To thing the worlds gone dog mad...

[mrspotatohead21]

I just feel people put dogs on too much of a pedestal. I like dogs, but I just think people almost see them than more than they are, which is, let's be honest, an animal.

I understand how they can be an elderly persons only companion, can fit well into the right family, can help people in need in many ways I do, but just some examples.

I work in a cafe. When we say dog friendly area is outside we get looked at like we've said they can't bring their child in.

I live with my mum and my daughter who's 16 months. She bought a sprocker puppy, he's big, he's massively energetic and he play bites.
He bit her and made her cry, then knocked her over and jumped on her. She's heavier than him. When I asked her to put him behind the gate she said "he's only a baby" and "this is his home, it's not (my daughters) home) every time he's a little bugger she just says "he's only a baby"

People who will fully argue with that they they thing dogs are equally worth the same as children, like there is some comparison. I'm sorry but my own flesh and blood who literally grew in my is never a comparison to a dog?

I just don't go gooey over them. I like a cute dog as much as the next but I'd never seem them or put the trust in them around children like some people do, and recent news of a dog sadly killing a little girl doesn't seem to make people think twice even it's just "my dog would never do that"

AIBU to have that opinion?

I’ve dropped a friendship partly because the friend and dog were joined at the hip and it was just too much. Everything was about the dog, went everywhere with the dog. Came to visit me after I had surgery, brought the dog - unannounced! I have cats.
Honestly, other people don’t care about your dog, it doesn’t want to go everywhere with you, including packed pubs on a friday night full of drunk people almost stepping on the dog, and the dog looking scared. Get a grip

I like dogs, I have never owned one but quite honestly I’m becoming sick to death of them. I go for a walk and they jump up on me, I have to constantly mind where I tread when walking, or running in the dark is worse because of their shit, they occupy half of the floor space in our local and there are often spats between them, I walk to work & some pavements are narrow and dog walkers seem to think that I should step in the road to avoid them, I don’t and they get huffy having to bring the dog in close to them to let me pass. Honestly it does appear that for now Dogs Rule.

There are new threads popping up daily complaining about dogs. Literally every day I see a new one. I don't see any threads made by people to say how great their dogs are but of course they will reply to constant and tedious dog complaining threads for a bit of balance.

Have you ever been to silverburn? They don’t even have a food court! They have an area with self contained restaurants. It’s no different than dog poo on a high street - yes it’s gross, but literally no different than a pavement. The whole shopping centre is built to resemble outside spaces.

Lockdown has definitely lead to more irresponsible dog owners. We got our puppy in Jan 2020 and training was made so much more difficult by covid - every bet near us was putting out regular appeals telling people not to get a lockdown pup, yet nobody listened. Then they were at home for 6m+ with their dogs who got barely socialised, barely trained, and barely left alone. Now there are adolescent dogs everywhere who lack even basic training.

YANBU. UK is generally dog obsessed for reason.

It's tiresome changing nappies. I can't imagine buying an animal just to walk it outside everyday and pick up it's shit.

Agreed OP. I'm a dog owner and have really come to regret having them. Rest of family aren't interested anymore so it's down to me to do everything. Incredibly needy and expensive. I won't be having anymore after mine are gone

I don't really enjoy the undertone that animals are inherently worth less than humans. Humans are animals, we aren't worth more.

That said, people need to be realistic about the fact that domesticating a different animal doesn't work in all contexts and bringing them into human spaces is not sensible. Bringing them into restaurants where the owners don't want to have to monitor them/clean up after them and, obviously, endangering a child, fall into that category.

I like dogs but in my opinion there are far too many domestic pets in the world. We just don't need the amount that are there and people end up treating them cruelly and abandoning them. It's kinder to animals to not have a pet.

No smart person leaves a dog and a young child unattended, but you then go on to say you do??! It doesn't matter it's not often. It only takes one time for something life changing to happen.

YANBU. My friend has a bitey dog. But the dog is not the problem according to her - it's everybody else. I can't even bring my baby around her house because of the god awful dog. Intrigued to see how highly she prioritises the dog once she has a baby of her own. But everyone on MN loves their dog...and their cats! Don't get me started on dirty cats!

I have two children - I don’t leave the small one with the dog, the big one is nearly 8 and I’m comfortable to leave her sitting on her tablet on the sofa while the dog is asleep in her bed at the other side of the room, while I go into an adjoining room to lie the baby down or whatever. Our house is tiny.

@CherLloydbyCherLloyd Erm yes there is a difference. The high street being outdoors with dirty streets. A shopping centre being indoors with clean floors where people shouldn't have to look out for treading in shit!

I love dogs and do have one but the problem we now see in society is unruly dogs and owners who haven’t really got the foggiest idea on how to raise one with good manners.

Its not surprising they have exploded in popularity though due to the insular nature of society. People need love and companionship more than ever right now with the fabric of communities being dismantled and family often living far away etc.

@aSofaNearYou

No, we are not animals. We are human beings and we have a consciousness that is vastly different to that of an animal. We are actually worlds apart from dogs. I love dogs by the way.

Dogs help some people cope with mental health issues. This is why they’re so important to those people.

I am in another country, and some of the dog posts really do baffle me.

I have dogs and I love them to bits.

They get left for more than a few hours a day and seem pretty ok about it.

There is so such thing as an afternoon dog walker here as the dog can't be left alone for more than a few hours without having a walk. Granted they have a decent garden to run about in and pee and poop, but they don't need 100% time human attention. If I didn't have a garden for them to live in well, I wouldn't get a dog.

They don't even get walked every day. That comment has had me shot down many a time. I've been told I'm lazy and don't deserve animals. But if it's too hot for me to want to go out for a walk, for sure as shite it's too hot for a dog with double coated fur to go on one too.

The difference is they fit around my life, not the other way around.

So yes, I am with you OP.

It’s not an outdoor street though, it’s very much a shopping center!

Sorry, I disagree. We are intelligent animals but we are still animals. Our loyalty will always be to ourselves which is fair enough but we are not objectively worth more than other animals.

@aSofaNearYou

We will have to agree to disagree then. There is a hierarchy and human beings are at the top of it. Quite obviously. If I had to save a group of children or a pack of dogs from a burning building then it doesn’t take a genius to know which group is worth more.

And I am not anti dog. My dog is getting put to sleep next week, and yes it will be tough she is one of the family. Perspective is needed.

We are worth more to ourselves. That's natural, but we are part of the animal kingdom, just at the top of the food chain. There is no logical, scientific defence for the argument that we are "not animals", just defensive indignation.

Where would that logic even end? I mean a human does have more worth than say… a frog? Or a duck? All animals.

Intellgence has a different meaning to consciousness. Many animals have high intelligence but it is still not equivalent to a human consciousness.

No I haven’t been. But they are no longer allowing dogs so customers obviously did mind.

What is a "human consciousness"? It sounds religious to me - we don't have an inherent quality that other animals don't have, just a high level of intelligence.

I agree OP dogs are not people and shouldn't be treated like children. They are animals and should be treated like animals.