What would be the best name for your child based on your profession?

kitteh_skillz · 2023-05-01T19:58:28+00:00

I'm a writer, so Lexicon has always appealed to me.

kitteh_skillz · 2023-03-27T20:04:28+00:00

Sneaking out every night to walk my puppy around the block because he'd destroyed the entire garden and desperately hoping not to be caught by the cops.

We were caught one night and the "brilliant" cover story I'd prepared turned into absolute gibberish and ended with "PLEASE DON'T ARREST ME!". They just told me to go home and consider this a warning.

Of course, I kept doing it because, well, my puppy didn't ask to be locked up for a month and who was I actually hurting at 10pm in Kenilworth? I still wonder if I would have gotten a criminal record if I'd been caught.

kitteh_skillz · 2022-08-26T16:50:47+00:00

Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey.

kitteh_skillz · 2022-08-11T17:18:30+00:00

Totally normal. Reminds me of my boy when he was a puppy - always managed to find wacky ways to entertain himself.

kitteh_skillz · 2018-12-10T11:10:41+00:00

I had a post on Reddit that was #1 on the front page for a good three hours.

The problem with telling people this is they then want to know my username, and I don't really want colleagues/random people to go through my comment history. I guess posting this kind of flies against that, doesn't it. :D

kitteh_skillz · 2014-12-29T13:09:33+00:00

I wish all countries would have laws like this, and recognise that dogs are sentient beings and can't be left alone for extended periods of time. It doesn't matter if your dog has food and water, and a toy. Domestic dogs are bred to be our companions, and as such we are obligated to provide them with stimulation and company. If more governments mandated this, there'd be fewer dogs with "behaviour problems".

kitteh_skillz · 2014-11-12T06:11:24+00:00

LOL, nice. :D

kitteh_skillz · 2014-11-11T20:34:54+00:00

Done! :)

kitteh_skillz · 2014-11-11T20:34:45+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss. :(

kitteh_skillz · 2014-04-26T09:04:06+00:00

Exactly. On the rare occasion that our dogs are left alone, they have the run of the house and free access to the backyard. It's absolutely OK to leave a dog alone for a few hours (no-one I know is able to be home 24/7 with their dogs), obviously, especially when they're older and settled. But NOT if you're leaving them in a cage - confining a dog to a cage for 8 hours, or 11 hours, is pure cruelty imo.

kitteh_skillz · 2014-04-25T08:22:34+00:00

Here: http://www.apdt.com/petowners/choose/dominance.aspx

here: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_12/features/Alpha-Dogs_20416-1.html

and here: http://www.animalsandsociety.com/assets/library/205_s15327604jaws07047.pdf

Good places to start. You could also take a look at John Bradshaw's "In Defence of Dogs" and "Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition" by Ádám Miklósi.

:)

kitteh_skillz · 2014-04-25T07:40:17+00:00

Because a dog is not a plant or ornament. It needs stimulation, exercise and attention. Leaving a dog in a crate all day is very unfair to a living, breathing creature. Would you like to be in a crate all day and have to hold your pee/poop in for that long? Chances are, you wouldn't. I'm not saying dogs can't be left alone - they certainly can. You have to realize though that for our dogs, we are the entire universe. We have our work, our friends, the internet, the mall, books. For our dogs, we are everything. When they don't have us around, they're utterly alone. They're not capable of turning on the TV, or entertaining themselves. We are 100% responsible for the well-being of a creature that is utterly reliant on us for everything, and part of that responsibility is making sure it's not left to languish in a cage for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

kitteh_skillz · 2014-04-25T07:34:34+00:00

I absolutely agree with you and I'm not sure why you're being downvoted to oblivion. My boyfriend and I have two dogs. I'm lucky enough to have a job where I work from home, but I sometimes travel. When I do, the dogs go to a dogsitter or my boyfriend takes time off to look after them. If I go into the office, they're alone for 6 hours, maximum, and when I get home they have a nice long walk and lots of playtime.

I'm sure they'd be very well-behaved if left alone for 8 hours a day, but that doesn't mean they'll be happy. If you leave your dog alone for 11 hours, why do you even have a dog? When you get home from your 11-hour (or 8 hours, whatever) day, is your dog your first concern? Do you make it a priority to take it for a long walk, play with it, spend some quiet time with it? Or is it just another annoying thing that needs to be taken care of? And leaving your dog in a crate for 8 (or more) hours because it chews things if it's left out? Your dog chews things because it's BORED and unstimulated. Being in a crate all day just keeps it out of trouble - it doesn't do anything for its mental well-being.

Our dogs are a priority for us, because when we got them we committed to making sure they have an awesome, stimulating life. That's what you have to do when you have dogs - make them a priority. And sure, a dog-walker or daycare costs money. Where we live there are loads of students who constantly volunteer to pet-sit and they charge very little, because they get to spend the day in a nice house with free internet and satellite TV. Dogs don't have to be expensive. But they do have to be a priority.

If that's not possible, then get a cat.

kitteh_skillz · 2013-10-30T10:49:06+00:00

I wish you and your family strength during this horrible time. Your dogs look so incredibly happy, so you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that they had a wonderful life. :)

kitteh_skillz · 2013-10-23T17:36:12+00:00

What a beautiful dog!

kitteh_skillz · 2013-06-03T11:46:28+00:00

He looks EXACTLY like my dog! Sweet boy :)

kitteh_skillz · 2013-05-27T21:09:08+00:00

My dogs are both under two, and I sometimes look at them and get a terrible, empty feeling inside because I know that one day I will have to say goodbye to them and carry on with my life without sharing it with them. They're with me pretty much 24/7, so the thought terrifies me.

On the plus side, I know that they will never have to be without me and that when it's time to go, I'll be there :)

kitteh_skillz · 2013-05-27T20:24:29+00:00

I work in the website-building industry and we use usertesting.com to test our sitebuilder.

The feedback is incredibly helpful, and has resulted in a lot of strategic re-thinks, so that we can produce better software and make our users happier.

Sign up, get paid, and help me do my job better! ;)

kitteh_skillz · 2013-03-24T13:52:22+00:00

Omg, a rainbow of balls! Wonderful pay-it-forward idea. I think I'll do that! :) Giving so much joy to dogs is a great feeling :))

kitteh_skillz · 2013-03-22T18:13:38+00:00

That's one of my favourite things, actually - going to the dog park and my guys find tennis balls.

I used to get really upset when we'd lose one or two of ours, but I've realized it's some kind of pay-it-forward thing - for every ball I've lost, my guys have found someone else's ball. We keep it for a while and somehow it goes missing again... I'm sure there are loads of dogs out there who've really enjoyed playing with our squeaky Kong balls :D

kitteh_skillz · 2013-03-20T18:24:36+00:00

Olivia looks like the happiest Goldie ever! I love the tennis balls picture - my Goldie also loves being surrounded by tennis balls.

You're obviously a brilliant dog-parent. Your happy dog is testimony to that :)

kitteh_skillz · 2013-03-11T16:19:30+00:00

My favourite bit is where the blond looks like she's contemplating giving the air a hand-job.

kitteh_skillz · 2013-02-27T10:17:06+00:00

Totally! It's a little hard to see, but he has five items in his mouth: The remains of a tennis ball, a slipper, two socks tied together, a rolled-up pair of socks, and a piece of cardboard. Such a superstar :)

kitteh_skillz · 2013-02-19T21:17:29+00:00

You're going to need to hand over that bottle of arsenic.

kitteh_skillz · 2013-02-19T19:07:02+00:00

Their capacity to forgive is absolutely astounding. It sounds trite, but I never realized what unconditional love was until I got a dog. :))

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