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Pets 2!
In light of our 4th 5thish? anniversary here, I believe it is time for another thread on those beloved furry/scaly/feathered friends we all know and are beholden to.
So fellow Tilderinos, share your pets! Photos! Stories! Antics! Attitudes! How they've changed your life! How you've changed theirs!
Inspired by this thread
I've recently posted about having geese
Their names are all food names, because we foolishly thought that it would make eating them easier. Girls: Blueberry, Lemon, Lime. Boys: Cranberry, Coconut, Strawberry.
Picture without Blueberry because she is nesting.
For anyone wondering about keeping food animals, my advice is not to name them at all: not number codes, not colour bands, nothing. Form no unique memories with them at all and look for no identifying physical traits or behaviour characteristics.
You're a much kinder soul than I, sir. I don't hesitate when it comes to anyone trying to vomit all over my food.
Also, as a home chef and someone who fishes, I do a fair amount of dispatching and I thought it would be okay. Narrator: it was not okay.
How are geese as pets? I have heard some people say that they are the best ever and you can't help but fall in love with them, and I've heard other people say they are terrifying.
They're definitely more "you have them" type pets rather than the cuddly, learn tricks and live in your home pets. The thing with birds is that they're dinosaurs, and they're jerks to each other even though they're devoted to one another, as they are to us.
I find them to be the perfect mix of beauty and derp š they like to play in the mud but for crazy magic physics reasons they just need a quick rinse and be in the sun and they're glorious gleaming white again. Then they'll honk and stumble face first over a twig, get up again and be all huffy as if someone pushed them.
this is my 15 year old mutt, duke.
recently, i moved from south america to europe, and for a while we thought SUPER HARD on what to do with him -- mostly because we were scared that he would not survive the trip, or that it would be way too hard on him.
at the end, we said "fuck it" -- i was not going to leave my partner far away from me. what if something happened and i couldn't help? i would never ever forgive myself.
so we brought him (to be specific, i came first with all the luggage while my wife came a week later with him).
guess what? he was fine. actually, the trip seemed easier for him than for her (11h straight flight).
now, after 5 months here, he's so much better than before. we have parks around us so we can just let him walk around without a leash. much less pollution, more greenery. it was the best decision we've ever took besides, well, moving here :)
(the main reason we were scared is that, although he's healthy (he has a remarkably strong heart), he has hip dysplasia, he's deaf in one ear and a bit blind. i mean, he's a 15 year old dog)
(also, he did NOT enjoy snow)
Can I ask how did the airline handle pets on during long flights? I imagine they wouldn't let them be together with the passengers but someone has to look after him during that 11 hours right?
if your pet is under... 4kg (i think) they can go in the cabin with you (in a carrier box ofc).
over that, they go in a compartment of the baggage area that is pressurized and has heating. there's also a camera and the stewards monitor everything all flight long.
i came to europe via KLM and they were just amazing. everyone explained everything and made sure we understood that he would be safe (and he was!).
Heh... I have a 15 year old getting close to 16 year old dog. And yeah, she's got hip problems (Though she never had displasia, I'm pretty sure with her it's just arthritus from being old), going deaf and blind. That just is old dog problems. But she's healthy, her bloodwork is good, and she still has the will of a puppy (I have to tell her to take it easy on her hips when she getse excited as she'll still run and jump on them).
Your dog looks really good.... I had to go back and reread you calling her a 15 year old dog to make sure it didn't say 15 month old dog.
Cute pupper. Im wondering what you did to treat the hip dysplasia? Our boxer/rottweiler is having hip issues, possibly related to arthritis, but she has some times when she is extremely stiff and has difficulty standing up. Sounds like we live in similar places and she LOVES being outside but if anything she gets too much exercise as she likes to climb steep hills and runs all over the place during her daily 1/2 mile walk.
We give him two things:
First, gabapentin, twice a day (mornings and evenings), 100mg. It's amazing for neurological pain.
And... CBD oil! We give him 2 drops of 10% CBD in MCT oil by the morning and another drop or two (depends on the day) at night just before sleep.
Before he was quite stiff and never wanted to play. He's much better nowadays and you can totally see the difference.
oh another thing! he currently weights 13.5kg.
Ah thanks. Just looked at my dog's one med and it is indeed gabapentin, although we've only given it to her when she's stiff, not daily. Might have to do that.
