Dear Pet: I need to tell you something but I don't know how

[Dr T]

We vacuum daily and even with that, when we finish vacuuming your pet hair still get all over the place, it gets on the carpet, it gets on the cloths before we have time to put them away and I feel anger toward you and I feel disappointment at you living in my house. That's right MY house. We only let you live here with us.

[Vort]

You are worth less than a human being. Any human being. Which is unfair, considering how noble and loving you are and how awful some human beings can be. But it doesn't matter. That's just the way it is. I may love you better than I love some humans, but they still come before you in importance. This is why my ancestors used to eat your ancestors, why I would still feed you to my children if they were starving. This is why your brothers and cousins are used in test labs to try to find better cures or better treatments, or sometimes just better mascara, for human beings.

 

You do indeed have eternal worth. You are not mere chattel for our use or enjoyment. But regardless of the actions and opinions of some misguided souls, you are not human, nor are you the moral equivalent of humans. Sorry, that's tough to know, but it's the truth. I suppose we can be glad that you don't know it and can't understand us saying it to you.

 

Now go put on your shark costume and ride the vacuum.

 

[Iggy]

That is one sick human to do that to their pets. The cat must be drugged and that poor dog is humiliated. Just look at its expression. 

 

Dr. T - if you still have pet hairs all over even after vacuuming, you just might need a new vacuum cleaner. Also ever consider brushing your pet? Do it outside and dispose of the accumulated hair/fur in a paper bag, then dispose of the hair/fur in a park so the birds can use it for nesting. 

 

Can't remember if you have a cat or dog. My dog loved to be vacuumed. Used the hose attachment and the small upholstery attachment - http://www.bissell.com/parts/?sc=part&partid=4380&kpid=203-6653&kpid=203-6653  similar to this one. I would brush her as we sat on the porch, then vacuum her. Brush some more and finish off with a thorough vacuuming. The two cats I had insisted they get brushed too. But they wouldn't sit still for the vacuuming. Always thought had I started them out as kittens, then it would have never been a problem.

[Guest]

+1 for pet snakes!

[pam]

I vacuum all of the time with two dogs.  Each time I do a small section I have to empty the canister and I feel like I've gained another dog.  Hard to believe they lose that much hair in that short of time.

[PolarVortex]

No carpets... hardwood floors.  But I sweep up enough white cat hair each week to open a good-sized first-aid station.

 

I do it joyfully and with gratitude.  He's the best thing next to a wife and kids.

[Windseeker]

[PolarVortex]

What a touching poem.  

 

The only dog poem I know was one I memorized in 3rd grade, author unknown:

 

We had a dog

His name was Spot

Whenever we cooked

He licked the pot

Whenever we ate

He never forgot

To lick the dishes.

Thanks a lot!

[Dr T]

That is one sick human to do that to their pets. The cat must be drugged and that poor dog is humiliated. Just look at its expression. 

 

Dr. T - if you still have pet hairs all over even after vacuuming, you just might need a new vacuum cleaner. Also ever consider brushing your pet? Do it outside and dispose of the accumulated hair/fur in a paper bag, then dispose of the hair/fur in a park so the birds can use it for nesting. 

 

Can't remember if you have a cat or dog. My dog loved to be vacuumed. Used the hose attachment and the small upholstery attachment - http://www.bissell.com/parts/?sc=part&partid=4380&kpid=203-6653&kpid=203-6653  similar to this one. I would brush her as we sat on the porch, then vacuum her. Brush some more and finish off with a thorough vacuuming. The two cats I had insisted they get brushed too. But they wouldn't sit still for the vacuuming. Always thought had I started them out as kittens, then it would have never been a problem.

He is a huge white dog. He goes from room to room leaving his hair everywhere. We have a very powerful central vacuum. Good call with vacuuming the dog. The kids did that some.

[Bini]

We have carpet upstairs in bedrooms but our dogs are not allowed up there. Rest of the house is tile or hardwood floors, which they are allowed to walk on, but no obvious hair until I sweep and mop.

[Dr T]

Wiggles, we had you nine years. U swam and swam hung out with other fish and u were lke a friend. U wiggled to move and u were a survivor fish that fell to tile floor and u serviced. He would float but didn't die then I'd starts swimming again. I miss you. (from Isaiah age 12)

[Guest]

Okay... I'm not sure if I mentioned it here... but my house is a zoo.  Lots of pets including 3 dogs.  All throughout my life, I've never not had a dog.  Usually I have at least 2.  When I still lived with my mother, we had at least 12...

