Tikka has been in fine form lately, so I thought I’d share the force of his personality on a blog that can always use some more afternoon thread.
Here he is recently, showing some signs of mental wear and tear:
Tikka does not like strangers. And by strangers he means just about everyone who isn’t me. He’ll tolerate my son and spouse, but after that? We’ve had a lot of relatives staying over the last month or so, my wife’s sister for one, who is very much a cat person, and my own sister, likewise — she’s a pillar volunteer at the local pet shelter and all that good stuff.
My S-I-L has learned not to engage Tikka, and in his turn he now merely growls when she passes, and only very rarely whacks her as she goes. My sister knows Tikka hates her, but can’t resist making eye contact. The result is increasing cat madness. Those two bipedal monsters have both returned home now, and my fair feline is calming down quite a bit. Hence this, taken about an hour ago:
A Cat In Full — and don’t you ever doubt it.
And now to some heavier material. I’m very much looking to the next posts in Cheryl’s series on gender and national security (first one here). As we wait for those, you might want to check out this by Andrew Bacevich [corrected link], a professor at B. U. (and a retired U.S.A. Lt. Col.) focusing on national security.
A taste:
What makes a Harvey Weinstein moment? The now-disgraced Hollywood mogul is hardly the first powerful man to stand accused of having abused women. The Harveys who preceded Harvey himself are legion, their prominence matching or exceeding his own and the misdeeds with which they were charged at least as reprehensible.
…As far as male sexual hijinks are concerned, we might compare Weinstein’s epic fall from grace to the stock market crash of 1929: one week it’s the anything-goes Roaring Twenties, the next we’re smack dab in a Great Depression.
…All of this serves as a reminder that, on some matters at least, the American people retain an admirable capacity for outrage. We can distinguish between the tolerable and the intolerable. And we can demand accountability of powerful individuals and institutions.
…
[But] compare their culpability to that of the high-ranking officials who have presided over or promoted this country’s various military misadventures of the present century. Those wars have, of course, resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and will ultimately cost American taxpayers many trillions of dollars. Nor have those costly military efforts eliminated “terrorism,” as President George W. Bush promised back when today’s G.I.s were still in diapers.…war has become a habit to which the United States is addicted. Except for the terminally distracted, most of us know that. We also know — we cannot not know — that, in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, U.S. forces have been unable to accomplish their assigned mission, despite more than 16 years of fighting in the former and more than a decade in the latter…
Bacevich isn’t quite talking about what Cheryl’s begun to lay out. But it seems to me that the two may be striking some of the same notes. Anyway, I am as I have long been astonished, angered, and deeply saddened by the way so many of our leaders — lately but not always mostly Republicans — have been so profligate with other people’s kids.
Damn — that’s a downer ending for a cat post. Sorry. The times are what the times contain.
Major Major Major Major
A unicorn rampant!
Yutsano
I think you borked your link to the Bacevich article. It goes to Cheryl’s post.
I wanted to read it because I also want to know if he acknowledges another reason for the US worship of Ares: war is profitable. And war is pork. Look at how many different pieces of military hardware get made in congressional districts. The war machine is its own jobs program.*
*Again if he makes these points my argument is invalid.
OH, and to give credit where it’s due: TIKKAKITTEH!!!
TS
The Andrew Bacevich link goes to the BJ post by Cheryl
Edit: I’m a slow typist
rikyrah
Your cat scares me too.?
Adam L Silverman
@Yutsano: @TS: Here you go:
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/176361/
Tom Levenson
@Yutsano: @TS: Fix’t. Sorry for the confusion, and thanks for the heads up.
Tom Levenson
@rikyrah: He’s a pussycat!
Also a would-be apex predator, but that’s neither here nor there.
schrodingers_cat
@Tom Levenson: Tikka FTW! And don’t you dare interrupt his executive time!
Yutsano
@Adam L Silverman: Thank you.
He kind of nibbles at it but only in the costs to the American people in treasure. I do appreciate his focus on the cost in blood. And that yes they’ll have to be forced to stop. And that won’t happen until Dolt45 is out.
Francis Logan
I feel that there is a huge difference between a war and an occupation. In Iraq and Afghanistan, we have no one to go to war against; we only have a native population that is resisting our occupation.
In both countries, we succeeded in our war goals. We destroyed the military units that opposed us, occupied and pacified the capital, and deployed into the countryside to effect our post-war reconstruction.
We have utterly failed in our occupation / reconstruction goals. And we have done so badly that local native forces opposed to us now are so strong that they can operate freely.
Yes, we have been defeated. But I think it’s important to draw a distinction between a defeat in war and a defeat in occupation. After all, here in the US the North won the Civil War, but the South largely won the peace for 100 years (or more).
Tom Levenson
@Francis Logan: Given that the stated objective in both Afghanistan and Iraq required occupation to achieve, the distinction you make is at once true and in some ways exactly the problem. As I once watched field-grade officers discuss, our military is the best in the world, by far, at breaking things. You want a tank destroyed, or a division, or whatever, US armed forces will do it for you. If your ambitions extend beyond removing a specifically military threat, however, the armed forces are at best an imperfect instrument and only one of several tools required. Bacevich’s point (at least by implication) is that we have failed for more than a decade (or better decades, since at least 1965 or so) to realize this, and both military leaders and their political masters are complicit in that failure.
TS
@Adam L Silverman: many thanks – I just found it googling & came back to find your link – like I said – slow typist – (and I was reading the article)
It is also republished here another version
Baud
The fact is that not too many American kids are really at risk in war right now, statistically speaking. I agree with you about wishing things were different, however.
hitchhiker
We have a pair of cats who will have nothing to do with anybody except Mr Hitchhiker. They were on the cusp of feral when they came to us about 7 yrs ago, and he worked hard to make them feel at home, with the result that they’re bonded to him alone. I’m tolerated for light duties like changing their water and putting the grub into their fancy bowls, plus of course I’m allowed to clean the litterbox.
Luckily I have a beautiful dog!
Tom Levenson
@Baud: True. Not the only ones who die when we go to war, of course, and the sheer stupid waste just overwhelms me.
I’d add: the fact that most Americans are untouched by conflict far away, that mostly wrecks families who talk funny and don’t look like most of us, is the driver of much folly. It’s how you get the chairborne rangers cheerleading every dumb-as-shit foray into somebody else’s house. M.O.A.B. anyone? (And damn the fuckers who kvell at the cutification of such an engine of destruction.)
B.B.A.
I’ve said this before: Libya drove me to full pacifism. None of it is worth it, none of it ever was.
debbie
War became too easy when the generals were moved to the rear. As demonstrated by Haig in WWI, if they have no personal stake in the consequences (other than maybe a promotion), why care about the damage? As demonstrated by Patton, war makes you a real man, and if a civilian can’t be a general and wage war, then he can become president and order it to be so. Amp up that testosterone by whatever it takes, real or pretend.
As for Harvey and the rampancy of sexual abuse, that’s for a different thread.
satby
@Baud: one of the reasons I support the idea of universal national service. People become more judicious about supporting wars of choice when their own offspring are at risk.
And I say that as the proud mother of a Marine who did combat 5 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m proud of him, but I wish he’d never had to go in the first place. At least while they were going after Bin Laden there was a point to the action.
ruemara
The kittens have grown nicely and are at the willful disobedience stage. They refuse to use the nice covered litterbox I got them. They are clambering onto things in my absence, taking stuff, breaking things and leaving them around. So, it’s time to learn about loud motion sensor alarms on designated no go areas. Since I’ve caught the girl eyeballing the flatscreen and trying to figure out how to jump up on or into the “window”. Other than being huge amounts of work and irritation, they are happy little critters running around being adorable & happy.
Re: your post closer. I have no idea who you all are who are not immediately suspicious of people with power over you, but I think I’d like your lives. There isn’t a single person of wealth and prestige who I don’t suspect probably abuses people lower on the totem pole. Except Mr. Rogers, but he was obviously an angel. I prefer to be proven wrong that folks are abusing their power then believe they aren’t and be disappointed in them. See also, Garrison Kiellor.
debbie
@Baud:
The number is irrelevant; that any will be sent for stupid reasons is the offense.
Suzanne
Tikka looks like I feel right now.
So. I am being aggressively recruited by two national-level firms. I am happy at my current place, but a bit bored and I don’t really think there are any great growth opportunities, either in terms of projects or leadership roles. Both offices are talking salaries near or in the six figures and taking on a leadership role. I am excited and yet filled with impostor syndrome. I wasn’t really looking to make a move, but sometimes that’s the best time to make a move. This would be a really big leap for me. I am stressed out.
Yutsano
@Suzanne: DOO EET!!!
And call me when you get back darling, I enjoy our visits.
debbie
@Suzanne:
Leap!
Tom Levenson
@Suzanne: @Yutsano: @debbie:
Concur. And fuck imposter syndrome. We’re all bozos on this bus.
satby
@Suzanne: go for it! They wouldn’t be chasing you if you weren’t a good catch. Carpe deim.
lgerard
hard hitting coverage of trump’s trip from the Murdoch press….
“She’s trying her hardest to nudge Melania aside”
efgoldman
OK BJ jackals
You cat people can just skip this post
Mrs efg and I are very strongly considering a dog in our old age.
I’d like to pick your canine brains, understanding that because this is BJ, I’ll get twice the number of opinions as there are people.
mrs efg had dogs growing up, I did not (although I’ve always gotten along with them); my mother the nurse thought pets were generally carriers of filth.
We are of course looking to adopt; my daughter says go to the shelters and the dog will choose you (as her cat chose her)
We don’t want a puppy – they’re funny and cute, but we’d like a young dog (more or less a year) that we don’t have to house train.
Size is important. Nothing bigger than a small to medium Lab.
