Whose Turn is it to Clean the Litter Box?
Written by: Erin Harty, Associate Editor @ Vetcentric.com

Everyone loves the family pet ... until it's time to walk or clean up after said pet, that is.

Suddenly, instead of being the center of attention, the pet is a pariah.

"No, I walked the dog last. Now it's your turn."

"I cleaned the litter box. You walk the dog."

"But I cleaned the fish tank!"

In many households, the pet is a shared commodity. If the benefits of the pet are to be equally distributed, so, too, must the responsibilities that are associated with the pet.

The division of labor isn't always equal, nor is it always free from disagreement. But it's necessary ... both to avoid a Jerry-Springer-style shouting match every time the dog needs to go out, and to ensure that the dog actually does get out. Sometimes the system works itself out; sometimes it needs a little work.

When Robby Johnson, of Little Rock, Ark., bought his Jack Russell terrier, Madison, it was an impulse purchase he made without consulting his partner, Robert Peterson. Fortunately, Mr. Peterson was thrilled with the surprise, and didn't mind the not-quite-mutual decision to add a pet to the household.

But because it was Mr. Johnson's decision to get the dog, he assumed the role of primary caretaker. "I felt compelled to care for her, since I purchased her and very selfishly didn't include him in the decision," Mr. Johnson explained. "We'd discussed getting a dog and, when I saw her, she was mine. But I didn't do the logical thing like calling him first and preparing the home for a puppy."

Mr. Peterson helped out, of course, but Mr. Johnson made the dog his own responsibility -- both as far as her physical care and her financial expenses. They already had a cat, Maya, who was primarily Mr. Peterson's pet.

Then, a year later, they added another Jack Russell, Gizmo, to the family. The following year came yet another, Lucky James.

With more animals, establishing a system for their care became more important.

Mr. Peterson continues to be Maya's primary caretaker, feeding her and cleaning her litter box. But he and Mr. Johnson now share responsibility for the dogs, and pay for all the animals' veterinary bills out of their joint account.

In this case, the duties more or less worked themselves out. "I don't love cleaning the cat box, but do it when he's traveling," Mr. Johnson said. "He doesn't love feeding the dogs, because I'm pretty firm about everyone waiting until they're given a command to eat. Otherwise it would be chaotic!" Because Mr. Johnson is so fussy about how the dogs are fed, he said, Mr. Peterson would just as soon leave it up to him.While the division of labor may not always be exactly 50/50, it does tend to be equal, Mr. Johnson said. Mr. Peterson, a registered obstetric/gynecologic nurse, is currently on sabbatical -- since he's home during the day, he does most of dog-sitting and letting-out. Mr. Johnson, who is director of corporate communication for a health care company, makes a point of letting the dogs out in the morning and after dinner. "Robert is home with them all day, and that can often be a handful, to say the least," Mr. Johnson said.

Mr. Johnson administers the dogs' Frontline and Heartgard, and remembers when it's time to trim their nails -- although actually doing it is a two-person job, so both men are involved. Mr. Peterson is usually the one to remember to wash the bedding in the dogs' crates, and also makes concoctions to freeze into their Kong toys to occupy their (sometimes-excessive) energies.

For Thelma and Joe Kranyak of Addison, Texas, the pet duties used to be primarily Ms. Kranyak's -- their two cats, Chivas and Aria, were her pets before they were married. But then the couple added a Shetland sheepdog mix puppy, Maya.

"With Maya, she was so much more work, we had to divide everything up," Ms. Kranyak explained.

Part of the division of labor was for the sake of convenience. Both Mr. and Ms. Kranyak are attorneys, but Ms. Kranyak has to be at work at 8 a.m. and has a 30-minute commute; Mr. Kranyak works just around the corner from the couple's apartment.

So much of the care for Maya falls to Mr. Kranyak. He walks her in the morning, and then will either drop her off at doggie day care, or return home in the afternoon to take her out again. Ms. Kranyak is home earlier in the evening, so she takes Maya out then.

Each of them tends to gravitate toward different animals -- she to the cats, and he to the dog -- so the duties are often separated that way. Mr. Kranyak is also allergic to cats and dust, so Ms. Kranyak continues to handle most of the care for their two cats. She also does most of the housework; in exchange, Mr. Kranyak cleans the litter boxes.

"He does all the stinky stuff!" Ms. Kranyak joked.

She also tends to be more organized, so she generally schedules the veterinary visits. Fees are paid from their joint account, except in certain instances -- like when Ms. Kranyak left some vitamins sitting on the counter too long, and Chivas ate one. She paid the consultation fee for a call to the National Animal Poison Control Center. When Mr. Kranyak was engrossed in a book and didn't notice Maya had gotten into sewing supplies, he paid for the visit to the emergency vet to make sure she hadn't swallowed any.

For Betsy and John Miller, of Upper Marlboro, Md., the division isn't equal -- but it works.

"I'm the one who has insisted on having all these animals, but John really loves them," she said. They have four cats -- Bob, Helen, Calvert, and Pepe -- and a retired greyhound, Chloe.

"He never had cats as a kid and he really likes them -- except Helen, she's a little annoying," Ms. Miller explained. "It's fair for me, because I know if anything difficult comes up, he will help out. Also, he does other things around the house that I hate doing, so I don't mind.

"I do all the morning things, because I'm a morning person, and John does that last evening dog outing because he's a night person. John really does hate stinky smells, so he won't clean up the litter box or feed the canned cat food, though, when we used to live in the city, he did do-do pick up when he walked Chloe," she said. "For the most part, I'm just better at multi-tasking and I can remember what needs to be done better than he can."

While Ms. Miller tends to do more of the daily and routine care, Mr. Miller chips in in other ways. "John will actually play with the animals. I'll be busy with stuff and he will pull out some toys and get them going. And it's usually John, on the weekends, who whips out the grooming supplies and brushes Chloe and all the cats," she said. "We also have a 20 gallon aquarium and John does all the maintenance on that. He's pretty meticulous, unlike me!"

All three couples admitted, though, that there are occasionally some rough spots.

For the Kranyaks, the disagreements are over the less-desirable tasks -- walking the dog first thing in the morning, or at night when one of them is tired, or in the rain.

For both Mr. Johnson and Mr. Peterson and the Millers, the sticking point tends to be training."Robert has a tendency to be impatient and often will expect the dogs to respond to something they've not been trained to do," Mr. Johnson explained.

All of their terriers went to an introductory obedience class when they were puppies. "With Madison and Gizmo, Robert went to the first two sessions and then faded out from attending, which left me feeling a bit like I was shouldering the training responsibility alone," Mr. Johnson said. "With Lucky, we attended all five sessions together, and it made much more sense to Robert then.""We will disagree on discipline," Ms. Miller said. "I'm softer -- but I am also more knowledgeable; I read about this stuff all the time. It doesn't really get heated though."

*Article courtesy of VetCentric.com
Originally published November 02, 2007
Written by: Erin Harty, Associate Editor
For more information on this article, please visit http://www.vetcentric.com