Comments on: Finding Your Perfect Match – How Much Can You Put Up With?

By: Pup Fan

Pup Fan — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:17:31 +0000

Excellent post! I definitely agree that compatibility is in large part about finding the person whose bad habits you can tolerate. Or I guess another way I could put it – that the bad habits are something you’re willing to deal with because on the whole the good that you get out of the relationship makes it worth it. 🙂 I’d never thought of it this way with pups, but it’s an interesting point! Now to ponder…

By: georgia little pea

georgia little pea — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:06:10 +0000

i think my perfect match [dog] at the moment would be one who sleeps in late, knows how to feed herself, clean up after herself, walk herself and, while she’s at it, bring home the groceries and bring me coffee in bed.

ditto with the perfect match [man].

do you think i expect too much of my relationships?

By: 24 Paws of Love

24 Paws of Love — Mon, 09 May 2011 07:17:51 +0000

Great post! I love the way you think. Boy you could really dig deep with that one. I don’t even know where to begin, but it’s got me thinking. You make an excellent point. Where will you draw the line? Maybe that’s how people should really be thinking, instead of looks or breed or what the dog can do, but how much they will really tolerate of a dog.

I think we have a very high tolerance with our dogs, but there certain issues I never thought I could never tolerate, like aggression, and yet I’ve been learning how stop it before it starts, but I also have a greater appreciation on dealing with my worst fears about it. So not only am I learning about it I am also facing it and beginning to have an understanding of it. If I had ever known that Brut was agressive, I would have never got him, but then again look at the relationship I would have missed out on. He’s like my right hand man.

Excellent question! You’ve got my wheels turning. BOL!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 09 May 2011 00:33:43 +0000

Oh, how I wish my brain would grant my desire to leave a smart (and not smart-*ssed) comment regarding your insightful words, but alas, it's not to be. So all I can come up with in response is that Jon Farleigh and Dewi clearly needed to liberate me from my former neat-freaky ways. And not only that, they aptly recognized my narrow-mindedness in the area of interior decorating. Imagine how uptight I might still be without their intervention.

By: Kristine

Kristine — Sun, 08 May 2011 11:21:14 +0000

Knowing what you can and can’t handle I think is very important. However, before Shiva, there was a lot I didn’t think I was ready to take on. Separation anxiety, human reactivity, dog reactivity, the destruction of my favourite books, a dog that doesn’t get along with my cat, territorial barking… Those were all areas we thought we would have to draw the line. It turns out there is nothing we haven’t been able to manage, overcome, or at least learn to tolerate!
Resource guarding and actual aggression may be a lot different, I don’t know. Shiva has never bit anyone to my knowledge. But I have no doubt with the right trainer on our team, we could learn how to handle (or just live with) these issues as well.

In a dog, there isn’t much I won’t put up with. In a human partner, well, that’s another story completely! 😉 Great post!

By: Sam

Sam — Sun, 08 May 2011 05:10:48 +0000

Wow! Great post! Thanks for sharing!
I am here through the Saturday Blog hop. Its tough, but I try to go to at least half the sites and leave a post.
This is Sam’s Mom speaking here. Yes, I to have had to deal with difficult animals (we have a cat, Penelope and she has her own blog – thecatfromhell dot blogspot dot come). I can’t tell you what dealing with difficult animals ca do! But you know, I think that if your dogs had a biting problem, you would have dealt with it! You seem to be that kind of person!
Rock on!

By: Ashley

Ashley — Sat, 07 May 2011 23:58:09 +0000

Great post! And it got me thinking about what’s a “no go” for me. I definitely know I can’t deal with seperation anxiety. Working 9-5, 5 days a week just wouldn’t work! I short-term fostered an SA dog and it was stressful for everyone.

I give a big “kudos” to all those with SA dogs!!!

By: Jackie

Jackie — Sat, 07 May 2011 22:48:05 +0000

Hi, I’m Jackie! I found you through the Dogtipper bloggie hop. My mom loves the names Agatha and Christie, Agatha Christie is her favorite author! I am a Jack Russell Terrier and I’m actually a perfect doggie in every way! (Wait…Mom started snorting with laughies when I said that…) Well, I guess I do have a tiny bit of a problem with barking, I will shout at anything outside – peoples, kittycats (grrr!), cars, visitors, Daddy, etc. So far (after 10 years) Mom still hasn’t been able to help me much with that. But my family luvs me and puts up with me. My brother Dillon is pretty easygoing, though, but Mom says he mostly just came that way! We agree that it is a good idea to understand someone’s bad qualities and whether you can live with them or not. But it’s a good thing Daddy didn’t know my bad qualities before I was adopted or he might have said no, BOL! But once he got to know me he luved me lots!

Barks and Wiggles,

Jackie

By: OscarBlogger

OscarBlogger — Sat, 07 May 2011 22:08:55 +0000

Good post! I totally agree with you. Oscar’s not the perfect dog, and I know I’m not the perfect owner. Oscar is rambunctious, chews many things (including our house), and barks like mad. But he’s also playful, loyal, protective, and social. We dog sat briefly for a dog this weekend who was quite timid. She spent a lot of time shying away from us and hiding under a bed. I hadn’t ever dealt with a dog like that, and I don’t think I’d have the patience to on a long-term basis. As much as Oscar sometimes drives us batty, he fits us and we can’t imagine life without him!

By: houndstooth4

houndstooth4 — Sat, 07 May 2011 21:45:09 +0000

What well-spoken words! I tend to agree with you. I haven’t had an issue yet with a dog that I couldn’t work with, but some are a lot easier than others. I think you do have to know your limits and what you can and can’t deal with, and be honest about it if you want to find a really good match.