Why a dog is a man/woman's best friend

I had never had a pet dog until a few months ago, when I bought a little toy poodle (we named him Walter after the character in the TV show Fringe), and I have to say it's the best money I ever spent. The little fella brings me and the missus so much fun and laughter every day.

We live in a neighborhood where almost every house has a dog in the yard, chained up or in a cage, and its the saddest thing in the world to see. These beautiful animals kept as prisoners for the sole purpose of barking at intruders. They obviously get little food and no exercise. Every time we walk by with Walter we get barked at and he trots on past without a care in the world. He rarely ever barks, and when he does its always for a good reason, as in yesterday a stray dog had gotten in the trash can outside and he barked his disapproval to let us know what was going on.

The human/dog relationship to me seems very simple - it's one built on trust. If you feed them regularly, walk them and show them affection you're repaid with a lifetime of loyalty and laughs and a being who will go to the ends of the world to protect you if he can (even if he is just a little lap dog).

The funny thing with Walter is that we were looking to buy a maltese terrier. We saw an online ad with this puppy with so much hair it was hard to tell what the breed was. When we arrived at the buyer's house he just jumped on the missus lap and curled up so our mind was made up straight away. We soon realized he was not a maltese, but a poodle - maybe mixed - with pink features and some serious overbite, so we call him our little albino ratface.

Here's a few pics:

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Interested to hear from other members about their own relationships with their pets.

My border collie is my best friend, my baby, my companion and I would spend my last penny to help him if I had to .
No one will ever take his place in the animal kingdom and I would gladly and without hesitation attack any animal or person who mistreated him.

reply to post by Ginga


LOL he's cute. Looks like he's smiling

Dogs and pets in general are wonderful and love without condition. They truly are man's best friend. Best of everything for you, the Mrs. and Walter. I'm sure you'll give him a great home and equally sure he'll appreciate it!

How wonderful for you! I am sure you will have many years of love and laughter with your new little guy. Ok, so where's the cat people?

My cat is an all white rescued persian who looks very much like this one pictured when she is all fresh and clean and groomed. She is deaf and has the leaky eyes like poodles and long hair that needs constant grooming. She is a little sweetie and very loving.

As you can see, they take over the chair. They're both lap dogs, even though one is 80 lbs, lol.
The little one comes everywhere with me, most of the time, but the Lab is scares of truck rides.
I don't think I could even sleep without the little one on the bed.
The Lab is in and out of the house all day.
I couldn't imagine tying one up somewhere. That's what safe, high fences are for. Especially in the rural areas. Coyotes everywhere, so if the little one is outside, so am I.
If I go out, I don't even leave the Lab outside because of coyotes, and the barking he would be doing. There are a couple of neighbours near. If I have to go out for too long, then they both have to come. I have a decent size truck for this.
I'm lucky that I don't have to work - my husband is a long haul truck driver, so I'm here with the dogs all day.

reply to post by Ginga


Is the dog man's best friend?Or is man the dog's best friend? Whatever like the video say's once we teamed up we were unstoppable.

Walter is adorable!! He looks like he could be a shi-poo which is Shih Tzu and Poodle.

Very cute combo!

I have a Pekingese/Corgi mix and he is hilarious. He has traits from both breeds and they fit so perfectly. He is the sweetest dog and can be stubborn lol. We have become good buddies you could say since I got him. i was going to get rid of him at one point due to my pregnancy and his special needs with allergies and food. I knew nobody would take care of him right so I couldn't get rid of him. We have worked through a lot of his issues and he is permanent. He is my little furry boy now.

Thank you for the kind comments. He's not always so adorable. He seems to have separation anxiety issues: ie, when left home alone he goes into mischievous mode.

Here's a vid I just uploaded of said mischievousness:

I have two Persian pedigree fluffy young catties and they are the apple of my eye. Fully indoor pets and loved beyond measure and they know it and reciprocate in kind.

reply to post by Ginga


These are my beautiful boys..! The black Labrador is mine, hes called Blake and he will be 9 this year..! And the Collie x Pyrenean Mountain Dog is Tyree and hes my boyfriends dog hes about 8... They are the best of friends, and the are our best friends too..



I am so proud of my dog Blake, I see him as my greatest achievement in life.. I raised him from 8 weeks old, and we know now each other inside out. Everyone he meets loves him, and all of my friends love having him come visit on our holidays.. He has brought so much to my life and I cannot thank him enough for always being there..

Dogs are loyal friends and they will love you unconditionally until the day they die... They will protect you and look out for you... They do everything in their power to please you and make you happy...

Your wee dog is such a cutie..! You are gonna have sooo much fun with them..! And i love Fringe..!! What a fantastic name to name your dog...

I dont know what i would do without my Mr Blake, he goes everywhere with me..!
Glad you got a dog, so welcome to the world of dog owners...!

I wish I still had my puppy dog...

S&F

Lovely thread

reply to post by Ginga


We have a menagerie here at the ranch... Dog-wise, we have 4 Chihuahuas, a Boxer/Pitt mix, and now, a Lab/Chow mix. We're on 5 and a half acres (fenced in partitions), so they have a lot of room to run around. We also have 5 cats inside, and another 2 cats outside near the stables. I've got a Malucan Cockatoo that my wife calls "my other wife", as she loves me, but tolerates everyone else. (she's quite a talker too, with a good vocabulary, and comedic timing...she laughs like a human, and at just the right time). We even have a couple of bunnies (they have an outside enclosure). We have three horses, but board four more. Just feeding all the animals takes a couple of hours out of the day.... We'll eventually add some chickens once I build a coop.

You might think with so many, it's hard to have a relationship with them all, but mostly, different animals gravitate to one or more of the three of us. The dogs all share our bed at night, except the Boxer/Pitt, who sleeps with our ranch hand gal. The Boxer/Pitt ("Jedi") follows me around while I do chores, while the Lab/Chow ("Domino") follows my wife. At night, the Cockatoo ("Suzie") spends her time on my shoulder, while the Chihuahuas and cats typically sleep most of the time (and even on top of each other...)

We love our animals, and I'm glad we finally have a place of our own, with room for them, so we can enjoy them all.

We had a collie growing up called Sam. Brilliant loyal dog! As kids, when we played football he would run in and steal the ball and we'd all chase him trying to get it back, it was hilarious!
Anyhow, We accidently lost him in another city once time(in the centre), he'd walked about 8 miles before being taken in by a lady. 8 miles, my dad put up flyers everywhere - Even in the street of the lady that found him. Well, when we went there to pick him up it was like a family reunion. He couldn't stop trying to get cuddles from my mum, as kids we were absolutely delighted to have the dog back and of course, very grateful to this woman.

He passed a couple years ago and I cried. I still get sad thinking about him. I still miss him. Such a wonderful animal

Love you Sam!

I've always loved dogs, though I haven't had one in years, the reason for that was I had the best dog, and she's been hard to replace.

Molly was a Rottweiler/Chow mix, she was the runt of the litter. We got her newly weened, and had her for about 7 years. She was our best friend, and our protector. She was one of the most intelligent dogs I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

She was also a great judge of character, and if she didn't know you, then you wouldn't even be able to get out of your car unless my dad or mom came outside. But, she was not a violent or mean dog, she was just protective.

She was hit by a car 13 years ago, I still miss her.