To feel the doggy-as-child thing goes too far

[Lovelyideas]

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.

YABU to want to police what other people talk about when out and about.

spudlet I don't agree that this is a dog bashing thread as I think op is perfectly reasonable.in being shocked at people suggesting taking a dog into areas where dogs are not allowed is a good idea. I love my dog and love taking him on long walks but I would never dream of taking him into a children's play area or any area of.the park that says no dogs any more than I would take him into tesco or any other business that does not allow dogs.

YANBU, I hate terms like "fur baby" or people calling their pets their boys or girls. And I'm constantly about people who allow their pets to rule their lives, even more than they would in relation to children.

My dog has a pram Only because he can't walk more than a half a mile and if we want to go for a long walk we just pop him in,he loves it

My mother used to say her dog was my sister

Like all her other pets (I can think of 6) it was rehomed when she got fed up of it.

Come to think of it so were my brother and I

I'm nc with her funnily enough but have heard on the grapevine she has a new dog and is posting on FB all the outfits she's buying it.

I wonder how long the poor mutt will last.

Mawkish self indulgence, dogs are living toys created by humans for their own amusement

Shitting public nuisance toys

Our park has a fenced off dog area for them to run off the lead. Makes sense.

it took my mum 2 months to meet her youngest grandchild, and her life revolves around her dogs. She doesn't even bother with any of her grandchildren anymore as the very minimal contact she made with me/them has dwindled in to nothing. I've stopped trying to get in contact now because never responds. I see photos and posts on Facebook all the time put up by her or her partner of their dogs though. It's actually quite sad and bizarre.

Navy We were very close. I think she was/is disappointed in how my life has turned out so I guess seeing me or speaking to me reminds her of that. Her partner said some vile things to me a few years ago, so that pushed us further apart.
She and her partner now seem closer to my brother than me and his family and they live miles away. They are very proud of him.

Ah MN is back to normal. Tis not right without a dog vs human thread about every 9.4 days is it.

No not purely because of her dogs. But just seeing her all of her life and effort in to them rather than sparing some for me and her grandchildren, it does make me sad sometimes.

Autumn that really sucks, I'm sorry to hear that.

I don't think dogs should be allowed in children's play areas, even when children aren't likely to be present (such as 6am or after dark). But I don't have too much of an issue with dogs going in tennis courts during the time of year they aren't likely to be used AS LONG AS there are no signs to say not to do it. I used to use some, from sort of autumn time to start of spring. Never once saw any sign of nets or anyone using them other than other dog owners or kids on roller blades (skating to the net to stop themselves). But come spring they put signs up saying 'no dogs' so we stopped. They would then take the signs down in autumn again.

I think everything in the dog world has a use, from prams (for dogs who can't walk far anymore but still want to get out), to vegan dog foods (for dogs with server allergies to animal proteins) but they are more often than not used in the wrong context. That's what sucks.

I no longer have a dog, but I do have other pets. I wouldn't leave one of mine overnight at the weekend because she was ill on Friday. I didn't want to risk saying away overnight and her needing to be rushed to the vet (no one else would be home). To me leaving her would be wrong and I can't understand why anyone would think differently.

I don't care if people want to baby their dogs but the sense of entitlement to where they think their dog can go drives me nuts, and I have a dog. I live next to two large parks that are besieged by dog walkers to the point that no children play in the park. You can't run or cycle through either park without being chased down my at least one dog, and no, I don't care if you think your dog is harmless.

Near me there is ONE enclose footballs/basketball court/play area and it never ceases to amaze me the number of dog owners who use this as a dog park. The ultimate shocker for me was when I was in the gym that overlooks a very expensive, purpose built running track that is fully enclosed. I witnessed a dog owner open the gate and let his dog in for a run about, lovely, just what you want when your running round the track a big dog poo or worse, being chased down by a dog.

It seems no where is safe or sacred from some dog owners, who seem oblivious that not everyone if as keen on their dog.

Agree with Miss Kelly

Dog adoration is nobody's business really (lots of us have specialised interests after all).

But that sense of entitlement to do something because your dog will be happy is really wrong.

The tennis court with the seasonal signs is very generous!

To chat about how the playground idea made me feel and see if others agreed.

if you baby your dog, see it as a family member then you start to feel as if the dog is a kind of simplified version of a human, therefore in your mind it has a right to happiness and self actualization in the same way that a human does

if anyone objects to your dog running freely, jumping up at and chasing people then they are trying to deprive him of his right to self expression and trying to deprive your of your right to determine what your dog does.

Burning with self righteous indignation you dont even consider the rights of other humans to go about their lives unhindered by dogs and their ubiquitous shit and shitting

I got my dog a new hoodie yesterday. She's a total fur baby. I have a grumpy teenager and need a dog somthere is someone in this world who loves me!

We don't go in tennis courts though.

However Waterstones is dog friendly so I take her out shopping with me and tell her we'll stop for coffee in Waterstones cafe which she likes. Obv she has water, not coffee.

"if you baby your dog, see it as a family member then you start to feel as if the dog is a kind of simplified version of a human, therefore in your mind it has a right to happiness and self actualization in the same way that a human does"

I don't think that follows though...my dog is absolutely a family member, I don't particularly baby him, photo opportunity with his dummy aside, lol, but he is a family member.

I still don't take him to play parks or let him harass members of the public.

I suspect that people who think their dogs are entitled to do things like that are also like that in other areas of their life, the same people who turn up to child free weddings with their child or to parties with a sibling without ever asking if it would be OK.

Basically people who think rules don't apply to them.