No pits or pit mixes. It’s not a risk (even a small one) I want to take with my granddaughter.
Prefer less shedding than more. What kind of coat should we look for?
I imagine there are some breeds that aren’t acceptable for us, because we can’t keep a terrier, for instance, entertained. What are the best breeds for hanging around with a couple of partially disabled old farts
mrs efg mentioned maybe adopting from dogs who flunked out of service dog school.
Since our granddaughter most likely won’t be with us when we go look, how seriously should we take a listing that says “not good with children”
I await your thousands of replies throughout the evening.
debbie
@lgerard:
Pro what?
Best is Tillerson’s side eye.
Baud
@debbie: The number affects the politics of it.
debbie
@efgoldman:
Take that listing seriously. Go with a lab or a golden. I’ve known a few: they love kids, are mellow, and are very, very smart.
Mary G
@Suzanne: Are they in Phoenix? I know you want to get out of there. You are a great architect and whoever gets you gets a prize.
Baud
@Suzanne: Congrats! I didn’t hear a reason why you wouldn’t do it.
efgoldman
@Tom Levenson:
As an old man who’s father served in WW2, Korea and Vietnam, and who managed to dodge Vietnam era service (that’s why I don’t fault “the president” or anyone else), I’ve long felt that there ought to be a two year universal service requirement (not a military draft) after high school, no exemptions.
ETA: And then I got to satby’s comment above
Mary G
@efgoldman: If they’re not good with children and your precious granddaughter is bound to interact with them, even briefly, stay away. I always think mutts are the best rather than just one breed. If you really want busybodying, post a zip code and we will pick some out for you off Petfinder.
Chip Daniels
At some point drones will become cheap and plentiful enough to where they are like AK-47s or IEDs, the tool of those who can’t afford real armies.
And we will begin seeing drone strikes instead of suicide bombers in New York, Omaha, Chicago…and we will wonder how and why these people ended up hating us so fiercely.
efgoldman
@Suzanne:
Including a physical move? Can you say (or hint) where?
Ohio Mom
@Suzanne: What a compliment and a great feeling, to be actively courted like that. I am thrilled for you.
At the very least, nose around and find out as much as you can about both outfits. You might find out something that makes it easier to make a decision, one way or another.
About war: in our entire history, the US has never managed to go twenty-five years without engaging in a war somewhere. It appears to be in our DNA, sad to say.
Tom Levenson
@efgoldman: @debbie: Yes re take the listing seriously. I’m a total golden fan, having grown up with them. That said, even small-med. working dogs require a fair amount of effort. My sister just (as in today) adopted a 20 pound-ish dachshund-lab mix (sic!). Hardly a help to you, but that dog — Cosmo — hits a sweet spot for my not-altogether-strong sib.
But if you’re looking for an animal that will force you up and out, and will make you friends wherever you go, a golden will not let you down.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: Barack Obama wasn’t planning to run for president as early as 2008 but I recall that Dick Durbin told him that timing was everything and the opportunity was now. (totally paraphrased)
There’s no way to know whether opportunities like the ones that are coming your way will be there when you feel more ready.
I say go for it. If you can’t believe in yourself, who can you believe in?
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Suzanne: As someone who made a major jump when we moved here, I think you’ll have moments of regret whatever choice you make. We could have happily kept doing what were doing, but we both felt we’d achieved everything we wanted to in those positions. This was a decision point. Professionally, it was a great move for me. Iowa would not have been my first choice of a place to live given that I was a city girl, but I’m still glad we did it.
efgoldman
@Mary G:
02864. I’ve gone to Petfinder just to see what’s out there, and seen some likely suspects.
For the right pet, we could go ~100 miles.
Mike in NC
I have downloaded an excerpt of a new book called “Anatomy of Failure: Why America Loses Every War It Starts” by Harlan K. Ullman (2017, Naval Institute Press) but have yet to start reading it.
Robert Sneddon
Mutts are the way to go. Crosses are usually healthy and usually street-smart and looks aren’t everything. Lab crosses are a good choice but one might be a bit too big for you depending.
Any dog will take some of your life and effort for exercising and getting out of the house, there are no Ragdolls in the dog world.
Yutsano
@efgoldman: You want a big lovable poop machine that wil take to your granddaughter like a duck to a puddle?
Newfoundland.
Hear me out.
They are athletic but are also content to lounge around. They are literal caretakers for anyone including their older owners. They’re very intelligent and sensitive. And they do well in RI climate.
efgoldman
@Tom Levenson:
I wonder if that’s from the litter that I saw last year. It’s not a common mix.
We have no objection at all to a mix/mutt
sharl
@Tom Levenson: It’s awesome to be able to sit at home or a sports bar or wherever and watch the fireworks show from a bomb/missile attack. It’s like a 4th of July thing! I remember reports of these kind of responses here in the US. to video of the pre-invasion aerial assaults on Baghdad. Of course, reading about who was on the receiving end of that ordnance – a few bad men (many or most of whom were in decent shelters) and a LOT of civilians – wasn’t quite so exciting. Post-invasion blog posts from native Baghdad resident “Riverbend” were never quite so enthusiastically received, but then they were often rather grim and dreary accounts.
But it’s good to see things heating up again, so the rehabilitated Brian Williams* can maintain those virility-affirming stiffies in his later years. From April of last year: Brian Williams Uses Leonard Cohen Lyric To Describe ‘Beautiful’ Strike On Syria
* h/t to Jim, Foolish Literalist in the comments (#5) to Cheryl’s earlier post, for the memory jog:
WaterGirl
@efgoldman: AFTER I got my pup who is now 6 years old, I came upon a website that had short little videos, not longer than 5 minutes each, I recall, with individual videos about each of the various breeds. This dog needs a lot of exercise, this dog likes a lot of action so it’s best in a bigger household or house with kids, etc.
I don’t have a link, of course, but maybe poke around on-ine and see if you can find those?
efgoldman
@Robert Sneddon:
Which is the point: I don’t get enough exercise. Walking a dog twice a day would be a good start. But we don’t have a fenced yard, and can’t afford one, so a dog that needs to just run all day isn’t in the cards.
WaterGirl
@efgoldman: I just googled “what breed of dog is best for me” and there are a zillion quizzes that supposedly help figure out what breeds would be good for you. I would probably take several to see if they all steer me in the same direction or if they are full of shit. :-)
Adria McDowell
Tikka’s “don’t fuck with me face” kinda looks like our kitten’s face right now- he went to the vet and got some shots today and is just chillin’ out.
As to war- very very rarely is it worth it. I saw plenty of fraud waste and abuse while in Iraq. Also saw Petraeus live in person- he’s about as tall as David the Gnome. I hope my daughter never feels like she has to join the military just to be able to go back to school, like I had to.
Adam L Silverman
@Francis Logan: @Tom Levenson: Let me provide a little inside insight. The US military, whether doing offense, defense, stability, and/or contingency (what everything we’ve actually been doing since 9-11 has been reclassified as) operations is very, very, very good at moving fast and breaking shit. What it wasn’t very good at in 2002-2003, and has only gotten sort of, hit and miss, good at since is putting it back together. The US military as it exists today is designed to leverage it’s strategic advantages, specifically lift, overall size, and technical superiority to maximum tactical advantage to destroy the enemy as quickly as possible.
This is all important, however, as was the case in Vietnam where the US won almost every engagement/battle (tactical) and lost the war (strategic/theater strategic) it doesn’t get you very far against irregular opponents. Many, if not all the places the US military is operating, as opposed to being based (such as Germany, Japan, South Korea, Australia) are all suffering from failures of government and/or governance. In many of them the state isn’t able to fully consolidate and is often violently challenged by one or more groups that are opposed to how the state and society are organized. Here we are operating to help the state shore itself up through what is called Foreign Internal Defense (one of the Green Berets two primary missions). In other cases we are operating with the dissenting groups against what we’ve (we here being US, NATO, allied, and/or partner country leadership) decided is a despotic, authoritarian, and/or tyrannical state that is oppressing its own people. This is the flip side of the Green Beret’s mission, conducting unconventional warfare by partnering with host country groups to overthrow oppressive governments.
Regardless, in all of these places the concern is with failures of government and/or governance and/or civil society. What the US military, and to be honest the US government, isn’t very good at, despite throwing multiple ad hoc attempted solutions at the problem (human terrain teams, of which I was part; Interagency provincial reconstruction teams that included military personnel; Afghan hands; the new Security Force Advising Brigades), is actually assisting the host country partners with resolving these issues of government, governance, and/or civil society.
For instance, after Ramadi was liberated one of the Iraqi Army counterterrorism unit commanders said: “all that is left is rubble, you can’t do anything with rubble”. While this speaks to the need to physically rebuild, which we’ll use the Army Corps of Engineers to help the Iraqis do, what they also need is assistance in getting essential government functions back up and running as well. We have an almost 72 year drought doing this. During WW II US Army Civil Affairs (CA) specialized in something referred to as Military Support to Government (MSG). A lot of the initial groundwork that made the Marshall Plan so successful was done by Civil Affairs teams (CAT-As) dropped into municipalities to work with the locals to reestablish local government and services and begin to redevelop the civil society components that would be needed to ensure long term success and winning the peace.
The good news is that Civil Affairs has been working in fits and starts for several years to bring this capacity back. I’ve been involved with doing this, and helped build the initial conceptual framework, since 2012. A new sub specialty area to the Civil Affairs Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) has been created 38G. The idea is that these Soldiers will fill this capabilities gap and provide the necessary functionality to actually make effective next steps after the rest of the Army has moved fast through an area and broken a lot of shit.
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
If you get into a sufficiently powerful role, the sheer weight of it can distort everything around you even if you mean well. People will “protect” you in ways that end up being harmful for the whole.
