to think owning a dog is selfish?

[hannadashery]

...with the exception of working dogs or as companions for retired people.

The majority of dog owners work, so in a 24 hour period in which their owner spends the majority of time sleeping or at work, a dog will be very lucky to get 3hrs walking a day and will probably spend the rest of the time bored/sleeping.

I don't believe dogs enjoy Netflix programs and highly doubt their owners are constantly hugging/petting them every evening. It feels that dogs sole purpose is to pad out that free time the owners have in between all their other activities. And sure dogs love their owners because who's going to hate the person that feeds them and provides temporary reprieve from absolute boredom.

Expecting an absolute flaming as so many people own dogs but from a non pet owners perspective it seems majority of dogs are basically slaves and are blissfully ignorant of their predicament.

Just thought I'd throw that as a light-hearted discussion on a Friday afternoon

Mine certainly have a good life. They are hardly ever left home alone for more than an hour or so We actually do spend all of our time with them in the evenings too. Two of them snuggle up with us on the sofa all night, one of them likes more space. They sleep in our beds.

And they do like Netflix. My JRT is very fond of a bit of TV. They have it left on for them on the rare occasion they are going to be left for longer than an hour.

I don't agree with having dogs who are left for hours on end most days of the week, but I don't actually know any dog owners who do that.

I often look at my dogs and envy their lovely existence. They get nice food, company, as much sleep as they want, walks and are completely adored by everyone.

I think my dog would rather I was working part time and her chilling out at home (she loves to sunbathe on our bed) than be stuck in a rescue centre kennel again 👍

elderly doggo who is actual hooman inside doggo body, require definite actual hooman companion with comfy bed, no life, no outdoor hobby, please just feed doggo and don't leave doggo home ever, in return doggo only fart on hooman a few time, 'K fren?

I have had my dog from a puppy and he does love a walk (minimum sofa time afterwards 3x length of the walk of course) but other than that he would definitely have written this

Your dog is very lucky to have found you

it seems majority of dogs are basically slaves and are blissfully ignorant of their predicament.

Do you even know what slavery is? Please, look it up. Because I will tell you something, it isn't what you think it is.

Recently lost ddog. Have had a dog, sometimes two, for last 30 years. When I left my husband 3 years ago I literally left with nothing except ddog. My nest has progressively emptied since then as children have left to move in with partners or go travelling. More than ever I miss ddog but felt and feel very strongly if they are pets and not working dogs, yes it is selfish. Pets meaning spending the majority of their day left to own devices rather than herding something; albeit toddler. Hence I cannot justify getting another merely for companionship.

YABVU

Even if you hadn't stated that you are not a pet owner, I would have known, because the ignorance is on another level.

Its actually working dogs who are often not cuddled, not allowed to sleep in the house even in winter, not taken to the vets unless they are at death's door etc etc.

Family dogs are mostly seen as exactly that. Part of the family.

My dog is spoilt rotten. She spends her evenings either playing with me or cuddled up on the sofa (yes, I allow her to chill on the sofa). Because the way my shift patterns work and the way my family member's shift patterns work, she only spends 2-3 hours on her own. This is not going to change.

Believe me, I treasure her and spend as much time as I can with her. She is not just some object I spend time with whenever I have a spare five minutes.

I actually genuinely feel sorry for people who've never owned an animal before because they dont know how much joy that it brings, how good it feels to be at one with an animal, how much they can enrich your life.

Maybe not a good idea to be so judgemental over something you know nothing about.

Just out of interest:

Do you think dogs in shelters should be adopted if being a pet owner is selfish? Should they just be put to sleep?

What about all the activities centered around dogs/pets: pet stores wouldn't exist without dogs, that's a lot of jobs right there, yes it may not have a wider societal purpose/benefit but neither do a lot of activities/industries to be honest.
Flyball, agility, scentwork - all those 'games' to dogs generate a lot of activity and spending from us human - competition, equipment, time.
They get us to walk more and probably to care a bit more about the green belt.
They are also good for mental health which is probably a not insignificant saving to the NHS. Walking them probably aids with our general health and weight too. Another saving.
So dogs ARE productive: they keep a lot of people in jobs, occupy a lot of businesses, represent a decent part of the economy and keep us healthier.

As for my dog - he has spent more than half of his life with sb at home constantly (through studies, mat leaves etc). In the brief spell that we both worked outside the home full time we had a dog walker. Currently I work from home regularly and a few months in the year we have parents/PIL at home with us. He's 11yrs old now, mostly happy to chill really.
When he was younger and full of energy he used to go to obedience classes every week, then used to go running with the husband a few times a week and used to go to agility classes every week with me (+ competition at the week-end).
Pre-kids we'd often spend at leat a full day out in the woods at the week-end. And holidays camping.
I can assured you that if he had not been content at home he would have made it clear :)

it seems majority of dogs are basically slaves and are blissfully ignorant of their predicament.

