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On February 27 2009 00:37 pheer wrote:
My older brother just got a dog for free.
Within a week it had a huge sore on its face and had to get it cut (removed) from the vet for > $100. Then it continues to shit and piss in front of him instead of a single bark to go out.
Dogs suck unless, like everyone says, you have the time and money to take care of them.
My GR learned to ask to take her out and whatnot in no time.
They just need some "preparation" time. and If you get a dog, enjoy as much as you can while it's a puppy ;P.
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Physician
United States4146 Posts
get a monkey, chimp preferably
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On February 26 2009 23:21 IntoTheWow wrote:
Don't get a dog if you are not able to walk him, take it out to piss, etc...
You said that you are working/studying 60+ hours a week and I really don't think that'll give you adequate time to properly care for a dog. They are very engaging pets who demand a lot of your time and attention. One of the cruelest things you can do to a dog is adopt it and then completely neglect it. Its persistent whining and crying while you are locked in the next room studying will only contribute further to your slow decent into madness.
But more on topic, here is a writeup and some tables explaining the basic costs of dog ownership. It should give you a ballpark idea.
For arguments sake, here is the same writeup for cats.
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I wouldnt reccommend getting a dog. Dogs require a lot of time and effort. If you cant put that time into a dog, then you are just being cruel. If your studying 60+ hours a week and your living by yourself, your dog is going to become very lonely and sad. Cats on the other hand handle being alone much better and are much easier to care for.
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On February 27 2009 00:36 fanatacist wrote:Show nested quote +On February 27 2009 00:27 IntoTheWow wrote:On February 27 2009 00:25 fanatacist wrote:
Get a cat for a domestic setting. They are generally more chill and relaxing 90% of the time. Plus they are more intelligent where it matters (when to pee, when to play/when to relax, etc.).
Cats > Dogs You have no soul You value blind loyalty and filth over intelligence and cute fuzzywuzzy kitties. You are a pervert. Sup quoc, BW?
Kittens are irrelevant in comparison to a dog. Maybe compare it to a puppy. But I've seen cute puppies that no cat can compare to.
Anyway, point is this:
Kittens are bad ass. Puppies are cool too.
Cats sucks. Dogs are awesome.
Cats....Have too much damn personality. I got my kitten, and it was the nicest thing ever for a while. Then out of nowhere, it just hated to be touched a lot. You had to touch it when it wanted to be touch, or your fucked for the rest of the day. My dog on the other hand. Undying loyalty, even when I'm gone for a few days. She's always their to greet me. I love my dog SO MUCH MORE than my fucking cat. Cats are stuck up animals dammit.
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On February 26 2009 23:10 Polyphasic wrote:
So, a breed that doesn't get sick, doesn't need to run a lot, doesn't eat a lot.
Please do not get a dog. You will just give him/her a sad life...
On February 27 2009 01:26 ~OpZ~ wrote:
Cats....Have too much damn personality. I got my kitten, and it was the nicest thing ever for a while. Then out of nowhere, it just hated to be touched a lot. You had to touch it when it wanted to be touch, or your fucked for the rest of the day. My dog on the other hand. Undying loyalty, even when I'm gone for a few days. She's always their to greet me. I love my dog SO MUCH MORE than my fucking cat. Cats are stuck up animals dammit.
God damn I hate people who gets a pet without knowing what is he going to get into..
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With (optional declaw / spay / neuter) / yearly vet vists, the price of per month treats, toys, cat litter, dog bones, brushes, overall grooming, and food or whatever else is not really comparable(ok maybe it is, but dont not take a pet to the vet!). it may seem to be common sense, but some people get pets and then don't have the money to take them to the vet once in a while.
cats and dogs are different animals of course - though i dont know a shitload about cats i do partially care for my dads. they can be very loving, but they tend to show it in different ways. for instance, my dads cat loves to snuggle(a little) with him whenever hes watching tv or going to sleep even though he doesn't particularly like it. shes fucking huge. once in a while they'll rub against your legs, i think its to mark their scent on you a little by instinct but the intention is because they luv u  they're perfectly fine being alone once in a while, but this cat is always waiting for my dad when he comes home(and sometimes meows when he goes outside at night for a smoke), its clear she misses him :3
she also chills on the table near him when hes reading the paper, just out of arms reach, shes not supposed to be up there :0 i think it would take to me more if my dog wasn't so territorial. im usually in my room when im in the house and that means the dog too. the door is a chokepoint in which the cat is usually tackled or chased onto high ground
when i was younger i had a gnarly ass cat. it was declawed, intended to be an inside cat, but since i had a dog at the same time whenever i let my dog into the backyard she would leap out there lol. it steadily got pretty damn big and strong. occasionally she would bring back "presents" from her voyages, unharmed animals and insects would be promptly dropped on my lap. ive gotten a HUGE cricket locust thing, a large pretty monarch butterfly, and a fucking CROW! how the fuck did she capture a live crow without claws and without getting beaten up like shit? i dont know, but it was godly. the crow, after flying around for a while, was content with being on my moms arm covered in newspaper and being led outside.
she got into some kind of poison or antifreeze years ago. i still have the dog.