How do you give the CBD oil? Does he just take it straight or do you have to hide it in a treat or food?
we cook food for him once a week (a mix of brown rice, ground beef, zucchini, carrots, sweet potatoes and broccoli -- it's much cheaper than buying ready-to-eat food and much more healthy), so we put the drops in it. it basically has no taste.
i would recommend talking to your dog's vet and see if you can give them gabapentin daily. some dogs have liver issues that might cause problems.
This was our old man that we lost last year, he made it to 13 and was the best boy: https://i.imgur.com/sTs4PJZ.jpg
This spring we brought home a new pup, he is adorable but puppies are demons and and Iām always reminding him he has big paws to fill from his older ābrotherā: https://i.imgur.com/4FBh86W.jpg
My condolences. Thats the only part about having dogs that I dread - I love them so much that the thought of them leaving gives me dread for years before they are actually gone... I still tear up thinking about Scooter, a little Jack Russell, runt of the litter, that was my best friend for 12 years.
What was your best boy's name?
His name was Roscoe! And yes it is the worst part of pets that they donāt live forever :(
Ah rest in peace. How is the new one doing settling in its new environment?
Heās good, just generic annoying puppy behavior (biting, jumpy etc). Itāll get better and heās already much better than two months ago but Iām looking forward to when heās an adult, hah.
Everyone, this is my cat Babka. Heās three years old and fluffy as hell. Everyone say āhi, Babkaā
Fabulous name, definitely fits.
Awww. Hi, Babka. I hope he's as sweet as he is fluffy.
Sometimesā¦
Hi, Babka! That face omg
Our wonderful girls Maui and Kona
They are a bonded pair, Maui is older at approx 8, and Kona is younger at around 4. Both have very sweet and loving personalities. Maui is chill and also a huge princess, and Kona is an energetic neurotic dork. They make our lives considerably richer every day
My sisterās cat. She is crotchety and elderly but an absolute fluff monster if she likes you.
My leopard gecko, who has sadly passed on but she was fantastic. I miss her lots, leos are such chill and personality-filled creatures.
What was it like taking care of a gecko? I imagine she small pets are probably not allowed to roam free or they might get hit by accident.
Oh no she was a terrarium creature for sure, but I would often take her out in the evenings for hangouts. Theyāre quite docile, and she would just sit on my shoulder or the back of my neck - especially in the winter when it was cooler in my house she would tuck up right under my hairline. :) Theyāre nocturnal and in my old apartment I had her tank in a nook at the top of my stairs, and whenever I came home in the evening she would peek out of her little cave hiding spot to see what was up.
If youāre interested in getting into reptiles, leopard geckos are excellent beginner reptiles. They eat live insects which can be a bit of a hassle, but with proper care they can be long-lived. Aku lived to the age of 14, which is about average. Theyāre a lot of fun :)
I've got rescued Siamese-mix cats adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The oldest, Sifa, was a friendly feral from a trap-neuter-adopt program, who unfortunately escaped indoor life and decided to rewild herself.
Lilly and her new companion, Dash (short for Dashiell), live ornamentally and occasionally deign to keep the homestead mouse-free.
They're also on the large side for housecats - Lilly is a svelte 6 kg, fully grown at 3 years old. Dash is a 7 kg male, only a year and likely to top out at 8 - 9 kg by maturity. He's already too big to stretch out on standard 1 meter scratching posts, and the furniture is suffering while we await a taller one. We speculate that his lineage included bobcat. He loves shoulder-perching and leash-walks.
This is Dilly! She has no teeth so her tongue hangs out 24/7. They found her in a cave with her siblings and mom in Tijuana as a puppy so she was malnourished and as a result her teeth didnāt grow in properly and they had to be removed (so glad I had pet insurance.) Sheās happy now because of all the attention she gets from the neighbors because of her goofy tongue!
She's super adorable.
Hello folks, lovely pets all of you have.
Here is one of my birbs, sheās the youngest of six, full of personality and sassy too! This is her right after a mist shower to cool off due to the heat.
Birbs are awesome.
Aw! I used to work in a shop that had a variety of parrots (I think they belonged to the owner), and the cockatiels were my favorite.
Theyāre absolutely the best, most gorgeous (imo!) and so full of personality. Each one of my birds has like their own distinct personality and way of doing things.
birds are indeed awesome! They're just so different from my mammal pets! They're more selfish in entertaining ways.
