I like dogs. I got my parents a dog and she changed their lives. But something seems wrong about dog stuff in our little town. The whole child-substitute thing just goes too far. It is as if all the pressures of child rearing are transported on to dogs.
Example 1 today. I bump into friend K with her cute new puppy. A stranger's puppy interacts with K's puppy. K and stranger exchange friendly doggy chitchat. K's puppy is straining at the lead and they have this dialogue.
Stranger: oh! Yours wants to come off the lead!
K well, I wouldn't trust her yet.
Stranger: oh, what you can do is, take her to the park, you know the enclosed children's playground before the kids get there, it's so good for her training!
K oh right....
Stranger: or the tennis courts, she can have a great time on the tennis courts and she can't get out.
K right, thanks...
This is not an isolated thing, I have noticed it for a while. I am sure that my parents -yes- trained their dog. But then she became part of the scenery, not the big focus of conversation. There were no dog play dates, dog cages or dog anxiety. They did not allow their untrained dog in areas where dogs are not allowed for very good reason. And she was none the worse for it.