Tell Us About Your Pets

My German Shepherd stays wherever I am at night. If everyone in the house is gone to bed except for me, she hangs out with me. If she has been napping in the bedroom and hubby decides to go to sleep (he works shift work and often goes to bed way before me and shuts the door to keep out noise), she gets up and comes out. If he doesn't realize she is there, when she realizes the door is shut, she will go stand at it until he notices and lets her out.
She will come nuzzle me at the computer when she thinks it's time for us to go to bed, too. lol

She eats after I go to bed and then comes to my side of the bed to "let me know" that she finished her meal (pat on the head, "good girl") and then she lies down on her bed on the floor next to my side of the bed and drops right off to sleep. She pretty much keeps up with me. If I go/do she wants to, too. When everyone else gets in the car (I am always last b/c I am always the last one ready to go), she will come look for me as if to see if I am going too, or if they are leaving without me.

Hi kindred!

Here we have 2 dogs and one cat...

Tybalt is a labradoodle...HE IS 70 lbs of crazy!! lol...he has mellowed over the years (he is 8 ish now) but still feels he is a 'lap' dog (I need a bigger lap clearly!)

Grommet is a lab mix...also 8 ish...and he is a 'mush'...lol He just wants to be 'near'...not on top of...

FI (short for fiona LONG before that name was popular with the movie) is a very small (kitten size small) grey cat...she is snuggly when *I* need a 'snug'...and aloof most of the time...

We love them all here...

michele/cat

We have an outside cat that we adopted from the street named Ham. He won't come inside the house( even in the wintertime!) . He lounges on our porch most days, and when we arrive home, he always is there to greet us. He's a mammouth of a cat, but very sweet. In the summer time we grow a garden, and he loves to follow me and my son around in it while we plant or water it.

My son also has his beloved pet guinea pig, Max. He has had it now for a year and two months, and is still mesmerized by this thing. It always greets him with a squeel or squeak when he enters, especially around feeding time. He knows his name, and loves to be picked up and held. In the morning, like clockwork, around 630, the Fedex plane flies over our house( we live very close to our airport). Max squeaks and you can hear him run around in his cage. Followed by our son getting up and getting ready for school. It's definetly a routine, and is a good wake up call for all of us!

AAAAWWW!!! i'm sorry you aren't getting any sleep!! How sweet that your baby wants to snuggle with you!!!

Grady is a Boxer-Pit Bull mix with cinnamon coloring and gold eyes - that's the best way to describe them - they aren't brown, green or blue - they are golden. He has a white markings on his paws and a white diamond on his chest.

Grady is a talker - oh my - he can talk!! He's got such a WONDERFUL personality. He can say "I love you" and Please when he wants food. His favorite treat is a pretzel.

He will come into the den and get his front paws up on the arm rest and kiss me and talk to me...a couple of the moms on here have heard him talk...then he will get down and go to the barrel of pretzels - look at it - look at me and say something - if I ignore him?!! He barks at me.

Although he's 18 months old and 50 lbs - he still thinks he is a lap dog.

When I take him over to his friend's house for play dates - he talks to me the whole way - and once just to see if he was paying attention? I turned the wrong way and he flipped out!!! barking at me and going to the other side of the car...no kidding...we need to video tape it for America's Funniest Home Videos!!

he sleeps with the boys in their beds at night...on night's like last night - we had two friends over and he couldn't decide who to sleep with...he cuddled up next to each of them during the night.

Unfortunately, I don't have a cuddly pet---yet--- I am planning on getting a dog for my boys in the next few years-but they are still little now, and aren't ready for that kind of responsibility. We do however have two goldfish that are actually really relaxing and calming to watch. They are the only fish that I have seen with any sort of "personality" When they see me pass by their tank, they go crazy and start doing spins and jumps in the water---one of them almost jumped out of the bowl the other day when I was cleaning the tank! They get super excited about feeding time and they will follow your finger if you put your finger to the glass---I know, its a little silly because they are fish--but they do have a personality!

M

We have 6 cats and 1 dog.... 2 of the cats are my daughter's cats... she and her human family are living with us for a bit...

Anyway, about the cats... one thing I wonder about is......

Who is better trained... the cat, or the human?

Here is why I say that.... 2 of the cats are indoor-outdoor cats (I know it is better that they be indoor cats... but these two pretty much refused to transition to indoor when I changed the others to being indoor only).

