Teacup Café XVIII

[Tessar]

Hmmm, I'm trying to decide what to do about a new dog.

I was planning to go and adopt a dog from a foster/shelter after May 25th, because that's when the schools that I teach at let out on. But now I'm reconsidering.

My thought was that I could then spend the majority of the summer with the dog, training it/helping it get comfortable in the house, and making sure it gets along with my mother's dog. But that was when I thought I would be getting a dog from the pound, and that it might have socialization issues due to being there.

However I've found a great place here in town that has extremely descriptive bios on all of the adoptable dogs, and it looks like all of the dogs are well loved and socialized (they have a no-kill policy. YAY!). Also I'm going to be taking a summer class, so while I'll only be gone two days a week for about four hours, it still kills the 'whole summer' idea .

I'm considering, now, maybe trying to get the dog in two weeks or so. I could possibly try to pick up the dog on a Friday evening, so then I'd have all day Saturday and the majority of Sunday to spend with it, then all Monday morning till the afternoon before work. My sister would be back from her classes by then, so she could keep an eye on the dogs. For Tuesday/Thursday I could possibly even convince my oldest sister to come home and spend a few hours with the dogs while I was at work.

I need to consider a plan of action, I'm not sure I can wait till May 25th!


I think I'll name it 'The Administration'. Then whenever anyone on the 'moot displeases me, I shall hold The Administration up to the screen and be able to say that the rule breaking has not gone unnoted by The Administration.


... I'm kidding, by the way.

[Mari]

Originally Posted by Tessar

I think I'll name it 'The Administration'. Then whenever anyone on the 'moot displeases me, I shall hold The Administration up to the screen and be able to say that the rule breaking has not gone unnoted by The Administration.

You should call your dog "It". That way you can threaten people saying that "It" is watching you... *Gasp!*
What kind of dog do you want?

[Tessar]

Something sweet and cuddly. A bit of a couch potatoe, so it wont mind cuddling with me while I surf the 'net on my bed... but of course I'd also like to take it out to some of the nature trails in my area.

The one I have my eye on is a red-colored lab/cocker mix. She's a very sweet dog, apparently, although I've yet to meet her. What caught my eye is that she's submissive, which will be good to allow my mother's dog to retain seniority--he's not dominant at all.

But really, anything will be good with me, so long as it's not a puppy, or a -big- dog. I want a lapdog.

[Mari]

sounds nice
You like going out onto some naturetrails you say. I guess that means you have some pretty natural surroundings then.
I'm so jealous! I love to go hiking. Our dog is getting a bit older now, but when we go out he has the tendency to take the biggest branch possible into his mouth (sometimes more than twice as big as he is) and then he will run back and forth while nearly hitting our legs with those things.
Dogs can be so funny

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by durinsbane2244

but, but...if he has a brain...that means that he's not a real president!

Wow Durinsbane...the logic is incredilbe Too bad you won't be around much longer to use it!!

(classic villain line)

[durinsbane2244]

aw...presidential threats...luckily, i've just discovered your falsehood, so you can't get me "taken care of"...ha...

[Earniel]

Well crap, my mother just confiscated my shiny new Children of Húrin...

*puts the kettle on because she has nothing better to do*

You know it's getting too late for you to hang out on the internet when you just wrote 'puts the cattle on' and have to think for ten seconds before you realise what is wrong with that sentence...

[Grey_Wolf]

Hi BB!

Things are quite allright! Still on the dole, tho!

Have just started the Third DYKT thread.

Am thinking about doing a FRIENDS along ME lines.

Aragorn as Ross
Legolas as Chandler
Gimli as Joe
Galadriel as Rachel
Eowyn as Monica
Goldberry as Phoebe

and proceed with the stories along FRIENDS lines.

What do u think?

Best
Gw

[Tessar]

Oh wow, I think my plans have been accelerated. o.O

I told my mom that I wanted to go out and look at the dogs tomorrow, and she looked a little alarmed and said, "You're getting one tomorrow?!"

I saw the weakness in her eyes and dove like a bomer locking on to his target.

"Oh no, only to look--I thought you might like to go out with me on Saturday to look again and maybe pick up the dog then."

To which she brightened considerably and agreed.

Unfortunately she didn't think the majority of the dogs I showed her looked very pretty, but she liked two in particular that I showed her. I'm not super concerned with her liking the dog's looks . But if she does, then that's just an added bonus.

[The last sane person]

So, you have yourself an adorable mutt now? Or will you be getting it soon enough?

Either way, I'm pretty sure most pound dogs aren't such wimpy creatures to need to be babied the whole way through. Mine certainly were not, but it varies from dog to dog. And, word of caution; the really submissive ones tend to be the most problematic, because they get so frustrated after a time, that they be come subversive and do things behind your back. Or go bonkers on the other dog.

You can train the weakling mentality out of them, but it takes a LOT of time. I suggest you get a middle of the pack mentality dog. That way, if it is shown that s/he is not the leader of the pack and you are, and you tell them that the other dog is ahead of them in line, they'll be cool with it without the nasty side effects of being overly submissive to every living thing. Its a more healthy mentality.

That's just my two bits.

[Tessar]

My plans have definitely accelerated.

I'll be going out tomorrow to look at the dogs, and if there's one or two that I really like, I'll go back out again on Saturday with my parents and our current dog to pick one... then I guess take it home.


I had a brain wave and suggested to my mom that I go buy the pet stuff tonight, so that our current dog would be used to seeing it (I know--lame, but still ) and she thought that was a good idea. I think she's probably just humoring me . Moms are sneaky that way... but I prefer to think that it's my genious brain .

