Do you really think your dogs are children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When people do this I assume they are big-hearted and have a lot of love to give. I have a cat (no dogs, though I enjoy them) and while I'd never refer to him as my child, I know one reason I became a pet owner is that I wanted to care for someone. I also have a child and obviously understand those relationships are different. But if someone doesn't have kids, I could see them channeling that nurturing and loving energy to their pets and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

I love this response.

[Anonymous]

Dogs are better than kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who ever said that to you is weird as hell. And I’m a dog owner and love dogs.

Really? My Lab is my baby and my son. And such a good boy!

I had a co-worker who talked about how she had to leave on time to “get her boys”. She would talk about “taking the boys to Park A” or “DH and I took the boys to Park B”. I was convinced for months that she had kids, but no, 2 dogs. Weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never heard “four-legged children” before and in reading it I immediately visualized a little boy with four legs. It’s creepy.

I get OP’s confusion. I love my dogs but do not refer to them as children - four legged or otherwise.

+1. It’s a disturbing image. Only someone very immature and insecure would use that made up term.

Insecure? WTF. I find your over-the-top negative reaction to be a bit odd, quite frankly,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who ever said that to you is weird as hell. And I’m a dog owner and love dogs.

Really? My Lab is my baby and my son. And such a good boy!

I had a co-worker who talked about how she had to leave on time to “get her boys”. She would talk about “taking the boys to Park A” or “DH and I took the boys to Park B”. I was convinced for months that she had kids, but no, 2 dogs. Weird.

Yes. Yes, you absolutely are weird, PP.

I truly find it hard to believe you’ve never heard someone refer to their dogs as boy and girl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who ever said that to you is weird as hell. And I’m a dog owner and love dogs.

Really? My Lab is my baby and my son. And such a good boy!

I had a co-worker who talked about how she had to leave on time to “get her boys”. She would talk about “taking the boys to Park A” or “DH and I took the boys to Park B”. I was convinced for months that she had kids, but no, 2 dogs. Weird.

Yes. Yes, you absolutely are weird, PP.

I truly find it hard to believe you’ve never heard someone refer to their dogs as boy and girl.

It is completely weird when people talk about their dogs like children. It would be 100% more normal to say you are picking up your dogs. People who talk like this are intentionally trying to imply they have kids so they can get some of the same “perks” that people with kids get. In theirs minds their dogs are just as important!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who ever said that to you is weird as hell. And I’m a dog owner and love dogs.

Really? My Lab is my baby and my son. And such a good boy!

I had a co-worker who talked about how she had to leave on time to “get her boys”. She would talk about “taking the boys to Park A” or “DH and I took the boys to Park B”. I was convinced for months that she had kids, but no, 2 dogs. Weird.

Yes. Yes, you absolutely are weird, PP.

I truly find it hard to believe you’ve never heard someone refer to their dogs as boy and girl.

It is completely weird when people talk about their dogs like children. It would be 100% more normal to say you are picking up your dogs. People who talk like this are intentionally trying to imply they have kids so they can get some of the same “perks” that people with kids get. In theirs minds their dogs are just as important!

You……are insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I sometimes call my dogs my fur babies, but I don't dress them up or anything it is just a term of affection. I didn't realize that this was so offensive to some people!

I live in Toronto so my dog only goes out naked about five months per year. The rest of the time, she wears a sweater or a snowsuit. I don't think of it as "dressing her up" in a silly way. When it's cold out, she's cold. She shivers like a leaf and won't budge. So, she wears clothing. I can't help that she looks really cute.
I do see some people on Instagram who take photos of their dogs in whole outfits and even bikinis. I consider that "dressing up".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care what other people say about their pets? Why don’t you have a life?

DP, and I don't care, except when those terms translate into things like:

-Letting dogs freely roam off leash, when it's illegal and when doing so harms people
-Letting dogs sit on, jump on, sniff incessantly, bark at, etc., guests
-Prioritizing dogs over grandchildren (yes, this is my issue, MIL does this and it drives me bananas, mostly because she also complains about never seeing her grandkids)

If you call your pets your kids and you still have good boundaries around your pets, have at it. I could not care less. But if you're a selfish pet owner who doesn't care what impact your pets have on people then yes, I do care.

[Anonymous]

Weird thread

[Anonymous]

If my dogs are my children:

I have owned approximately 7 children in my life.

I had to rehome two of them.

I had to have two of them put down.

The oldest lived to be 8 yrs old.

One was special needs, she lived to be 6 but was quite feisty despite having a seizure disorder and lame back legs, she was a great swimmer though!

All my kids are gone now. I live in a condo and don't want to subject any kids to that lifestyle. I prefer big kids and they need room to run. Also, so hard to take them on a long trip, can't leave them in the car but can't take them in the restaurant. Some people aren't too excited when you bring the kids along to their house either.

Bottom line: Dogs are dogs. I loved all of mine but they were not kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care what other people say about their pets? Why don’t you have a life?

DP, and I don't care, except when those terms translate into things like:

-Letting dogs freely roam off leash, when it's illegal and when doing so harms people
-Letting dogs sit on, jump on, sniff incessantly, bark at, etc., guests
-Prioritizing dogs over grandchildren (yes, this is my issue, MIL does this and it drives me bananas, mostly because she also complains about never seeing her grandkids)

If you call your pets your kids and you still have good boundaries around your pets, have at it. I could not care less. But if you're a selfish pet owner who doesn't care what impact your pets have on people then yes, I do care.

I can only speak from what I've observed in the years since I've had my dog, but the owners who let their dogs roam around off-leash are usually checked-out owners who also don't get their male dogs neutered, don't notice or care when their dog is limping, and don't pick up after their dogs. The slightly over the top dog-mom types are pretty neurotic and don't even let their dogs off leash at the off leash parks. Most asshole dog owners are assholes in general who really don't care that much about their dogs. If they did, they wouldn't let them off leash in the first place.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who puts her dog down for a nap and will say things like: “I’d love for you to come over tomorrow, but can you come around 2:30? Daisy is napping until then and you know how she gets if she misses nap time!” Or flat out “sorry I won’t make it, I have to have Daisy in bed by (insert time here), so that won’t work.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who puts her dog down for a nap and will say things like: “I’d love for you to come over tomorrow, but can you come around 2:30? Daisy is napping until then and you know how she gets if she misses nap time!” Or flat out “sorry I won’t make it, I have to have Daisy in bed by (insert time here), so that won’t work.”

So? Dogs aren't cats. You can't just leave some food out and life your life. You do kind of need to keep them in mind when you're planning your schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who puts her dog down for a nap and will say things like: “I’d love for you to come over tomorrow, but can you come around 2:30? Daisy is napping until then and you know how she gets if she misses nap time!” Or flat out “sorry I won’t make it, I have to have Daisy in bed by (insert time here), so that won’t work.”

So? Dogs aren't cats. You can't just leave some food out and life your life. You do kind of need to keep them in mind when you're planning your schedule.

I am aware that dogs aren’t cats. I am also aware of having to take my dog into consideration when making plans. But my dog will also fall asleep whether or not I tuck him in. As dogs do. Shuffling your whole day and having people plan things based on your perceived need to tuck your dog in for a nap is insane. It’s not a baby/kid. And even those sometimes nap on the go (not all of them, I know).