Our Pets

[Vee Lagrome]

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Okay, I'm off my "Rats are such cool freakin' pets" soapbox. But you should look up hooded gray and white dumbo rats and show them to your hubby. Persephone's popular nickname was "kitty" because my friends did not like the idea of rats but decided that Persephone was excluded from that category.

I really like the way Suchin looks with the coloring of his fur. I've always liked multi-colored animals. :laugh:
I brought up the rat idea with my husband yesterday and his problem? The tail. I don't know what to say to that. It's the most random thing I've heard. It's not like your rats are the big nasty pests that people are afraid of.

You know something? Female pets are almost always better. In my experience, male dogs are harder to housebreak and are generally more stubborn. Our doe will basically learn whatever we really really want her to (and plays games like the chase game) and she tends to be more affectionate than our buck. I wanted to get two does since female rabbits (after getting them fixed) tend to be better pets, but Momiji was just so friggin cute (and his sister died... :().

Can you litter train rats? Both of my rabbits are litter trained.

Also, yeah, I don't like pets that try to escape. Rabbits, I guess, are like rats in that sense. When I take them outside, I keep them on leashes just so that they stay close enough to me for me to grab them in case I see a dog, but they will come right back to me while they're playing anyway and they never want to explore too far away from home.

 

[Kintsugi]

What kind of dog do you have?

I have a little beagle/basset who is 20lbs of love. There are pictures of her one page or so back.

His problem? The tail.

This was a problem most of my friends had with my rats. Sometimes rats have discolored tails because their skin beneath the fur is actually different colors, so when you get a rat with two colors, it shows on the skin of their tail and often appears "dirty." It's not dirt, but people were much better with Persephone because her tail was entirely pink, maybe a tiny gray spot somewhere that was unnoticeable. I have to say that their tails might be their coolest feature, because you can see how much it works to give them their superb sense of balance. I once had to tie my shoe and was leaving my room with my rat, so I hung the coat up and put her atop the coat on the hanger. I bent down and heard a zipping noise, so I looked up and she was gone. A moment later, I realized she was using her claws to slowly slide down my coat lining, and when I pulled back the coat a little to get her, she hopped right onto the metal door knob and sat there looking at me, her tail keeping her perfectly balanced on the knob.

Can you litter train rats?

I know that it's possible, but I never did this. Occasionally if I had them out for a long time, they would have an accident on me, but for the most part they are incredibly hygiene-conscious animals (Persephone used to lick the hell out of my hand if I tried to touch her after she just bathed herself, which is basically the most adorable process ever, assumedly so that I would be clean when handling her precious fur) and will not just randomly go to the bathroom where they please. My rats mostly kept it in their cage, but you can litter train them.

 

[bittersweet]

Aww what an adorable sounding mix.

 

[Kintsugi]

Tell me about adorable. I'm totally entranced by your dog's beauty! I keep scrolling by every time I check this thread, because she's so pretty. I love the forehead wrinkles and the crinkled ears! My dog is the floppiest dog that ever there was, and I love her, but I want to wrestle with your big girl. She looks so powerful and gentle. Animals are amazing. I also really dig the hardcore collar. She looks like a lover who could easily be a fighter for her mommy!

 

[bittersweet]

Thanks so much. I'll try to get more photos of her once we settle into our new house. She definitely is a lover and it's too funny when she thinks I'm in danger. When my husband and I have tickle fights the dog will jump on him and slap him with her paws and yell at him like, "No leave mommy alone!" and then if her yelling doesn't work she will just put all 85lbs of her on his lap and smush him lol

 

[shadowchaser]

Shadowchaser, the juxtaposition is perfect! Honestly, the little one looks more ready to take someone down than your big lug of a dog who is napping. ^-^

Are these both service dogs for PTSD?

Yes. The big one is medical alert mobility assist but she is getting old. I can live without the mobility assist but I still need medical alert. So the little one is in the training process to replace that duty for the big one.

 

[Nighthawk]

if her yelling doesn't work she will just put all 85lbs of her on his lap and smush him lol

That is too funny, tell her she is a good girl and give her kisses she is watching your back.

NH

 

[bittersweet]

I always praise her and give her love. She's beyond spoiled by both my husband and I

 

[Kintsugi]

I had a German shepherd who was the same way with me. I was a kid when I got him, so it was pretty great because I was most hypervigilant between the ages of 8 and 14, and he gave me the ability to walk around without fear. People crossed the street when they saw an eight-year-old walking with something that looked like a white wolf! He actually bit my first boyfriend for trying to hug me, and it's too bad he didn't seriously injure him, since that relationship quickly turned abusive! But I know that if he had been there, he would have killed him. And I would have given him a treat!

 

[KP the nut]

SC, Bittersweet, your dogs are gorgeous. I love ridgeback as well.

Sorry I don't do rodents with tails, my girls when they were young had hamsters.

I've grown up with dogs, we had a couple of cats at one stage who were great characters, but I am and always will be a dog person first. Mine are v spoilt and quite rightly.

 

[bittersweet]

Thank you KP the nut.

 

[Harry6]

My cats are everything - my closest family, incredibly caring and loving.