Good Dog Owner or Bad Dog Owner?

Do you consider yourself a good dog guardian? Many of us, me and Mrs. Nate included, feel we are exceptional pet parents. We walk our dogs daily, we feed them quality food, and they get regular grooming and vet visits.

Well I found this little quiz on a blog called the Somerville Bark. I enjoyed its “tongue in cheek” approach but carries a very important message that we all need reminding of every once in a while.

Take the quiz and see where you score!

You brush your dog’s teeth once a:
a) Day
b) Week
c) Millennium

You walk your dog on a:
a) Leash
b) Long piece of string
c) Telepathic plane

You bathe your dog when your:
a) Car smells doggy
b) House smells doggy
c) Neighborhood smells doggy

You clean up after your dog:
a) Always
b) When someone is looking
c) When Environment Canada cites you for having an illegal landfill

When your dog is gassy in the middle of your dinner party, you:
a) Quickly light the candles for “ambiance”
b) Sternly order your dog from the room
c) Secretively point to the person to your left and mouth “woo-eee!”

Your dog comes home with orange fur in his mouth right around the time your next-door neighbor’s cat, who is often in your backyard, is missing. You:
a) Bury the fur and rehearse your alibi
b) Apologize to Mrs. Murphy and never let Fido outdoors again
c) Trade your dog in for a cat

When the neighbors in Copperfield complain that your dog’s barking can be heard all the way to Tuscany, you:
a) Invest in “Dog Training for Dummies”
b) Tell them to invest in soundproof windows
c) Trade your dog in for a Basenji

Your black suit is covered in white fur again. You:
a) Decide to trade in basic black for winter white
b) Carry lint brushes with you everywhere and even use them on your dog
c) Trade your dog in for a Mexican hairless

When your pound of chocolate box is suddenly empty and wrappers are strewn in a path to Fido’s bed, you:
a) Follow the plan you have neatly typed out and hanging on the fridge for such emergencies
b) Panic and call your mother
c) Punish Fido — those were your favorite kind of truffles

When your dog gets a little too intimate with the chow at the Southland Off-leash Park, you:
a) Say, “Those rascals,” and walk with dignity to the car
b) Say, “That’s amore,” and look on
c) Don’t notice because you’re on your cell phone

If you answered “a” to most of these, you can pat yourself on the back — you live in a very strange, dog-centric world but try to be considerate of others.

If you answered mostly “b,” this is probably your first dog and with time you’ll come around.

If you answered “c,” you should own a ferret. Owning a dog means more than just picking up after them (and some dog parents even fail at that, so call Poooh Busters).

Luckily, Calgary for the most part is on top of it — but as we all know, there are no bad dogs, just bad guardians.