To not like dogs

[AnonyMousee]

I just... don't!!

Most of them smell, get their hairs everywhere, dribble on you, their breath makes me heave, they beg for food and get their food/water everywhere when they eat. They're expensive and needy and annoying.

But why do people get so angry when others don't like dogs? I feel like I can't be honest about dogs when I meet them and their owners, and I always end up pretending to like them. God forbid you say to a dog owners face you don't like dogs, you might aswell just say you've killed a baby!

I don’t like dogs very much. I love my dog, though.

*Isn't that just a sign of a badly trained dog? Mine gets put behind a baby gate when we have visitors who don't want him about. He gets given a nice tasty chew and left to his own devices. I wouldn't let him jump up at anyone.

I find it harder when you're out and about and people think he's cute, so fuss him, so he gets loads of attention for jumping, therefore rewarding the bad behaviour*

I allow my dog to greet visitors. She doesn't jump. She was very quickly trained not to. She has a quick sniff and then makes her own way to her bed, where she will remain for the duration of their visit. My dog isn't fussed on visitors and is happy to retreat to her safe space until the visitors have gone.

It's a PITA when training outdoors. It's very difficult when training your dog to bypass others and they insist on calling your dog and fussing over them. I'll give you that. Thankfully my dog is now past the puppy training stage and focusses on only me. Everyone around her may as well not be there. That makes life so much easier.

It's true what they say, "Put the effort in at the puppy stage and you'll have a well trained dog for life".

I can take my dog anywhere 🏅

That's not to say other people's dogs aren't a nuisance... They are! That comes down to the owners. Some owners train their dogs, others don't have a clue. I choose which dogs I allow my dog to interact with. Same for the kids really...

The way people react to dogs tells you a lot about humans in general and them in particular; and not so much about dogs

Disagree entirely! Some people are genuinely scared of them and therefore don't like them. It says absolutely nothing about those people other than the fact they are scared of them.

And even if someone simply doesn't like dogs, it doesn't say anything more about them than not liking cats, horses, rats, chickens or anyone else says anything about any other people.

I actually bought this of etsy a few months ago... haha

I need one of those for my teenage son. He definitely stopped smelling like he did when he was a baby, his room is a mess (our rabbit's cage is a lot tidier!), he is grumpy and often lacks human manners, in my opinion. He is lazy and only recently started having regular showers (2 years ago he was more than happy to skip a day if he didn't fancy washing!). He definitely leaves a lot of mess after eating something and never has as much motivation as any dog would to do anything.

The question is who sells those warning signs for teenagers?

couldn't bare it
Would I be unreasonable to not like people who don't know the difference between bare and bear? I always end up pretending to like them when really their mistakes make me heave and they beg for attention....

I can take or leave dogs, TBH. I like looking at pictures of them or seeing them on TV as they’re cute but I’m not keen on big, hairy, slobbery, smelly things. I love my dog though, she’s the sweetest thing!

I’m the same with children, to be fair. I’m not that keen on some but I —tolerate— love my own.

I can see both sides of the coin. I can understand why people like/dislike pets/children so it doesn’t offend me when they don’t.

Ha I love the implication that all people who don’t love dogs are some sort of sociopaths , I wouldn’t do dogs any harm but I don’t want them near me , I can’t stand the smell of them and I think they require more long term physical care than children are unknown quantities and I really don’t want them near me , I’m in the caring profession and think I do ok with humans and making friends so I don't think my not liking dogs influences who I am as a person too much . Comparing human children with animals it’s pretty bizarre though .

@tiggerkid dss is hitting that stage now he is happy to fester a whole day and skip a shower....boys are gross... love him though. Despite all the tidying and cleaning done is his room by him (with much protest) and DH and I his room constantly smells of feet! WHY!!

tiggerkid Its interesting that you read a pro dogs judgement into my statement. Dogs (and horses) seem to trigger a strong pro or anti sentiment in lots of people.
My point was that dogs cant be all the things people claim they are. They can't be both perfect angels and absolute devils.

Why is comparing humans to animals bizarre?

I agree a puppy and a 10 year old don't have much in common but a puppy and a 2 year old more so. They both can't be left alone, can be very demanding, can jump all over visitors, make a mess and lots of noise.

The OP said dogs are needy, demanding, smell and dribble. Sounds similar to me

I detest dogs. I was attacked by them twice as a child. I hate local dog walkers thinking it’s ok to let their vile animals piss or crap on my flower beds. I hate the stink of dog’s breath and the inevitable farting they produce if indoors with you. I hate them jumping up on my clean coat with their muddy paws. I hate the infernal racket when an owner leaves a dog home alone and it barks the whole damn night. I hate the Rottweiler which clawed my child’s face. I hate seeing plastic bags of dog shit hanging from trees, ruining beauty spots where I have gone for a walk. I hate seeing unscooped dog shit on pavements, with skid marks where some unfortunate mother has obviously wheeled her buggy through it. I hated trying to wash dog shit off my kids’ shoes when they were young.
My cat on the other hand can do no wrong...!

