Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not understand the appeal of dogs as pets?

371 replies

Gardentiger · 06/07/2021 13:31

I just don't get it and would love to understand! As much as I like certain dogs I meet and think they are cute, the list of downsides is massive

  • they smell and make your house and car and clothes smell bad
-they can't be left alone for a length of a working day -behavioural problems and agression -if you get a barky one it can ruin your relationship with neighbours -the amount of time you have to spend training them -some seem to need constant supervision -chewing things and generally wrecking the housr -having to pick up warm freshly baked turds

I walked a friend of mines dog the other day and it was awful! He pulled on the lead the entire way, and kept trying to pee on people's doorsteps / flowerpots.

So what is the appeal!? I say this as an animal lover who has had pet rabbits, cats and hamsters in the past.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop · 06/07/2021 14:45

I'll be sure to PM you next time @ForeverAintEnough3 to make sure you find my jokes funny before I post. That ok?

If you don't like people saying dogs are disgusting maybe don't click on a thread about what people think of dogs. It's a bit daft to get so upset because people don't agree with you on MN!

ForeverAintEnough3 · 06/07/2021 14:46

@Gardentiger I’m interested in how you managed to house train a rabbit if yours roamed around your house but never went to the toilet ! I’ve never heard of that before.

Eyesofdisarray · 06/07/2021 14:47

Every time a thread like this is started, it follows a pattern of
Camp 1. Dogs are fab and owners feel bound to defend them
Camp 2. Dogs are awful, jumpy,smelly etc
We are indeed all different; I don't understand the appeal of cats but each to his/her own.
I'm firmly in camp 1 but am not going to jump in on the defence. He's my choice so I'll take all that goes with him 🐶

LibertyMole · 06/07/2021 14:48

‘The problem is that people who don't like dogs now have to share so much space with dogs…’

What is this ‘now’? We have been sharing social space with dogs for 15,000 years. They didn’t just appear out of nowhere.

ForeverAintEnough3 · 06/07/2021 14:49

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop it seems your lack of comprehension when it comes to why a non-parent would be on mumsnet also extends to your reading comprehension. The title and first line of the OP was ‘to not understand the appeal of dogs - I just don't get it and would love to understand

Not - I’m looking to hear how much other people hate dogs. So I’m really not sure why you’re on this thread at all given you clearly don’t have dogs or like dogs and are therefore unable to answer the OP. Why miss an opportunity to be nasty though I guess Biscuit

HarrisMcCoo · 06/07/2021 14:50

Nose blind! It's true. You don't even notice the smell 🤷

My Saint Bernard is huge but she's just the best companion. If I feel down, she cheers me up.

Ifitquacks · 06/07/2021 14:50

@LibertyMole

Of course dogs make the house smell. But I like dogs and the way they smell! The smell of them is one of the best things about them.

Dogs and humans love each other. That’s why they are good pets.

I always assumed that pets like hamsters don’t actually want to be pets and are actually just wild animals in cages in someone’s house. Is this not the case? Do they actually like people?

My dog smells like warm digestive biscuits!
1forAll74 · 06/07/2021 14:51

Basically you are not a dog lover, and that is fine, You are only concentrating on dog smells in the house, and dogs barking and pulling on leads and peeing up lamp posts etc. Dogs can be a life saver for thousands of people,including many children. There are working dogs, service dogs, and they will all be much loved by many people. House dogs if well trained, can be part of the family, and loved by all. Lots of lonely and older people have their dogs for company. so that is the appeal of dogs,always has been.

Cameleongirl · 06/07/2021 14:52

My dog is groomed regularly and smells of shampoo most of the time. I’m quite sensitive to smells so I couldn’t tolerate an intense doggy odor.

Cavalierqueen · 06/07/2021 14:52

@PopsicleHustler

I absolutely love dogs.

But wouldn't ones bum sat on my sofa and carpets

My lirrle one sleeps on my pillow and I sleep with my face next to hers. Her breath and wiggling is fat less offensive than most of the men I have shared a bed with.
Maassi · 06/07/2021 14:52

I always hated dogs and never grew up with them in my culture because they are seen as dirty but ended up marrying a white man who insisted on getting a border collie.

My border collie used to put his head and paw on my knees and stare into my eyes while giving the deepest heartfelt sighs when I was upset and crying because of my toxic exH. He was my exes dog and I couldnt stand him when we got him as a pup as he was destructive but then the most phenomenal bond occured between us and he was literally my shadow and at constant heel with me. No one else. I taught him so much and it was a sheer joy when it was just the 2 of us going out somewhere. He'd ignore my ex if I was there and would even refuse to go downstairs for a walk with him if i wasnt going. That dog saw my soul and I saw his.

FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop · 06/07/2021 14:53

@ForeverAintEnough3 why are you still yammering on? I can post whenever I like thank you, OP didn't invite opinions from just dog owners - and even if she did that wouldn't be her call.

Please leave me alone now, you're constant rambling replies are making me cringe

Flowerlane · 06/07/2021 14:53

I feel the same about cats…how anyone thinks a cat is a pet is beyond me. 🤷🏼‍♀️

vodkaredbullgirl · 06/07/2021 14:55

Cat's are arses Grin we are staff not owners.

DeathByWalkies · 06/07/2021 14:56

Well I've a very limited sense of smell anyway, so that doesn't bother me.

The training is fun, and having got a rescue one with behavioural issues I came to enjoy the challenge of working out how we could improve things a bit. He's much nicer now but there's a part of me that misses the learning curve I went on!

Turds don't bother me at all.

He's also my baby. No, I don't dress him up or put him in a handbag - he enjoys doing all sorts of dog things from chasing squirrels to digging on the beach and sniffing bottoms. But he fulfils my need to care for something. He's a darling, he has saved me from my own MH, he's introduced me to new dog walking friends, and he's very loving.

Other things you mention aren't an issue for my dog - he only barks when there's a good reason for it (eg doorbell), doesn't chew stuff and can be left alone.

Comedycook · 06/07/2021 14:57

I find it baffling. Even more baffling that people part with hundreds of pounds to have an animal in their home which they will have to feed,pick up it's shit and just be a general annoyance. I don't think any of them are cute either

2bazookas · 06/07/2021 14:57

@Blossomtoes

They don't love unconditionally- they are nice to the person/people who keep them safe and fed

My dog’s favourite person is my son, who she sees about once a month and who has never fed her.

I'm absolutely convinced that dogs can detect the DNA in their owners children and instantly recognise them as "a version of my adored owner".

Since our last child left home 25 yrs ago we've had a string of *new" dogs who had never met or lived with our kids, but greeted them as long lost lovers. .

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 06/07/2021 14:58

‘The problem is that people who don't like dogs now have to share so much space with dogs…’

What is this ‘now’? We have been sharing social space with dogs for 15,000 years. They didn’t just appear out of nowhere.

Not really. We domesticated dogs 15,000 years ago, but their prevalence (especially outside the hunting/farming sphere as working dogs) was historically lower in every day society compared to day, when dog ownership in the UK is increasingly common.

Comedycook · 06/07/2021 14:58

I have a neighbor with a barking dog...pisses me off no end that I can no longer have a lie in because it wakes me up ..why is their dog now my fucking problem?

FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop · 06/07/2021 15:00

@Comedycook

I have a neighbor with a barking dog...pisses me off no end that I can no longer have a lie in because it wakes me up ..why is their dog now my fucking problem?
The MN dog loon narrative is very much "if you don't like my dog it's your problem". Some people who think they love animals need to treat humans better
Ifitquacks · 06/07/2021 15:00

My mum’s dog adores me. I’ve never lived with him, or even spent all that much time with him, but he goes mental when I visit! Weird.
My dog loves my Dad, and also MIL who lives abroad so he only sees her once a year.

DeathByWalkies · 06/07/2021 15:01

I always assumed that pets like hamsters don’t actually want to be pets and are actually just wild animals in cages in someone’s house. Is this not the case? Do they actually like people?

That's pretty accurate. Give a hamster half a chance and it'll fuck off under the floorboards to live a wild sort of life.

A vegan once told me that keeping pets was a form of slavery. My response to that one is that I try to set the dog free on a daily basis but he keeps following me home. Perhaps the dog has Stockholm syndrome? Or maybe he actually quite likes me after all...

Sharkology · 06/07/2021 15:02

Cats are vile in my opinion, and owners tend to let them shit all over other people's property without a care in the World.

I don't need mumsnet to verify my valid personal opinion.

Eyesofdisarray · 06/07/2021 15:02

What a lovely post @Maassi - collies are so intelligent and intuitive
Hope you're in a good place now ⚘

Blossomtoes · 06/07/2021 15:03

That’s such an interesting theory @2bazookas. It would explain it.

You just brought a tear to my eye @Maassi, at least something good came of having to endure the bastard.