And that’s all I’ll say for now.
efgoldman
@Yutsano:
Which is bigger than my dining room table and eats more than a teenage boy. I’ve known one – he was a really lovely, docile dog, but not for us.
Robert Sneddon
@Yutsano: Newfies, indeed any of the big breeds are difficult to take care of (large appetites, thick coats, drool) and they have a noticeably shorter life than the smaller breeds. A healthy cross lab or collie will go for fourteen or fifteen years with minimal vet intervention, a Newfie or mastiff will be lucky to make it to ten and by that time its joints will be giving out.
WaterGirl
@Yutsano: Gorgeous dogs, but aren’t they big droolers? That would be a deal breaker for me.
efgoldman
To dinner. I’ll come back and read the rest of your comments later.
efgoldman
@WaterGirl:
I forgot about the drooley part
Robert Sneddon
@efgoldman: You can cheat with a retriever breed like spaniels or labs — take it to a park, stand there and throw a ball. The dog runs off, gets the ball and brings it back to you then sits there waiting for you to throw it again. When the dog gets tired it doesn’t bring the ball back right away. Extra points if you stand at the top of a hill (I used to do this with the farm’s Collie cross when I was a lot younger).
If you get tired throwing the ball you can hire a small child to do the throwing for you. Remember to take some paper towels to wipe the drool off your fingers.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@efgoldman: I saw you already got a recommendation for a lab. I adore labs but they’re very active and playful. You might want one who is at least past the chewing stage, which for labs might be 3 or 4.
Sounds like you want the kind of dog who’s happy to snooze at your feet all day. Anyway you know better than we what sort of temperament you want. You also know what size you want. I like the medium 50-70 pounders. Well, truth be told I really love the huge 130-150 pounders too, but have always shied away from owning one that big.
My recommendation rather than a specific breed would be to go to your shelter and see who catches your attention, including the mutts. They’ll typically give you visiting time before making a final decision.
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman: Contact your local rescue organizations. They should have websites with lists of the animals they have for rescue. You’ll have to fill out their application and subject yourself to invasive do gooders, but it is usually the way to go. I have lab mixes right now.
Adam L Silverman
@Chip Daniels: We’re already there.
WaterGirl
@efgoldman: Oh, and I forgot to say earlier… I think cats might choose you, and that works with kitties as selection method, but I wouldn’t go with that as a primary way to choose a grown dog.
Also, I don’t want to have a dog that is more dog than I can handle in an emergency. If I can’t pick them up by myself in an emergency, then I think they are too big for me. Maybe something to consider, maybe not, since there are two of you.
Happy dinner.
SiubhanDuinne
Damn, Tom. Wilfred Owen gets me every time. So uncomproming.
The line Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is inscribed at Arlington and at Sandhurst (and various other national/military training grounds and cemeteries across the old British Empire). It makes me cry.
Adam L Silverman
@Suzanne: Do it. NOW!!!!
Ohio Mom
@efgoldman: When I considered getting a dog — couldn’t convince the rest of my family — I was planning on asking the two autism service dog schools in my area for a dog that didn’t make the cut. I imagine they would want a donation in return but they are good causes.
Anyway, obviously I think contacting service dog academies is an approach worth considering.
WaterGirl
@Mary G: @efgoldman: Our local humane society keeps a database of breed preferences and will notify you when a dog that matches your desires becomes available. It’s not just for pure breeds, either. You can say golden retriever, or golden retriever mix, or even lab-terrier mix (or whatever).
Adam L Silverman
@sharl: The story Williams recounted that got him in trouble – I was sitting not 10 feet from him when he first recounted it in 2003 to ingratiate himself to a retired 4 star that was with him on that trip. In that case the story’s focus was on the retired 4 star and his mentoring role with the young Soldiers and his calming influence on the nervous reporters and their crew.
SiubhanDuinne
@lgerard:
From the linked article:
Why would she take off her earrings during Melania’s husband’s speech?
SiubhanDuinne
@Suzanne:
Do it!! Even though I am quite seriously considering moving to your current area sometime in the next couple of years, and was looking forward to seeing you occasionally, you must not let this opportunity pass you by. DO IT!!!
I am proud of and happy for you!!
JPL
@efgoldman: If a dog is not good with children, it might mean that they are excitable. I’d be weary. Take your time. Finch sheds and is a terrier mix but the love of my life. He was five when I adopted him and had just been treated for heartworm. My yard is fenced and the boy next door has been walking him for years. You might see if there is a pug rescue society near you. They are silly dogs, and do have some health issues, but don’t we all.
Mnemosyne
@Mike in NC:
I was about to dispute that, but then I realized that, despite the post-war propaganda, the Confederates were the one who started the Civil War.
Adria McDowell
@efgoldman: Papillons are great dogs. You might have to be careful with them around your granddaughter- although four is the perfect age to teach them how to act around cats and small dogs.
Adria McDowell
@Suzanne: Don’t let your imposter syndrome stop you like it did me. Do it!
b
@efgoldman: I currently have 3 goldens. Goldens are wonderful family dogs. But, they require a lot of exercise and are consistently rated near the top in intelligence. A highly intelligent dog that is not getting enough stimulation or exercise will result in a lot of destruction. I run my dogs (walking would never be enough exercise) daily throwing sticks and balls for them. The older 2 dont need as much running now, but the 4 year old needs at least an hour or 2 of running. That is in addition to walking. I also had to childproof doors, cupboards and install tall baby gates to limit household access to minimize destruction when I am not home. I would guess that an older golden (maybe 5 or so) would be ok, but younger would not be.
Mnemosyne
@Suzanne:
I join the chorus saying you should take the leap. I think you already know you should, which is why you want us to confirm that for you. ?
patrick II
@sharl:
I am retired but audit some courses here at the local JC. I took econ last semester and had an instructor insist that war was good for the economy. I kind of went off in front of the class. WWII and most other wars have only been good for the economy because they were fought “over there”, not here. How good was 9/11 for us? How much economic good would it cause if a bomb landed on this classroom and killed everyone in it, and none of us ever had the opportunity for families, or produced good work, or had the careers that you have planned? Anyhow, there was more, but I won’t rehash the whole thing here. But it pisses me off that that is what is actually being taught — war is good for the economy — in at least one econ class, and I am sure more than just the one I attended.
JPL
@b: I’ve had two goldens and you are right. The second one hip dysplasia, and the vet recommended no walks. I started crying and said but he’ll die early. Sonny lived until he was almost seventeen.
A couple of nights ago, I dreamed that he was still alive.
Waynski
Tikkah looks like our departed cat, Trotsky. Same exact coloring and big boned. Trotsky was very friendly though had no fight in him. When our mouser cat, Maggie caught a mouse, he’d jump on the bed with my wife.
Tom Levenson
@b: Our first golden, Blaze, was indeed intelligent. Our second, Curry, Blaze’s son, was not. He literally was dumb enough to run into parked cars. I witnessed this. Truly amazing.
Robert Sneddon
@b: Labs and especially crosses are a bit more laid-back than goldens or other retrievers such as spaniels, in my experience. They still need their exercise though, and yes they are smart and they will find a way to do what they want and they will look incredibly guilty when you find out what they’ve been doing (Boy Dog son of Lady Dog and the dead sheep incident still creases me up) and you will forgive them until the next time.
Puppies are incredibly cute and incredibly destructive. A year-old or eighteen month dog is past the worst and usually biddable with no settled bad habits you would have difficulty training them out of and by that time the kennels will have neutered them for you.
JPL
@Tom Levenson: The first thing that I thought about when I read your story about Tikka, was that I wanted him to attack Trump. Is that wrong of me?
Heidi Mom
@efgoldman: I agree with Adam about looking at the websites of local rescue organizations. A responsible group will provide you with detailed info on every dog in their care — good with other dogs? cats? kids? good on car rides? couch potato or agility-winner-in-waiting? etc. And I’d also vote for adopting a mixed-breed dog. Heidi is — best guess based on appearance — a mix of rottie, retriever, hound, maybe boxer. We adopted her from a local (south-central PA) rescue group that focuses on pregnant dogs and new mommas with their litters in southern shelters, where they’re often euthanized if not rescued. Heidi was picked up as a pregnant stray in GA; had 10 babies in the shelter there, 8 of whom lived; came north with her pups; was treated for heartworm and spayed; and lived in 4 different foster homes (through no fault of her own) before she came to us. She is the sweetest, calmest, most affectionate dog ever. Good luck in your search!
The Lodger
@Suzanne: Check out both opportunities carefully, but take one.
Robert Sneddon
@Tom Levenson: I knew a Collie cross that was so stupid it broke its back running across a field (it put a foot in a rabbit-hole). It cost about ten thousand bucks in vets fees to get it back on its feet and it ran around slightly sideways ever after due to the spinal fusions. Gorgeous-looking dog, thick as pigshit but somewhere deep down there was collie blood in him. Deep down. Really deep.
Adam L Silverman
@Heidi Mom: For south-central PA I recommend Furry Friends. Got both my current four foots from them. They’re great folks.
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
You are clearly a terrible person who needs to be banned from polite society. Come over here, sit by me, etc.
b
@JPL: My 13.5yr old golden had severe hip displasia, a hip replacement at 6, and then an fho several years later when the replacement failed. She still happily chases balls despite having problems walking and can no longer go up stairs. My goldens (I’ve had 6 through the years) have been incredibly driven to retrieve. Adopting an older golden from a rescue (there is a rescue in my area that focuses on goldens) means he could look for one that is not quite so driven.
They are wonderful family dogs.
Steve in the ATL
@JPL: @SiubhanDuinne: I’m looking forward to meeting more west coast Juicers without ever having met two posters whom live within a sub-$10 Lyft ride of me back in Georgia!
