I have thought about asking this for a long time, but just never got around to it.
Talking with a friend tonight brought it back to my mind, so I thought I would ask and see what the general consensus was.
This friend and many others like him, think that dogs are just dogs and they don't need things done a certain way because "they are just dogs."
In particular, there have been numerous times over the years where I've heard people say they let their dogs or cats drink water out of the toilet.
To me that is disgusting and since I wouldn't get water from there, why would I let my dog.
Another is that I wash my girls food bowl each time I feed her. I feed her kibble with a little wet food mixed in. If she had just dry food, I still would. She gets the bowl slobbery and I like her to have a clean bowl.
When I used to crate her, I washed her bedding at least once per week, but most often, twice per week. She used a sheet, because that's the only thing she wouldn't chew and destroy.
These are just a few examples, but mainly the ones that people say I'm obsessed with. I'm talking general conversation with people I work with, friends and family.
Am I obsessed or is this the norm for you guys as well?
My dogs drink filtered water out of the fridge. I won't lie I had to have a talk with my roommate about this. 1) the fridge is closer 2) that tap water is yellow WTF is in it?!? 3) my dogs eat better than me they should at least drink to my minimum.
Now I feel guilty bc I only clean their bowls when I can't stand to look at them, beds are the same but they normally sleep with me.
You realize bringing this up to me will create a monster right?!?
Lets see:
- home made meat/stew/veggy breakfast, made in a crock pot (for morning feeding)
- evening meal kibble $85/bag including our ripoff 13% sales tax
- only 100% organic treats
- filter reverse osmosis water, and nicely chilled in the fridge
- water bowl gets cleaned at every fill up / Kelly is a mouth washer, sometimes
- never a kennel stay / they live with us for life
- leather sectional to nap on / in master bed, at night
- 7 pm nightly, is Kelly's time with Mom on couch / one naps, other watches TV
- Kelly gets licks off Dad's raspberry fruit bar, at night
- late evening, Kelly gets a little tiny bit of bed time cereal & milk / last bite from Dad's bowl
NO - we don't spoil our 4 legged mini-me's much...LOL.
Former Amy got sprayed by a skunk, one night.
Stup*d me thought it was a black cat & sicked the dog, onto the prey.
- Amy never slept alone (that night either), and she could not sleep in the master bed
- she had her own leather love seat, but sleeping without Dad for one night wasn't going to happen
- so we covered up the leather couch with old blankets
- and stinky girl & Dad shared a pillow, face to face one night / as Amy refused to sleep on hardwood floors
When Amy got old and couldn't make the climb to second floor master bed:
- senior girl and Dad slept together on a Futon we setup in the living room
In her final 4 months, she never had to cry for family affection / given depleting mobility.
- every night (during this time) Dad would whisper in Amy's ear
- her 5 minute puppy story, that changing my life
- old Amy loved this story time, with Dad sharing a pillow
- and how we were the luckiest mom & dad, in the whole world to share a life time with our lovely girl
Please, dont even get me started. I think in our case the most ridiculous example is that the dogs get human grade brand name supplements (fish oil, etc) that are ordered online while the humans get the store brand supplements from Walmart.
I try to find a balance. He is a dog, but he is also a living creature that should be treated with respect and be cared for properly.
He gets water from the tap, we use local spring water in a giant 5 gallon tap thingy. Water bowl is washed twice a week and food bowls are used once then washed because of raw. We have 10 stainless steel bowls we rotate. Bedding is washed twice a month.
Supplements (fish oil, vit e) are whole foods 365 house brand, because that is where we shop a lot and its easy to grab!
He sleeps on one of his many beds, the floor or our sofa. He doesn't need our bed
I'm along similar lines as BFL. Yes, they are family, but yes, they are animals.
They drink straight tap water while we run ours through a Pur filter. Ceramic crock water bowls generally get rinsed and the dog slobber film wiped off when they are refilled. If they look extra yucky, I'll clean them with dish soap. Outdoor bowl and bucket get refilled/rinsed when they need it.
They are fed a decent quality food and all the bowls are washed after dinner. They'd probably happily eat off the floor, though.
Beds get washed when they get stinky. My couch could probably stand a good cleaning, because they all like to be on it.
Toilet water no. Mud puddles no. But I long ago gave up trying to keep my dogs from drinking from streams, rivers and lakes. Tap water in Portland is fabulous. Fresh rainwater from a pristine mountain watershed. So tap water it is.
Where we are very "particular" is that our dogs are never allowed on any furniture. From the first day they arrive at our house they are never allowed on couches, chairs, or beds. It would never even occur to them to climb up on furniture. They have nice dog beds placed around the house.
We also never allow the boys to beg at meal time. Since they have never been fed from the table, they rarely even bother to come into the dining room while we are eating.
McCoy gets a lot of stuff added to his kibble, so his food bowl (vintage McCoy ceramic dog dish LOL) gets washed after each meal. The water bowl gets cleaned and refilled about 3 times a day.
I other areas, we are painfully lax. For example:
- the bedding is lucky if it gets washed twice a year.
-they are allowed to travel unrestrained in our vehicles..... even in the Jeep with the top off.
-When using a chest halter for walking, McCoy is allowed to pull. I get a lot of comments on that... "whose walking who?"
-McCoy never gets bathed. But thats actually a concerted choice on my part.
