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Or, maybe it was not. Sounds as if you would have done things differently, in hindsight.

I never held anything against the dog. I resented the guests, who insisted the dog would be no problem, in forcing him on us against our wishes.

Many would say that we should have withdrawn the invitation, but we had reasons not to, which I will not go into here. I just resented our generosity being abused.

I am NOT a dog lover, but I do believe that it is good for kids to have pets. Due to neighbor/relative allergies, our last cat was not replaced, and our dog (my first dog) is excellent around children, and NOT a barker (submissive female rat terrier/chihuahua). She has earned my appreciation and respect, if not my affection.

The dog barked because he or she was shut away in a room in an unfamiliar place, and smelled a cat.

The cat was nervous because of 1) strangers in the house, 2) a dog barking, and 3) that dog was in the house.

They were ungracious guests, the dog was unhappy, your cat was unhappy and you apparently were unhappy.

Of all the parties involved, the dog appears to have had the least say in the matter, followed closely by your cat. It may have been worth the upheaval in your home, to aid in the setting up of this nonprofit. Or, maybe it was not. Sounds as if you would have done things differently, in hindsight.

Reject my dogs, and you’re rejecting me in several respects.

We had offered our home for a couple of ladies involved in trying to set up a non-profit organization in our city. They insisted on bringing their wire-haired terrier, despite the fact that we had a cat.

The dog had to stay upstairs, the cat was nervous (and rightfully annoyed) the whole time. The dog barked the whole time.

Dogs may have fine instincts regarding humans, but for most of them, food and the presence of other animals tend to take precedence.

I'm in the process of training a rescue, a Walker Hound I picked up before she got killed by traffic. Stopped on the shoulder of the road and she just crawled in.

Sweet girl, loves me and I do mean loooves me, jumps on the bed at bedtime, wraps her two front paws around my neck and lays her head down beside mine and just cries. Every night.

She's still got some learning to do, but she aches to be good, and is so proud of herself when she is. The breed seems a little closer to wild than the Labradors to which I'm more accustomed. My special dog, my baby, was a field bred Chocolate, died in October of ‘07 after 14 1/2 years together, and it ripped my heart out. I don't know if I'll ever know another dog or if another will ever know me, like he did. I'll always miss him, especially around holidays. But, there are so many needing love and a decent home. She was just there, and would have died if I hadn't intervened.

So, here we are, learning about each other. The baying is starting to sound musical, and I can pick up shades of meaning in it, different sounds for different things. Coon or cat up a tree is sheer bedlam. Stranger in the yard is sharp and insistent. Let me in is more plaintive, almost as plaintive as feed me or let me out. Then, there are the odd, almost warbling yelps and cries, when she crawls in my lap or “hugs” me goodnight.

It's very rewarding, having a close relationship with a dog. To me it is, at least. Guess you couldn't tell, lol.

Seems to be a dog behind all true conservatives :)

Great description, "radar for their people", and very true. My retrievers are extensions of my sense of hearing and smell, and while they are by no means guard dogs, they are certainly watch dogs.

The boys are staying home today rather than going to Thanksgiving dinner at relatives a couple of miles away. They'd be welcome, but my youngest is only 5 months old, and the temptation of large platters of unguarded food might be too great. :) Don't want to see a repeat of the Bumpass disaster in "A Christmas Story".

My newest dog wasn’t a rescue pup but the last 3 were and all 3 of those were considered “problem” dogs. Funny thing is that once they were settled and trusted me they became some of the best behaved dogs I’ve ever had.

People who aren’t really dog people don’t get it. They’re in many ways extensions of ourselves, especially those raised from puppyhood, but even powerfully grateful pound rescues can develop this almost psychic bond.

Reject my dogs, and you’re rejecting me in several respects. Some breeds are more immediately welcoming to strangers, and some aren’t. Such breeds need wooing, as you mention. Your girlfriend is filtering her relationships through her dog, which is not necessarily a bad approach. They pick up on things on an animal level, of which most of us are either unaware, or only vaguely aware, that sort of hair on the back of your neck thing. Dogs live it every moment, in the moment. They’re almost like a radar for their people. Quite the complementary pair, a good person and a good dog.