Steve in the ATL
@Tom Levenson:
Wow—I didn’t know there were republican Goldens
Jim, Foolish Literalist
High energy, and need a LOT of attention. My sister, a dedicated dog person, has always had well-behaved goldens– they start every day with a minimum two mile walk, rain or shine, January or July. Unfortunately they’re so well-behaved they’ve encouraged a couple friends and relatives to get goldens that don’t enough attention, much less exercise. Poor dogs are a bit squirrelly
ETA: @Robert Sneddon: was just gonna add: Labs have a lot of those good qualities without being quite so needy
Suzanne
@Mary G: Both firms are multi-office, and both roles are in the Phoenix offices of the respective firms.
Offer just came thru…$95K + ownership stake.
I still feel like the 16-year-old girl at McDonald’s who spoke to all of the customers in the voice of the Count one night to break up the boredom.
Steve in the ATL
@Robert Sneddon:
Holy cow that is the exact opposite experience I have had. Like “trump is a very stable genius” opposite.
cckids
@efgoldman: I’d go with a smaller dog; their exercise, food and poo-pick-up needs are much less demanding than for a dog the size of a lab. I will put in a plug for Pomeranians, like my late, lamented Pixie- he was just a love of a pup – from the day I found him, he would clamber up onto my son’s wheelchair & settle into his lap. He also was NOT yappy, I’m not sure how common or uncommon that is for the breed. He did shed, but not tremendously, especially after we found the right food.
Also, he was not teeny-tiny, he weighed 9-11 pounds throughout his life. So, small, but not so tiny you can bowl him over with a sneeze.
NotMax
@efgoldman
As said above, mutts are great.
Among breeds, maybe you might consider the Norwegian elkhound. They love exercise, although can be a bit barky.
For a breed which is goofy, exercise loving and sociable all in one, Irish setter.
JPL
@b: We did have a supply of tennis balls. When I first go married, an acquaintance wanted to find a home for her golden. I explained to my husband that they were just lap dogs, and really not that big. Unfortunately, a few days later Time magazine had a cover of President Ford and his golden. We still got the dog. We ended up breeding her so family members could have her pups. Nothing like having eleven golden pups run around your house. lol
patrick II
@efgoldman:
How about a Tibetan Terrier? Don’t let the word Terrier fool you, they are from Tibet and are not related to European Terriers. They were bred as companion dogs for monks and are great with kids and families. My mom had one until her recent move to assisted living, and it was her best friend. We thought it was a mutt until Anne Laurie put us on the right trail.
Breed info
Steve in the ATL
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Is it Opposite Day and no one told me? Is there a different breed also called golden retriever?
I have had several and they all nap at least 22 hours per day.
Ruckus
@satby:
I too want mandatory service of some sort. It only to make the crap more equal. It will never be equal, not in a million years because some will always find a way to remove themselves or their young. But the idea that it will discourage parents is to me ludicrous. Some will be discouraged for sure but I think they already are, but seemingly just as many will view it as a right or need of passage.
As well, a large number of vets feel that their service was the best thing to happen to them, and it may have been. But they survived and do not think that it was wrong to have gone to war, damn the cost. They will buy the company lie/line without blinking. We talk about how integrating life will fix racism. I don’t think it will in many cases, look how many vets voted for drumpf and just about every vet still alive served in an integrated military. CoS Kelly worked in that in a high leadership position, would you call him enlightened? I sure wouldn’t.
What I’m saying is that the problem of bigotry is bigger than just exposure. The problem of military adventures is bigger than just money. Countries will and do use military force as they age, until they get their shit kicked enough times, either by exterior or interior forces. The British, the French, The Spanish….. To name a few.
That hasn’t happened to us. Yet.
Fair Economist
@Suzanne: In the eulogies for Ursula LeGuin, one quote of hers came up where she talked about how we all feel inadequate for what we do but we have to try anyway and we usually manage.
If one of the greatest Sci-Fi/Fantasy authors of all time can feel like an imposter but still do great work, you can too. Also, too, if you’re feeling a little bored now that’s a strong indication it’s time to move up.
cckids
@WaterGirl:
Check Animal Planet’s website?
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@Tom Levenson: An old USMC staff sergeant of my acquaintance once told me the Marines are among the best ever at real estate acquisition. “However,” he added “not one of us is worth a damn when it comes to property management. And unless it involves port facilities, you shouldn’t trust the navy either.”
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I think it depends on the individual dog. The labs and golden retrievers I’ve known have been pretty mellow — perhaps because their owners were also laid back.
Tom Levenson
@Steve in the ATL: Me too. My uncle, mom’s brother, was a lifelong Lab guy (he shot birds, and his labs were badly trained and inefficient gun dogs) and my mum, as noted, was golden all the way. His labs were always way squirrelier than our gorgeous dogs. My aunt got a great rescue golden after my uncle died, which says something.
Suzanne
@Fair Economist: I’m the worst kind of employee…..once I can do something, I don’t want to do it anymore. I want to do something harder or bigger (that’s what she said). I’m terrible.
Steve in the ATL
@Suzanne: congrats—it’s nice to feel loved!
So I’ve heard.
Tom Levenson
@Steve in the ATL: Hush your mouth! Curry was a (literally) yellow dog Democrat.
Adam L Silverman
@patrick II: If you’re going Tibetan, go with one of these:
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/04/17/world/17mastiff_watching/17mastiff_watching-videoSixteenByNine1050-v3.jpg
The dog that walks like a bear!
Tom Levenson
@Adam L Silverman: This is spot on, and says with much more knowledge and authority, what I was fumbling towards. What my Royal Artillery Uncle used to call “operations in support of the civil power” are vastly more complicated than a straight up battle. The way you know just how utterly, criminally crappy Bush II and Rumsfeld were as senior leaders was their disdain for even the concept of such work.
Ruckus
@ruemara:
You actually wouldn’t like their lives. You aren’t built that way, the way of a narcissist or a bully. Which is a way that makes their lives livable for them, which is also what makes them miserable and falling some where on the asshole scale. (Generally middle to upper end, but that may just be my take) Your life may not be all cookies and cream, but you can live with yourself. And others can as well. That is a huge accomplishment.
Steve in the ATL
@Major Major Major Major: my confidential sources tell me that you were looking at clownsex.com earlier today.
Sick bastard.
Ruckus
@Tom Levenson:
I’d say speak for yourself but you are 100% correct.
b
@Steve in the ATL: Funny.
I got one of the Minneapolis kittens that were blegged on the blog – the one that BJ paid to get transported.
My youngest golden wears her out. The kitten likes to participate in indoor retrieving sessions, but she doesnt have the stamina of the 4 year old golden. She poops out after about 20 min. The golden is only getting warmed up.
I just wanted to warn efg that goldens, in general, are high energy, since people were recommending them. There is always a spectrum within any breed.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@debbie: I don’t know if it’s her posture or if the clothes themselves aren’t ideal for sitting on folding chairs, but she looks really awkward (and a little out of her league, like a teenager plunked down at a seriously grown-up function) in the seated picture. A longer, slightly more flared skirt would help–it looks as if she chose the outfit based on how good it looks standing and walking, and didn’t check how it would look sitting. (Another reason Hillary’s pantsuits were always a reliable choice!–and I say that as a dedicated skirt wearer.)
efgoldman
@Adria McDowell:
She’s already got a pretty good idea. She (her mom) has a cat that was there before granddaughter. The child learned quickly. She’s OK with dogs. One of her dad’s aunts raises purebred (competition) Portuguese Water dogs, and brings a litter to family shindigs for the young kids to play with. Too big (and expen$ive) for us
schrodingers_cat
@Adam L Silverman: That’s not a dog, that’s a fur factory.
Amir Khalid
That look on Tikka’s face — it reminds me of Lee van Cleef.
SiubhanDuinne
I find that, à propos to very little, I’m mostly incapable of reading beyond the headlines at BooMan, Digby, or Charlie Pierce’s shebeen these days. And that saddens me, because I’ve always liked all of them, but these days when I click on them I find I’m either infuriated, bored rigid, totally depressed, or all of the above. And that’s no way to go through life, son.
I removed myself temporarily from Facebook a week or so ago, and not for the first time. Have never consciously given myself a complete time-out from BJ, although I’ve peeled back slightly once or twice.
Without going full GBCW, how do y’all deal with the earnest “ain’t-it-awful?”ness of blogs and others that are supposed to be our allies? Just retreat into lurker mode, or make a splash, or what?
Adam L Silverman
@schrodingers_cat: They are not small.
KithKanan
@Amir Khalid: Oh, wow, I didn’t notice that before, but yes absolutely!
debbie
@a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio):
Agreed on the sitting vs. standing issue. Also moving. I’ll never forget the time I took my first stride in a pencil skirt. I almost fell over. That skirt was not made for striding!
Corner Stone
@Suzanne: You can not discount the possibility of equity. That is way bigger than salary, in the right situation.
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: I’ve got some Floriduh! Man and other locale equivalents in the pipeline. That should cheer you up.
stinger
@Suzanne: The offers might not be on the table when you do finally feel ready for a change. And I really get the “imposter” feeling, but a) they must think you are worthy, and b) fake it till you make it. No one will guess you are faking it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SiubhanDuinne: Funny you mention that. I noticed today that my once-daily reading of Pierce has dropped off to once or twice a week. And I’ve done the same with Washington Monthly, in no small part because of the recent format/layout change that is just a mess.
I’m trying to set aside an hour a day to read non-political stuff on paper, but for various reasons my schedule’s been thrown off the last couple weeks, and that’s harder than it should be (he said watching the Hayes show while clicking around the internet).
