We have always had pets when in the UK and enjoyed their company and friendship ,  Here we know that many people have them for protection and security, but we have two toy Shih Tzus and they are a delight. They give us friendship and love and we take care of them and make sure that, as far as possible, they have a happy and fulfilling live.  At my time of life, they definitely reduce my stress levels and make my life that much more enjoyable.  We love them dearly and I wonder how many other members feel this way about their pets. Do they reduce your stress levels and make life more enjoyable in retirement, or are you happy to be pets free? 

Yup,our boy - JRT, gives us so much love & fun. Sleeps on our bed & cuddles up to us: Heavenly.

10 hours ago, Pilotman said:

. Do they reduce your stress levels and make life more enjoyable in retirement, or are you happy to be pets free? 

Yes i think they do reduce stress levels.

Three years ago, no dogs, now have 5, 2 adults, 3 12 week pups, love having them, great company when i am here alone. Each 1 a different character, would not want to part with any of them.

Dirty, noisy, pathetically dependent things, would not have one in the house never mind own one, cat maybe.

3 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Dirty, noisy, pathetically dependent things, would not have one in the house never mind own one, cat maybe.

Mine are not dirty, not noisy, yes dependent, but i love having them.

I do not allow them inside, they are taught to sit and wait at the door, i never allow them in my bedroom, which opens straight to the outside.

It's heartbreaking when you have to say goodbye to them.

1 minute ago, colinneil said:

Mine are not dirty, not noisy, yes dependent, but i love having them.

I do not allow them inside, they are taught to sit and wait at the door, i never allow them in my bedroom, which opens straight to the outside.

Colin, you've done the unthinkable, you've actually 'trained' them. Good for you.  

1 hour ago, Orton Rd said:

Dirty, noisy, pathetically dependent things, would not have one in the house never mind own one, cat maybe.

 

Not keen then, your post's a bit vague?

My Thai neighbours had a <deleted>zu which thought he was Hulk Hogan...since the neighbour never walked that dog we did it daily but that tiny <deleted>zu started fights with EVERY other dog, even huge huskies and malamuts....

 

Many times i had the thought to let him go against a big dog to learn his lesson but i always stopped him....after a month it even got manners and stopped fighting other dogs.

 

Myself i will never buy a dog in Thailand, if something like now happens when they won't let me into the country the dog would have to suffer from it. Also now the air is so bad that we don't want to go out for a walk.

 

 

We have two Chihuahuas, they are "Thai style" so rather larger than the classic version (the dog is 6kg, his sister 5kg). Great to have around and they are good guards, actually more alarms than guards due to their size, but, like most of their breed, they have no concept of their own dimensions. Outside Chihuahua, inside Rottweiler!

 

Along with Madam's geese, chooks, guinea fowl and fish they have the run of our fully walled 1.5 Rai space (ok the fish stay in their pond) and woe betide any stranger who dares enter their domain (they will be licked to death). 

 

 

23 minutes ago, fruitman said:

My Thai neighbours had a <deleted>zu which thought he was Hulk Hogan...since the neighbour never walked that dog we did it daily but that tiny <deleted>zu started fights with EVERY other dog, even huge huskies and malamuts....

 

Many times i had the thought to let him go against a big dog to learn his lesson but i always stopped him....after a month it even got manners and stopped fighting other dogs.

 

Myself i will never buy a dog in Thailand, if something like now happens when they won't let me into the country the dog would have to suffer from it. Also now the air is so bad that we don't want to go out for a walk.

 

 

 

I have a bulldog cross schitzu.

 

A bullschit.

 

I like dogs, but hate dogsหเt.

