Pets inside house

Sister has a Yorkshire Terrier, a real house dog, sleeps on the foot of the bed, part of the family, why have a pet if it's outside ?

liah

we'llallhavetea wrote: »

i have grown fond of the smell of horse sh!t it's just so grassy and nice..

..and I felt weird just saying I liked the smell of horse :pac:

Horses smell lovely, I don't care what anyone says.

we'llallhavetea_old

liah wrote: »

..and I felt weird just saying I liked the smell of horse :pac:

Horses smell lovely, I don't care what anyone says.

haha! they do have a lovely smell! my daughter has been riding for the last year and there is just something comforting about the smell of horses and their crap when you walk into the stables they are absolutely fabulous animals, hopefully one day i'll be able to afford a pony for her

kylith

My dogs are outdoors when I'm asleep or at work. The rest of the time they can go in or out as they please. Some family members have commented on the doggy smell in the house, but I don't smell it any more.

I love it when I go into a house and it smells of dog, it means that you're guaranteed a warm welcome from at least one creature in the house.

seamus

Sofiztikated wrote: »

Their bed is in the kitchen, as is the litter tray. They know not to get up on the counters. They probably dance on them when I'm away though.

Do a test. When you're going out for an hour or more, sprinkle some flour on the worktops. You'll see the pawprints when you return. Do this for a week or so and you'll get an idea of how often the cats are running around your worktops.
Remember that they use those paws when using the litter...

Can't say I'm crazy about a very strong smell of dog in a house, it does make it seem unclean to a certain degree. I don't think you can smell it in my place, though the dog doesn't spend much time outside of the kitchen/sitting room and we've had the carpets taken up there, so there's no reason why there would be a very strong smell.

I've been in places where people are insanely anal about where their animals go - restricting dogs to a utility room & back garden or hoovering every single day and replacing covers on couches every evening.

I've also been in houses (one in particular stands out) where the kitchen table was thick with cat hair and one of the two dogs, a male lab, routinely walked around the house peeing on everything and never being corrected or being cleaned up. Ughh....

whatdoicare

liah wrote: »

Yet you can work with horses? Weird, horsey environments throw up SO much hay, dust, dander, hair. Must be something different in the fur compared to cats/dogs.

I thought hypoallergenic and/or non-shed dogs and cats were okay for people with allergies/asthma? Or is it just the general extra dander/dust? I'm totally clueless.

(and the carpets thing was a joke! though there were many times when we wished for black carpets when houseguests unexpectedly dropped by before vaccuuming.. )

I wear a charcoal mask when I work with horses but obviously I'm not gonna wear that all day/night at home.

Also haha I know you were joking but still it's EEeeeeeewwww

planetX

thing is, the more your pets are kept outside, the worse they smell - they get oilier coats to keep them warm. Housedoggies don't smell so bad. I only draw the line when a cat tries to climb into the bed after being out in the rain....

Angelmangle

whatdoicare wrote: »

I wear a charcoal mask when I work with horses but obviously I'm not gonna wear that all day/night at home.

Also haha I know you were joking but still it's EEeeeeeewwww

All the time?! I only ever wear a mask clipping and then not always. I suppose if your handling hay a lot you could have a bad allergic reaction to that as well.

Tallon

This thread is full of lols

I know people that are worse than animals in the aul hygine front and I would gladly let my little fella into the house if it was raining than any of them

Plus it's a bit weird when your mate licks his balls in front of you

TaraR

I own 3 staffys & 1 pitty They sleep outside but they are in & out during the day. Id love if i could have them all sleeping inside in front of the fire when its howling and lashing outside while watching the tele but they are just mad as in so hyper lol my two girls cant sit for two mins lol they come in and run back out to roll around in the dirt :rolleyes:

Other than the mucky paws and that the girls are not house trained there fine lol . Oh and the hairs but its all part of owning one. I mean you dont have a baby without the baby sick

seamus

Please note that this thread was started in After Hours and moved here this morning (27/09/2010). Go easy on some of the posters...!

Cherry Blossom

Makai Late Lambskin wrote: »

I'm a greater weapon than my dogs - I make my dogs look tough

If I wanted guard dogs I'd have a genuinely vicious dog - two Jack Russell Terriers, or a Westhighland Terrier, it certainly wouldn't be Pits & Staffs.

Oh yea, I wouldn't sleep tight then - because Westies are noisy little bolloxes.

My Westie is fine! She will give a warning bark if she's downstairs and someone approaches the house or if a car comes in the gate, only when its dark though, she's happy enough with commings and goings during the day. When she's upstairs she'll growl if somone comes in then shut up when she's told it's ok.

Then only thing she brings in from outside is the occasional sticky jack stuck in her fur, any other dirt on her actually comes from lying on the hall floor from peoples work boots and such like. She sleeps in her own bed, which is in my bed Before I had a Westie I had a chinchilla sleeping in my bed during the day which is probably a first

There's really no evidence at all that theres a dog living in my house . . . . unless I just can't find it amid all the horse hair, mud from people's boots and all the crap the kids leave lying around!

Discodog

OP as you are new to A&P you need to understand that 99% of us get far more from our animals than they get from us. We love their company.

My 3 dogs are indoors but they are not allowed on the furniture or my bed - they have luxurious heated beds of their own !.

TooManyDogs

I think OP is a troller........

happyoutscan

Can't beat the welcome from Harley every evening, even if he sprays a bit of pee with excitement!

dan_d

Have to say - I just laughed myself stupid over some of the comments here.:D:D:D:D:D
That's me going to bed happy (as my 2 cats wash each others faces in their beds in the kitchen!!)

