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For the past three years, I’ve been the proud parent of a greyhound. He’s a tall boy. His name is Pratchett, and he gets separation anxiety. As such, I’ve got to make a devil’s bargain every time folks come over to game. Either he’s in the room with us, which means that his weird giraffe neck is in reach of the gamer snacks, or he’s sequestered in another room, which means that my guests are treated to a serenade of abject doggy despair. You picks your poison and you makes your choice.
Pets are interesting not merely because they’re cute, but because they represent the intrusion of the outside world. When I sit down to plan my weekly session, I’m usually thinking about game design concepts. My head is full of stuff like player agency, and well-balanced encounters, and interpersonal dynamics. It’s easy to forget that these games we play are more than mental. They take place in a material world. There are flesh and blood gamers at the table, which means there are flesh and blood concerns. Do you have adequate seating? Is the heater working? Does your mom’s basement smell like feet and thirty years of Lucky Strikes? Even if you’re chucking virtual dice on Roll20, you’re still dealing with the out-of-game considerations. Connection speeds, time zone troubles, and bio break frequency are all at issue. These are not the sorts of things we think of first when we decide to tell an epic story of heroic adventure, but they are vital for success.
What I’m saying is that it pays to plan for the practical. That may come in the form of adequate seating, a properly air-conditioned rec room, or suitable defenses against a freaky tall dog with a taste for your buddy’s Cheetos.
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we used to game at my house for a bit and at the time I had five dogs; a beagle, a golden retriever, a pit, a large street rat and destruction incarnate in a small 5lb dog form. I don't know what I would have done to one of my friends if they had suggested that I put one of the dogs up...but it would not have been pleasant, but I'd definitely be feeding my dogs their snacks.
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once, in a pretty high level 3rd edition module, one player was having monumental bad luck; a plethora of natural 1s, got his magic sword melted by a remorraz, failed saves left and right, it was so bad that the rest of the characters had to have an in-game discussion on whether it was responsible or not for us to take what was an "obvious" rookie into such dangerous battles with us. Then the GMs new kitten, hopped up on the table and whizzed on his character sheet. He just shook his head and said; "yeah, that feels about right"
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I lost one of my dogs, my beloved Rosie Girl, on February 7th. She and the other one, Buster, were absolutely allowed to be present in the room when we played and if anyone had a problem with that they knew where the door was (and these are friends I've had for over 30 years). If snacks were around they'd stand and stare at you and (usually) eventually wander away. Buster would go to my bedroom and Rosie would climb up on a couch to be close to me or one of the players she was especially fond of, my friend Dave, who is extremely uncomfortable around dogs. I think she did that just to make him squirm. She was special like that. The worst game-related thing they ever did was eat my first copy of the PF1e Core Rulebook and scatter the rest of the pieces around like confetti, making the floor look like Times Square after New Year's Eve.
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I've seen paranoia over what animals or children might do more often than I've seen problems caused by them. Especially over children. Roleplaying isn't as sensitive to distractions as some fear.
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I don't have a gaming area that would really work well for isolating pets from the people. Putting the dogs in my bedroom and closing the door would have triggered separation anxiety and led to destruction on a scale not seen since the Chixculub Meteor ended the Mesozoic Era. Not to mention the incessant distractions of door scratching, barking, and wailing. I don't have a yard that I could let them run around in, either. While securing them away from the gaming area might have made my friend more at ease it would have sent ME over the edge and headfirst into an anxiety episode or full-blown panic attack and then I would have had to end the game and send everyone home.
My dogs are more than just animals that I feed and let wander around the house barking out the windows at random people, other animals, and the occasional threat of a plastic grocery bag blowing across my yard on a breezy day. They are my companions, practically members of my family. When my friends can't be here they are and offer silent comfort that calms my panic attacks and days-long anxiety episodes in ways that even my dearest human friends can't. Some folks who aren't "pet people" get it and some don't. When I moved into my own place again after living with someone else for a few years I made sure that everyone knew that the dogs were friendly, inquisitive, and absolutely had no intention of harming anyone. Hell, if a burglar broke into my house my dogs would've held the flashlight for him to find the good stuff.
And now that it's just myself and the dog I still have, Buster, nothing will change. Buster isn't nearly as intrusive as Rosie could be and frankly doesn't even like a lot of attention. But I will not remove my dog (or dogs) from being able to be with me when he wants. A dog's absolutely unconditional love and desire to be with its person(s) often does not allow them to understand why they are suddenly not permitted to be with me, especially when they can still hear my voice. Does this make me somehow selfish where the feelings of humans are concerned? Possibly. Maybe likely. But will I stop allowing my canine companion or companions to be near me when they want or feel they need to be? Absolutely not. Ever.