-Alert barking in the house is never discouraged.
There are a lot of other examples of things we allow that many other dog owners would find inappropriate. Everyone has different priorities I guess.
Oooh yes. Much of this thread sounds very familiar. With my dogs I am BEYOND picky. Only I can do things because only I do it "right" (drives my husband batty). Nails clipped twice a week, ears clean every week, bathed every other month, trimmed every two weeks. Homemade raw diet and a dozen supplements. Dishes washed after every meal (how could you not?) Only the best matching collars, harnesses, bandanas, leashes, tags, and Rubits. They have the entire backseat of our Dodge Ram Rebel rigged with dog beds for their comfort. They go EVERYWHERE. Spoiled rotten brats.
They do drink water from the tap but so do we. We have a well and our water is delicious.
When it comes to my other critters I am not nearly as fussy. You can't really be fussymwith ducks and chickens... they eat dirt and poo every two seconds.
I am not particular about sitting on a couch with dog hair, but abhor slimy dishes!
:grin2:
Here is a hint some people might want. I am buying a red couch that will go with my brown and white cowhide rug. Lily's black and white hair will rule the couch!
Mine are either hand fed or fed off of plates and those are washed every day. The water dish is picked up and washed every night just before we go to bed and left to dry till morning.
Their eating towels are washed every second day or if they have an rmb or messy meal.
They sleep with me no exceptions. While feeding times are varied they are fed three times a day. I source all their food as they are raw fed. On occasion I purchase premade raw from a trusted source only. I make 99% of their treats anything purchased is single protein no flours of any kind and nothing I wouldn't ingest myself. I currently average 100lbs a month of meat turned into treats. If I end up with 50 lbs after cooking I consider myself lucky although the average is much less. I am currently tracking with both dogs 5 times a week, scent detection with both dogs every second night, and Sienna is in agility.
They are both candy pigs and on the occasion I have some I do share. The only time they beg shamelessly is when I have candy.
While they are dogs they are spoiled and treated very well I have expectations and they live up to them.
I think i am most particular about their diet. My current 3 dogs eats around 80kgs worth of raw a month. They eat air flown imported meat (beef and lamb as we dont produce great quality of both meats) and wild caught salmon much more often than i do. I am normally questioned at the checkout if i operate a restaurant lol. While they gobble down hundreds of dollars of meat per month, i will be eating take out at times lol.
I am also particular on not feeding them under the table. Since they have such good food, i just want to enjoy my takeout in peace lol. If there are table scraps for them, it will always be fed in their own food bowls and not hand it out to them from my plate. I can now have 3 dogs around and enjoy a bag of chips watching tv without any of them paying any interest. Yay! I am quite anal too that they dont take their food outside of the food bowl e.g. pulling their raw and placing it on the floor while chewing. They now know how to hover their heads on top of their bowls so if it falls, it goes straight back into their bowl lol. I wash their bowls after every meal, 2 times a day.
I hate people close to me making unconstructive remarks about my dogs. I turn into a porcupine and this really mean person when they do. Eg comments about 'why do u let your dogs on the bed, or why dont u board your dogs when u come home for christmas. Think my meanest remarks to my family was 'well, i come in a package now with my dogs. U either have me and them for christmas or none of us. I didnt ask u not to bring your kids or husband back right? (Ouch).
Other than that, i am pretty easy. They get water from the tap, i have also given up stopping them from drinking from the toilet bowl. Sigh.
I live in malaysia and we dont get good training tools e.g. freedom harness is usd29+usd29 for shipping (cold sweat). I am particular about shampoos as one of my girl has sensitive skin. So a bottle costs about usd 40 where regular shampoos here costs half or 1/3 of the price.
I am an evil mom as they only get treats for doing nothing twice a month. I need treats to be really high value only used during training. I have received comments from my fellow doggy friends on why i am so cruel, sigh.
Bluedobie - hopefully after reading these posts you realize you're not alone. I too never allowed my pups to drink from the toilet. Also, I wash Uschi's food bowls after each meal and wash her water bowl once a day although I do use tap water. If we get our typical algae bloom in our reservoir in August this year I'll probably use the same bottled water I use for myself. The tap water is safe to drink but it's funky tasting. And yeah, I wash her bedding at least once a week. She gets to be on the couch with my wife or climb on me in my chair when we're home. But the bed is off limits (although she has a 4" thick dog bed on the bottom of her crate)! :grin2:
I am not to particular , in fact he considers me inconsiderate.
His water bowl is filtered and the PH is regulated but i like to swim in it , to make matters worse for him on the hot days i refuse to leave the door to the house open so he can stand in the doorway feeling the rush of cold air leaving as he watches in dismay at my antics in his bowl.
Sometimes i will set a food bowl down and leave the room and not stand there and adore and marvel at a doberman eating his food.
I am constantly covering the furniture with blankets even though i know he likes his furniture natural and it is a real inconvenience for him to remove all this material so he can get comfortable .
Since he destroyed his toy box after removing all his toys first. I am refusing to retrieve bear and hotdog in the bun from underneath the couch, yes i have issues!
Brandy gets chiropractic once a month which is more than my husband who has had four back surgeries! I wash their bowls occasionally, will probably do that tonight since you reminded me. I do wash their bedding about once a week, maybe every other. Brandy can be leaky at times so I do hers more.
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