Your girl is the same type as the "cookie" song bird, I think :D what are some of your favourite birb sounds?
Yes! Cockatiel! And I love that song so much haha. Did you see the original and/or Kiffness one? Both are great.
Hmm. I love hearing one of my boys sing, when he sings heās cute, but when he screeches oh lord help us all.
Also some of the cute sounds they make when you scratch their heads. So adorable.
And my absolute favorite birb sounds are baby noises!!! When theyāre babies and demanding food and when they grow up and start āpew pewāing. Melts my heart.
Oh that sounds super duper cute!!!!!
We have much bigger birds (geese) but they're totally derps a lot of the time.
Baby noises!! Yes! >..< we had raised them from the time all six fit into a milk jug (roughly 4L) when they used to "peep". My guys don't screech but they do that a super loud HONK that's meant to be ground-to-air level loud. That's why they outside.
That's so nice that yours can still make their little baby sounds.....awwww
Hey have you heard about the recent study where they allowed parrots to face time other parrots?
Oh my! Geese!!!! Adorable, got any pictures of them? ā¤ļø
Haha I wish they still make baby noises, I misinterpreted myself, apologies.
And no I never heard of that! Happen to have a link on hand? If not Iāll google for one. But that sounds so adorable.
I have just now listened to the Kiffness one and it's making my day!!! I'm going to put it on my phone and listen to it on loop when I travel :D
Goose footprints next to some wild bird prints.
Here's one of my guys doing a zoomie
And a cute family
Yeah that song is definitely something I will listen to casually!
Cute prints :o
Zoomiesss! What a majestic dude.
Oh my gosh that little gosling so adorable!!! <3
I currently have one pet, a Shar Pei-Lab mix dog named Judy!. She will be 6 in October.
She's been disabled since April 2021, when she had a traumatic spinal injury. She's had to relearn how to walk with her back legs, and unfortunately has not learned how to control her pee and poo, hence the diaper. She's still extremely adorable of course, and she loves swimming and playing fetch (though her legs can sometimes drag if she's active for too long). I love my front-wheel-drive doggo.
Bummer, I think the link is broken. But from your description she sounds like a trooper!
Whoops here's a fixed link
And yes she is a trooper; my dad and I like to call her L'il Brudder. She's got the heart of a champion!
Aw, you obviously love her dearly. What a sweetie she is.
If its not too private, what cause the spinal injury?
It was a really bad slipped disk. We had to take her from Halifax to Charlottetown to get her surgery.
Hello everyone! This is Bodie and he's an 8 month old Golden Retriever. I have spent the last six months doing my best to make sure he grows into a wonderful dog citizen of people. He's grown into just that and I'm so proud of him! Even in the midst of adolescence, he's taking it in stride and makes me proud every day.
Not everything works for every puppy parent or puppy, but we used positive reinforcement as the cornerstone of our training regimen. Zak George does a lot of great videos on this.
In the coming days, I'm going to create an A to Z guide on the first few months of puppy training for us that will help other Tildes users with the same challenge.
I remember watching so many Zak George videos when we got our puppy. Bodie is very cute btw!
that sounds super adorable, your bedtime routine for Clockwise. Does she meow and make a lot of noises or does she politely demand?
edit: saw your pictures, loudly it is then. She's super adorable! I love her box photo the most.
A tortitude with Siamese ancestry? That's a lot of personality! And she's super pretty.
She sounds like a really good friend! I love her.
Thank you! She truly is gorgeous.
Love the name! She looks similar to my childhood cat who was named Cinder. :)
Weirdly enough, when I lived in an apartment I also had a tree which I changed out for different holidays! It started as a joke because my roommate hadn't taken down his tree out of laziness so I decorated it for Valentine's as a kind of passive-aggressive joke. We ended up actually liking it and kept it going - we did a St. Patrick's Day tree, an Easter tree, a Birthday tree, and a Hallowe'en tree that I can remember.
Here are our boys, Holly and Balto!
https://imgur.com/a/odhYs1b
Balto turns 4 in July and Holly is estimated around 2 years.