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So, I am curious...
I am not a dog person, or cat person or really any kind of animal person.While I understand people love their dogs or cats what I don't understand is that people seem to not care about other people's feelings over their own.
You say your 'friend' is "extremely uncomfortable around dogs" and yet you don't provide a gaming area where he can feel comfortable?
I understand it's your home and this friend chooses to come game with you, but maybe it's his only option and he enjoys your and the other players company, why wouldn't you take his feelings about dogs into consideration?
It's not the end of the world to put your dog/cat/bird/turtle/lizard/wife in another room for a couple hours of fear free playing.
yeah no, it's their space, especially for pets, that is the only world they get to know. If someone else is uncomfortable around them, they have the option of not coming to the house. You can then personally weigh whether or not having that person is worth shifting locations or making other arrangements.
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Our three cats don't interrupt a lot - as long as they get fed properly when they demand it.
We actually had more trouble with the horses when the fellow players came for a visit. Often enough the horses broke out of the barn or they even needed a doc - which costs a precious half day of gaming time, in addition to the stress and doc payment. IMO they shouldn't be kept as pets but belong out into the wild.
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I have 2 cats, the normally hide from the gamers when they come over. once in a while they come out and are friendly and cute and petable. even less often they yowl/hiss and cause other problems. I have no problem locking the cats away for a few hours so that my friends and I can enjoy our evening together.
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I lost one of my dogs, my beloved Rosie Girl, on February 7th.My deepest sympathies.
I lost one of mine last May. COVID protocols meant we couldn't even be there as he was put to sleep. We had to hand him over outside the building. I'll never get over that.
Oh no, how terribly heartbreaking. I am so very sorry. The hurt and resentment you carry inside your heart must be so heavy and I'm crying for you even as I write this. I was fortunate to be with Rosie. The emergency vet we took her to had us stay in our car but they called us every few minutes to let us know what was going on. The vet did come outside to give us the news that there wasn't anything that could be done. They had a very small room accessible from the outside of the building where two of us were allowed in with her at a time. First, it was my ex-wife and me, then she stepped out and our son came in. I asked for the final minutes to just be alone with her and she slipped away as I laid with my head next to hers.
Please feel free to private message me if you wish. I hurt so bad for you and your family over the loss of your friend.
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Heh, so is Buster. He's actually learned how to push a chair up to my desk or the kitchen counter to grab my food if I've left the room for too long. Rotten mutt.
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When I was 14, I'd come home from boarding school for my birthday. My mother had baked a big cake and put on the coffee table in the sitting room, but forgotten to close the door. The dog knocked it onto the floor and ate it.
Or rather, ate half of it and vomited it up on the carpet. She was a West Highland Terrier so the cake wasn't much smaller than she was. Even so, she did eat a huge amount. I guess it must have been very nice.
Fun fact: my son's homework was eaten by his teacher's dog.
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Q: How do we know the world is not flat?
A: Dogs tails and cats would have knocked everything off the edge by now, if it were.
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its the "for a bit" that is subjective. Someone coming over for dinner, watch a movie, yeah maybe, depending on their issues with animals, but a 6+ hour gaming session? Nope, not sequestering my animals away from their home for that long, but also realize that I'd be the ass for setting up that situation in the first place, just play at the friends who doesn't have animals if they have a problem.
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When I was 14, I'd come home from boarding school for my birthday. My mother had baked a big cake and put on the coffee table in the sitting room, but forgotten to close the door. The dog knocked it onto the floor and ate it.
It's odd, but COVID has been a mixed blessing in this regard. I don't have to worry about doggo eating the gamer snacks, but since there aren't multiple people in the room to give him attention, it's actually more of a distraction as a GM. I'm his only target now, you know?
At the very least my cakes are safe though. :P
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My computer and desk are in my bedroom and I don't always hear if someone knocks on my door, so I rely on Buster to bark if he hears something. So last week he rocketed off the bed barking and snarling (he's never aggressive so I was kind of concerned) and went to the front door. I pushed him aside and opened the door, but there was no one there. I even stepped outside to look across the lawn but nope, nothing. I came back and closed the door. As stepped into my bedroom I caught him standing up on his hind legs, eating the stack of cookies I had left sitting there.
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LOL! Buster did that same thing to Rosie! LOL