The Cost of Dog Ownership

Most studies say that a typical dog owner spends about $500 a year to care for his or her dog.

Ha! Ha! Ha! If you’re a serious dog owner, you are laughing now. For most of us, $500 a year is a mere down payment. There are the dental appointments (you don’t want a dog with periodontal disease—and the bad breath that comes with it). And there are training classes: obedience, agility, maybe something exotic like flyball or dancing with dogs. And the groomer. And the super-premium all-natural food, made with human-grade ingredients that cost six times as much as what you paid for your own dinner last night.

The expenses that can really put you in the poorhouse are the medical bills. Does your dog have a spinal problem? Make an appointment with a veterinary neurologist and a surgeon—and maybe even an acupuncturist and a chiropractor. Don’t forget weeks at a specially designed doggie spa for physical rehabilitation.

There are doggie ophthalmologists, allergists, orthopedic surgeons, oncologists, cardiologists, reproductive specialists, dentists (who actually do doggie orthodontia) and even veterinary behaviorists—the canine equivalent of a psychiatrist. And they are not being paid by an HMO.

You’ll want your dog to have the best of everything, from custom doggie beds to special training treats to rhinestone collars to Halloween costumes. Expect to spend about $1,500 a year if you’re a really devoted dog owner.

Because your dog is getting top-notch care, he’ll live longer than most pets; a healthy, robust dog is likely to live to be 14 or over. Fourteen years at $1,500 a year—that’s $21,000 over the life of your dog.

For $21,000 you can:

- Rent a Jaguar for three years or buy a Chrysler PT Cruiser and pay for insurance for four years. These cars are babe magnets and stud finders.

- Go to Harvard for eight months. Mentioning you went to Harvard is a sure-fire way to impress a member of the opposite sex.

- Rent a yacht and have the party of a lifetime—inviting every potential date you know.

- Buy the woman of your dreams a pair of diamond earrings (total carat weight of 2.0) from the Victoria collection at Tiffany and Company, and still have money to take her to a Broadway play and dinner at Sardi’s.

- Buy the man you’ve got a crush on a Rolex Oyster President gold watch, and still have money left over to take him to an NBA play-off game.

- Get 14 Armani suits (for men or women). The corporate executive look just might catch the eye of someone else who’s spending a fortune on clothes to attract an executive-type mate.

- Make yourself over with cosmetic surgery. For $21,000, you can buy liposuction, a tummy tuck, a facelift and breast augmentation (for women) or pectoral implants (for men).

So, if you’re a non-dog person just looking for love, you can improve your odds by spending your money at the car dealership, Tiffany’s, or maybe even the plastic surgeon’s office.

Dogs as Date Bait: Why It Works

The traditional methods of meeting a potential love interest just don’t work very well. Meet someone at a bar? I’m more likely to orchestrate an intervention than ask for the guy’s phone number.Find romance at work? Can you spell sexual harassment lawsuit?You can’t be seriously looking for love at the grocery store. Comeon! If you see someone suggestively caressing the melons, your firstthought isn’t, “Now that’s a normal, functioning adult.” One book I read suggested that singles hang out at banks, since employed people go there to make deposits. But it seems the employed person you’d meet would likely be a police officer or FBI agent during what could be a rigorous and ugly interrogation.

Happily, the answer to the problem is probably lying at your feet right now. Yes, once again, you’ll find that a dog really is man’s (and woman’s) best friend. Your dog is ideal date bait.

Scientific studies have proven it: You’re three times more likely to have someone stop and talk if you have a dog with you. Psychologists tell us that people with dogs are perceived as friendlier, more approachable and just plain nicer than those without canine accomplices.

If you’re a dog owner, you know the drill: Walk someplace alone andyou’re ignored. Walk the same route with your pooch by your side and people will stop and talk. And they aren’t just talking to the dog—they’re making eye contact and talking to you. If you play your cards right, your pooch really can lead you to smooch.

There are several reasons why this happens:

- Humans are hardwired to love puppies. We find baby mammals of almost all kinds appealing—and puppies fill the bill in spades. Baby mammals have round heads, large eyes and soft features, and we’re biologically driven to look at them, touch them and care for them, just as we are a human baby.

- “Infantile features have such a strong effect on us that just looking at a pup can change the balance of hormones in your body,” writes Patricia McConnell Ph.D., a dog behaviorist and ethologist (a person who studies animal behavior as the interaction
of evolution, genetics, learning and environment) in her book The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs.

- Some breeds have the soft, sweet looks of puppies even as adults: from Chihuahuas to Cocker Spaniels to Saint Bernards, we’ve bred dogs that retain the round head, large, luminous eyes and curvy body of a puppy throughout their lives. And we respond with our hormones

- When people stop to pet your puppy—or your puppy-like adult dog—they experience a feeling of maternal or paternal instinct and softness that carries all the way to the human who’s with the dog.

