Owning a Cav causes mental stress?

[JADE AND LADY]

I no i just expect every where to allow dogs because i see her as my baby and if they tell she's not aload in somewhere i go mad ,it's sad but true.
Sure one day my mum asked me to go for lunch with her so i took lady along as i only had her 3 weeks but we went to a pub for carvery and i put her in my handbag as she fit queit comfortable and my coat over my arm and sat down the back it was so funny she kept sticking her head out to see what was happening
If the staff had seen her they would've trough me out

[moniechris]

When Stewie was a pup, he fit perfectly in my purse (he literally fit in the palm of my hand at 12 weeks ) I snuck that little puppy with me EVERYWHERE!! He went to the aquarium, the movies, restaraunts, museums etc). It was great because his poofy little face would stick out the side of the bag and usually I only got spotted by children because they were eye level with him under my arm I miss those days!!

[Cicero's Mummy]

I suppose if one doesn't have kids these dogs really can wind themselves round your heart in a similar way! Even so, one does have to get a sense of perspective and relax a bit and leave it to fate to a degree.

No kids here... but I agree with the "perspective and relax a bit"!!

While I treat my puppy like my kiddo (in the essence that it has everything for a pup known to man), I still realize it is a doggie! Totally different!


Anywho... about the going everywhere!! I am all for sneaking my dog in everywhere! Fortunately places in Ohio are getting better about allowing dogs! When going to a restaurant I try to choose one that has a patio (weather permitting) so that I can take my poochie with me. I hate the winter!

A lot of our malls are doggie friendly! We even have one that encourages you to bring your pup shopping with you!

[JADE AND LADY]

I'd love to live in america

[Cicero's Mummy]

I'd love to live in america

I always find it funny when people say this!! I would love to live in Austria, Ireland, Scotland or England! (maybe not forever but for a few years)

America is very, well, boring when you are not in "tourist" areas. Just about the same as everywhere else. And mid-west weather is horrible.

Although, the West is amazing!! That is where dh and I would love to end up. We are putting in match cities and our tops ones so far are:

1. Denver, Colorado
2. Arizona
3. Utah

[JADE AND LADY]

Ijust think dog's have a little more leeway in america there not seen as just pets but part of the family,i know lots of people all over the world are the same but i can't even explain it maybe its the magazines i read
with all the celebs (i no i'm so sad) and there dogs.

[Cicero's Mummy]

I know what you mean about celebs and thier dogs. I get The New York Dog and The LA Dog Magazines and man... celebs and thier doggies is what the maggies are all about!

- Cicero is gonna be jealous!!

[Joanne M]

Mathis, how long is that you have to wait before you actually get Cicero?

Chris I wanted to sneak Tucker lots of places but I worried my furtive looks and guilty face would give me away for sure.

[judy]

i had mongrel dogs as a kid, especially my first cocker mix teddy and then in my 20s i had Frank, best friend forever (a girl). i have thought about this since getting zack.

From the time when Frank died and when i got Zack, it was about 27 years without a dog, and during that time, i had a daughter who is now 23. before my daughter, i never felt maternal before, and to me, my dogs were my friends, pals, they were like my human friends, someone to hang out with and enjoy, but not someone who's health you worry about, like if your friend as the flu, you are sorry but you are not axiety stricken. but with my daughter, suddenly i was so maternal, all those instincts, protective, nurturing, and easily becoming anxious if she was sick, and i was also worried about people who snatch kids and kill them so i kept my eye on her.

It was wonderful, for my heart to grow and deepen like that, it was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me, to be responsible for a vulnerable dependent little being. i had never thought of my dogs that way, they were healthy and low maintenance, until teddy got hit by a car at age 5, i was 14, and Frank died fast of cancer at 13 when i was around 30.

but when i got zack, it's been just like how i felt about my daughter, and i feel that way about my daughter's cavalier belle too, i feel responsible and very nurturing and protective, they don't seem like buddies and pals to me very much, more like little kids.

The day i got zack, he moaned and cried pitifully in the car driving home and i didn't know what was wrong, i felt so helpless. so i kept him in my lap. Then he immediately was sick with bloody diarrhea. You bet i worried, blood coming out of his butt the day i brought him home! it took 5 weeks and seeing vets several times a week, and changing vets several times, until i found one who cured him of his diarrhea and vomiting. Until he was helped, i couldn't relax or rest, i had to figure out how to help him. when we were in the emergency room waiting to see a doctor and he vomited in his crate, and i cleaned it up, i was telling him we are in it for the long haul, and I will take care of him and do all i can for him. i had had him 3 weeks then.

Since zack has been well and healthy, i have, gratefully, been free of worrying about his health. But one thing you mentioned that i do feel bad a lot about is leaving him alone when i go to work. I never gave any thought to leaving Frank alone. Frank came with me almost everywhere, and i never owned a leash, we were buds, we hung out, but i did leave her sometimes of course, for some hours, and i went to Europe once and left her with friends, and i just never worried about her at all. But Zack is another matter.

i don't really see a whole lot of difference between how it was with my daughter and how it is with zack, in my heart. A child is way harder, way more needs, more complex, dogs, even young ones, are more independent than young children. But in my heart, it still feels pretty much the same, and it's good, i like it, i like having a little being to care for and to sacrifice for (like coming home from work at lunch, even though it is not convenient, and is sometimes a hardship).

I have enjoyed my daughter at all her developmental stages, and would not want to go backward, yet i still have felt wistful and sad at the thought of never again getting to have those feelings that i had when she was very small, and then i got Zack, and it was so unexpected to feel as i had about my child. i'm very happy to have this experience.

i haven't thought of my part of the US as that dog friendly. I live near the beach and it's huge, it goes for a thousand miles, but there's no dog beach near me. There are some nice dog parks. But what was really dog friendly was when i went to France way back in 1969 and there were dogs and cats in the restaurants, i thought it was cool, a cat walked behind me and rubbed against my back while i ate. Does anyone know, is it still like that in France? It was in Paris, but also i think it was in other cities too, Bayonne or Biarritz.

[KingstonsMom]

Wow! I didn't expect so many responses so fast. I'm glad I'm not alone in this... To clarify, I know it's scientifically proven that dogs are stress relievers. I just wondered if others worry about their Cavs as much as I do. Kingston has definitely brought more joy to my life than I ever imagined. However, I don't know if I could handle having human children. I'd probably smother them with overprotectiveness!

Ijust think dog's have a little more leeway in america there not seen as just pets but part of the family

That's interesting. Is America really more dog-oriented than other places???