-- oh by the way, female cats are preferred by my dad a LOT, i forget why but im pretty sure it was a logical reason. hes a through and through cat person, so it may be worth looking into.
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Sweden4353 Posts
A cat is much easier, but most cats won't really care that much about you. Of course you can do what most cat-people do and pretend they actually see you as a person and not an object in their possesion. A dog will require much attention and effort but if you really like dogs then it's worth it.
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+1 for a pet rock... lol
Heres the thing with dogs and your busy schedule...
My dog is 18 years old (yup shit you not)
anyway the thing with a dog, you cant just have him there when you want him to be. He will always be there...
They get sad when you leave the house (if you have classes all day/work this is going to affect him)
They get depressed, they get hungry, they have to go to the bathroom wethere your there or not. They need to run/play ALL THE TIME especially for the first 4-5 years.
Its like having a child.
You have to realize that getting a dog isn't getting a "pet" its adding on to your family.
When your thinking about a dog asking "how much money is it going to cost me" I already know, you shouldn't get a dog...
Unforseen things happen all the time.. He could swallow something wrong and hell need to get it removed, get sick, get hurt.. (yup dogs can break bones just as easily as us), get depressed (yes dogs get depressed to, lock yourself in your room for 18 hours a day with no tv/phone/internet see what happens to you) They need friendship from you and other dogs... you must take them to dog parks/ let them hangout with a friends dog the whole 9 yards
I think you should think about this more...
Im a huge dog lover and I treat my dog like my son/best friend... proof is by his age alone because he is 18(human years) and I forsee another 2-3 years before he gets close to his end. He is a cocker spaniel named Patches and I'm happy to say the love of my life... hes been around for most of it xD!
Think about this more, my advice to you, if you have a friend/family member that owns a dog. Ask them if you can borrow the dog for a week, see if you really enjoy it. Best part is he'll probably already be potty trained...
I let my friend borrow my dog for 1 week before he decided to get one a few years back. Just to make sure he was ready for the reponsibility.
so... IMO Pet rock...
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dogs need too much attention, and if u cant provide that for him don't ruin a dogs life -_- i kno some ppl who own a dog and treat it like an object. if they dont want the dog to bother them they will just stick him in his tiny cage and if he starts just squeal they'll just stick the cage int he basement.. sigh
for a student, cats are ideal as they are very independent=] that doesnt mean they dont love to cuddle or play with you ^_^
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On February 26 2009 23:10 Polyphasic wrote:
Hey, so I'm starting grad school soon, and I figured to keep myself from going batshit insane from studying 60+ hours a week, I might get a dog.
Does anyone here have a dog and know how much it costs to keep one in terms of $/month?
I understand that one time fees for buying the dog are different from continual monthly fees. Like, the one time fees would be for shots and licensing and actually buying it and looking around. The continuous fees I suppose would be for food and insurance.
I have no idea how much of this costs. I ideally want a dog that is as low maintenance and costs as little as possible. So, a breed that doesn't get sick, doesn't need to run a lot, doesn't eat a lot.
basically, something for me to talk to so it's not like i'm talking to myself all the time.
Haven't read all of the replies. But dogs cost more for sure. Even the smaller dogs cost more. We have a cat and a shitzu/whatever mix. Our dog is only a little bit bigger than our cat but it eats quite a bit more. Dogs, like cats, always need to have kibble in their tray, and of course they should also get dinner once a day ^_^. Another thing to note is that puppies (and other younger dogs) need to be walked a lot more than most of the older dogs. When our dog was a puppy we walked him 7 times a day. He is 14 months old now, and we still walk him 5 times a day, if we don't he pees on the floor, especially on cold days.
If you think you have the time to care for a dog. I would choose a dog over a cat if I were you. I love my cat to death but she ignores all of us all day long lol. Dogs are so loving and cute.
