When my husband retired he bought his first DSLR Camera. We were all subjected to his “inspiration” but our dogs were especially so. After a while they refused to look at him when he pointed the camera at them. I really think they had got bored with the whole thing.
The quick answer is absolutely. You simply have to do a search on Google and you’ll get photographs and Youtube videos by the bundle that will be offered as easy proof. Such happy companions, cuddling together on the couch. And I too have had cats and dogs that have got along, played together, slept together, or at the very least said hello with a rollover.
But here I have to be honest. I have had some cats and dogs that hated each other. Often this was caused by an error in judgement either by the cat or the dog.
We had this beautiful black and white cat, one of those tuxedo cats. He was the friendliest cat I had ever had…with people that is. He had a personality flaw that the other animals tolerated but found obnoxious: he was a teaser. Blackie (that was his rather unoriginal name) would find something that irritated the other animal and do it over and over. With his cat-sister, it was to cut her off. He would come from behind at a trot and run ahead of her and make a quick left or right in front of her. She often had to stop abruptly to avoid walking into him. I could see that this habit of his irked her, but I could not see a way to stop him from doing it.
He used to love to sit on the chair directly in front of the busiest entrance in the house so he could keep track of those coming in and out of the backyard. Whenever my sheltie passed by Blackie on his prestigious chair, Blackie would give the sheltie a paw to the butt end. The sheltie put up with this. After all, the cat wasn’t taking out his claws; he was just taping him. Then one evening, when my sheltie was suffering from a sore leg, Blackie gave him the usual tap as my sheltie limped by. All hell broke lose. My sheltie barked and growled directly in Blackie’s face, exactly three times. Blackie backed away, sliding backwards off the chair through the hole below the low rail on the backrest and ending up under the table looking both aghast and astonished. After that they were mortal enemies.
And then there was the dog I adopted from the shelter. Immediately on his arrival at his forever home, he chased my cat up a tree. That ended any chances of the two of them becoming buddies. Even though I gave the dog a lecture, he chased the cat several more times before finally realizing that the cat belonged on the property. After that, he only chased strange cats, but it didn’t matter, the damage had been done. Whenever he got close to the cat, the cat hissed at him, and it sounded as if he was blowing up balloons so the dog was well-warned.
Not long ago I had to move my mother into a nursing home and I took her cats into my home. I asked Memie how she felt about my dog Sadie and this is the answer I got.
A Mourning Dove in my back yard.
Have you ever seen a fat bird? No, probably not. But fat cats and dogs are, unfortunately, not an uncommon sight. I have to admit that my dogs are not on the thin side. I try to cut back on their regular meals but then the treats are slipped in here and there and now the veterinarian is giving me the evil eye. “He had lost weight,” he says, “What happened?” Well…
One reason is that we tend to equate feeding with love. “Good doggy,” I say and offer up a tasty morsel. Of course, if they are in the car with me, I have to reward them for being so well-behaved. (There’s a bag of treats in the glove compartment.) And I always keep a pocket full of treats in case I need to call them back to me in a hurry. I snap the clicker a couple of times, and they come running for their treat. Such good dogs. Then if I want to put them in their “special room” while we eat or sit with our human visitors, they need a treat for enticement. And so it goes.
Thank goodness they like to run after the ball or I just don’t know what they would look like.
My dogs are supposed to be working dogs. I know what that is suppose to mean: that they are intelligent and energetic.
I invite you to watch this youtube video if you don’t believe me. This is not my video but I found it quite informative and entertaining.
Now, consider my dogs. Last fall we were driving with them in the car in the backseat. They were both fast asleep when I shouted, “Sheep, sheep, look guys some sheep.”
But the word meant nothing to them and when I opened the door to show them the sheep, neither one of them seemed to recognize that there was something out there of any interest to them.
Bunch of city slickers, I told them. They just yawned and went back to sleep.
This is what happens when a Teddy Bear joins the menagerie. Momma’s got a brand new muse!
