Doggone it
Guest post: this is my lovely sister angie. she is quite a bit younger than me and quite a bit taller than me and almost always in a sunshiney mood. she is a nice sister to have.
If I was a dog, I would want to celebrate Christmas with my family. I would like to unwrap a bone or new squeaky toy wearing a new Santa hat my mommie gave me. But I am not a dog. I am the mommie.
I want to bring our dog, Louie, to our immediate family Christmas get-together. I am not one of those crazy people who thinks that Louie is a human–although I’ll be honest that I dress him up for Halloween and we celebrate his birthday. I just think he’s part of the family.
I am not advocating bringing your dog to formal dinner parties, family reunions, wedding, funerals or even your friend’s house, but a casual family get-together seems innocent enough to me. Our dog Louie is very cute and cuddly. He also licks, sheds and eats everything he can get his paws on. We try to control him as best we can, and I think the more exposure he gets to being around big groups of people, the better his behavior gets. To me, family Christmas celebrations shouldn’t be peaceful, boring times of mundane conversation. Kids, animals and crazy mommies make it more fun!
If I was a dog, I would want to celebrate Christmas with my family
21 Responses to “Doggone it”
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now, about your post. i found it to be sweet and lovely just like you; you are a honeybee after all. i think asking to bring louie to christmas is great and i hope you get the thumbs up. i am rooting for you and louie, but i understand if mom and dad deny the request. louie is a great dog and i dig that you and the mr. have incorporated him into your lives so throughly.
Now to the topic. I completely agree that family get togethers should not be formal gatherings where people drink tea and make small talk. I have always enjoyed big get-togethers where there are games/discussions/kids running around/lots of food etc more than small formal parties.
The tough part with pets is this: not everyone is as comfortable with them as others, they tend to get into any and all stuff that is in contact with the floor (i.e. couches, cords, presents, books, etc ), and lastly someone has to be constantly baby-sitting them. The first issue is that out of respect for others you wouldn’t bring something that others don’t like. The second one could be resolved by either picking up everything in sight and putting it 5 ft off the floor or keeping pets away from any area that has something chewable. The last one is probably the easiest in that a pet owner can be extra careful to at all times monitor their pet (short leash indoors? yeah sounds weird to have a leash inside but how else are they not going to chew up that new ninjaturtles dvd u just got or knock over that lamp u got last summer?).
My idea is that if someone wants to bring a pet, keep it outside or in the basement and that way everyone that wants to can go play with it, it’s not “left alone” at home, and it prevents awkward situations of a pet breaking or ruining someone else’s stuff. While at the same point those that don’t like pets aren’t bothered and there’s no need for the petowner or homeowner to baby-sit at all.
That being said, it seems to me that the hosts have last say since they are welcoming people in and who am I to complain if they really want to have their 1-10 cats, dogs, snakes, hamsters, or parrots around and don’t mind inviting other pets to join the party?
-oh yeah I forgot to mention that my grandma did have a parrot in an indoor garden in the middle of her house…and it could actually say hector!
If you lived on a farm, would you bring your horse with you too? No, the horse would stay outside, because it is an animal.
I have had the pleasure of Louie-the-Dog’s company, and there are still traces of his visit to a cabin deep in the carpeting and upholstery. Louie-the-dog came to another cabin, and I recall a frightful scene where he killed a small animal and brought it into the cabin.
The only animal in the house on Christmas should be the cooked turkey on the dinner table.
Now that we have covered this topic, does anyone know where the discussion board is to debate whether it’s appropriate to bring young children to holiday gatherings (noisy and messy)?
I agree that the more exposed the animal is the more behaved he will be. I think the more chaotic the better!
Since I have been tagged as having a fairly neutral view on dogs in general, I will try to give my sincerest option on this bring-your-dog-to-the-Christmas-party topic.
Dogs(aka. Man’s best friend)are in our lives for pleasure, enjoyment, and companionship (this is starting to sound like a personal ad!). Although I have never owned a dog, I can imagine what joy they bring. Despite this, not everyone shares equal feelings about this “joy”. The smell, energy, and behaviour of dogs is not favored by all. Because of this…I would have to agree with the rest of the clan by stating dogs should not be brought to holiday parties, even if it is for your family. Try planning a special Christmas at your own home with your dog. Let Louie rip into all the goodies you have wrapped for him! I think he will feel equally part of the festivities then!
I think it is up to the host!
Irene,
Dogs belong at home. I love dogs very much and I had dogs all my life but we never took them to someone’s home.
Mary,
I think it depends on the host. I love dogs & we use to bring my dog everywhere. If the owner is responsible & controls the dogs behavior all is good. I beleive it’s a great thing for everyone who is afraid of dogs to expose themselves to situations like this. I have had the opportunity to meet Louie and he is a very sweet dog. Yes, he likes to lick you up, but he is clean & always smells good. Good luck Louie, I hope you are not HOME ALONE on christmas!