Diablo, when he wants to go outside, he comes to me in the computer room and meows... and meows... I can meow back at him, and he gets more insistent if I don't get up and let him outside. Then, when he wants back inside, he comes to the computer room window and meows! So... who is better trained... the cat, for coming to me to tell me he wants in/out, or the human, for getting up when ordered and letting him in or out?

It is fun watching the interaction/ranking of the cats. Bugsy, our big black cat, is the top-ranked cat. Occasionally, Diablo challenges him. Below that is Smokey and Belle. I believe Smokey is below Belle, but has been very happy at that rank.

I'm not sure where Mouse fits in. (This is one of my daughter's cats... we started taking care of her a couple of years ago.. she was always hiding at their apartment.. long story.. she is a rescue and not comfortable around many humans, including their son. He is just a bit too fast and noisy for her. She (the cat) will scoot off if we move to quickly for her, also, but is quite a cuddler.) Anyway, when she came, she was obviously bottom. I think she is between Smokey (bottom) and Belle.... she and Smokey get along fine, but Belle and Mouse don't. I the past Mouse would guard different rooms and not let Belle in.... they do have a sort of "truce", but not a true relationship like Belle and Smokey, where they groom each other, or sleep next to each other. Belle and Mouse will tolerate being in the same room now, though.

Osita just came back into the family (the other one of my daughter's cats).... she was raised here, and has lived here on and off. However, she is used to being "top cat" at her house, so when she comes back into this house, she gets dumped at the bottom, and then starts battling her way back up.

It is just interesting to watch the cat dynamics, and who will tolerate what from whom!

We've had pets ever since we married decades ago. In fact, we took gerbils with us on our "honeymoon" (which was actually traveling across country to our home, since my husband had to be back at work right away).

At the moment we have two cats. (We also raise puppies for Canine Companions for Independence, but we're between dogs right now.) My husband calls himself a cat-hater, but one of these kitties refuses to believe it. Mr. Grey plonks himself down wherever my husband is. He's the sort of cat who talks a lot, and his meowing is definitely conversational. I heard a lot of complaining about "that blasted cat" from my husband at first, but the complaining is getting fainter and fainter. I sometimes even catch him petting Mr. Grey while they're watching TV, but don't tell anyone!

Oh, I love our pets! I have a dog (85 lb boxer/shepherd pound dog), a black lab step dog (ex-hubby's but I love to bring her here, she's a chunk), three indoor cats and out latest little girl "Zippy" the guinea pig.

My one giant cat "Emma" is my shadow and can be found on my desk with me if I am working at home. It's tough to find space for an extra 24 pounds!! Her sister "Baby" is a little bit of a chicken. They are six and it was almost as difficult to adopt them as it was my daughter!! They don't just let cats go to anybody. My last cat is 11 year old "Max" and he is a beautiful, fluffy silver guy. I adopted him from the animal hospital I worked at a million years ago, he was found in a parking lot.

Love, love, love my guinea pig!! One of the most animated of the bunch for sure. She thinks any rumpling of paper or plastic means it's time for her timothy hay. She loves my fluffy cat Max, they have a really cute thing going on.

Our pets are our family as well and it's rather embarrassing to have all of the little boxes from cremated pets of the past. We even brought one of our former mice to the vet for skin issues! Yep, I'm that kook!

My daughter is 18 now but has always been super responsible with all of our animals so the responsibility (except financial) has never fallen on us.

Well, our pets don't exactly sit or lounge or are lap type pets.
We, or rather my kids have:
a pet gecko, Crayfish, Pill Bugs (ie: roly poly), Rabbit.

But I have had cats. They are great pets. At least mine was... he was such a cool cuddly cat.

2 80lb dogs: a labradoodle- CoCoa....& an Old English Sheepdog mix - ChockO. CoCoa is our "CoCoaLoco" & ChockO is our "Chock o'trouble".

CoCoa is our smarty-pants! He opens doors, he does tricks. He thinks he's the Boss of the House....& that my sons/DH are his play toys. He accepts me as His Owner, & knows that I mean business. The 3 men in the house are pretty much out of luck with him....& I think it's a riot! One command from me & he's obeying.....they can beg/plead/& command all they want - & he's still in charge! LOL

CoCoa is stunningly beautiful. He's been known to stop people in their tracks....simply because his looks are sooo striking. He was a dark chocolate pup, & lightened to cafe au lait at 18 months. He is the epitome of what a labradoodle should be, & we know we will never/ever be able to replace him.

