[speaker001:] a uh Golden Retriever
[speaker002:] ooh that's one of my favorite kinds of dogs how long have you had it
[speaker001:] yeah is it really we've had him for let's see he just had his fourth birthday
[speaker002:] fourth birthday
[speaker001:] yeah and we got him when he was about eight weeks old and uh he's pretty okay we like him
[speaker002:] does he shed a lot
[speaker001:] he does that's the one thing we don't like about him in fact we threaten him in the summertime that we might just shave all of his hair off he'd probably look pretty funny if we did that
[speaker002:] how much does he weigh now
[speaker001:] he actually he just went to the vet yesterday to get his shots and everything and they put him on the scale and he's up to ninety four now
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] but he's not a real he's not a real tall uh dog for a Golden Retriever he's kind of stocky shorter and stockier
[speaker002:] hm is he good with family
[speaker001:] he is it's uh just me and my wife and uh he's kind of our temporary substitute for having kids I guess we treat him like our kid right now so he's spoiled rotten
[speaker002:] yeah I can understand that
[speaker001:] because I you can get away with that a little bit more with pets than you can with kids how about you
[speaker002:] um-hum well we have a cat who's also about four years old and he's our spoiled child right now too and he also sheds a lot
[speaker001:] uh uh-huh yeah
[speaker002:] but we uh we hope to get a Golden Retriever someday but we figure we'll get the kids and then the the dog
[speaker001:] that's probably a good idea they're good though uh have you ever had a Retriever before
[speaker002:] no but my husband had one when he was growing up
[speaker001:] because I I find that they're good around other animals like cats and other dogs they don't tend to get real jealous or territorial they like to play
[speaker002:] hm
[speaker001:] and especially with kids they love to play with kids in
[speaker002:] is is your dog an inside and outdoor
[speaker001:] no he's pretty much an inside dog
[speaker002:] hm
[speaker001:] he stays in we we're kind of in a not a real busy neighborhood but more so than I'd want him to be out too much and he doesn't like it if we tie him outside he's he's really a wimp
[speaker002:] oh really
[speaker001:] and when it comes to being alone uh now if you give him the freedom to walk around and go wherever he wants he likes that but he does not like to be tied outside he'll he'll just bark and bark and bark
[speaker002:] huh when he gets outside does in does he run away and then eventually come back or
[speaker001:] no he's uh taken to the training pretty well and uh he knows where our yard is and we have a pretty small yard but he seems to know the boundaries
[speaker002:] hm
[speaker001:] and he usually is good about staying within them although our next door neighbors have a dog too and uh she she is good friends with my dog
[speaker002:] oh yeah
[speaker001:] and so he often gets to smelling her scent and will go over there to sniff around and stuff but he's pretty good he stays out of the street and uh if I catch him I call him and he comes back so he he's pretty good about taking to commands and things
[speaker002:] hm did you bring him to a doggy obedience school or just train him on your own and
[speaker001:] no we never did I I trained him on my own and uh this is the first dog I've had all my own as an adult
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] we've had kids or we've had dogs when I was a kid but this this is the first one that I uh took in so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get it all right the first time but uh he he seems to have picked it up pretty well I never really had to hit him or anything just you know firm tone of voice
[speaker002:] uh-huh huh amazing
[speaker001:] and those sorts of things I I see other people out there and they hit their dogs and try to and and those horrible collars that they put on them with invincible invisible fencing least I think it
[speaker002:] invisible what
[speaker001:] invisible fencing have you heard of that
[speaker002:] no what is that
[speaker001:] it's uh it's a system you can put in your yard where you bury these little uh transducers or emitters in your yard at the perimeter and then they wear a collar with a special little attachment on it
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] and if they get too close to that perimeter it it zaps them yeah yeah
[speaker002:] huh boy I'd be afraid to walk around if I was that dog
[speaker001:] yeah well a friend of mine at work here said that he tried it with his dog and he wanted to see what he was subjecting his dog to so he held on to the collar and he walked out to the perimeter he said it was a good jolt
[speaker002:] oh really
[speaker001:] yeah so I I don't take too well to to those sorts of training techniques I don't think they're always necessary if you put enough patience into uh
[speaker002:] hm yeah just be consistent and diligent with it and
[speaker001:] um-hum it's uh is your cat an indoor cat or an outdoor cat
[speaker002:] hm yeah he's indoor and all declawed because I know the uh average life span of an outdoor cat is eighteen months and
[speaker001:] somebody just told me that because of the leukemia
[speaker002:] yeah yeah that and also just um getting hit I guess or getting beat up and the average life span of an indoor cat is eighteen years
[speaker001:] wow quite a difference what uh what kind of climate do you have
[speaker002:] so yeah well um it's we just moved recently so now we're in the um Dallas area and it's very very nice and
[speaker001:] oh