Shanao

All of my pets have always been inside; we even have two ferrets in the house now as well. Granted, the musky smell was a killer at the start; but with them now neutered (not to mention we've gotten used to it), the smell's practically gone. People coming into the house dont even notice it either. Along with those two, we've got two cats and three kittens and we're on our way to getting two dogs, who will be sharing the house with us as well. Had a collie for fifteen years who died two years ago and she was always kept indoors. She even used to sleep on my bed whenever there was thunder and lightning.

Cant actually imagine keeping the poor things outside; anytime the cats are left outside they have a tendency to climb back in any open window.

Cherry Blossom

TooManyDogs wrote: »

I think OP is a troller........

Nope, typical AH thread, I don't think it was ever intended for API

lrushe

kylith wrote: »

My dogs are outdoors when I'm asleep or at work. The rest of the time they can go in or out as they please.

I'd be the same, I love snuggling up of an evening with a dog in each corner of my sitting room but at the same time I think it does them good to have some outdoor time also.
I have wooden floors and tiles and I clean regularly so I don't see any problem with having animals indoors.

Tallon

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

TooManyDogs wrote: »

I think OP is a troller........

Nope, typical AH thread, I don't think it was ever intended for API

You do realise that not everyone in the world likes animals.

I know people who feel the same as the OP, so saying it's trollish is a bit narrow minded

ISDW

Tallon wrote: »

You do realise that not everyone in the world likes animals.

I know people who feel the same as the OP, so saying it's trollish is a bit narrow minded

But, why would someone come into this section and post it?

I've loved reading this thread, as I sit here surrounded by dogs everywhere, 3 on my bed at the moment, 2 on the sofa, 1 on the armchair, oh yeah, theres even some on the dog beds on the floor.

DBCyc

splashthecash wrote: »

Is it just me or is the idea of having your pet dog inside the house absolutely disgusting and dirty?? The thought of a dog inside bringing in the bacteria from outside, dog hairs, etc...


I've been hearing a lot of people then going one step further and bringing their dogs to bed with them; either at the end of the bed or on the bed itself, sleeping inbetween the couple?

I dont know if I'm the weirdo and if this is seen as normal or cute?

"Tuck me in, daddy"

Tallon

ISDW wrote: »

But, why would someone come into this section and post it?

Well to be fair, this forum is not just for all the positive things about animals, it can be used for talking about the negatives too.

But to answer your question:

seamus wrote: »

Please note that this thread was started in After Hours and moved here this morning (27/09/2010). Go easy on some of the posters...!

Sundew

Try training the boys on AH to aim properly like this fellow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQbHS4YJOMc&feature=fvw

Shenshen

Tallon wrote: »

You do realise that not everyone in the world likes animals.

I know people who feel the same as the OP, so saying it's trollish is a bit narrow minded

But why would people who don't like animals keep pets, inside or outside of the house?

Unless you're implying that they keep them outside because they REALLY hate animals and enjoy watching them suffer?

Tallon

Shenshen wrote: »

But why would people who don't like animals keep pets, inside or outside of the house?

Unless you're implying that they keep them outside because they REALLY hate animals and enjoy watching them suffer?

It is entirely possible that someone can love animals, but feel like their home is for Humans only.

I'm not trying to argue here or anything, just pointing out that eveyone is different.

I think this point was brought up already, but if you had a horse (Which you loved and treated very well) would you let it come into your house and sit on the couch?

seamus

Tallon wrote: »

I think this point was brought up already, but if you had a horse (Which you loved and treated very well) would you let it come into your house and sit on the couch?

You've never seen Into the West?

Seriously though, that's comparing apples and oranges in many respects. The size of a horse primarily would make it unfeasible; Most horses are both longer and taller than a person is tall and so a standard house design (being designed for people) would not be a practical place in which to house a horse.

It is however practical for a dog (generally) because their small size is conducive to house living. I'm sure many horse owners would allow their horses to live inside if they had rooms the size of stables and very little in the way of breakables sitting around. I'm sure horses can be taught to go to the toilet outside. Even a shetland pony would be unsuitable to home living out of pure size concerns alone.

What I gather from the OP is that he/she is a little obsessive about cleanliness in generally. The word "bacteria" is a trigger word for me - anyone who uses "bacteria" as a reason to worry about anything usually doesn't understand what bacteria are or how they work.

AH would be more representative of Irish people in general. Irish people on the whole consider all animals to be a lower form of life, barely worthy to be in the presence of the divine human being. It's a hangover from an arrogant religious ideology that animals were created by God to be servants and food for the human being. It's no coincidence that countries without religious agendas in politics generally have much more evolved approaches to animal welfare than countries where religion plays an important part in society.

Tallon

"Tayto Tayto"

I wasn't refering to the size or practicallity of it, to some people an animal is an animal. And nothing more

Which is very sad, because cats & dogs etc are really, very loveing pets.

I personally love animals, love my dog, love my brothers dogs, but I can see why the OP doesn't like them in the house. I don't agree with him, but I can see his predicament

Also, I think you hit the nail on the head with the whole bacteria thing!

Discodog

Most of my neighbours think that I am mad to have a dog in the house, let alone three. One neighbour just allows his two to roam & sleep in a kennel whilst another keeps his dog on the common 10ft chain all day & night.

Yet one of my neighbours, an elderly couple born locally, adore their dog & it sleeps in a dog bed in their bedroom. It amazes me how people who were raised together, went to the same schools etc have such a different attitude to dogs.

As for bacteria we already have big problems where kids are reared in near sterile conditions & don't build up the immunity that they used to. If I disappeared as a child my mother knew that I was in the kennel with the dog !.

DBCyc

Discodog wrote: »

As for bacteria we already have big problems where kids are reared in near sterile conditions & don't build up the immunity that they used to. If I disappeared as a child my mother knew that I was in the kennel with the dog !.

I remember reading somewhere that kids who grow up around dogs are much less likely to develop allergies etc.