Dog lovers aren’t animal lovers

Do you think that this has something to do with the rapid increase in dog ownership in the pandemic?

People, who might not have decided to own a dog, suddenly changed their minds, as dog walking was an acceptable activity. Five years later, perhaps some of them are tired of the restrictions that ownership brings and the time and expense of caring for a dog.

I can see your point because you're talking logically. The OP and responses are hyperbolic.

She’s not bitchy about dog ownership though, only about how so many pet owners don’t care about animal welfare. And it’s true. They don’t - the amount of people who come to me asking for a puppy when they work full time and have young children is staggering. Those people should not even be considering a dog, yet they give me a torrent of abuse when I refuse to even consider placing them on my wait list. Those aren’t animal lovers, as OP rightly states. They’re fashion buyers.

😆 🤣 wtf

This is very true. People on here train their dogs to ignore other dogs. That’s incredibly cruel as dogs are social animals and the enjoyment from play is delightful to see.

Oh do bore off with this goady shit. If you've been lurking in dog related threads, you must have plenty of time on your hands, because there's so many of them. There are many dog lovers on MN, plenty of those obsessed with bitching about dog ownership as well.

I agree. I was in the vets the other day and there was a French Bulldog, it’s inability to breathe was distressing to hear.

I have a colleague who recently bought a cockapoo and talks about it constantly. Real dog lovers wouldn’t go anywhere near these breeds.

I always feel sorry for indoor cats as well, what a dull life they have.

I feel like owners who try to over humanise their pets definitely aren't responsible dog owners. They love a made up version of a dog, not the actual animal that the dog is. Dogs can be amazing pets, and some of them can even be trained as life saving assistant animals, but they are animals.

I feel the same about supposed cat lovers who buy posh breeds.

My DH and I say this all the time. Pet owners exploit them for their emotional wellbeing (and to show them off as an expensive fashion accessory - dogs are expensive!). And then many don't look after them properly. And then you have the ones that have been bred for certain features and suffer terrible health problems as a result.

20 years ago vegans were considered to be cranks. I know people will think I am a crank for saying this. But once AI has developed and is keeping us as pets and controlling our movements people will see I am right :)

I know cats are more in the exploiter category than exploited - but still have to suck up to humans a bit to get fed, even if they could go out to find their own food.

You’re not wrong - but be prepared for a tonne of abuse, OP.

People are woefully blind about dog breeding and, as you say, their desire for a particular dog at a particular time outweighs any fucks they give about the dam or sires welfare.

And yes, agree, letting your dog soil itself in old age for an even months - let alone upwards of a year - isn’t love. It’s selfishness. But again, people don’t listen because when their dog gets their old the fact the dog is suffering doesn’t register with them because it’s all about them.

I mean, a significant minority of dog owners don't even seem to like dogs that much so...

(by which I mean, they like the idea of dogs but in reality they freak out at every normal-for-dogs thing that their dog, or any dog they encounter, does)