Just look at mine http://img22.imageshack.us/my.php?image=swiffer3.jpg <3. So epic
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I thought you were going to med school? Why did you change to grad school, no acceptances or what happened?
On topic: Don't get a high maintenance dog, it's a lot of work. Also, if its an inside dog, get a dog that doesn't shed.
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When I lived at a frat house I got a dog. Was for free but hadn't any shots nor was spade. It was a medium sized pitbull mutt about a year old. Food cost 20-25$/month. Shots cost a decent amount. I went to the ASPCA hospital where shots cost 20$+ as opposed to 50$+ at the various vets I had asked. The checkup, flee/tick for 3 months, and the shots cost around 300$.
I gave the dog to a friend before it got spade. But while at the ASPCA they had suggested some thing where you can bring your dog - leave it there and they spade it in a van. It's pro bono for vets and all you have to do is donate some dollars.
The entire thing was done rather haphazardly and spontaneously. I had a job and took classes but since my commute wasn't far I was able to manage - I also had all my friends help out when I'd be gone for an extended period. But it's a lot of work - like taking care of a child that needs - a dog needs constant attention. Unless you find an older dog who's trained and doesn't need as much activity it's going to be a lot of work and I'd suggest not doing it unless you know exactly what's at stake.
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On February 27 2009 01:26 ~OpZ~ wrote:Show nested quote +On February 27 2009 00:36 fanatacist wrote:On February 27 2009 00:27 IntoTheWow wrote:On February 27 2009 00:25 fanatacist wrote:
Get a cat for a domestic setting. They are generally more chill and relaxing 90% of the time. Plus they are more intelligent where it matters (when to pee, when to play/when to relax, etc.).
Cats > Dogs You have no soul You value blind loyalty and filth over intelligence and cute fuzzywuzzy kitties. You are a pervert. Sup quoc, BW? Kittens are irrelevant in comparison to a dog. Maybe compare it to a puppy. But I've seen cute puppies that no cat can compare to. Anyway, point is this: Kittens are bad ass. Puppies are cool too. Cats sucks. Dogs are awesome. Cats....Have too much damn personality. I got my kitten, and it was the nicest thing ever for a while. Then out of nowhere, it just hated to be touched a lot. You had to touch it when it wanted to be touch, or your fucked for the rest of the day. My dog on the other hand. Undying loyalty, even when I'm gone for a few days. She's always their to greet me. I love my dog SO MUCH MORE than my fucking cat. Cats are stuck up animals dammit.
I said kitties, not kittens. Kitties is cuter way of saying cats, to me.
And see, this is an example of a typical dog owner/lover. Dogs are perfect for you because you don't want personality or individualism or depth, you want blind loyalty so that even if you hit the dog it won't run away from home, it will be your best friend in five minutes. Dogs don't bite the hand that feeds because they are simplistic creatures; cats have a sense of equality with humans and should be respected as such. You want an animal that does whatever you want, when you want it.
Imagine you are taking a nap or cleaning yourself, and some douche comes, picks you up, and starts harassing you about some crap he wants. You would be irritated and pissed. Dog will be like "YESUH MASTUH, THANK YA MASTUH." Cat will be like "Fuck off, I don't disturb your shit unless it's important, like feeding me or cleaning up my piss."
Bottom line, if you want a simple animal with a loyalty bordering on stupidity, choose dogs. If you want an intelligent animal with a sense of respect and individuality, choose cats.
If you have limited time/money, choose cats.
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On February 27 2009 01:44 Piste wrote:Show nested quote +On February 26 2009 23:10 Polyphasic wrote:
So, a breed that doesn't get sick, doesn't need to run a lot, doesn't eat a lot. Please do not get a dog. You will just give him/her a sad life... Show nested quote +On February 27 2009 01:26 ~OpZ~ wrote:
Cats....Have too much damn personality. I got my kitten, and it was the nicest thing ever for a while. Then out of nowhere, it just hated to be touched a lot. You had to touch it when it wanted to be touch, or your fucked for the rest of the day. My dog on the other hand. Undying loyalty, even when I'm gone for a few days. She's always their to greet me. I love my dog SO MUCH MORE than my fucking cat. Cats are stuck up animals dammit. God damn I hate people who gets a pet without knowing what is he going to get into..
QFT. Although he isn't the one who got the cat (probably... hopefully), it's still true.
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On February 27 2009 01:48 nttea wrote:
A cat is much easier, but most cats won't really care that much about you.
I thought this line was unfair to kitties and a common misconception.