ChockO is insane. He's skittish, he's always on alert, & herds everyone in his sight! He's 1/2 CoCoa's age, but doesn't always respect his elders. :) The owners of his sister had DNA testing performed, & they are a mix of Old Engl Sheepie....pit bull, rott, dalmation, lhasa apso, & a couple of others. A true Heinz 57, but that OES rules his brain. The breakdown was 25% OES & you can really tell it! He herds us up/down the hall, thru each room. Drives my DH & my Mom nuts!

ChockO is great with other dogs, especially smaller dogs. He adores children, particularly babies. We've had him about 3 1/2 years now.....& he's never been aggressive with other pets. The few times CoCoa's laid down the law was because he was tired of playing & ChockO wasn't.

We are very thankful that both dogs co-exist so well. They share food/water bowls. They share bedding. They share toys. They run/play like idiots.....& we love them. Our home has a great room. It's not unusual to have both dogs, my DH, &/or both our sons (15 & 24) running the circle. It's also not unusual to have all 3 men + both dogs wrestling on a bed. That's when I'm running for the camera.....because we all know that CoCoa is a butt-biter & he's usually the last one left on the bed!

All of this behavior horrifies my Mom & Gma.....& most of our friends/family. Don't care....the men/dogs are happy & I love seeing them happy. Oh, & the best part is that it takes one command from me to stop the action (on the dogs' part, that is!).

Thanks for a fun question....I can't sleep either. It's been a housework wkend & I'm pumped still...

I have 3 "grandpets"...we inherited one from each daughter for one reason or another.
Chief, my adorable, loveable lab mix is my BABY...he is almost 13 years old...and he is my shadow...follows me around the house every moment of every day. I can see him aging and getting more and more frail, I am afraid that our time together on this earth is winding down to the end. I will miss him forever.
Chewy...our Shiba Inu Mix is appropriately nicknamed Devil Dog. Do yourself a favor never EVER get a Shiba Inu...lol. The only person that he obeys in the house is my husband (the Alpha dog of Chewy's "pack"). If we forget to give him doggie downer medicine even one half of a day he is IMPOSSIBLE!!!
Jasper has been "temporarily" living with us for a couple of years now, while our youngest daughter has been all around the world. Jasper loves to curl up on my lap and nap.
All of our animals are just as OCD as my husband...he has them on a schedule...the dogs go potty at certain times....the cat eats at certain times..and I swear to you...if we forget to put Chewy to bed in his room at 9:00 he is barking and reminding us!! Then Jasper immediately comes into our bedroom for his nightly combing and treat!!
We have always loved animals and can't imagine a home without them!

We have a 2 1/2 month old Collie. He is very playful, runs non stop and is into everything! He likes to bark and let everyone know he is there. So pretty much he is just like my 4 yr old. Once everyone is asleep he jumps into our bed and lays on my feet and sleeps the rest of the night. He is just like the kids there also... by morning, both babies are snuggled up to me.

Then we have a 14 yr old husky, he loves to be played with for short amount of times other wise he likes to be left alone. As long as he has food in front of him he is happy... just like my 15 yr old.

With our dogs... its kinda like having two sets of twins lol

my dog rascal will lay on the couch with me till im ready to go to bed. he wont get up until i ask him if its time to get up lol. he is an anxious dog (border collie all the way) and he herds my 4 year old and all of us in the house. he is a gentle boy yet the protector of the house. me will snuggle with me too he will litterally get in your lap if you let him. he is nicer then the chihuahua!

Well Wall-e is my sons cat, and he's HUGE! We couldn't have asked for a better pet for my son, he's rough on Wall-e sometimes andhes never hissed,scratched or bit him. But I've acendently stepped on him and Wall-e let me know about it! Wall-e won't Snuggle with anyone but my son, he also sleeps in his room with him. Then there's Eba, she's another cat. She's a sweet little thing, terrified of my son and hides til after bed time. Then she comes and snuggles. And lastly we have Tizzie, our 2 1/2 foot ball python. Tizzie is a very nice tame snake. It doesn't do much unless we have it out. But my son enjoys it.

We have three pets a dog (Katie), fish and a very cute bunny (honey-bunny).
Katie is a pure german shepherd, she is only 7 months old. She is learning to be a good dog. Lots of chewing and jumping but she is smart and funny.