The following are questions I’ve secretly asked myself about my own dogs. I found the answers through internet research. Here I provide a short answer, and I have provided links where I found the best information should you want further knowledge.
Do dogs have boogers?
My dog has a very long snout so I figured that was the reason I never saw boogers coming out of his nose. In fact, it is rare to see dogs with anything hanging out of their nose unless they are sick. Mucus in a dog can be caused by an infection, allergies and injuries. If your dog has mucus running out of his nose you should bring him to the vet. This is not the same as little bit of watery discharge, which is normal.
http://www.pawster.com/dogs-boogers/
Do dogs dream and have nightmares?
Dogs go through similar sleep stages as humans. Within 20 minutes of falling asleep a dog will often start to twitch, quiver, paw-swim, and even growl. What do they dream about? They often relive the activities they experience during the day. That is, a dog will dream about chasing a ball, or barking at the mailman, or taking a walk with his pal. I assume that a working sheep dog will occasionally dream about a flock of sheep. (I don’t know if he will count them.)
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201010/do-dogs-dream
How often should I trim my dog’s claws?
I was in hospital and afterwards convalescing over several weeks. When I finally felt well enough to get down to the living-room, I noticed that when my dogs walked across the laminate floor their claws made a clicking noise, a sound that can drive me to distraction. As soon as I was feeling up to it, I got out the clippers and trimmed their claws. It’s winter and my dogs don’t get a chance to “file” their claws down on pavement or gravel or rocky surfaces so their claws were quite long.
Some vets recommend you clip a dog’s claws weekly to get him accustomed to the procedure. I find that if I have the luxury of doing it weekly, I rarely need to use the clipper, I just use a file made special for dog claws.
So when should you clip your dog’s claws? When he needs it. Check weekly and try to clip them at least monthly. Pay special attention to the dew claw which can curl back into the dog’s paw.
http://www.preventivevet.com/dogs/how-often-should-you-cut-your-dogs-nails
Can a dog outsmart me?
I always thought I’d love to have a border collie. It seems that they are more than well represented at obedience trials and show trials. However, I have spoken to a number of border collie owners and some have actually told me that they would never own another one. When I asked why, they said, “Because he outsmarts me.” And I thought, “Oh come on.”
But research proves it. If you don’t stimulate your smart dog’s brain, he will outsmart you. And that means that he will likely do so in destructive ways like collaborating with the cat to get food off the cupboard—this happened to me with a Labrador Retriever. Just check these dog shaming pictures. I think you will see that smart dogs are well represented.
This is my dog’s shaming picture.
And the following site will give you a list of the most intelligent dogs.
https://www.caninejournal.com/most-intelligent-dogs/
Should I get a breed dog or a mutt?
I have had both and can tell you that either can be a great pet. People who get a breed dog may want to enter it in breed competitions. But there are other reasons to get a dog with a pedigree.
You should get a breed dog if you want a certain height or strength or personality. For instance, if you are looking for a dog that loves winter and might haul your child in a sleigh, you will probably be looking at a Husky or even a St. Barnard.
But keep in mind that there are never any guarantees. I like Shelties because they are not high enough to reach the table (and steal food) or strong enough to overwhelm me on a walk, but they are a hardy enough to go hiking– which happens to be my favourite pastime. However, I had one Sheltie that was such a slow walker I had to wait up for him all the time on open trails. This same dog would run through the woods when I took him hiking on trails through forests. So, much to my disappointment, I ended up leaving him at home when I went for a hike. To be fair, I also had a mutt who would take off when he was hiking and then “sneak” back. He looked exactly like a coyote so this was quite an annoying habit. Seeing a coyote-like animal coming at you at a slow, determined pace through the trees can make the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up.
All the other dogs I’ve had were perfect companions, stayed by my side, and never wandered off.
Here is a breed finder that may help you decide if you want a certain pedigree.
Dogs-A-Musings 