Cats vs. dogs

I am a cat person.  I will not deny that I absolutely love and adore my cats, all three of them.  I also love and adore pretty much everyone else's cats too.  If there is a kitty about, I will find it, scratch it behind the ears, and talk to it as a peer.

Someday, I hope to have land enough for a dog.  A REAL dog, mind you.  The kind that is bigger than a cat, and will defend our livestock from predators.  The kind that will round up the chickens, goats, and sheep with a few simple words from me.  I want a working dog.  The dog will have a warm, comfortable home in the barn, with the other animals, where it can keep an eye out for nighttime critters like foxes and raccoons and coyotes.  It will be showered with affection and praise, but trained and disciplined to be a farm dog.  To me, that is what a dog is meant to be, and they are truly wonderful creatures when they are given the chance to be what they should be. 

I love dogs.

Today, I found the dog my neighbors arebabysitting happily digging up my entire newly planted fall garden bed.  I ran outside, yelling "NO!", and she bounced over to me happily, placing her giant muddy paws on my stomach, nearly knocking me over and requiring me to change my clothes.  I grabbed the scruff of her neck and put her on her side, but she just continued to grin that toothy grin at me, and bounced back up as soon as I let her go.  This dog has had absolutely NO training, NO discipline... she has been given no purpose, and has been living in a small urban apartment the whole six months of her life.  It would have been much easier to train her before she was 60 lbs.  She jumps up at you, chases the chickens and cats with her jaws open, digs in the garden, chews on things... she has become an ill-behaved dog. 

I do not like ill-behaved dogs.

I know it is not her fault.  Without a firm and consistent trainer, any dog will become a "bad dog".  It is really the owner's responsibility to make sure that boundaries and rules are set and enforced to the point where the dog does it naturally.  But that does not change the fact that I now have to replant my entire garden bed, use more water and electricity for my laundry, and keep my kitchen door closed on this gorgeous fall day so she doesn't try to run through the screen at my cats. 

Dogs are a lot of work.  As far as I'm concerned, if you don't have a decent sized backyard for them to run around in, if you don't have the time to teach them basic commands and good habits... don't get a dog.

Get a cat.