So I got a doggy bed that'll be big enough to fit any of the dogs I saw on the site, a toy, some stain remover stuff (I'm expecting there may be a few accidents) and water/food bowls.



Thanks for the advice Sane. I'll definitely keep that in mind when I go out to look at the dogs tomorrow... I'm glad I'll be going with my sister... I think she might be less likely to rush me in trying to get to know the dogs I'm going to meet, so I'll have lots of time to try to get a feel for them.

People do call me a Dog Whisperer . I think more because of how much I love them than anything else, but then almost all dogs do seem to react really well to me, so there it is .

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

Originally Posted by Tessar

My plans have definitely accelerated.

I'll be going out tomorrow to look at the dogs, and if there's one or two that I really like, I'll go back out again on Saturday with my parents and our current dog to pick one... then I guess take it home.

Where are you going that you can bring a dog with?

I had a brain wave and suggested to my mom that I go buy the pet stuff tonight, so that our current dog would be used to seeing it (I know--lame, but still ) and she thought that was a good idea. I think she's probably just humoring me . Moms are sneaky that way... but I prefer to think that it's my genious brain .

So I got a doggy bed that'll be big enough to fit any of the dogs I saw on the site, a toy, some stain remover stuff (I'm expecting there may be a few accidents) and water/food bowls.

LOL Your mom loves you.

People do call me a Dog Whisperer . I think more because of how much I love them than anything else, but then almost all dogs do seem to react really well to me, so there it is .

I want a picture when you get the new baby home, DW.

[Rían]

Originally Posted by Tessar

... Moms are sneaky that way...

Don't tell my kids!

Thanks for the advice Sane. I'll definitely keep that in mind when I go out to look at the dogs tomorrow...

Also, I think those dogs that look really quiet and submissive are really just mostly fearful, and fearful dogs are the ones that will bite, IMO, and cause other problems. I think a more outgoing one is a healthier one.

[Rían]

Originally Posted by Eärniel

Well crap, my mother just confiscated my shiny new Children of Húrin...

What did you DO, girlfriend?!?!?!?

(Did it involve the police at all?)




(or is she just a Tolkien fan, too?)

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by sisterandcousinandaunt

Where are you going that you can bring a dog with?

This place: http://www.adltexas.org/

They actually insist that if you already have a pet, you bring it with you when you visit the new animal before bringing it home. So tomorrow I'm just going to meet'n'greet as it were. But Saturday I'll bring my mom's dog with me.

Originally Posted by sisterandcousinandaunt

I want a picture when you get the new baby home, DW.

Omg, you should neeeever have asked . I am going to take SO MANY PHOTOS of my baby, it wont even be funny. It's what I did with my gerbils ^_^.

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

Also, I think those dogs that look really quiet and submissive are really just mostly fearful, and fearful dogs are the ones that will bite, IMO, and cause other problems. I think a more outgoing one is a healthier one.

You're probably quite right. And in thinking about everything Sane and yourself have said, I think my top dog-to-meet tomorrow is going to be one named Boo-Boo (if you go to the site, and the pet profiles, she's near the bottom of the page when you click on 'Unit 5B'). She's pretty, and she's outgoing it looks like.

Also, if she likes to play, maybe she can help my mom's dog some. It took us -ages- just to teach him to play with his bunny rabbit... at first he would pounce on it if we threw it, but then stand back up and look at us. Now he'll pick it up, shake it around, pounce on it, and run back and forth with it... but it took us quite a while to get him to see how to enjoy it! He loves his bunny tho' ^_^.

Also I will not lie: Boo-Boo is a kickass name . I love silly names... I am unfortunately rather on the side of the OVERLY CUTE NAMES FOR PETS fanclub. It was with effort that I named my fish Leto and my gerbils Sam, Jola, and Val. When I had two baby rabbits I could name, I named them Buttercup and Foo-foo, much to my sisters' and parents' horror . I was about 14 then, but still... I'D DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN! O(>.<)O

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

What did you DO, girlfriend?!?!?!?

Nuthin'.

But it's my birthday next month and usually that means a moratorium on buying books 'till then. It's an agreement in our family so people don't end up buying books as gifts only to find out the birthday person already bought them him- or herself just a few days ago.

It has evolved a bit in the direction that you sometimes know exactly what you're getting but you still get the satisfaction of unraveling gifts and getting them from somebody else. In fact it has happened more than once that I was sent out to buy my own chirstmas gifts under a ruse, (yes, mothers are sneaky like that ) only to hand them over and get them back a few weeks later wrapped in giftpaper. 'cos we're weird like that.

So I'll likely get the book next month and find the money on my desk with the rest she still owes me for my sister's gifts.

[durinsbane2244]

very nice...how far did you get in it, though?

[Earniel]

Not a page, didn't even have time to take the plastic wrapping off it.

[Tessar]

HAH! That's great .

My family completely gave up on the idea of surprising each other with gifts -years- ago. Now we just say, "So, what do you want for your birthday/christmas?"

Although I usually have -no- idea what I'm getting, because my memory is COMPLETELY CRAPPY. I asked my sister for a Norah Jones CD for Christmas, and then the week before Christmas she put my CD under the tree, and I stared at the bag for a second and then said, "Wait... what CD did you get me?"

But she wouldn't tell me, and I couldn't remember till I'd opened it up. Yes, my memory is that bad. I got it from my mother. My dad's good with remembering stuff.

[Earniel]

Heheh, bad memory is good for gifts, I guess. You're always surprised. We do make wish-lists for birthdays or christmas, but they're not exclusive, just so you'd know what people would like.