We got the fish (beta) about two months ago. My son earned him by having a great month at school. His name is fish.

We just found someones pet bunny is our front yard about 3 weeks ago. We tried to find its own with no success. So we are now the new owners of a very cute brown and white bunny. She is very friendly and potty trained. She reminds me of a cat. She grooms herself like a cat and she will sit on your lap and cuddle. It pretty cool because we can't have cats because my husband is allergic to them.

I also have to mention our dog that we had to put to sleep about 8 months ago. She was the smartest and most beautiful dog I have ever owned. Her name was Serena and lets just say Katie has big shoes to fill.

My experience with animals has not been a good one.
We had a dog, Chuy, for about a year. He was a herding dog and insisted on herding my children from the time we got him. He nipped all the time and then started biting. After the 4th bite, 2nd one to the face, we had to give him back to PAWS. It was heartbreaking because we really did love the dog, but my kids were a bit afraid of him as well. He is now living with a family that doesn't have any children and has a lot of one on one attention. The woman says he is thriving (we have contact with her...which is really nice).
Now, we are living in my girlfriend's house while they live out of the country and we are taking care of her 5 (yes, I said FIVE!) cats. They mostly stay outside during the day but come in in the evening. I don't know which cats are doing it, but they pee and spray on everything. It's disgusting. I have tried and tried everything I can think of but they are not having it. Just the other day I was cleaning in the kitchen and found a pile of pee ON MY COUNTER! I was so mad. One of them doesn't like my daughter and scratched her in the face the other day (but I blame my husband for not keeping and eye on her) and another one of them is so skitish that we can't even pet her. She very well may be feral. I know it's a good thing, but the 3 rats and the bird that they have killed and brought into our house is gross too.
I can't wait to be out of the house and have no pets.
L.

2 cats and 3 dogs. The cats are my older kids Zoe is 13 and a big baby, she pretty much stays out of sight when the youger kids are awake but sleeps at my feet at night. Woody, a girl, about 9 and is my son's. She doesn't like anyone but my son or me. She weighs about 22 pounds and likes to sleep right beside my head at night.

Percy is 10 and a Minature American Eskimo he weighs about 30 pounds. He is mostly my older daughters dog but loves everyone. Mostly an outside dog during the day as he doesn't like the cats and tries to "mark" his territory. Lady is my dog she is a 6 year old Malti-poo. She weighs about 7 pounds and is very much my lap dog. She is really good with all the kids even the 3 year old she can be running around chasing the kids one minute but if I sit down she is right beside me. Now last but not least is Neena. Neena is Lady's 12 week old puppy, she had 2 and we kept one and gave the other to a really good friend. Right now Neena is a spaz but is starting to be my lap dog too, if I sit down there she is trying to climb up. She is going to be really small too at 12 weeks she only weighs about 3 pounds so I really need to watch the younger kids with her but she is great.

The cats rule the roost mostly as they are both bigger than the smaller dogs and Percy is not around them a lot. Crazy but everyone is happy.

We have an older cocker spaniel. He used to sleep with our youngest son but can no longer get up the stairs. He always wants to be near someone but does not like to be held. We love him but he usually stinks even a day after a bath.
Our youngest has a snake, a bald python and no I don't cuddle with it. My son has a unique personality. He is an artist so the snake complements his personality.

Snickers, a.k.a. Snick, is a calico tabby cat and 11 years old. She's my baby, but she has to live in the bathroom for now because she pees on the carpet and furniture.

Twinkie, a.k.a. Twinks, is a himalayan cat and also 11. She's the queen of the household and she sat in my lap from 10 to noon today while I was snoozing in the recliner. She's treated as a queen and gets annoyed whenever a change is made in her household.

Cookie, a.k.a. Cook, is a pomeranian and 10 years old. He's annoying, noisy and exceedingly jealous, but also cute and sweet. He's lying next to the recliner while I'm online and is spoiled rotten.