 

So, my shed-minimizer technique is tried and tested.. this is tailored for dogs but it also applies to cats.

1.)  Pick a less-shedding breed.  Breeds like Bichon frises and poodles don't drop hair on the floor when they shed.  Instead, it gets trapped in their coat.  So, you take the dog outside, put on a smock and brush the coat out to free the trapped hair... your furniture will be none the wiser.

      Newfoundlands will blow their entire coat in the summer.  Talk about shedding one full member of One Direction.

      Just because a dog has short hair doesn't mean it sheds less.  I contend that vacuuming a Golden Retriever's hair is easier than vacuuming the "pine needles" of English Bulldogs.

      Note:  I have 2 English Bulldogs and a Bichon.  My brother had a Golden Retriever.

 

2.)  Give the dog good nutrition.  I feed my dogs raw meat.  Nothing else.  Pure unadulterated protein and fat.  No carbs, no sugar.  EFA is essential for healthy coat that will shed only what needs to be shed.  So that, shedding mostly comes in seasons - from spring to summer - and minimally the rest of the time.

 

3.)  Daily grooming.  Just like the kids have to brush their hair in the morning, dogs get to brush theirs too.  Except, dogs can't brush their own hair... Takes 10 minutes but priceless in minimizing hair on furniture and floors.  Grooming has lots of benefits for dog and human as well - from reduced risk of ingesting fur balls to great chance to do cursory inspection to bonding time and reinforcing of the pack hierarchy, etc.

 

4.) Bath only as needed.  My Bichon goes to the professional groomers once a month.  The English Bulldogs gets a bath only as needed - usually once every 3 months or so.  Bathing strips hair of essential oils... oils that is needed to keep the hair from shedding out of season.

 

5.) Watch for illness - after all this, the dog still sheds a lot, this might be an indication that the dog is sick...

 

And to clean the house -

1.)  If possible, go for hard floors instead of carpet and leather or vinyl furniture.   Hair don't stick to those.

 

2.)  Invest in a Roomba!  It's awesome!  I schedule the thing to run 4 times a day - 1/4 of the house at a time.  Then I vacuum the house with the Dyson DC25 once or twice a week.

 

3.)  Air filters.  They're well worth the money.

 

That's all, folks.

[Iggy]

My dog was a mix of: Her mothers father was St. Bernard+ German Shepard, mother was Gordon Setter. Mama mated with a German Shepard mix from across the street. 

 

Lady was the runt of the litter. At her heaviest she weighed 70 pounds. She had the black ridge on her back, then layered with dark brown, golden brown, golden blond, then white on her entire underside. She had the setter feathers on the back of her legs and the white fluffy bib on her chest. Her tail was magnificent - hold it by the tip and it was feathered with the exact colors of her back and sides with the white on the underside. She also had the thick, fluffy pantaloons fur on her butt. 

 

Every summer I had to cut the pantaloons off. I left 3" - because there was no getting to skin. I used a curry comb to get all the packed fur out. Took me nearly four hours to groom her for summer. The fur I brushed off and cut off fit packed tight into a paper grocery bag. I gave it to a gal, and she would spin it into yarn. 

 

Lady had to get a bath every Wed. and Saturday. She went to work with hubby #1 - and he worked at the garbage dump. Lady took great delight in rolling around in the most grotesque, rotted, stinking gunk. Even knowing that she had to go home locked in the trunk of my Grand Prix - she still rolled in awful stuff. She loved her baths. I used the cheapest shampoo I could get diluted 1 part shampoo to 4 parts water. I diluted hair conditioner the same, poured it on her and worked it in good. All this in the bathtub and me using the personal shower with an added 6' hose attached. 

 

I would close the shower curtain and she would shake. Then I would grab her by the sides shake her and quickly close the shower curtain so she would shake again. Then it was drying time. Her bath towel was 4 old towels sewn together, as one towel. Before I ever let her in the house, I put beach towels on all the furniture so when she came out of the bathroom, she wouldn't get the sofa and chairs wet when she rubbed on them. 

 

I let her out of the bathroom, and then it was my turn to shower. By the time I was done she was well on her way to being dry, and more than ready to be brushed down. 

 

With her, I vacuumed every day, and swept the two vinyl floors every day also. But I also brushed her as we sat on the porch every day. Rain or shine, she got brushed. She was my best friend, and through grooming her I was comforted. It brought me peace. Husband was abusive. He wasn't around much. So during those times Lady and I comforted each other. 

