Do people use dogs to fill emotional needs?

[Anonymous]

My fave:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been proven that petting a dog improves your Seratonin by 412% and provides an endorphin rush and 72% decrease in overall stress cortisol levels. Duh.

Cool. Didn’t know this. Time for another fur ball.

Wellll my numbers are a bit unscientific, but I stand behind them. No questions.
Get that fur ball!

[Anonymous]

PP who posted the video of the bulldog, so cute. But, talk about a dog that's been totally sacrificed to fill our human wants. Just massive health issues. So many of them can not even be born naturally. So many of them need surgery within their first year just so they can see or breathe normally.

[Anonymous]

For the doodle video, again cute. But, that person is a photographer who has specifically clipped together a video that would show exactly what she wanted it to show. Even with very short clips, there were still plenty of tense scenes...

She says in the video that he zooms around. That's anxiety. There are several points in the video where he has a tight, closed mouth and lip licks when they interact with him. At one point the little boy runs by and the dog whips around.

I'm not saying this is an aggressive dog.

PJs and birthday parties and treating dogs like human children, it's a lot of pressure for the dog... This doodle personally looks a little anxious to me. All the video editing, carefully chosen pictures and music are there to create a story.

Sometimes there are unicorns who would do well with this. Most dogs would not.

[Anonymous]

Find something else to complain about.

I'm sure people do these things you describe, but is it hurting you in some way? Is this really at the top of your priority list?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the doodle video, again cute. But, that person is a photographer who has specifically clipped together a video that would show exactly what she wanted it to show. Even with very short clips, there were still plenty of tense scenes...

She says in the video that he zooms around. That's anxiety. There are several points in the video where he has a tight, closed mouth and lip licks when they interact with him. At one point the little boy runs by and the dog whips around.

I'm not saying this is an aggressive dog.

PJs and birthday parties and treating dogs like human children, it's a lot of pressure for the dog... This doodle personally looks a little anxious to me. All the video editing, carefully chosen pictures and music are there to create a story.

Sometimes there are unicorns who would do well with this. Most dogs would not.

I don't know. I have doodles and he looks pretty happy to me. I mean, I assume most dogs don't love getting dressed up, but otherwise--he looks like he has a good life!

[Anonymous]

My dogs fulfill some emotional needs. How is that bad? They also help me get some exercise I wouldn't otherwise do. They also have gotten me to meet a bunch of neighbors that I would not otherwise have met. Oh, and a PP made me aware of how they do a couple light chores (crumb removal). They are make my kids smile every day, and got my daughter to stay in her room all night (yay!). And yes, they make us laugh and feel happy. I feel pretty strongly that my dogs are satisfied with what they get in return.

[Anonymous]

My kids are in the jerky teen years. My dog follows me around abd is happy when I come in a room. It helps with balance!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in the jerky teen years. My dog follows me around abd is happy when I come in a room. It helps with balance!

\

Same. What's wrong with loving a furrry creature that things I'm the best person on the planet. Not only that, but he can make my grumpy teens smile, even first thing in the morning.

People use all sorts of strategies to fill emotional needs, some of them healthy some not. Dog ownership is shown to improve health. One of the best benefits of having a dog in the house is that they remind you to live in the moment. They aren't running through their mental to do list or worrying about college admissions. They exist, in the moment, whether they are snuggling, or running, or barking. It's a beautiful thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Find something else to complain about.

I'm sure people do these things you describe, but is it hurting you in some way? Is this really at the top of your priority list?

New poster here. I agree that people use dogs to fulfill their emotional needs. I have severe allergies and actually this does hurt me and really affects my life. People feel free to take their dogs everywhere and everything is dog friendly now. I am limited in where I can go and what I can do. Was not like this til about 10 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Unless you have a working animal, this is the only reason to have a dog. Why else would one get a dog (unless it's a service dog, or a herding dog, or a bomb sniffing dog or something) unless you thought a dog would make you happier and you would enjoy it?

Obviously you can get your emotional needs met through a healthy relationship, or an unhealthy emotional one, and that includes with your dog. I know, in our house, my kid's dog makes my kid happier. He provides a little structure, giving my kid a routine that includes feeding and walking him. He provides a reason for daily exercise which is good for my kid's mental health. When my son was old enough to stay alone, he made my son feel a little braver (even though our dog is a small wimpy dog who would probably welcome criminals into our home). He makes my kid smile and alleves boredom. And my kid makes my dog happier too. When my kid goes to camp for a week, my dog misses him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the doodle video, again cute. But, that person is a photographer who has specifically clipped together a video that would show exactly what she wanted it to show. Even with very short clips, there were still plenty of tense scenes...

She says in the video that he zooms around. That's anxiety. There are several points in the video where he has a tight, closed mouth and lip licks when they interact with him. At one point the little boy runs by and the dog whips around.

I'm not saying this is an aggressive dog.

PJs and birthday parties and treating dogs like human children, it's a lot of pressure for the dog... This doodle personally looks a little anxious to me. All the video editing, carefully chosen pictures and music are there to create a story.

Sometimes there are unicorns who would do well with this. Most dogs would not.

+1.

My BIL caved to get his newlywed wife to "shut up" about having a baby. It's a nightmare and randomly attacks people. It seems anxious and traumatized from running away from their toddler now. It also doesn't enjoy being dressed up. SO had some words and at least intervened about the overfeeding, which is definitely an emotional issue on their part. Interestingly, the overfeeding/force-feeding was exactly was BIL's mother and grandmother did to him. They said it "shows that he loves them". Needless to say, he became obese for a while as a child before joining a sports league. It has all been very weird to me.

I have seen a lot of people get a dog or other animal as a placeholder for a human child or as a test run before committing to having one with their SO but all animals deserve full commitment regardless. They also deserve basic respect so they don't feel like they need to escalate to immediate biting or scratching because their other signals have been ignored. I've also seen people get animals to borderline hoarding levels because they have abandonment issues that haven't been addressed. It's very sad for everyone involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, if the question is use a dog or use a child, the answer is clearly, use a dog.

But, is it right to use either?

I feel like the dogs in this situation are ok - they are never going to be independent, in fact they are pack animals so they need their human and prefer to be with them as much as possible. Doting on a dog isn't going to hurt it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My fave:

Boy: Buddy
Dog: Reagan

LOL

[Anonymous]

lol, how is this a question?

Obviously.