Ruckus
@efgoldman:
As someone whose had dogs and rescued an ornery old bastard cocker spaniel I’d say your ideas are spot on. And I would pay high attention to the not good with kids remarks, that’s a strong no with youngsters around, you never really know how some dogs will react to kids that are not a lot bigger than them. When I met that cocker he was fine on a leash among lots of people, we walked about 1/2 hr at at shopping center and he was great. After he settled in he was over protective and I had to watch him like a hawk around anyone who got close.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: OT: back to our discussion the other night, Ackerman related the Richardson, Rucklehaus, Bork story on Melber’s show again this evening. That three of them got together and agreed that Bork would be the one to fire Cox to preserve the DOJ.
The only significance is that I did not hallucinate it earlier in the week!
efgoldman
@cckids:
There was one that lived across the street, would come around once in a while and literally dance for attention. A super sweet doggie – who left two dogs worth of hair wherever she went.
patrick II
@Adam L Silverman:
I think e.f. said something about not wanting a dog that weighed over 1,000 lbs. However, that is a hell of a handsome dog, or bear on a leash, whatever it is, maybe he’ll make an exception.
dww44
@efgoldman: i recomend Bichon frise. My daughter, who has 4 kids, adopted 2 male Bishons about 4 years ago who were part of the household of an elderly man who had to move to an AL type facility. They do not shed at all, they are friendly and intelligent and not aggressive. Would highly recommend them.
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne: I go through cycles in my reading, but BJ is my last connection to this world. I don’t fit in it anymore, if I ever did.
Steve in the ATL
@debbie:
Adam and I had this *exact* conversation the other night!
Corner Stone
@Adam L Silverman: I saw it. I maintain my same level of credulity.
Adam L Silverman
@Steve in the ATL: In my case it was in a kilt, in Dundee Scotland in 1993 for a formal ball.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: I will update your dossier with “no change”.
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
Generally I choose to ignore threads in which from the start (or it becomes evident further in) the raison d’être is to restate the obvious for the nth to the nth power time. Also too Chicken Little posts and their threads, in which I might make the effort of one derisive snort and then leave.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
A traditional kilt is folded like a sari. I assume it was that kind of situation and not something with a zipper and/or buttons?
efgoldman
@stinger:
My kid, 36 yrs old and a professional journo of some authority, always feels that way
Steve in the ATL
@NotMax:
1. Trump is a moron
2. Republicans are sociopaths
3. WASF
4. Dems will never win an election again
What did I miss?
Gin & Tonic
@efgoldman: Coming in way late, but we had a Bichon-poodle mix. Little guy, 15-16 pounds. Couldn’t let him run loose, but walking was manageable, and was an excuse to get out of the house. Had him for 14 years; he developed diabetes around age 10, but held on for a good long time after that. Good dog for the house, not too big. A little excitable when he was young, but mellowed out. Still miss him.
SiubhanDuinne
@debbie:
?? This skirt’s not made for stridin’,
That’s just what it can’t do:
One of these days this pencil skirt
Will mince right over you.??
(Spoken): ‘Scuse my crotch….
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
I never even knew they made pencil kilts!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: We biased towards Cockers here, great and very loving dogs.
@Suzanne: Take it, my biggest mistake in life was not getting away from Satan’s loving grasp and pursuing other opportunities.
NotMax
@Steve in the ATL
A prime example of why BJ is the only site on which I look at comments at all.
Acerbic jackals are da best!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL:
5. Bernie would have totally won.
schrodingers_cat
@Mnemosyne: That must be a really short sari. Usually a sari is 6 yards, although some traditional saris can be 9 yards long.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@efgoldman: I know this is so old-school it’s retro, but consider a poodle. You needn’t go with one of the tiny ones, which is the most high-strung variety, but it’s breed that trains well, doesn’t shed too much, and is people-oriented. There are also a lot of poodle crosses out there, including the Goldendoodle, a cross so people-friendly an unsociable Goldendoodle may not be possible.
You can skip the show cut; it’s an unnecessary expense for a non-show dog.
They do like exercise, but if you adopt a slightly older one, they’ll need less than one a year or two old. They’re smart enough to play games, as well, which can get them a lot of exercise indoors is a couple of walks aren’t enough.
debbie
@Steve in the ATL:
I always miss the good stuff!
Ruckus
@Tom Levenson:
Had a golden growing up. She had the retriever instincts down 100%, she was pretty much otherwise dumb as a post. And still not the dumbest dog I’ve ever known. An ex would breed her registered GS and sell the puppies but kept one. Now the mom was an exceptional dog but that pup was literally dumb as a post. Dog mom tried to teach her to swim and finally gave up by walking away and shaking her head. This was 18 yrs ago and I still laugh, picturing that wonderful dog walking away from her kid.
Steve in the ATL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: d’oh! That’s like forgetting to breathe.
debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
??
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne: well played. Is the bartender at Chili’s wondering why you’re chuckling?
Gin & Tonic
@sharl:
It truly is. I was on disability and mostly in a recliner pretty much through all of Gulf War I. CNN was just making their bones, Bernard Shaw was in Baghdad, then they somehow got Peter Arnett in, it was great entertainment. Really helped pass the time.
Ruckus
@Robert Sneddon:
@SiubhanDuinne:
I am laughing my ass off reading these comments.
Thank you!
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@schrodingers_cat: The great kilt (Feileadh Mòr) can be 7 to 8 yards long and 50 to 60 inches wide–it could function as a garment or a blanket.. It’s no wonder they adopted the smaller version for convenience.
sharl
@Adam L Silverman: Your comment inspired me to read the Wikipedia section on the history of that weird business. It appears that the screw-up was a team effort on the part of several NBC folks; Williams was front-and-center though, and further distorted history in his recounting of the event in ensuing years, so he paid the price.
……The fact that, to this day, he can still get all dreamy about military attacks – even invoking Leonard Cohen, which I’m sure he did just to aggravate me personally! – suggests to me that he is not a particularly introspective or thoughtful man. No wonder MSNBC honcho Andrew Lack loves the dumb overpaid ass!
I think about this a lot. Maybe it’s just my pessimistic nature, but I don’t see us achieving much enlightenment on this issue without directly experiencing horrors such as what you described I’d love to be wrong on this.
Gin & Tonic
@SiubhanDuinne: If you listened when Adam was describing his weightlifting regime, you’d realize that a normal kilt would act like a pencil skirt for him.
debbie
Suddenly, all the ads here are kittens and puppies.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@debbie: Oh, yes. Experience can be a harsh teacher!
debbie
@Gin & Tonic:
No Arthur Kent, the Scud Stud?
stinger
@efgoldman: There are other terriers besides Jack Russell (the high-energy ones). Breeds with thinner coats will shed less than dogs with thick coats, and smaller dogs shed less than larger dogs, of course. A dog from a reputable breeder will be predictable in energy, personality, and care requirements. A dog from a rescue source will be getting the home it deserves. I’ve gotten really wonderful dogs both ways. Do take seriously the “not good with kids” label. Rescue orgs want you to be happy with the dog, and (if they are any good) won’t place a dog like that in an environment where the dog could cause trouble. Or be blamed for trouble.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steve in the ATL:
Heh. It’s crazy crowded tonight, and nobody has time to wonder anything about anyone! But I think I see a booth just opening up….
Mnemosyne
@schrodingers_cat:
Fidelio has some actual expertise, but the great kilt is what I was thinking of. That’s from the good ol’ days before zippers or even buttons.
JeanneT
@efgoldman: You might find 15-20 pounds is a nice size for a dog – big enough to be sturdy and play with kids, small enough to pick up in an emergency. Also small enough to get exercise by playing indoors as well as daily walking. I have a 17 pound terrier X basset hound X mystery mix who is very snuggly, and enjoys a daily walk but doesn’t HAVE to have one. I have a purebred Lowchen, about the same size, who is very lovable, but is more vocal and needs much more play time than the terrier x. Terrier X sheds, but doesn’t need frequent grooming; the Lowchen doesn’t shed, but does need brushing every few days. Both of them have loved going to training classes and learning tricks.
I have/had bigger dogs (labs, collies, and right now, a 70 pound lab x poodle) but all of them were/are so energetic that daily walks just weren’t enough when they were young: they needed the back yard to run, play and blow off steam in until they became middle aged.)
Robert Sneddon
@schrodingers_cat: The great kilt, the original Highland commoner’s dress is eight yards of woolen broadcloth worn over the shoulder, down and around the hips. A philabeg or small kilt is deeply pleated and usually four or five yards in length and is worn, depending on the situation with an Argyle jacket or a linen shirt or a waistcoat or similar. Military uniform kilts and especially bandsmen’s outfits are much more elaborate with spats, epaulettes, glengarry or bearskin covers and flashes. Badger-head sporrans are frowned upon these days, original items are grandfathered in under wildlife protection laws but new-manufacture badger-heads are fakes.
The store next door to my flat sells business pinstripe kilts with leather sporrans dressed with chrome-plated balls. It looks surprisingly civilised as an outfit.
Adam L Silverman
@Mnemosyne: Modern Highland formal dress.
Gin & Tonic
@debbie: That war was a long time ago, and there were narcotics involved, so I may be hazy on some of the players. I remember Arnett because of his accent, and because a few years later I was at the museum at CNN HQ in Atlanta where one of the exhibits was the coat they sent him to Baghdad in – which they sewed $100k of US currency into.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
Yes, I just saw and replied.
Amir Khalid
@Robert Sneddon:
I do hope those chrome-plated balls are not anatomically correct in appearance.
SiubhanDuinne
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’m glad to know it’s not just me.
*****
By the way, question for the few, remote, and always-reticent pedants among the Juicetariat: Is there any kind of qualitative difference between “It’s not” and “It isn’t”? Is there any kind of subtle distinction between them? I use these contractions interchangeably, but I always fear I may be overlooking some nuance known only to the pretentious elitists, and I fucking hate when that happens.