 

Oh, another thing, every cat I have ever had was given baths. Only one cat was bathed in the bathroom sink. All the others ended up getting in the tub while I was trying to take my own bath. I started them all out bathing when they were kittens, and they ended up liking it. Never failed that they came to me dirty & infested with fleas. I have always used hair conditioner diluted 1 part conditioner to 4 parts water on all my cats and the dog. Seems to deter the ticks mostly, and the fleas some. But I am a great fan of Advantage. Good product. 

Edited February 5, 2015 by Iggy

[Traveler]

I was raised with many pets - some of them we used for our food.  I know of no animal that by their nature would choose to live in a house.  The only animals I know that live in houses are those forced or trained against their nature to do so.  I believe that every creature is an individual with its own capabilities to adapt to its environment but those that keep animals in their personal living space - do so, I believe, primarily for their selfish pleasure and not because of a actual need of their pet.

 

I do not despise or hate anyone for keeping their pets in their homes that was designed specifically for humans.  Please do not despise or hate me for keeping my pets in a separate place designed specifically for them.

[Guest]

I was raised with many pets - some of them we used for our food.  I know of no animal that by their nature would choose to live in a house.  The only animals I know that live in houses are those forced or trained against their nature to do so.  I believe that every creature is an individual with its own capabilities to adapt to its environment but those that keep animals in their personal living space - do so, I believe, primarily for their selfish pleasure and not because of a actual need of their pet.

 

I do not despise or hate anyone for keeping their pets in their homes that was designed specifically for humans.  Please do not despise or hate me for keeping my pets in a separate place designed specifically for them.

 

I know of no person that I personally know who would rather live in their 1500 sq foot house and work for a living 40 hours a week than go live for free in a mansion on... say, the carribean, with food delivered to them when they're hungry and clothes laundered and pressed and hung back in the closet the minute they shed it... with the whole day to for them to do with at their leisure.

 

Sorry, we don't eat our pets.  We eat our farm animals.  Our pets have their specific purpose... and yes, I get to decide that purpose.  Something about being the stewards and all that.

 

Not hating on you... just feeling the dig.

[askandanswer]

I know of no animal that by their nature would choose to live in a house.  The only animals I know that live in houses are those forced or trained against their nature to do so.  

 

It used to be quite common when I was a kid for people to let their dogs roam around the neighbourhood when and where they wanted, and to only come back to the residence of their owners if and when they wanted to, which they almost always wanted to do. I also know many people who still let their cats do this, and they have a little cat flap built into their back door so the cat can come and go as it pleases. Surely in both cases, the pet is exercising some choice about where and how it will live. When the dog wants to go out he scratches and whines at the door, and he does the same when he wants to come in. So he/they seems to have the best of both worlds - to come and go as and where and when they please. 

 

those that keep animals in their personal living space - do so, I believe, primarily for their selfish pleasure and not because of a actual need of their pet.

 

Lots of pets need warm sheltered safe places to stay with plenty of food and protection against other nasty dogs and cats. Most of the time, from what I have seen, living in a home with people is extremely conducive to the needs of the animals that live there. I'm guessing that this is even more so with domesticated animals that have been living in homes for many generations and have never known or imagined any other kind of existence. And soooo many pet owners invest lots of time money and effort in addressing the needs of their pets. 

 

Having said this, I will acknowledge that I have always wanted to have a pet cockatoo or galah, but I couldn't in good conscience do that because I feel it would be cruel and unnatural to keep a bird like a cockatoo or a galah in a cage. I picture them as big, independent, freedom loving birds. However, I have no qualms about keeping a cockatiel in a big cage in the kitchen, although she does spend quite a bit of time out of the cage roaming around inside the house wherever she wants. She seems to really enjoy interacting with people and she comes from a long line of caged pet birds. As far as I can tell, all of her needs are well provided for.

Edited February 6, 2015 by askandanswer

[Guest]

Having said this, I will acknowledge that I have always wanted to have a pet cockatoo or galah, but I couldn't in good conscience do that because I feel it would be cruel and unnatural to keep a bird like a cockatoo or a galah in a cage. I picture them as big, independent, freedom loving birds.

 

If you really want one, you need to check out free flight training!  The father of it is Chris Biro.  He is an entertainer who does skits with his flighted macaws... you know - like the ones in Sea World or Bush Gardens bird shows where they have birds swooping all over the place and they always come back to the trainer or the "exit stage left" places...  Anyway, he trains the macaws for free flight for his shows and that started some kind of an avalanche where people started to be interested in learning his training techniques to teach their own pet birds for free flight.

