prefer dogs and I can't see having more than 2 or 3 here. I always dreamed of having a pack of Doberman but I would need a much larger house and more income to feed them.

How many of any given pet is your perfect number and why?
I usually had one or two dogs most of my life. More than that would be fine if I had a big enough yard, but I don't. Right now I have one dog (and temporarily have a second) but am strongly considering getting another dog. My dog has severe fomo so he needs a buddy when my wife and I leave the house.

I also keep fish. The fish ratio really depends on size of tank, kind of fish, filteration, plants. Doesn't really apply to this question, but I keep mostly tanganyikan cichlids so the answer is the more the better. Helps to reduce territorial aggression

Do you have preferences on sex?
Pretty often is preferred but im not picky.


Do you have preferences on species?
I prefer dogs and cats with short hair. I like dogs of all sizes and breeds. Cats, well, I care more about their personality than what type they are.

For my fish I have kept all kinds but my favorite are still Tanganyikan, they are so distinct and entertaining to watch.

 

One cat is enough for me. I swear she shits and pisses more than she eats. It seems like her litter box is never large enough. She is a great companion though and her purring and snuggling up to me makes up for everything.

 

I prefer female birds and male fish. Housed separately.

 

I have a Choclate Lab I call doofus! What are the odds? I'll post a recent pic when I can find it.

Also have these 2 and 2 cats. 3 dogs and 2 cats is plenty for me, thanks.

 

I have one dog (Goldendoodle) I got almost 6 years ago. Wife has a cat she brought into the marriage. I hate that cat with a passion, literally will love on you one day then hate your guts the next. We have always wanted another pet, preferably a dog. But our dog is so well behaved and mild mannered we don't want to jinx it and get a dog that is wild and crazy. So for now, 1 dog and 1 cat. When they both pass, will probably start over with a new cat and new dog.

 

One male dog only. The dog type qualifies why (ACD). We've had a German Shepherd, a jack russell, and finally a Australian cattle dog. The two prior dogs died of old age. Our ACD is 1. When he goes we won't have the energy or desire to go for round four. The sex never really mattered, then we got accustomed to the minor differences .

 

Cool thread!

Had a beagle/cocker spaniel mix pound puppy we got back in 98. When wife was pregnant and not too far from the birth month we got another pound pup....lab mixed with ?? Both dogs female and were good pups to have around when the kids were young and growing up. Lab mix died first and then the beagle mix died just after Christmas in 2013.

Ended up getting two boxer females from the same litter. They will be 8 in Oct. And about 3 years ago we got a male doberman for the scare factor and to help keep an eye on things when I am pulling shift work.

After 25 plus years in public service.... I'd rather hang out with my pups than most people. They are great. Take my mind off of bad calls, help me unwind chasing frisbees and soccer balls in the backyard, and love to snuggle in the king sized bed. They are funny and know the routine for afternoon naps getting ready for late shifts.

If it were entirely up to me I will always have 2 or 3 dogs and would try boxers or dobermans again as I love both breeds and they are big enough to scare folks with bad intentions. All about rescues.....or pound pups......but the whole not knowing what you're getting thing would scare the wifey I think.....especially with a bigger breed.

Nothing against cats other than being allergic.

Again......great thread.

 

Put my 15 yo Female Basset Hound to rest in March of 2020.
Told myself I didn't want another dog and couldn't handle the loss when it came time so Id rather do without........

Until I was offered the pick of a GSD litter.

Meet Giovanni
Born: Nov. 3rd 2020