Hiya Student!<BR>Uh oh....I better stay out of Hotlanta....<BR>My Shih-Tzu has Border Collies for breakfast!<BR>He does have a lotta trouble catching em tho, what with his little short legs and all, but when he does......phew....it aint pretty. He likes to harass Rottweilers too...we ran into one on our walk the other day and he had the poor Rottie cowering behind it's owner! That's my boy...17 lbs of sheer terror. He wuvs his "brother", the<BR>cat tho...weird, huh?<P>Anyhoo....good to see ya around....take care.<P>Bill

TS,<P>You make a good point about the dogs...<BR>Last month a friend gave me a sweet Russel Terrier. I have since come to find out that I do not have the time or energy to meet this dogs needs. My hands are full with a 4 year old daughter So this week I'll find someone that wants to adopt my dog. She really is sweet and playful. <P>I also came to realise that I am truly a cat person...<P>I think if I lived in the country and had room for a dog to roam I could in fact have a dog for a pet. However since I'm moving into a townhome I'll stick with my Aquarium and see about getting a cat! LOL<P>Bill

Bill: It is nice to see that there are other cat people out there. I have a new kitten curled up in my lap as I write. Unfortunately, my older cat hasn't accepted her yet. She is now sitting on the desk watching us. I have been making sure that she gets more attention than the kitten but she is letting the kitten take over her favorite places.<P>I gave up my dog in the divorce. I just couldn't give him the attention he needed with two kids and all. He is with my x brother in law who is single, a huge dog lover and lives on the beach in Florida. My dog is in 7th Heaven now. So, I am happy about that.<P>So, how did we get on this subject anyway. I haven't had time to read anything but the last few posts?

Bill: It is nice to see that there are other cat people out there. I have a new kitten curled up in my lap as I write. Unfortunately, my older cat hasn't accepted her yet. She is now sitting on the desk watching us. I have been making sure that she gets more attention than the kitten but she is letting the kitten take over her favorite places.<P>I gave up my dog in the divorce. I just couldn't give him the attention he needed with two kids and all. He is with my x brother in law who is single, a huge dog lover and lives on the beach in Florida. My dog is in 7th Heaven now. So, I am happy about that.<P>So, how did we get on the subject of animals anyway. I haven't had time to read anything but the last few posts?

Hi Bill and 711,<BR>Don't leave me out of the "cat people" pile just yet. I have a cat too. Yep. And so does my roomate. We have a regular zoo. I was a cat person for years (my cat is about 9-10 now). I swore I would not have a dog unless I had a fenced backyard and I could (at the very least) come home everyday at lunch to play and walk with them. So, that is what I have now. My backyard is very big. At least 3 times larger than your standard midtown lot. They have their own personal dog-park almost .<P>When I made this decision, I also decided I would not be taking a job that involved alot of travel. A week or two a year, max. So far, so good. <P>Cats are great too!!

Student:<P>Yea, BC's are a lot of work. I've toyed with the idea of giving up Shutzhund and taking up agility with my GSD, but I am worried about her hips. She is extremely smart and agile and would be great. There are just no training facilities around me anymore. I think she would love it. If I had more time, I'd become a Canine COmpanions puppy raiser. I am hardly home at all, and working my three dogs now takes most of my remaining time. <P>

The guy I know who does agility with his labrador retriever was also worried about his hips. Supposedly, the vet and some X-rays can tell if your dog is susceptible to hip dysplasia. <P>I had my BC in agility at a fairly young age, and took her out because I felt she was a little too fragile. Being a pound puppy, I'm sure she was behind developmentally. Same goes for my other dog. He was a rescue and was found almost starved to death at around 8 weeks. It took him at least 6-8 months to be able to urinate normally. I used to call him the pee-bucket. He would drink water, and no joke, 10 min. later--out it would come. You could tell he was trying to hold it too. Poor thing. He's ok now.<P>My BC is about a year and a half old now, and is alot more "durable" than she used to be. <P>I see lots of commercials with BC's in them now and I'm afraid they are going to be the new trendy dog. Whenever a "101 Dalmations" sequel comes out, the number of dalmations showing up at the humane society always goes up. Some friends of my ex got a Jack Russell terrier after seeing one on TV. They keep it crated all day now because they can't manage him and don't have the time to train him properly. Ugh. Ok. I know I'm speaking to the choir!! Enough outta me!