- Dogs give us permission to talk. “It’s like when people wear a T-shirt that says something funny—they’re inviting people to look at them,” But walking your dog does something more for you than any T-shirt could. While a funny phrase on a shirt might
make people laugh, it’s just a shirt. You and your dog are a pair, a team. “It gives the message that you’re capable of some kind of caring and nurturing,” Of course, it doesn’t work to buy a dog just to impress potential dates. Most of what makes us attractive is the loving, nurturing, caring relationship we have with our pets, and
you can’t fake that.

- Dogs allow us into intimate space. Although our personal space requirements vary by culture, all human societies have very clear (although unspoken) rules about how close you can be to another person without being rude. For example, in the United States anyone who comes within eight to 12 inches of your body is in your “highly personal” space. This space is seldom entered in public, and is usually reserved for our lovers, children and close family. Twelve to 36 inches is the space we usually reserve for good friends, and most business transactions and social conversations
take place four and a half to five feet away.

- Think what happens when you walk your dog. When people stop to pet your dog, they are often only inches away and may even touch you. They’ve waltzed right into your personal space. Your body is already treating this person as a close friend. I used to live in a condominium along the riverfront of downtown Portland, Oregon. It’s an area that has lots of restaurants, small shops and upscale bars—a popular first-date
place. When I’d take my little six-pound Papillon out for walks, it was easy to spot people who were on their first date and liking each other—but not quite ready to touch.

- Maybe some of it’s just plain magic. One study followed a woman walking a Labrador Retriever. Three times as many people stopped and talked with her when she was walking her dog than when she was alone. Several studies have documented the ability of a dog to break social barriers. These studies followed children who were disfigured by accident or disease. When the children were accompanied by a dog, everything changed. Instead of being isolated, people of all ages stopped and talked with the children. “It’s usually threatening to talk to a person in a wheelchair, or any stranger. The dog makes the person seem less threatening.” Whether you’ve got a serious disability or just feel a little insecure, your dog will break down the barriers you could never crack on your own.

- We have literally evolved together. The magic of our relationship with dogs is lost in the mists of our earliest history.

Some Terrier Dogs That You Would Find Interesting

The personality of a lively child put into dog- this might be a good way of describing the general personality of terriers. But as it appears, that still would not justify their temperaments.

These dogs came from the British Isles where they were first oriented to hunting fox, rat, otter and the likes over and under the ground. And as its name suggests, “terrier” came from the word “terra” which means, “earth”.

While terriers may be identified through their prominent physical characteristics, they are still divided into various breeds that separate one kind from another.

The following are the subgroups of the terrier breed:

Show Terriers- These are basically bred as small dogs and are used for show rings.

Bull and Terrier Types- these came from breeding between bull dogs and terriers. Only in the last quarter of 1800’s did the breeders separate a number of bull dogs from terrier types for distinction.

Hunting and Working Terriers- The breed that was primarily bred for hunting.

Toy Terriers- These are the smaller versions of terriers, which are basically categorized into the companion breed.

To help you understand the various natures of terrier dogs, we have prepared some dog profiles here, please read on.

Airedale Terrier- This is known to be the largest dog in the Terrier breed. Standing an average of 23 inches from the shoulder, this dog shows off both beauty and elegance that make them fit for both dog obedience trials and show rings.

A cross-breed between Otterhound and Black and Tan Terrier, Airedale possess good skill in scent and superb swimming prowess.

Australian Terrier- Probably one of the dog types that have gotten to so many out-crossings with other dog breeds. A cross breed between the forerunner of Dandie Dinmont and rough coated terrier is said to have been migrated into England. The offspring of which was taken to Australia. With the scarcity of dog breeds in this land, many dogs had been crossbred into it which later resulted to a small type having the characteristics of terriers while being a good watchdog and ratter. It stands 10 to 11 inches with a life expectancy of 12 to 14 years.

Border Terrier- A True-blue working terrier, this dog is marked by its medium built while proving to work far better than what its appearance may give. Border Terriers are agile and alert while having the capacity to fit into narrow gaps especially during hunting.

Aside from its being affectionate and good adaptation to training, Border terriers can also make good family pets.

Bull Terrier- Originally bred for dog fighting and bull baiting, this dog is known to have been well-accustomed to courage and good resistance to pain. However, when the bloody dog fights were banned in England during the 1800’s, most breeders turned to breeding milder dogs.

Bull Terriers came from these fighting dogs combined with Dalmatian and English Terrier to produce all-white specie. This new breed though is very much reserved from starting fights which gave them the nickname “White Cavalier”.

There are of course a variety of other terrier species. Initially, you might find them interesting enough to catch your attention but a closer look would lead you to further knowing them. Who knows, you might find your ideal type of dog in this breed.

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