alprice wrote:I would rather find my shoe in the dogs mouth than in the closet with cat pee on it.
Neither of these things should be happening if you train your animals properly.
Labs are especially prone to inappropriate chewing, but I've had two of them, and it's not impossible to fix, it just takes patience. Try these tips:
http://www.cesarsway.com/tips/dogcare/5 ... og-ChewingIf your dog chews while you are gone, he might have separation anxiety, which can usually be cured by giving him a puzzle toy stuffed with food, but only while you are gone. This both gives him something to look forward to, and something to lessen his boredom. KONG is a good one, and they provide stuffing recipes that are healthy and tasty to your dog:
http://www.kongcompany.com/recipes/As for cats, they usually pee out of the box for one of three reasons: Sickness, fear, or bad litter.
A cat with a UTI or other problem might pee anywhere so a vet check is a good idea.
They often pee if they can see or smell strange cats and are trying to keep them out of their territory. Maybe there are cats visible from the window, or maybe there are strays sneaking in to stay under the house and their smell comes up through the floor, or you got a new cat. It helps to discourage strange cats from hanging around outside your home. It helps to have separate boxes for each cat if you have more than one and to use proper introduction methods when adding a new cat.
Third, they can look for new places to pee if the box is dirty. Cats prefer to have latrine areas, but if one area gets too stinky, they'll move, so clean the box often, scoop every day, have a box for every floor of the house as the larger their territory is, the more latrines they expect to have. Remove the cover if the box has one of those, cats actually don't like those. But make sure the boxes are in fairly private corners; they don't like to be watched when they go any more than people do. Also clean with enzymes of they cat does pee out of the box to get rid of the smell, they'll be less likely to pee there again if they smell nothing.
I actually prefer cats to dogs. Unlike most cat people, I do acknowledge that the average dog is smarter than the average cat and I like to have a dog when I have the room for one because of that, but I've usually tended to have cats. It's mostly because cats require less space (I don't approve of toy breed dogs), less food, are more independent, and don't need to be washed.
One of the things I like best about cats is they are extremely adaptable. They can switch their sleep cycle to be diurnal if you want. They can live alone or with other cats and be happy either way. I once had a cat when I lived in the country I trained to walk with me. She'd follow just like a dog, no leash required, but she would tend to run around in the grass and tire herself out and then meow piteously until I carried her the rest of the way home. :/ Cats also are excellent for eating nopes like centipedes and beetles, you can't always get a dog to do that. And most cats will clear out the rodent pests as well, which is something you can usually only expect from a ratter breed of dog. Cats can also be very affectionate, especially if you get a shelter cat who knows how good life with you is by comparison. My two cats always sit with me when I'm feeling sick and one or both always sleep on the desk when I'm at the computer.