 

 

we have a 2 y/o bang kaew and a 4 month old bitsa(was dumped when born, we got her at 2 days old), both females and they are great company. Unfortunately we have to keep them both chained at the moment as we have just moved into a new home so have various workers during the day. We let them off the chains for a run in the morning and again at night plus we take them for walks as well, now we are on 1 rai they love it, especially the area where we have put down a lawn. Once everything is finished they will have the full run of the place

Edited January 15, 20215 yr by seajae

I never again wanted pets but a year ago a kind of stray cat had kittens in my room and the quality of life went down hill.
It costs so much time , money, effort . No upside for me .
It's unhygienic , a worry and it drains me.
My car is behind a plastic sheet , to keep them off .
I go walk with them like dogs . While it gets me some exercize and vitamine D but now
I'm destroying my lungs with the dust of kittilitter and PM2,5.
It's terrible .
Should have aborted them when the cat was pregnant but it isn't my cat.
Thais here don't care.

1 hour ago, Orton Rd said:

Dirty, noisy, pathetically dependent things, would not have one in the house never mind own one, cat maybe.

 

submit to your cat. meow. 

I genuinely do adore our little pup. 11 years old now and I have known him since the day he came into this world. 

His mother was my sister in law's dog and he was the only survivor of the litter. We agreed to adopt him that very day for a fee of 300 baht, although I never really agreed with the docking of his tail. 

He is also strangely symbolic of my time living here in Thailand as he has been with me virtually the whole time.

 

 

2 hours ago, colinneil said:

Mine are not dirty, not noisy, yes dependent, but i love having them.

I do not allow them inside, they are taught to sit and wait at the door, i never allow them in my bedroom, which opens straight to the outside.

But most here ARE, soi dogs in their millions are a health and safety threat, then there are the millions of dogs left at home yapping all day while the owners are at work, we have 15 round our house.  Added to that the large number of people attacked and even killed every year by 'man's best friend' We know women want them for a baby substitute and some for unmentionable acts, but blokes seem to have no excuse.

We have four dogs now. We came back from an English holiday a couple of years ago to find that a bitch had settled under our house with her litter of 4. The runt died soon after but the wife fed up the rest and they became her children. 

 

They used to live with a couple who had a hut in their fields about half a kilometer away but that couple went away to other land they have further north leaving the bitch to fend for itself. Hence why she moved the puppies closer to civilization.

 

They are ok but wife more attached to them than me. They have one negative trait which I find very annoying. If I go out on my bike they always try to follow me. Even if I shut them in , they escape through the porous rear boundary. 

 

As soon as they catch up it is clear that they are really happy to be going further afield. However, if they see any other dogs they go immediately into attack mode and a fight ensues. Just yesterday, in breaking one up, I came off my bike and got scratched up a bit.

 

So now , the only option left to me is to head for the main road instead of the surrounding country trails , and make a 2 kilometer detour to get back on the trail since they are scared of the traffic on the main road and it is the only way I can shake them off.

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

It's heartbreaking when you have to say goodbye to them.

that is the real downside 

Dogs - - you mean those abandoned little beings that we find along the side of the road? They become family. We have 4 now. 

7 minutes ago, Bangyai said:

We have four dogs now. We came back from an English holiday a couple of years ago to find that a bitch had settled under our house with her litter of 4. The runt died soon after but the wife fed up the rest and they became her children. 

 

They used to live with a couple who had a hut in their fields about half a kilometer away but that couple went away to other land they have further north leaving the bitch to fend for itself. Hence why she moved the puppies closer to civilization.

 

They are ok but wife more attached to them than me. They have one negative trait which I find very annoying. If I go out on my bike they always try to follow me. Even if I shut them in , they escape through the porous rear boundary. 

 

As soon as they catch up it is clear that they are really happy to be going further afield. However, if they see any other dogs they go immediately into attack mode and a fight ensues. Just yesterday, in breaking one up, I came off my bike and got scratched up a bit.

 

So now , the only option left to me is to head for the main road instead of the surrounding country trails , and make a 2 kilometer detour to get back on the trail since they are scared of the traffic on the main road and it is the only way I can shake them off.

I can relate to that.  Now our kids are all gown up and gone, our two dogs are most definitely kid substitutes for Mrs P. Although I still get plenty of attention, until she has me put down rather than them. 

We have 3 small dogs now and couldn’t live without them.  We brought 2 from the US when my wife moved back to Thailand in 2014.  The 3rd one we got 2 years ago when he was a puppy because our friend had to move and couldn’t take care of him.