My dog is a slave to me? Wow! I will tell him immediately that it's that way around. Well when he wakes up, gives up the snuggliest cushion and finishes eating his luxury breakfast anyway

I suppose the cat shouting on my lap (she has had everything she could be offered and is just being a pain) is a slave to me too

Some days I wish I was my dog to be honest...

But yes apart from that everything we do is inherently selfish. We do it because it gives us pleasure first.

What do you do OP that isn't selfish?

I agree with you.

Also, a bit ridiculous to ask “where else are dogs going to be kept” @unknownn. They wouldn’t need to be kept anywhere if we didn’t keep breeding them for the sole purpose of human entertainment and fashion.

I know a lot of people who work full time and leave dogs at home all day. It’s extremely cruel. Dogs are pack animals and would never naturally spend long periods of time alone. It’s also wrong to say they are happy to sleep all day. They sleep all day because they have no other choice.

It feels like far more people have dogs these days because they are a fashion accessory. One minute pugs are all the rage, then sausage dogs, then boxers (because of an advert!) and then huskies because of game of thrones! These are people that would never normally have got dogs and often don’t know how to look after them properly. The dog trends are often for extremely over bred breeds who suffer from all sorts of physical deformities. Anyone who thinks a dog should look like a pug is insane. Their poor deformed faces mean they struggle to breath.

What's the alternative? Let's just kill all the non working dogs because devoting less than 100% of 24 hours a day sole attention to them is selfish. I'd say using working dogs is more akin to slave labour (it's not really). My wee lap dog never lifted a paw in her life and lives a life of luxury. Yh she only has the cats for company but some dogs can manage their whole lives without human interaction so I guess my wee poochy will survive when I'm at work.

Suffering through Netflix just last night.

In France they have DogTV, tv for dogs.

I've just asked my rescue dog who's 12 wether she wants to go to the vets to be put down, she's just having a think about it.

We both work, she's really lazy and isn't wild about more than a ten minute stroll around the block. Oh and that's only if it isn't raining, cold or windy.

She spends her days snoozing, eating, barking at the post being delivered and various delivery drivers not ringing our bell, just keeping the neighbourhood safe

She's just said she's quite happy to spend her final years with us, lying upside down to sleep in peace and quiet every day. And she also said she has arthritis now and doesn't need lots of walking.

Misleading thread titles annoy me. Thread title should be
"AIBU to say most dog owners are unkind to their dog, leave it alone too much & don't provide good lives for them."

I've known a lot of happy well adjusted dogs who didn't have someone at home most the day. Maybe just my skewed anecdata.

3 rescue dogs for the past 12 years, 2 elderly and one blind since birth, his mate is his guide dog. I rehomed them despite their medical problems and disabilities and have spent thousands on vet bills since to ensure their optimum health.

I work from home and so does my partner, they are never without walks, the best dog
food, love and company. Our dogs are our family and I was selfish enough to rescue them before they were euthanized... fuckwit !

Rather think OP was hoping to upset a lot of people and start some sort of bun fight.

Didn't happen. Because us dog owners know our dogs have a bloody good life and we love them and they're happy.

Of course there are dogs that are ill treated, in the same way, there are children/wives/husbands who are ill treated but look around you OP at the massive dog food and dog care industry. Most people who own dogs love them and treat the well and like one of the family.

Slaves? Have you any idea what slaves endure OP? What a bloody ignorant and unbelievably insulting remark to those people who have, or are, living as slaves.

Selfish, yes it probably is selfish to take a creature into your home that gives you so much joy and pleasure, but it goes both ways.

We humans do a great many selfish things: we spend our money on things we don't need that some other people can't afford, that's pretty selfish.

We don't go out and buy a large new tv or the biggest car we can afford for altruistic reason. And no one has children for altruistic reasons either.

I think @pigsDOfly has summed it up. Not much more to say.

Indeed.

I also agree with @YeOldeTrout

Only I thought it was AIBU to hate dogs, their owners and have a goady bastard thread on a Friday afternoon under the pretext of it being a lighthearted thread about selfishness.

Silly me. And sillier me for not realising immediately that it would be the only post under that user name.

I'm with @PrincessHonesuckle. I said you were up your own arse upthread. I stand by it. Get it right up ye.

I have a dog walker so 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Thank you SweatyPie.