 

All my birds are free flyers - except for the rescue Amazon (clipped before getting flighted so he's never flown in his life).  It takes some dedication to teach a bird but its not harder than teaching an English Bulldog to chase and return a Frisbee.

 

Anyway, here's a vid I got off youtube of a flighted Cockatoo.  Cool, huh?

[Dr T]

Lucy,

You run and u run girl do u run! You race cars along the fence line and u bark with a viscous sound with the hair on the back of your neck standing tall. We have some "warning guard dog" signs up to protect the neighbors but they are really to protect you. U scratch at the door to be let in and I dislike that because I don't like scratches and prefer things looking nice and new. You had beautiful chocolate brown hair with amazingly radiant green eyes. You ran off one evening and came back pregnant with a Great Dane's puppies. Girl I was not happy. U used to bark a lot at the deers in the yard and chase squirrels up trees. Youve caught two which make some of the kids sad. You are skiddish when people walk past you when u lay down. U have never been hit/abused in any way. U try to bite our closest neighbor when he tries to pet u. U embarrass me. And u protect our property and children. U r doing your job. I will keep u Lucy-fur.

[Guest]

Lucy,

You run and u run girl do u run! You race cars along the fence line and u bark with a viscous sound with the hair on the back of your neck standing tall. We have some "warning guard dog" signs up to protect the neighbors but they are really to protect you. U scratch at the door to be let in and I dislike that because I don't like scratches and prefer things looking nice and new. You had beautiful chocolate brown hair with amazingly radiant green eyes. You ran off one evening and came back pregnant with a Great Dane's puppies. Girl I was not happy. U used to bark a lot at the deers in the yard and chase squirrels up trees. Youve caught two which make some of the kids sad. You are skiddish when people walk past you when u lay down. U have never been hit/abused in any way. U try to bite our closest neighbor when he tries to pet u. U embarrass me. And u protect our property and children. U r doing your job. I will keep u Lucy-fur.

 

 

Dear Lucy... I apologize for your skin-dad's bigotry against the Great Danes... I know how much you loved his majesty and how much you risked just to be with him for a time.  Your skin-dad will never allow you to get married and he'll probably give away your children.  It's ok, girl... the Dane will come and come hell or high water you will see your love one again.

 

I'm just playing. 

[askandanswer]

If you really want one, you need to check out free flight training!  The father of it is Chris Biro.  He is an entertainer who does skits with his flighted macaws... you know - like the ones in Sea World or Bush Gardens bird shows where they have birds swooping all over the place and they always come back to the trainer or the "exit stage left" places...  Anyway, he trains the macaws for free flight for his shows and that started some kind of an avalanche where people started to be interested in learning his training techniques to teach their own pet birds for free flight.

 

All my birds are free flyers - except for the rescue Amazon (clipped before getting flighted so he's never flown in his life).  It takes some dedication to teach a bird but its not harder than teaching an English Bulldog to chase and return a Frisbee.

 

Anyway, here's a vid I got off youtube of a flighted Cockatoo.  Cool, huh?

 

Lol, Thanks Tess

 

underinflated footballs, shed minimizer techniques and now free flight traning, to name just a few. I continue to be surprised at the extent of your areas of expertise

[Guest]

Lol, Thanks Tess

 

underinflated footballs, shed minimizer techniques and now free flight traning, to name just a few. I continue to be surprised at the extent of your areas of expertise

 

Ooohh... I'm blushing now.  :)

 

If only I can be expert at knitting and sherbet.

[mordorbund]

Dear Cat,

 

Lately you've been acting like your name is too common for someone as special as yourself. I frankly admit that you are indeed special - if I fought on the wrong side in the premortal existence I would not have a body today. So congratulations to your species for that, I guess. But that doesn't warrant a fancy name (put your ears back down, I'm not calling you fancy). You serve a function in our family and it will be best if we all remember it. There's a reason that we remind others to include pets in their food storage planning. So far, they've only bought extra pet food - I don't think I'm getting through. But my family understands. I don't think they agree, but they understand. And it will be easier on everyone, when the time comes, if you are simply named what you are and not for a person (you should be grateful for this, as I wanted to call you "Governor Boggs" at the start). I understand how human emotion works, that's why you're named Cat. That's also why, if anyone asks, I'll just say we're having 4-legged chicken.

[Guest]

Wow, my pets can't read.

[AngelMarvel]

I tried twice to comment here about for my one dog and my one bird. When I went to add a picture each time something happened and I lost the whole post. So I will try again later.

 

But... I love this thread so much that I am adding something like this to my forum next month.

 

Great idea!

Edited February 7, 2015 by AngelMarvel