Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Dogs, and habits, and what made me think of both in the same post.

I like dogs. I like cute puppies, my family's lazy old dog that lets my almost 2 year old nephew "play" with him (which looks more like constantly antagonizing him), and a lot of my friend's dogs. Sure, I'm initially afraid of large dogs that I don't know, but that started later in life and I can get over it if it's a nice dog.

But recently, I keep thinking of all of the reasons I don't want a dog, especially right now.

1. I feel clean after I take a shower - and I don't want a dog to drool all over me before I get a chance to go to bed. (Note: Germany never drooled on me unless he was ill, so I'm not saying all dogs have that problem, but I do like hound dogs, and they usually have that problem.)

2. I don't have to worry about who will let my dog out when I decide to stay out a few more hours to get something done.

3. I don't have to worry about what I put in the garbage can and if my dog will shred it across my whole house while I'm not looking.

4. I don't have to buy a fence or pay a pet fee.

5. I don't have to worry about what prize I pick because of knowing my dog will eat it.

Yeah, that last one - I can have nice things and don't have to worry about keeping them out of reach of my dog. Sure, it was a teenage girl who said it, but I was just thinking how confining and all consuming having a dog is! And it's not even a person - I'll do that and more for my baby someday - but I just don't have the kind of routine now that supports having a happy dog.

Maybe someday, but definitely not now.

It somehow made me think about other "pets" we keep. I know sometimes we don't realize just how confining or consuming our habits are. We think all our habits are cute, familiar, even noble. But if we are the masters we won't let our pets run our lives - we will take charge of our pets. It really makes a difference between a well behaved dog and a chaotic life... I'll let you take the interpretation where you want it. Just a thought.

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