Correlation between affinity for animals and quality of partner?

[Anonymous]

It’s all crap. You are allowed to believe whatever you want. It’s Merica.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find a lot of this discussion a little overdone, and I think the commenters who consider how you were raised or to what you are accustomed to be the most accurate. For example, my husband wasn't raised with dogs. He also has a fairly real view that taking pets is a disservice to the pet's ability to be a being with freedom in the world. You deprive a being of freedom in the natural world for your own joy. He also points out that for those of us in the modern, consumer driven world, who drive cars, and pave roads, and frequent strip malls, and eat meat, and pollute, and buy stuff at stores, etc, you are harming very many animals. So, he doesn't really want to be in charge of a dog, and thinks dogs should live on farms if they will be pets at all, with owners who interact with them all day in the fields (think shepherd and sheep dog), otherwise they can remain wild in Africa. And he thinks terminating the freedom of animals as an industry (pet industry) is not a moral good.

Anyway, he is a very lovely person. He just didn't grow up with a big smelly slobbery annoying crapping dog, and has no interest in devoting his time to one. He's not at all mean to them. He feels badly for their lot in life, and wishes to not exacerbate the whole pet-having situation in humanity. He wishes them freedom, and he is a great husband, and very warm and kind to everyone, and while he doesn't really "Relate" to other people's dogs, he truly feels for them.

Is your husband an idiot about other things too?

[Anonymous]

Hitler you as known to love his dogs. Just sayin’.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find a lot of this discussion a little overdone, and I think the commenters who consider how you were raised or to what you are accustomed to be the most accurate. For example, my husband wasn't raised with dogs. He also has a fairly real view that taking pets is a disservice to the pet's ability to be a being with freedom in the world. You deprive a being of freedom in the natural world for your own joy. He also points out that for those of us in the modern, consumer driven world, who drive cars, and pave roads, and frequent strip malls, and eat meat, and pollute, and buy stuff at stores, etc, you are harming very many animals. So, he doesn't really want to be in charge of a dog, and thinks dogs should live on farms if they will be pets at all, with owners who interact with them all day in the fields (think shepherd and sheep dog), otherwise they can remain wild in Africa. And he thinks terminating the freedom of animals as an industry (pet industry) is not a moral good.

Anyway, he is a very lovely person. He just didn't grow up with a big smelly slobbery annoying crapping dog, and has no interest in devoting his time to one. He's not at all mean to them. He feels badly for their lot in life, and wishes to not exacerbate the whole pet-having situation in humanity. He wishes them freedom, and he is a great husband, and very warm and kind to everyone, and while he doesn't really "Relate" to other people's dogs, he truly feels for them.

Talk about “overdone” but I do actually agree w your husband’s point of view. I just think your description of it is a bit much

You agree that keeping dogs as pets is depriving them from a happy life on a farm? Dude, a lot of dogs would hate living on a farm and they would die in minutes if they were dumped in Africa (Africa?!?!).

[Anonymous]

Dhs brother has the softest heart in the world to dogs - always has at least five of them, and they are the lost souls- injuries, orphans etc. He takes them in when they are abandoned, pays a lot of money for medical care, and loves them like children.

He has had four long term girlfriends over the last twenty years, three of whom he had clearly been physically abusive towards. They’ve taken off in the middle of the night, leaving everything behind. So no not a lot of correlation there.

Separately, dh grew up in the same house as his brother, with lots of dogs as kids. Dh hates dogs. He’s a cat guy. He’s also objectively one of the nicest husbands you could imagine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a thread that mentioned dogs and it reminded me that I was pondering this question: "Have you noticed whether there is a correlation between how well a guy treats dogs and how good of a partner they are generally?" How guys treat dogs was my original question, but I suppose I'd be curious whether there is any difference as between genders, and maybe it's not just dogs, but any animal.

My thought is that guys who are reflexively nice to dogs are probably more likely to be kind, empathetic partners. And, guys who ignore, avoid, or just don't like dogs are probably more likely to not have those qualities. But, my sample size is pretty darn small, so this is just a guess.

Correlation between cruelty towards animals, of course. However, there are many reasons why someone may avoid or dislike dogs including cultural upbringing or bad childhood experiences. I had a wonderful boyfriend who was raised in a culture where dogs as pets are uncommon for religious reasons. Really sweet guy who went on to become an amazing physician. DH’s family was savaged by police dogs during the Civil Rights movement and some of his brothers are old enough to remember this and avoid dogs. They are all caring and empathetic men.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't find a correlation. Though I'm sure people who are cruel to animals have mental illness.

I had a boyfriend who loved dogs, but he would've been a crummy life partner.
Current DH does not like animals but has treated me the best out of all my boyfriends and is loyal to the extreme.

Why doesn't he like animals?

Who doesn't like a little baby panda bear? A little puppy? A little kitten?

For me it’s not a like or dislike. I just don’t feel compelled to engage with non-human animals. I haven’t viewed that as a character flaw though I’m now seeing that some people do!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hitler you as known to love his dogs. Just sayin’.

Haha. Godwin's Law proves itself once again.