How a person reacts/is with an animal says a lot about them... or something to that affect.... these sort of statements do get me too! I do not like rats, birds and spiders and im not overly keen on cats and most children, but it does not influence how I am as a person either
However if my dog is wary of a person and has no obvious reason to be (the person showing aggression for example) I trust their instinct, silly really but it's not fared me wrong so far.

@RangeRider sorry I didn't realise I was currently being examined for my English. It's been a while I tell ya!

Moving on, do you actually have an opinion or are you just bored?

Its interesting that you read a pro dogs judgement into my statement

All that says is that it's not always easy to get the point another person tries to make in written communication on a forum! I agree that many animals in general (not just dogs and horses) trigger a lot of pro/anti sentiments in people. And looking at the AIBU section of MN, people clearly trigger a lot of similar sentiments in one another ;)

@Babdoc im.really sorry to hear yourself and child have been attacked by dogs. You have every reason to dislike them with all of your points, i absolutely hate it when people leave dog turd on tje paement and launch the bags into bushes, they went to the effort to pick it up why not put it in the bin, it winds me up too!

I never let my dogs loose in an area where people can feel scared or annoyed by them, where they can get into someones garden and take a dump, my mil has 2 acres of private land I let them loose on that, and only loose on a beach when nobody else is there I keep then on the lead at all times other wise.

So many people shouldn't be allowed dogs, but there is a fair amount of us that train and clean up after our dogs properly

dss is hitting that stage now he is happy to fester a whole day and skip a shower....boys are gross

Nobody tells you that before you have them for some reason and they are not just for Christmas. Can't get a refund either

I love dogs. Absolutely love them. BUT good god the smell !! The slobber !

Babdoc I think your issues with dogs lie with dog owners. I agree with your sentiment. Some dogs are a nuisance...but you have to blame the owners. Dogs will do what dogs will do, unless trained otherwise. ...

Exactly the same as children. If you don't guide them into what is socially acceptable how will they know?

I lived with a dog for a few months when I was with my ex. The dog was awful, it used to be under the table at meal times and would put its head in your groin, would sit constantly waiting for food, ate everything in sight so if my dc put any food down it would eat it. It pissed on my bed, shat on my stairs, shat on my carpets, barked at every fucking noise, shit in my garden. Would put it's great big disgusting tongue in my cats water bowl getting it everywhere and I could never leave biscuits down for the cat to graze during the day because the dog was such a pig it would eat them all. I was glad when my ex and the dog moved out!

I don't wish dogs any harm, I just don't want them around me and when dogs run up and put their paws/nose on me I don't like it and have had some strange looks when I don't pet the dog for doing so.

We were in the doorway of a shop once leaving and a dog jumped up excitedly at my (then) 3 year old ds and made his lip bleed. The dog owner was blase saying "he was just excited and means no harm.."

My ds still has a small scar above his lip where the dogs nose caught it. 

Having said that there was one dog I liked years ago. My mum used to dog sit him when the owner went away and he was a very well trained dog! He used to sit when he got to the curb before crossing the road 

I like dogs outdoors or in a big airy room. In confined spaces they reek the place out, somewhere between stables, dog poo and oily fur. I've met a few dogs who don't smell but most do, and if they sit on you the smell lingers. Cat hair is worse though, at least dog hair brushes off easily!

Toddlers have a human smell and get bathed more. I don't find other people's kids fragrant but you can't smell them unless they're very close!

Even the most adamant disliker of dogs loves mine!

I absolutely adore dogs but am definitely one of those owners who doesn't assume that everyone should adore mine too. I don't feel offended in the slightest by those who don't like dogs - I don't let him interact with anyone unless that person wants to and he gets recalled and popped on lead when we are out walking and we see anyone else (unless we know them and they like to see him). He is aloof anyway and doesn't seek human attention at all bar mine or that of those he knows very well - chooses to ignore so is more than happy to be ignored.

I get hacked off being chased / jumped on / slobbered on etc uninvited by out of control dogs myself; have had many runs spoiled by them - once I was injured fairly badly being tripped up and have been tangled in Flexi leads and had holes put in my kit by sharp claws too which has been costly to replace. I have also had one of my dogs very badly attacked and almost killed by a loose dog whilst we were walking on the pavement, lead on, minding our own business.

There's room in the world for all as long as we all show some courtesy and understanding (I wish we all did.....).

I agree with a PP, if someone doesn’t like animals I definitely judge them. There always seems to be certain personality traits belonging to people who aren’t compassionate about animals. We wouldn’t exist if other animals also didn’t exist. There should be a level of mutual respect & care for animals & nature. Which is distinctly lacking in this world, hence the shit tip we are currently in.
So although that all sounds a bit far fetched, people’s dislike of animals speaks volumes to me.