WaterGirl
@cckids: @efgoldman:
Found the videos I was talking about! Dogs 101
https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/dogs-101/
(click the arrow to the right to see the ~ 5 minute videos of many different breeds.)
Miss Bianca
@efgoldman: Portuguese Water Spaniel. If they’re good enough for the Obamas, they ought to be good enough for the efg’s!
Or a Labradoodle. They come in various sizes now – some are miniature poodle size, and they are very smart, very affectionate, nonshedding. Pretty much like the PWSs.
Adam L Silverman
@Robert Sneddon: Yep, this is what I’d hire. A modern/small kilt, Bonnie Prince Charlie jacket with weskit (waist coat), sporran, dirk, sgian-dubh, hose, dress brogues. I had my own formal wear shirt, bow ties, and cufflinks.
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne: Other than emphasis, I don’t know of a difference.
Robert Sneddon
@Amir Khalid: They swing to the left and right as the wearer walks, which suffices.
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne: there is a 0% chance that anyone here will have an opinion, much less a hardened one, on this issue
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: Even BooMan’s headlines are making me crazy. Stuff like: “Even if Mueller proves obstruction, it won’t be enough.” I’m thinking maybe he should just leave a standing post: “It’s hopeless, just give up.”
Really infuriating. Earlier today i left a comment asking when it became such a negative place. I wanted to add: Come on, BooMan, I expect better from you.
Steve in the ATL
@Adam L Silverman:
What time does your shift at Chippendale’s start?
NotMax
@Robert Sneddon
Watched one episode of a series from Ukraine wherein much mention was made of rubbing on badger fat as a cure for colds. They were able to get jars of the stuff with no trouble at all.
Why specifically the fat of badgers? No idea whatsoever.
Ruckus
@SiubhanDuinne:
Timeouts.
For me some of the timeouts are rather permanent because it just doesn’t seem worth it to go back. I used to check FB at least once every day, now maybe once or twice a week. I have friends that I see on there so I like to check in occasionally. I also unfriended a lot of people over the last couple of years. Pierce I read maybe once every other week, maybe.
I’m too old to put up with total downer shit, I have enough health problems without making the mental ones worse. OTOH I’d like to leave the place at least somewhat better than I found it but that is getting harder and harder to accomplish.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: You ever see a badger with a cold? No. Simple answers to simple questions.
schrodingers_cat
@a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio): @Robert Sneddon: Thanks, I had no idea.
WaterGirl
@Baud: You are an important fish in our pond!
WaterGirl
@efgoldman:
The professional word obviously doesn’t think so – she got a job in, what, 5 days?
Mnemosyne
@SiubhanDuinne:
As far as Facebook goes, I belong to a ton of private groups for writers, and I don’t subscribe to a lot of pages. And fortunately my friends and family are mostly sane, so I don’t have to wade through a lot of BS.
stinger
@Suzanne: Wow. What are the (if any) reasons against accepting that offer, besides the imposter thing? (Assuming that the second firm’s offer isn’t even better.) Because the imposter thing should be weighted ZERO.
SiubhanDuinne
@debbie:
Boy, you bring back a host of memories, two in particular:
My office (Canadian Consulate General) at the time was housed at CNN Center, so all the network stars, producers, engineers, etc were well known to us. I don’t claim to have known any of them at all well, but when they were in Atlanta I would stand in line with them in the CNN food court, smoke with them in designated areas back in the day, and considered them all good acquaintances if hardly friends. But surely enough to take a personal interest in their welfare.
The other thing is that I had just, a week or two earlier, taken up needlepoint, which I stitched night after night in front of the TV, and my very first project was a lovely image of full-blown daffodils in a grassy field. I remember vividly being struck by the contrast between the real-time death and destruction I was seeing rendered on television, and the pastoral life-affirming beauty I was stitching on canvas. To this day I cannot look at those daffs without being struck by the circumstantial irony of their creation.
Steve in the ATL
@NotMax:
Paging Omnes
schrodingers_cat
@Mnemosyne: I do use safety pins to keep the pleats in place. Next time I should go to India in the fall or winter, because when I go in summer, I am usually dressed like a no good bum because its so humid and hot that I don’t care much for how I look .The last thing I want to do is drape myself with yards of fabric.
sheila in nc
@SiubhanDuinne: Semi-pretentious commenter here, pulling an answer out of my ass.
The one thing that occurs to me is a distinction of tone/rhythm. Do you want to emphasize the “not” or the “is”?
Do you want to be really emphatic and say, “No, it’s not!” Or just brush it off your shoulder with a “No, it isn’t.” It’s about the ear as much as anything else.
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
One man’s contraction is another man’s compression. Or something.
The only even slight differences can immediately tease out are (a) which one reads better and more smoothly in context and (b) “it’s not” comes across as a less formal construction.
Adam L Silverman
@Steve in the ATL: I’ve got 11 to close at the Tilted Kilt.
middlelee
@efgoldman: @efgoldman:
I’m late to the post and haven’t read all the comments. I hear great things about rescued greyhounds. Laid back, gentle, not too huge, pretty bright.
Gin & Tonic
@NotMax: Here you go.
The theory is that products from animals which hibernate over the winter are good for you, and badgers are probably easier to catch than bears.
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne:
In Flanders fields the daffodils grow/between the crosses, row on row
That’s right, h8ers—I can bastardize WW1 poetry while riding the ferry to Alameda. Call me Marianas Trench cuz I am deep!
Steve in the ATL
@Adam L Silverman: This is why you’re a front pager
Adam L Silverman
@middlelee: But they can’t go out unless they’re in a properly and securely fenced area or are on a leash. Otherwise they will take off after whatever they want to give chase to.
Gvg
I am going to recommend backing off all large dogs including golden’s. Best dog our family ever owned was a golden, but she became mine after the 2nd time she injured my mother, by accident. My mother was in her 60’s and decided to get her first own pet that wasn’t someone else’s. She loved that dog and Bonnie was wonderful but she weighed about 70 lbs and mother had balance issues. Both incidents involved other dogs startling Bonnie so she jerked just a little and mom fell down. 2nd time was a bad break. That time an aggressive terrier goosed Bonnie from behind running up to her and it was only a jump of inches but she was strong. Anyway mom never really quit considering Bonnie hers and managed my ownership. If you have any health issues or need to not fall, don’t go with a big strong dog no matter how well trained because surprises happen on walks. Also large dogs don’t live as long. Really and that hurts. Mom didn’t know that and Bonnie’s demise took her off guard. Golden’s shed a lot in my experience. I sure wish there was a mini golden because I loved Bonnie too. Consider whether you could lift a sick one into the car for a trip to the vet.
Other end of my experience is smaller tend to be yappy and get on my last nerve but some can live a long time. current Sheltie is hyper yappy. We have had mostly good luck with dachshunds…which are actually mini dachshunds. The standards are bigger and rare now but my dad had two growing up in the 50’s that were smart. Packs of small dogs are really noisy. Also cats raised with dachshunds run funny, hoppy like the dogs…current mutt is loving but allergic to everything and needing Meds and special food…we thought mutts would be healthier!
stinger
@efgoldman: The point at which I stop feeling like an imposter is the point at which I am bored and ready to move on (but scared to, because of imposter feeling, rinse, repeat).
Ruckus
@middlelee:
Have a friend who has had many rescue grayhounds. They are not the smallest of breeds (nor near the biggest either) medium I’d say and of the one’s I’ve met a bit excitable. Otherwise lovely house pets for sure. But they seem to need exercise. My friend rescued ex and not quite up to par racers so that may have tainted my experience.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mnemosyne:
Most of the FB BS is not Trump supporters — I had shed myself of them (what few there were) a long time ago.
No, the ones who really set me off these days are what I guess at BJ we would call “concern trolls.” They are people on our side, people who share our views, who voted for Hillary (or would have — many are Canadian), and who detest Trump with every fibre of their being.
But they depress the Jesus-loving fuck out of me. The only game they know how to play is “Ain’t It Awful?” They make Eeyore look like Roo, they are so dreary and negative.
Trolls and Trumpettes and Bernistas I can deal with. Those nominally on our side? I’m no longer so sure.
Gin & Tonic
@Steve in the ATL: You should visit the St. George Distillery at the old Alameda (Air? Navy?) Base.
Steve in the ATL
@Gin & Tonic: been there! One of my biffles from college lives here and likes his drink, so I’ve hit all the alcohol-related hot spots all the way from there to Napa.
stinger
Kilt. Sigh.
Sab
@efgoldman: I have had ten dogs and nine stepdogs since 1980. Most of them were rescues. Three were tiny puppies and one was 5 months. Mostly large, many mixes, no terriers. We also had cockers in my childhood, as did my parents.
Take the not good with children warning very seriously, especially if the child isn’t around a lot. Your granddaughter will be both a child and an interloping stranger to the dog.
Dogs really aren’t sensible until they are two. One year old dogs look like dogs but they are actually adolescents. Housebroken but otherwise high energy, lacking common sense, and determined to test boundaries.
Our cockers didn’t much like children, often growled at them and occassionally bit. But they had soft mouths so they didn’t do much
damage. They were better with their own children, but they did not like visiting grandchildren at all. But none of this is true of my uncle’s cocker, who loves everyone.
Labs shed like crazy all year round.
My stepgoldens were wonderful and laid back, but they got two hours a day of walks or running loose in a park.
Mixes are great. I lost my sixteen year girl last March. She seemed to be a mostly lab with a touch of shepherd. Weighed about 50 pounds, gentle with all the kittens, cats, grandchildren, guinea pigs and other dogs.
My husband’s family has had great luck with silky coated wheaten terriers, who don’t seem to act terrier-hyper although they are good mousers. They have all lived amicably with small children and cats, and they don’t shed much.
