What is the point of a dog?

[ZARDOZ]

You put food in one end and poop comes out the other end. This is unpleasant for pedestrians and a health hazard. It costs you money.

WTF is the point?

Are you dog owners so sad that you need these dim witted creatures to look up to you and love you?

Ah but it teaches little Jimmy about responsibility by caring for an animal blah blah pathetic.

IME people who 'love dogs' really have something mentally wrong with them. Like, hey, look at my trophy dog, it shows the world how great I am, and also that I can't make relationships with people and I'm really insecure.

Anyone care to comment?

P.S. exceptions made for guide dogs, sniffer dogs, sheep dogs and all other useful working dogs.

Hear hear. The only Dog I would have would be a guard dog.

[SueEllen]

Probably, but less effective.

When a would-be burglar pried open a window at centurian manor last year, they clearly were not the less bit perturbed by the highly visible alarm bell.

Yet after successfully getting the window open, they appeared to have a complete change of heart - and never followed through on their pilfering for some unknown reason

Centurian hound was duly rewarded with a big bone, which lasts all of about 30 minutes in his jaws.

I went to school with a couple of kids whose dads owned corner shops and they lived on the premises.

One of these kids' had a dog and the dog was also suppose to be a guard dog i.e. warn them about burglars by barking.

They were burgled for it's stock one night and the dog was found dead. The dog had been fed poisoned meat.

[formant]

It's like kids but less hassle. And they don't turn into horrible teenagers who hate you.

Pretty much.

We have two rescue dogs - an older blonde Retriever/Shepherd and a younger Harrier hound (like a larger Beagle). They're brilliant with the kids and I couldn't imagine life without them anymore. Always had pets (but up until we got those two, they've all been of the rodent variety), so moving on to a dog (and then a second one shortly after) seemed natural once I quit moving house every year.

I'd like a smaller dog someday, a dachshund maybe, but won't do it until the kids are all in their teens. Don't like seeing some dogs essentially turned into toys, so for now I prefer them to be too big to pick up for the wee ones.

I'm not much of a cat person on the other hand. Although I can't say I actively dislike them.

[norrahe]

The current Mr SocialWorker was a dog person and had Labs and flat coated retrievers most of his life, won gundog competitions etc. When he came to live with me and my cat, he was amazed what a complex, intelligent and affectionate critter a cat can be. It is quite possible to like both cats and dogs, it just takes the nouse to realise that they are just different.

It was Mr N who suggested we get a cat, I was all for getting a dog. But I grew up with working dogs, Springer Spaniels who were gun dogs and they need a lot of attention and exercise, a hell of a lot of exercise and need to be well trained.

I opted for cats, as we wouldn't have been able to give a dog the time and attention that it needs, cats you pretty much leave them to it and they come and go and hassle you at meal times and you are essentially their b!tches

There are a hell of a lot of people with dogs who don't walk them or train them properly and they end up with an overweight loon who is more of a danger than a pet. I find it amusing to watch people walking their dogs or more accurately their dogs walking them.

[socialworker]

"I opted for cats, as we wouldn't have been able to give a dog the time and attention that it needs, cats you pretty much leave them to it and they come and go and hassle you at meal times and you are essentially their b!tches "

Too right!