We love them to bits but they definitely have their own personalities. Holly loves everyone and every dog and is so easy to walk. Balto is half husky and has to pull on every walk. My husband takes them running while he's on his bike several times a week now that winter is behind us. Holly has decided he's done going running and just lies down and refuses to get up. At 85 lbs, he does a great boulder impression.
https://imgbox.com/JQtM2ZvZ
https://imgbox.com/uNZzRxuN
Here is my goofy little jellybean Mowgli.
Sorry for the links that have ads. I should probably get imgur.
I have two Australian koolies (a herding breed closely related to kelpies and border collies).
Grue (3 years old)
Sitka (8 months old)
And here is one of my favorite photos of them together, taken a few months ago when Sitka was still tiny.
The photo of them together is beautiful, looks like the end to a Disney movie.
How cute! Do you participate in some kind of sports with them like agility or actually herding sheep or such?
I've looked into various dog sports for them, but I live way out in the boonies, so there isn't anything nearby. The only agility/obedience club I could find within two hours' driving distance uses aversive techniques, which would not go over well with my dogs (like many herding breed dogs, they are super sensitive) and would rob all the joy out of it for me.
There are recreational herding classes nearby which sound super fun, but I've talked to several people who have done them, and they've said it's made their dogs keen to work livestock outside of class. We are surrounded by sheep (sheep pastures on literally all four sides of us), so I've had to put a lot of work into teaching the dogs to ignore them, and I'd rather not open up that Pandora's box for them. If they figure out how to jump the fence to go muster the neighbor's sheep, they might be shot.
So instead I do a lot of non-competitive trick training with them, take them on lots of adventures (we have a lot of trails and parks nearby, and we also live on a large farm with plenty to see and do), and play with them (fetching balls, chasing water from the hose, etc.). They are pretty high-energy, so they keep me busy.
Ah OK, didn't think of that! Then it's best to keep it that way that they ignore the sheep.
Sounds like your dogs have a great live with those many activities and you taking care of their needs so well. I know someone that did mantrailing for fun with their dog. I once was the "target" and he indeed found me. That was pretty interesting participating in that experience.
That sounds super fun!
We occasionally do something kind of similar with our dogs. One of us will take the dogs while the other one hides somewhere on the farm (which is 80 acres, so it's quite the search). The dogs haven't been trained in scent work, so it's interesting to see how their instincts guide them: for example, they start by following the person's trail, but then they get distracted by smelling the missing person on a breeze and go way off course. In the end, though, they always find the person and end up approaching them from directly downwind. It's more roundabout than direct scent trailing (it looks almost like they are circling around the subject), but I can see why it would have evolved: it must be a useful technique for wolves stalking and hunting prey.
I've watched some videos of people scent training dogs, and it seems to involve a lot of rewards along the trail so that the dog is motivated to not stray off course.
This is Daisy and Pupper https://i.imgur.com/uQSN7LJ.jpg
These two goofballs (boxer/rottweiler and a lab) live with us out in the boonies, and the snow on their faces highlights their absolute exuberance at going on a daily half mile walk with my wife through the forest to the river below. In summer they always take a long drink and a dip to cool off. They LIVE for that walk and often take off into the bush to chase a squirrel or more than a few times, to chase a moose. They are partly here for warning and protection as we live in bear country and they bark like mad when anything big stirs in the forest. They wander all over, exploring and sniffing and occasionally Daisy will drag something home that's been dead for awhile and leave it on the yard for us to discover. Just big dogs being 'country dogs' and living a very free and easy life.
Beautiful dogs! Sounds like they have an absolutely wonderful life. I've always so desperately wanted to live in the country or wilderness and be able to just let my dogs run around and know they'll come home. My mother in law does it with her pup and he's always so healthy and happy. That's definitely a dog's life for sure.