Peggy,
I really love dogs, we have a grand dog, and we never leave him alone. I understand the thought of leaving them at home alone. We never get to anywhere with not have someone with him. We do Doggie Daycare when we can.
Happy Holidays to all of you!!!!
anyways some points:
1-i was speaking about any and all animals - not louie specifically (though obv he is part of the discussion since this was angies post to begin with).
2-yes i do think that in the end chelle and i will get a dog, but since it’s not now, why start?
3-as far as dogs not being a burden, i think that is a huge understatement. they may give alot, but they demand as much too. i am not blind to how much they demand (time, time, time, walking, money, vets,food,etc) and that has been my MAIN argument against having a dog at our point in our lives (young marrieds no kids)
4-i wouldn’t go as far as therightone, though i do appreciate your literary flair.
5-i agree with tammy, maybe it’s not a dog’s fault that it’s not trained right, but then it’s dog-owners fault and it does affect others (including hosts). Thing is I know that louie for example, has been trained and educated - but that does not prevent the chewing up of cds or eating rat poison.
7-and finally this is my best idea: how about tammy brings a repllica of her dog-too-be, ang brings her dog, therightone brings a horse, and I bring my burro - we build a corral outside and all the animals can play together out there.
1 - i just reread honeybee’s post and it seems very innocent and pure in spirit. she just wants to bring her dog to christmas. i understand that lots of people don’t agree with her; i am surprised that almost no one does agree with her. have you people no dog-heart?
2 - i think honeybee should start a dogs everywhere revolution. she should bring her dog everywhere and encourage everyone else to do the same. in a few years it will be as normal as bringing your kids with you and people won’t even remember this time. come on honeybee, start the revolution! you could call it DOGS EVERYWHERE!!!
3 - i also think that hector guatemala’s idea, point number 7 from his last comment, is brilliant. i’ll get working on a replica right away. i’ll see if my dad will build the corral; he’s a handy guy.
I don’t have much time to write since I spent the last 15 minutes of my break reading the posts.
So here are some comments i’d like to make:
1. Yes, Louie requires attention and I think that when we bring him places I am paying close attention to his actions so that others do not have to (nor do I expect them to). This is one reason that I personally do not like to bring Louie to larger functions. (FYI: Ben Jensen has asked us several times to bring Louie to his house—thanks Ben—although it would have been good to know about the rat poison—)
2. Yes, Louie chewed things up as a PUP (a few shoes, a cell phone antenna, and some other stuff) but now that he is older he rarely chews things that are not his toys—except for his addiction to Kleenex and Q-tips
3. The Olson’s have a dog (Louies uncle Rusty)and most people who will be at X-mas are familiar with both dogs.
4. I think Michelle was a little harsh in her email–maybe a bad day–or–maybe not meant to.
5 I know Hec doesn’t like animals, and I try to keep Louie awaay from him (and Jared too) and I give them full permission to swat him away.
6.I believe in pack mentality…i’m the alpha male…
7. Louie is a loving dog…who likes to show it by licking…
8. He doesn’t bark that much, he is a medium sized dog (not large), and i think now that he is a little older he has settled down and is decently trained.
9. Louie makes a good kickball mascot….
Thats it.
Honestly though (and with a ton of love for Max, Angie, and Louie)…
1. I have no problem with animals. It’s when animals don’t behave or won’t leave me alone that I have a problem. I have a hole in a favorite J-Crew sweater of mine from when Louie ran into the room and immediately jumped on me and started biting my sleeve.
2. I don’t feel comfortable swating Louie…the same way I wouldn’t feel comfortable spanking/disciplining someone else’s kid. (We all know what happened the last time someone we know swatted someone else’s dog.) It’s not my responsibility or anyone else’s to punish Louie.
3. I understand some of Michelle’s frusturations about Max and Angie not being able to go out because they have to stay home with the dog OR having to leave in the middle of something to let Louie out.
All of this is not a big deal. Just some honest personal feedback since Angie asked for it.
There has been some interesting discussions and I think that this forum provides for this while if we were all sitting in a room together this is not what we would be talking about.
I am a dog owner and have had a dog(s) most of my adult life. My dog doesn’t generally attend family gatherings unless they are at my home. I think the circumstances would be different if my familiy lived in another town and I needed to drive a distance to be at the family event or was needing to stay over night.
Dogs attending family gatherings–I think it depends. It depends on the dog, depends on the family, depends on the owners, depends on the event, depends on the hosts, depends on the friends, depends on the length of time the dog will be left alone, depends on the distance needed to return home to feed/bathroom, etc.
That said, Louie is welcome to attend family gatherings at my house when it is just Louie and his owners and Rusty and his owners. When the group includes the entire family, most of the time I think Louie should stay home. That is because not everyone in the family appreciates him being there.
SORRY!
Is Louie coming to Christmas this year? Or is Nora the only one making the cut?