From Wikipedia:
For cats, life in close proximity with humans (and other animals kept by humans) amounts to a "symbiotic social adaptation" which has developed over thousands of years. It has been suggested that, ethologically, the human keeper of a cat functions as a sort of surrogate for the cat's mother, and that adult domestic cats live their lives in a kind of extended kittenhood,[43] a form of behavioral neoteny.
Cats may express affection towards their human companions, especially if they imprint on them at a very young age and are treated with consistent affection.
See, a cat will acknowledge its care giver and form a very strong bond. But that care-giver is rarely you. Kitty sees your mom or dad feeding it, watering it, and changing its litter. It sees your 8-year-old self running around and showing up whenever you feel the need to dish out some abuse in the way of squeezing kitty and holding kitty when kitty does not want to be held. To have a cat's affection, you have to treat it well - not simply acknowledge its existence.
When people get older and become the primary care-giver for their new kitty, raise this kitty from kittenhood, and treat this kitty affectionately, they will experience first hand the kind of love that a cat has for its person. And there ain't no love like kitty love. It's insane.
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Bosnia-Herzegovina1381 Posts
On February 27 2009 00:48 Physician wrote:
get a monkey, chimp preferably
awful.
funny, but awful.
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I'll talk from my own experience since i just got a dog exactly 1year ago when he was 2months old.
- Dog food costs $35 - $85/month depending on how big he is for a 15-20kg bag and the quality of the food.
- Bones and toys from time to time ~ $10/month for the first year depending on how many toys and bones you buy for him of course.
- Vaccination $15 - $20 depending on which one it is and there's about 4 of them for the first year but you need to do all of them around at the same time. + the visit to the vet will cost you something. ( I dunno if it works the same in the US but here just to visit the vet without the vaccinations costs, it cost me $45 everytime -.- )
- Collar & Leash $15 - $20 depending on how big and how fast your dog is growing you might have to buy a new collar later during the year
- Dog himself ( when you buy him ) can cost from $100 to $1000 depending on the breed.
Now if you still decide to buy a dog... like everyone said, it demands a LOT of attention. Especially during the first months: when he's not clean yet ( pissing and shitting around in the house without asking for the door ) you'll have to stand up in the middle of the night ( not every nights ) to go clean his mess. This is probably the hardest thing to do.. to get him clean as it lasts around 2months - 3months depending on how much time you spend teaching him to ask the door when he wants to go pee or shit and it's a lot easier to teach him to do it outside during the summer rather than the winter.
He'll wake you up in the morning 6h00am - 8h00am, wanting to go outside or just to play.
You must take at least a walk per day with him of around 30mins depending on how much energy he has. While taking the walk you'll have to teach him to stand right next to you and not go in front of you.
You'll need to teach him also not to bark & to don't bite, since he's young he'll tend to bite you a lot when you play with him.. of course it won't really hurt but when he'll get bigger, it will hurt.
He'll most likely pick up everything that he can and destroy it if he can: boxes of tissues, shoes, socks are the most common things.
You'll need to teach him to sit, lay down, come back to you whenever you ask him to. You might also have to teach him not to dig everywhere and not to jump onto people that comes to your house.
It is a lot time consuming and you have to repeat over and over and over again, but having a dog is more fun than having any other pets.
PS: If you do still decide to get a dog after that, don't fear asking people for a lot of TIPS.
edit: girls LOVE puppies
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On February 27 2009 00:30 QuoC wrote:Show nested quote +On February 26 2009 23:12 FakeSteve[TPR] wrote:
if you're living in a dorm or apartment get a cat instead amen, get a male cat.. and declaw him, make him a boxer!
Don't ever get cats declawed... it's the equivalent of removing a person's fingers from the knuckle up. Leads to behavioral problems sometimes because the cat feels defenseless so they get more aggressive to compensate.
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On February 27 2009 00:36 fanatacist wrote:Show nested quote +On February 27 2009 00:27 IntoTheWow wrote:On February 27 2009 00:25 fanatacist wrote:
Get a cat for a domestic setting. They are generally more chill and relaxing 90% of the time. Plus they are more intelligent where it matters (when to pee, when to play/when to relax, etc.).
Cats > Dogs You have no soul You value blind loyalty and filth over intelligence and cute fuzzywuzzy kitties. You are a pervert. Sup quoc, BW?
Intelligence? I'm only a "decent" student, but I am far more intelligent than any cat or dog. Cats and dogs are both stupid, but they're also both furry and cute.
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EPT