I have four pets, three cats and one dog. I had two pets, my partner had two, we moved in together... it's a lot of work to keep up with, honestly, but I love them all to death. They have such distinct personalities! :)
Name: Maeby
Wanted for: Grand theft everything, destruction of property, unlawful entry. Note: armed and potentially dangerous
Also known as: Gremlin, Goblin, You Little Shit
Favourite foods: Any food forgotten on the counter (esp. bread)
Likes: Personal space, Kirby, shredding paper documents with teeth, watching bird feeder
Dislikes: Being carried like a little baby, any tummy touch whatsoever
Strengths: High intelligence and confidence, effective hunter of vermin and bugs
Weaknesses: Wrath. Despite aloofness, secretly harbours a desire for affection, doesn't know when to quit
Name: Milli
Wanted for: Obstruction of staircase, snack larceny. Note: flight risk
Also known as: Millicent Vanillacent, Miller Heavy
Favourite foods: Corn-based snack foods (chips and cheetos), canned fish
Likes: Me, cuddling generally, chatting, nibbling
Dislikes: Being brushed
Strengths: Friendliness, cat conflict mediation, silky fluffiness, loud purr
Weaknesses: Sloth. Clumsy, frightened of the outdoors (despite desire to escape house)
Name: Sputnik
Wanted for: Disturbing the peace
Also known as: Spud, Spuddy Buddy, Tater Tot
Favourite foods: Dislikes everything except wet cat food
Likes: yowling, spooning, sunbeams, compulsively sitting in boxes, compulsively grooming blankets and sweaters
Dislikes: Helium balloons, cat carriers, leftovers (compulsively pretends to bury)
Strengths: ... uh...
Weaknesses: Potentially incapable of sin, no thoughts, head empty
Name: Josie
Wanted for: Although technically not a crime, often stinky
Also known as: Josie-Posie, Jo-Po, Jo-Jo, Grossy Josie
Favourite foods: Mulched grass, beef liver
Likes: My father-in-law, attention from strangers (except children), snow, fetch, rolling in literally whatever
Dislikes: Electric scooters, carrots, car rides, mail carriers
Strengths: Indefatigable optimism, high charisma, high endurance
Weaknesses: Envy. Low independence and problem-solving ability, crybaby, scared of the dark
Do they get along? With such a diverse casts, I imagine it's not easy to keep a handle on them.
For the most part they do! Maeby is the most surly and Milli is the most relaxed (just an absolute sweet lump of a cat). Josie is conflict-avoidant too but she's more anxious about it. Spud's in the middle.
Of all the animals in the house I think Josie and Milli get along the best and Josie and Maeby have the most trouble... Maeby doesn't like to be touched, and Josie got a few swats to the nose before she learned to leave give her a wide berth. I think Maeby abuses her anti-dog force-field sometimes by sitting in hallways or door frames where there's not enough room for Josie to go around.
One sort of funny dynamic is that Josie is also the household hall monitor. If she catches the cats fighting or getting into the trash or the pantry, she'll cry about it until one of the household humans handles the situation. Big tattletale energy - no idea how she learned this.
Your pet dossiers are almost as cute as the animals themselves!
I have a smart moustachioed tabby cat and a lovable orange idiot cat. The smart one only wants to cuddle when no one is watching (or even in the same room) and will stop snuggles when he hears someone come in (really sit up and look away). The orange one just wants attention all the time. He has already been locked up in a toilet, behind the kitchen cabinets (took us a while to find him) and closets. He is scared of the doorbell and children, but not cars or big dogs. So he (and his brother) are inside cats and only allowed outside under supervision.
I am allergic to dogs and cats so we have lizards instead!
Tiamat, our 2 years old female bearded dragon. She is very cuddly and likes to sleep on me or my wife's chest. She also likes to climb around, even she is a bit clumsy. Very human friendly fella.
Nebs, our 14!!! years old female leopard gecko. She is skittish and shy, but her curiosity wins her over sometimes and she then likes to explore all around. I adopted her when she was 2 years old from a place where she was in small terrarium with two big male geckos, so she never probably got enough food and is a bit small. It also explains why she is so shy.
Her full name is Nebraska (named by her breeder) but we always call her Nebs or Nebu.
Both lizards like to explore outside. Tiamat is a day creature, Nebs is a night creature, so they never see each other. They could never be in same terrarium nor outside at same time: Too big of a risk of them getting angry at each other or something, although I believe they would just ignore each other.
Tiamat doesnt mind handling, but Nebs is way more wary and skittish about it. It's always on Nebs' terms when she comes out of terrarium (she starts poking the glass with her nose and waving) and such.
Reptiles are way smarter creatures than we give them credit for. I am biased due to being a reptile owner, but there is much more going on in those tiny brains than one might think!
So, it has now been a year and a half since I lost my Ralphie. https://imgur.com/ZAyu9Kn
He was my friend and my walking companion. I have never had a more mellow and reliably insightful dog. He knew who belonged in the viscinity and reserved his barks for delivery people. I can't begin to communicate what a good family member he was.