Can you love a dog as much as a child?

[Bluemooninmyeyes1]

I’m not a dog owner and I don’t have children so I’m pretty clueless on this subject but genuinely interested! I work with someone who talks about her dog more than her own daughter and is constantly posting photos of her dog on social media.

So..is it possible to love your dog as much as your kids?

YABU- You cannot love a dog as much as a child

YANBU- You can definitely love a dog as much as a child

@formerbabe
Okay but why exactly is the child, unknown to me, more important than the dog I love?

I would say you can love your dog like you love your husband. It’s a different kind of love to what you have for your own child.
If I had to save my family from a burning building it would be kids first, the dog and then husband

You shouldn't love a dog as much or more then your child. But there is plenty of depressing stories about parents who don't care about their kids and abuse and neglect them, so unfortunately I guess some people just don't love their children like they should.

Yes you can absolutely. I love my.dogs as much as my children and as much as my DP.

Not rtft but maybe people compare the grief of lising a child (God forbid) to losing a dog. There is no comparison - dogs live 10-15 years on average and we are programmed to accept their loss when they leave us. But while we have them we love them deeply.

@Shadow21

Absolutely. I love my dog. She is more important to me than other people. If had to save my dog or a child from a burning building, it would be my dog every time. Although I hope to never have to make such a decision.

It’s 2021 now, you can cool off the insanity

[quote Shadow21]@formerbabe
Okay but why exactly is the child, unknown to me, more important than the dog I love?[/quote]
What's terrifying imo is that in this hypothetical situation you are centering your own feelings. I would be thinking about the child's future life and how their parents would cope without them hence saving the unknown child.

I know one lady who.lost her dog and people were checking on her for days to make sure she wouldn't do anything to herself. The dog was her companion morning to night for 15 years. I also have 2 friends who post about their dogs non stop. They're their companions so I get it

I sort of think of my first dog as my first child. I didn’t have children at the time. But there is no comparison between the love I feel for our dogs both living and dead and the love I feel for my dd.

I can't believe that this is even a question.
A dog is an animal not a person that you have hopefully created from love.

@formerbabe
Yes, ofcourse. I would be thinking about my family’s future and how we would cope if we lost the dog. Ofcourse I would prioritise my family over an unknown family.

I honestly can't imagine having a parent who would compare my life to a pet

No, they are not fur babies. They are not human. They are animals, cute animals but still animals.

@stayathomer

I know one lady who.lost her dog and people were checking on her for days to make sure she wouldn't do anything to herself. The dog was her companion morning to night for 15 years. I also have 2 friends who post about their dogs non stop. They're their companions so I get it

I do get this tbh.

I went through a very serious period of depression when we got our dog. And I very genuinely believe that he saved my life. He will always be special to me for that and if something happened to him I'm not sure I can even imagine what I would feel. I bonded with him through trauma and he was my companion through it. That really does form a strong bond imo, not to be dismissed or taken lightly.

I'm not suggesting you love your dog more than your DC, but I think some people would find it odd or stupid that your colleague needing checking on, people were worried she may do something to herself etc... Whereas I really don't think it's that odd when you have a bond like that with something/someone.

I absolutely love and adore my little doggie and she is my soulmate as was my other one who sadly died last year. I have three children and despite my love for the dogs ,my children are on another level.

Bit odd but of course you can.

Fwiw, some people really dislike their children.

I love my dogs so much I cried for weeks after our beautiful girl died this year. She made our family. However I love my children more.

[quote Shadow21]@formerbabe
Yes, ofcourse. I would be thinking about my family’s future and how we would cope if we lost the dog. Ofcourse I would prioritise my family over an unknown family.[/quote]
To be really honest, it's highly unlikely that you will outlive your dog so at some point you will have to deal with that.

I know you said you're pregnant at the moment..is it your first? It's really upsetting and odd that in a hypothetical situation you wouldn't imagine how the death of a child would affect its mother and that you truly believe losing your dog would be the same thing.

[quote Shadow21]@formerbabe
Yes, ofcourse. I would be thinking about my family’s future and how we would cope if we lost the dog. Ofcourse I would prioritise my family over an unknown family.[/quote]
So you would weigh them up and your loss of a pet would be more significant than someone else's loss of a child?
I wonder what a judge would say about that 🤔

I’ve lost dogs that I loved very very much, and I lost a grown daughter. Nothing, nothing alike in anyway. I adore my cats but if my child was starving (think Venezuela) my kids would eat cat stew.

*sorry I mean it's highly likely you will outlive your dog

I would put my kids above our dog and the cats I had too. Absolutely. But don't underestimate how strong that love for pets is!!!! It's very real and very deep.

I think some people actually do.

LostInAutumn, I'm so sorry😔🌺

No I don’t think they’re comparable. If they were then people wouldn’t get dogs because we expect to outlive them. We don’t expect to outlive our children. And in all honesty would people think it was ok for everyone to take months or years off work because their dog died? Society simply couldn’t function if they were generally comparable. That’s not to say loving and losing dogs isn’t keenly felt. And I do respect the love and loss for pets.

I have spent New Years Eve with a Cocker Spaniel and a surly 15 year old.

Believe me, at the moment I love the dog more...