we have the weirdest cat. I like to call him the rainman of cats, because his routine is so concise and particular.
most people get cats because they are an easier pet. leave it a bowl of food and water and go away for a few days, not our cat!
he's so particular that with his litter boxes (he has 2) he will only pee on the right side, and poo on the left. cracks us up to see he never deviates from this.
he needs to be fed twice a day. dry food mixed with a little fancy feast. once its all dry by night time, he'll follow you around and meow at you until you refresh his food. same in the morning.
he has his "baby" (a webkin pug) he carries the baby around. if we leave, when we come back the baby will be at the door. at night when we all go to bed he carries the baby to the hallway outside of the rooms, howls for a good 10 minutes as if to tell the world "hey, we are all going to bed now!" then he sleeps on my bed most of the night.
in the morning he likes to be viscious! LOL he likes to try to chew on my nails and wedding ring to wake me up.
he's not a cat that hides, or that you can't find. he's in whatever room the people are in. the kids can do whatever they want to him and he never runs away, just sits there and takes it. if we ever do go away, we have to have someone come and check on him or else he freaks out. his favorite punishment for ignoring him is dragging a loaf of bread out into the living room and tearing it up! WTH is that?? LOL
I wonder if he thinks he's a dog?

We have a Yellow Lab/Chow mix and he is such a great dog. He has a black tongue and a curly tail plus very strong shoulders which the Chow in him otherwise he looks just like a Lab. He is such a big baby, scared of storms, sleeps on either the couch or on our bed(when we are not home) and loves to play. We have 2 children with Down syndrome and Marley(Marley Robert after Bob Marley, pre-existing name) is so protective of them and so gentle with them. They can dress him up and do so much with him and he just looks at me like "mom are you going to help me here". When they are sick he is right there in their bedroom with them and watches over them. If we are horsing around with the girls and they start to make any kind of noise like screeming or we are wrestling he comes and puts his nose between the kids and us. If anyone strange comes to the house he is so vicious when he is at the door when they are home. He is a rescue dog and I don't know a lot about his history but his protectiveness and how he acts in various situations make me wonder if he was an outside dog or abused. Now with us he is so spoiled and loved. I wouldn't trade him for anything and the girls call him their brother which is so funny. All of your pets sound so wonderful!

Rusty Dawg is our 6-year old flame-point Siamese cat. He weighs 16 pounds and is currently on a diet, much to his dismay. He is always cold and his favorite place in the world to be is curled up on my husband when he's lying on the couch. He has some dog-like qualities, which is how his name originally got extended from Rusty to Rusty Dawg.

Penny is our 4-year old cat and a rescue, literally. My BIL and SIL were driving down the highway when they saw a furball fall from under the truck in front of them and run to safety in the grass. They circled back and found her and took her to the vet. Eventually she came to live with us. Rusty was very happy to have a friend. Penny is bitchy and her cry sounds like a baby. She doesn't like to be held, but has come to tolerate (and sometimes even enjoy) when we pet her. I wish she liked to be held because she is SO SOFT. She's a calico with beautiful gold eyes. She loves her Rusty Dawg (we call him her husband), but he is not AS fond of her as she is of him. She is scared to death of the dog and will hiss and growl when the dog comes within five feet of her.The dog just thinks it's funny. Penny's name has morphed from Penny to Pennywise and now we frequently call her "Miss Wise."

Nova is our 2 year old Great Dane/Akita mix. She's a handful and definitely the most "alpha" dog I have ever owned. She gets jealous when my husband and I hug, and squeezes in between us. Whatever we're doing, she has to be right there, too. It's not uncommon to hear someone shouting "Move, Nova!" in our house because she's always in the way. I've never had a dog get as excited as she does about going for a walk. She loves to play and she gets a little hyper sometimes. We have to put her in timeout occasionally to get her to calm down, but she's really a good dog. I was gone for the holiday weekend and when I came home she wouldn't leave my side. She had to be touching me at all times. If only people were so devoted to each other! Haha, I have a sign I picked up at the flea market one day that says, "Lord, make me the person my dog thinks I am."

Fun question! I enjoyed reading the responses. Thanks for asking!

I got my cat when she was just a kitten. She came from an old "cat lady's" place when they put the woman in a rest home. My cat was one of 87 cats she had been feeding.
She is pure white with one blue eye and one yellow eye. She will not let you pick her up and hold her but she lays on me all night in bed and usually sits on my lap when I'm on the computer. Right now she's at the foot of my bed snoozing and didnt notice that I'm not there.... yet. She purrs like crazy, loves being petted, plays fetch with little toy mice, plays rough and bites and acts very kittenish still at age 7. She's a small cat, not fat. She leaves white fur on everything so I have a zillion cat fur roller thingys all over the house. She's very entertaining, but the whole fur thing is a pain in the butt.. we cuss at her a lot for that reason.