I had to win the heart of my girlfriend’s dog first. I was OK with it.

I had a year old Golden Retriever when my wife and I got married almost 24 years ago. Yes he's in our wedding pictures with us.

That sums it up for me and my family as well.

Every dog we've ever had, we've brought with us on vacation almost everywhere. The one exception was Disney, and that's only because we didn't know Disney had day kennels when we went.

This Thanksgiving like most others, we're at Grandma and Grandpa's and of course or dog is with us. Grandma and Grandpa expect that we're bringing him, he's part of the family too. ("Teddy" always comes with us up here, we think he loves it as much if not more than we do.)

I had to win the heart of my girlfriend’s dog first. I was OK with it.

woof

I'll strongly suggest that any bride-to-be, who comes to the family Christmas celebration as a guest of her future in-laws, and does not make any attempt at prior accomodation for her malady as well as for the presence of a beloved pet, despite no doubt knowing that a dog would be present, has a disturbing inability to be honest, and is controlling to a passive-aggressive degree.

If the smitten fiancé can't see past this unnecessary and divisive event, to recognize the opportunity to dodge a major future bullet, then he deserves the misery and alimony to come.

Ditch her. Welcome the dog, who has been a joyous part of Christmas in that household for years, and is a loyal and loved family member.

Dogs just have a way of bringing out the basic truth of new people on the scene. I know I trust the instincts of mine, instincts that are in some instances truer than my own. If they dislike a stranger, I've learned to be wary myself.

No reason to expose smart dogs to a whole housefull of stupid.

But on Christmas morning, a commotion ensued: the fiancée was allergic to dogs and broke out in hives.

Couldn't they have sent the fiancee to the guest bedroom? Win-win.

...and they say there aren’t any thoughtful pet owners out there...

Our three dogs will be traveling up to Thanksgiving dinner today with us, but they probably will not come inside. I think there will just be too many people, too many mixed groups today.

They’ll get to stay dry and sleep it off in the back of our truck with the canopy and their dog beds, where at least they’ll get walked a few times, better than being stuck inside at home.

And they’re a great excuse to take a break from all the commotion in the house anyhow.

At Christmas that is usually just immediate family, the dogs are welcome and come inside. Dog owners need to be sensitive to others when it comes to their dogs... if they want the dogs to be welcome, they have to set the dogs up for success. Don’t bring them into situations where they will cause problems.

The only reason I’m leaving the dogs at home is to avoid stressing them.

LOL!!!

And then there are the people who bring their human children, and allow them to behave in ways that make everyone else wish they’d brought an untrained hyperactive Great Dane instead.

Shipped my wife over to the in-laws for the day while I stay with the cats...better to spend time with cats instead of democrat in-laws. I’ll get my dinner tomorrow... :-)

Love me, love my dog. Period.

And the term “family member” should not be used lightly. Ari Henry Barnes, who works in a New York law firm, is so devoted to his cat, Romeo, that he wipes the animal’s behind every time he does “a stinky boom boom.”

When the cat became an extended houseguest at the home of good friends, Mr. Barnes found it stressful, because despite his wishes, the cat was allowed outside. “I think anybody who is taking care of someone else’s child or pet, they should protect the parent’s wishes.”

I've had a COUPLE of dogs I really really liked, mostly because they were extremely intelligent, protective of the children, understood a few words, etc. Cats I DO NOT like, I find them sneaky, and they don't like me either, I think.

But animals are animals, not people. I have a relative who allowed a house to become so unpleasant with more and more animals that no one visited anymore, which created more loneliness, which created a felt need for more pets to fill the void, which created a house that was almost unlivable, but because of the condition of the house no one wanted to go fix anything, even repairmen.

So I have a bit of an issue with pets becoming all in all to people. I've spent a few years dealing with this problem in this situation and when it was over I felt like I had PTSD.

This is an older article, but it could be relevant today.