My sister married a guy who had joint custody of a pomeranian. It terrorized her children.
Two dogs can be less demanding than one because they entertain each other.
I love labs but they are big and very strong. I love german shepherds more, but they are bigger and stronger, and they are also called german shedders for a reason.
My first two dogs were littermates. Their grandmother was a norwegian elkhound. One of them looked like a labrador retriever in an elkhound suit. She was a real sweetheart but dumb as a brick. Her sister looked like a miniatute german shepherd. Never weighed more than forty pounds, but everyone (even shepherd breeders) thought she was a shepherd puppy for years. Both great with strange kids.
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodingers_cat:
I expect I have told you — either in person when we met a few years ago, or in the hallowed halls of Balloon Juice — that one of my cherished memories is of being in, I dunno, maybe fourth grade? so about 1950-51 or so? anyhow, not long after independence/partition. A lovely Indian woman came to my social studies class and demonstrated wrapping, folding, pleating, tucking her sari. It was mesmerizing. I’ve never forgotten it.
Gin & Tonic
@Steve in the ATL: Their coffee liqueur is absolutely amazing.
Have you been to Hard Water on the Embarcadero?
SectionH
@a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio): So late to the thread, but I agree. First, tbh, poodles are only nervous if conditioned to be that way. Mine was eager and interested in stuff but very well adjusted. Poodles don’t shed, either, At all. They do have to be brushed regularly, but that can be just cuddle time.
My dog was bright enough, and amenable enough, that he knew his territory and stayed in it. It took some reinforcemen when he strayed as a puppy, mostly me grabbing him , yelling NO! In my mean voice, and depositing him back in the yard. After that, he could go out without a leash at all in the large unfenced yard around the apartment building I lived in then. It made “walking” him easy-peasy. And we lived on a busy-ish street corner. And of course no sane person gives their dog the stupid show dog cut these days -or didn’t several decades ago either afaik.
Had that dog for over 16 years, Never spent a dime on vet bills over the standard annual visit. He got along with cats, strangers, other dogs… lived on a diet mostly of Milk Bones – had almost perfect teeth to the day he died. ;->
SiubhanDuinne
@stinger:
Well.
Okay then.
.
.
.
(Fans self vigorously.)
.
.
Okay, I think I’m myself again. Carry on.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: Adam is apparently a bit older than I thought
Oh, that wasn’t Adam in the photo?
Sab
@SectionH: My sister and brother in law have two standard poodles that are great dogs. They get along with all sorts of other dogs. They live with a cat. They spend many hours at home alone because working owners. They do have to be groomed. I personally would rather vacuum than have to groom a dog, but that’s just me.
efgoldman
@Miss Bianca:
See above. Our son in law’s aunt breeds competition quality dogs. Too big, and at least from her, too expen$ive by far.
She brings litters of puppies to family gatherings – the kids love her.
SiubhanDuinne
@Suzanne:
My personal hang ups with “imposter syndrome” used to manifest in ridiculous and self-defeating, if not self-destructive, ways. Basically, I hauled around a belief that if something — a skill, a body of knowledge — came easily to me, then I didn’t deserve to get paid or rewarded for it. I did well in English, Music, and History classes? But I enjoyed them! Why would I deserve an A? I was an accomplished classical music broadcaster? But I knew the material cold. Why should the station give me a raise?
You see the problem. I did manage to overcome it, but it took years of therapy.
I sure hope you are able to say a big FUCK YOU” to any similar demons, and that you end up in a place that’s best for you.
stinger
@SiubhanDuinne: Yes, I keep that image handy. Never know when I might want it.
efgoldman
@WaterGirl:
Two months. The site was dumped before Thanksgiving, she got hired two weeks ago. But nobody much hires around the holidays
She had enough severance left to make a substantial deposit in the house down payment fund
She won’t let me post about her new job until she actually starts (next Tuesday). No logical reason – it’s pure superstition, like talking about a no-hitter
SiubhanDuinne
@stinger:
It’s the sporran. One’s imagination goes I can’t even.
Sab
@SiubhanDuinne: Me too. I had a friend in high school whose father was from India and whose mother was WASP American. She gave a presentation in some class where she brought in a sari and showed us how to put it on. So cool. We were so jealous. Our ancestral dirndls and kilts just didn’t compare.
Miss Bianca
@efgoldman: I did see that after I posted. But two questions – first being, no pet quality puppies/older dogs? They usually go for less than show-quality. Second being – “what, no family discount?” ; )
(knowing as I do that breeding quality pups is a rightfully expensive business)
ETa: And I guess I would be one of the ones pushing for a pure-bred over a mixed breed/rescue – nothing against shelter dogs or mixed breeds, I’ve adopted them successfully in the past, but they are a truly mixed bag – mine were both fear-aggressive, not towards people but towards other dogs – it would appear randomly for a period of about two years. Kind of scary when you have a little one in tow. At least with a purebred from a reputable breeder or rescue, you have some idea of how they’ll do.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
What, you were checking out the face?
schrodingers_cat
@SiubhanDuinne: There are so many ways to wear a sari. My sari wrapping skills are at best average due to lack of practice. I particularly prefer the traditional weaves, silks and cottons.
WaterGirl
@efgoldman: I guess it was 5 days from when I got the news about the people who were let go and finding out from you that she had gotten a position. Two months was probably an uncomfortably long time. Holidays are terrible for hiring.
Did you see that I found the link to the dog breed videos I mentioned before you went to dinner?
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: The photo is kind of hot.
efgoldman
@Sab:
mrs efg, who had dogs growing up, suggests putting a piece of granddaughter’s clothing under the dog’s bed, so the smell is always familiar. Makes sense to me.
Son in law’s dad has a beautiful pure white akita. Wonderful dog, as long has his owner isn’t there – loves everyone, plays with kids. Dad walks in, the dog becomes super territorial and snappish.
OldDave
@Gvg:
SWMBO and I own that particular Tshirt – we’ve had around fifteen dachshunds over the years. Three coats (short / long / wire) and two sizes (mini, standard). They can be aggressive toward strangers, and some vets call them table sharks because of that. But I love the ones we have and miss terribly the ones who have left us.
Sab
@efgoldman: That might work.
Another Scott
@efgoldman: Good luck with the search! We’re a big fan of mutts – we’re on our 3rd. Lots of dogs can be “mouthy” for a year or more. They eventually grow out of it, or direct their mouthiness away from people and toward their toys.
I wouldn’t take warnings about “not for kids” as gospel. Sometimes they apply that warning to dogs that are extremely loving and friendly, but don’t yet have manners to not jump up on people. Don’t automatically assume it means that they’re not good with your grandchild.
Also note that some dogs are very quiet until they’re comfortable with you and their new home. Our Colleen was basically silent for about 3 months, then she became a terror to the mailman. ;-) If certain kinds of barking/howling/yeowling/etc. bothers you, don’t assume that if you don’t hear it at the shelter that s/he won’t do it later! (We were very happy that we didn’t buy a neighborhood house that had 6 beagles next door!)
You might want to search at out-of-the-way shelters, also too. We got our Ellie at “Homeward Trails” in suburban Fairfax. They get dogs from all over and adopt them out very quickly. Ellie was from a little town called Appalachia, VA at the far end of the state – she didn’t show up on Petfinders or AdoptAPet.
Good luck, and happy hunting!
Cheers,
Scott.
efgoldman
@SiubhanDuinne:
Never a problem for me. Now GETTING a raise was a whole different problem.
SectionH
@Sab: I’m not sure I’d want to have to groom a Standard, but as a counterpoint to brushing a Min or Toy (my dog was on the border between the 2), I present my grandpuppies, who were Huskies. OMG, the hair… I have a good hand vac now (needed in this dust-bowl on the sea) but I think just Keiko’s hair would jab even burned out a hand vac.
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodingers_cat:
I’ve always wondered whether sari-wrapping is one of those muscle-memory things, like riding a bicycle, that one never really loses, or a forgettable skill that requires frequent refreshing. My former colleague Rajalakshmi Ganesh sometimes wore the most gorgeous saris to work — but she might equally likely have shown up in jeans and a tee-shirt.
Her daughter’s wedding is still the stuff of legend around here, and it has to have been at least 25 years ago!
SectionH
@SectionH: “jab” sb have, ffs.
Sab
@efgoldman: I think akitas are gorgeous, and I have known a lot of them that I was very fond of, but I have heard so many bad stories about them. My hairdresser’s akita bit the pool guy. Fortunately when he called animal control the animal control guy was good with dogs and didn’t give it a death sentence. When I lived in Vegas some moron used to bring his akita in to terrorize the dog park. Plus they are very big and they shed.
The Japanese won’t recognize American akitas as akitas. They don’t like what we’ve done with the breed ( big-headed chunky dogs.) But I still think they are gorgeous. I would never have one. Too much dog for me, and the love of my dog life was a 130 pound german shepherd bitch.
schrodingers_cat
@SiubhanDuinne: You never lose it but it kinda becomes rusty and if you wrap it too loose then you spend the entire evening fidgeting with your outfit. Practice makes perfect, like most things.
Ruckus
@Suzanne:
If someone wants you and wants to pay you more, and give you a lot more control of your work and life, that is great. My last job was a dead end gig. It seemed to be OK for a while but it really wasn’t. I stayed too long because of not wanting to jump off into the deep end once again but it became obvious that was the only thing that made any sense. The result was that I went back into business for myself. I was happy again, the work was new, the challenge was new and the work was actually fun. I met a lot of new people and even enjoyed the risk of failure. It was well worth the time, effort, money and while it didn’t work out in the end, that was well beyond anything I could control or change. We don’t know the future, but we can see the past and the now. You know what you like doing for work, you know what you don’t like about work and you know what you want to do in this situation. My only advice would be to check out the businesses and the staff, it’s far easier to do now than at any time in the past and then enjoy your new job.
Another Scott
@NotMax: There was an Irish setter in our neighborhood when I was a kid. Such an amazingly beautiful dog, in so many ways.
Cheers,
Scott.
Steve in the ATL
@Sab: War and Peace, chapter 1
ETA:zing!
efgoldman
@Another Scott:
There was one a few houses away, came home as a pup, grew to mellow old age with a grey face and muzzle, gone now.
Huge, brushy tail, could knock you down wagging it, which is all it did. Wanted to love everyone to death.
Suzanne
@stinger: I just feel…..scared? Like, my current gig is good in most ways. I just….see the ceiling.
Having said that, breaking a ceiling is scary. Even if it’s great, growth is a little terrifying.
SectionH
@efgoldman: Just a thought for you: we’re in our mid-60s, and for 5+ years already have only been interested in older cats to adopt. (We love dogs too, but ?x daily walking isn’t in the cards.) I don’t want to outlive a beloved pet, nor saddle our kids with a critter they will care for out of guilt. They both loved be animals (see grandpuppy comment above) but… anyway, Best wishes for finding your puppeh whoever it may be.
Sab
@Steve in the ATL: Long, but 37 years of multiple dogs is a lot of dog info.
I thought lawyers could read lots of stuff without moving their lips. Apparently I am out of date.
SectionH
@Suzanne: Yeah, scary, but you’re no imposter. I know from that feeling like so many Jackals have already said. And possibly going too far, not sure that ia big move wouldn’t even help spawn the elder. The worst mistake I may have ever made was as a teen, sticking in an evil HS environment instead of taking the option of changing schools when it was offered, because I thought that would be “quitting”.
Sab
Tikka looks amazingly stressed out in that first picture. I am glad he survived the guest infestation. I have one tuxedo who would be sitting in everyone’s lap, but my girl tuxedo would be sitting on ceiling joists in the basement praying for the strange humans to leave.
Sab
@SectionH: I used to fill a thirty pound garbage bag every single week with the hair from my german shepherd, year round. Some crazed dog owners take up spinning and knitting to get rid of the fur. I just used to toss it out in the yard for the squirrels, who were grateful for the insulation in their winter treehouses.
Gretchen
I agree that big dogs are not for us older folks. I had a wonderful 115-pound Golden who started when approaching some children and backed into me. I fell over him and broke my arm. And when he was in his final illness, we couldn’t pick him up to take to the vet and had to get our son to do it.
Our next dog (we managed to go a week dog-less) was a much more moderate 60 pound lab mix. But that’s still too big for people in their 60’s with balance issues. I’m afraid to walk him. My husband does, but I won’t. We should have probably gone with something in the 10-25 pound range. Unfortunately, the shelters seem to have lots and lots of pit bull mixes and big dogs, as well as snappy chihuahuas, and not so many gentle little dogs.
Anne Laurie
@schrodingers_cat:
Traditional kilts — not the kind British soldiers wear — are a single length of cloth (the ‘plaid’) that goes over the shoulder and drapes down far enough on *both* sides to, well, reach a guy’s knees, more or less. And they’re also woven from wool, not cotton or silk, so they don’t drape as easily & need to be a bit longer.
Anne Laurie
@Sab:
This is the only dog-related comment in this thread I can endorse 100%, without exception.
One of the people who got me interested in acquiring my first dog always told her ‘household obedience’ classes “Expect the UPS package with your dog’s brain in it to show up right around its second birthday.” Over the next couple decades, I witnessed many, many household/beginner training classes, and yes this *is* a reliable rule.
For a human analogy, we let 18-year-olds vote and 21-year-olds drink… but the rental car companies insist their customers be at least 25. A one-year-old dog is, mentally, a teenager; a two-year-old should be mature enough to be considered an adult.
(NB: This has little to do with physical maturity, because of the size ‘plasticity’ of modern dogs. A toy dog may be as big as they’ll ever get at six months; a Great Dane or Newfoundland won’t be mature enough to jump hurdles in competition until they’re three years old.)
Anne Laurie
@efgoldman: @efgoldman:
If you know her well enough (or your son-in-law does), let her know what kind of dog you’re looking for. Breeders get to hear about too-small specimens, year-old ‘promising puppies’ who don’t grow up pretty enough, ‘ring retirees’ who may only be 3 or 4 years old, and ‘return-to-breeder’ dogs from people whose lifestyles change. Your perfect dog might be waiting for you already!
Anne Laurie
@Sab:
Akitas were bred to be one-person guard dogs. So were a lot of toy breeds — although a chihuahua or a lhasa apso was meant more as a ‘biological noise alarm’ than a ‘remove intruder’s limbs security animal.’
As EFGoldman mentioned, sensible Akita breeders work towards a temperament where the dog is friendly as long as “their human” isn’t around to be protected. And sensible Akita owners know how their dog’s mind works — they don’t leave them unsupervised in the presence of strangers, or let them loose in a dog park if the dog hasn’t been educated to know the difference between ‘this is a playground’ and ‘this is a free-for-all where I have to defend MY human against all these other stranger dogs.’ Tragically, too many people who want a big scary-looking “protection” dog are… the opposite of sensible.
cosima
@efgoldman: Mine is late to reply, you’ll maybe not see it…
We’ve got a lab (pedigree, not mix), and wow, so much work. Much more work than our golden retrievers or beagles were in terms of exercise needed, and attention needed, at least in the first 2+ years that we’ve had her (from 8 weeks). I did not get her until after we’d moved into a house with a fenced garden. She doesn’t use it for running around really, but needs it for plenty of obvious reasons. She is a sweet & loveable dog, but unless you can find a rescue lab that is 5+ years old, that is not the dog for you, even if on the small side.
Our girl beagle was an angel — sweet & loving & well-behaved, some beagles are good around children, but some are not, as we found out very dramatically. Our goldens were amazing, as that breed so often is — nothing but love, but not a good breed for you due to size & hair.
We’ve got friends with working cockers, and I would love to have one. I would take on a rescue working cocker in a second if we get leave to remain (so that I know they will have a life spent in the forests of Scotland as they’d be used to). Our friend is training one to be a therapy dog, and that little dog is a dream, absolutely adorable, sweet, smart, and not big at all, about the size of a cocker spaniel (a dog that I’d never consider). They have long hair, but are small enough that there’s not tons of it. Other friends have a dachshund, and she is sweet & cute, but not the brightest, and demands a lot of attention.
That’s my two cents/pence re: dogs.
glaukopis
Even later to the thread, but I agree with the greater than two years old and smaller. My sister adopted Mac the golden as a puppy when she was 70. She tripped over him when he darted in front of her & broke her leg in three places. Couldn’t put any weight on it for 3 months, and never recovered full mobility. I adopted Mac when she died a few months ago, but at almost 120 pounds, he is a handful even for me. Great mellow temperament now and great with kids notwithstanding. Obedience training was mandatory for a dog of that size.
Anne Laurie
@cosima: Over here, English Cocker Spaniels are an entirely separate AKC breed from (American) “Cocker Spaniels”.
I have to agree that English Cockers are lovely beasts, and not just because one of my dearest friends since college has switched from Afghan Hounds (too much for an older woman in a motorized scooter to handle) to the most adorable EC girl. *American* Cockers, on the other hand, have been ‘refined’ (overbred for pushed-in pug-noses & sweep-the-ground coats) to the point where any given specimen is three or four expensive health issues waiting to happen.
You probably know this, but just in case any newbie comes late to this thread…
MoxieM
@Robert Sneddon: late to the party… I’ve had Newfies for 25 years… multiples of Newfies! (they’re like potato chips, or Great Danes, you can’t have just one).
Myth: they eat a lot: They do not. They eat less than an average Labrador.
Because:
Myth: They are athletic (ha hah! I’ve had living room furniture that was more athletic…). They are very strong, they need a small amount of exercise, swimming if you can get it is best and safest.
THEY ARE VERY STRONG and they will pull you over in a flash if you are leashed to one and you don’t have him/her under control. Not malice, just muscle strength and 4-wheel drive.
THEY ARE NOT DOGS FOR BEGINNERS. Most of my dogs are rescues, and most of them come from households who adopted an amazingly cute fuzzy puffball at 15 lbs–who mushroomed to a 130+ lb teenager in eight months. If you are not accustomed to training such a beast, it’s not good for anyone. Also they need careful diets during this rapid growth phase.
You must adore brushing. And brushing And brushing And brushing some more. And snipping hair around the feetsies and earsies. They require a ton of grooming, and if you don’t do it, it generally runs $80 a pop at a decent groomer.
They are the loving-est, sweetest, most loyal, best around children dogs on the planet. Added bonus: they will rescue your (grand) children from the water.
And because they are so low-energy (area rugs with legs), they are actually OK in an apartment if you take them out regularly.
Oh, and about that: be prepared to clean up after a small pony. yeah.
But, best dogs evah! far as I am concerned. But it doesn’t sound like a great match for your circumstances.
cosima
@Anne Laurie: Yes, when folk talk about cockers here in the UK it is an entirely different sort of dog from what comes to mind in the US — most have working or springer. When I was young I had a roomie with two cocker spaniels (in the US), they were the typical breed as seen in the US, and they were the dumbest dogs ever.
There’s a guy in our orienteering club who fosters working cockers thru a rescue organisation, and I desperately wanted to adopt one that he brought to an event, but I couldn’t adopt a dog, then have to move with them, possibly to somewhere awful (as we have had to do more than once due to oil industry). So, I will revisit that when we know if we will stay or go (soon now).
Here’s a link to the organisation that I’ll use if we go down that route (and will give a person some idea of the temperaments & demands of spaniels): http://springerrescuescotland.org/meetourdogs.php