To think we need to find a way to infiltrate the dog cult?

[dogsdilemma]

I'll start by saying I favour cats but love all animals. I don't want a dog just now because I find them tying. Would date someone who had one because, contrary to what I'm about to say, I like them and it wouldn't be my responsibility.

But the obsession drives me nuts. It seems no one can own a dog in a normal way anymore. As in I have a dog, the dog is a pet not a person, dogs aren't god-like solve all creatures, it's fine if not everyone loves my dog as much as me - like I am with my cat.

Someone gets a puppy and I go to their house - all conversation is about the puppy and I'm expected to fuss like they've just given birth. I can't say 'ah I've actually come to catch up with my friend, not have endless chat about the puppy's sleep schedule and whether or not it shat in the house today' because their dogs are their babies, so I should treat them as such.

Instagram accounts for dogs - captions written like 'my mum took me for a walk today, I had so much fun'. Only mildly cringy but wtf? Are you a springer spaniel mother or Katie from uni?

I do an exercise class and the owner has a puppy. She brings him along so he's not home alone. At least 15 minutes of the session I've paid for is always taken up by the hive mind fussing the puppy. Everyone loves dogs so no one minds apparently - except I DO mind. If I say this though I'm gonna be the dick.

I'm OLD, and every other profile says 'must love dogs'. I do love them but don't want one, and if I say this it's like I've confessed to being Hitler in a past life. Cue messages trying to change my mind, as though not being obsessed with dogs is a moral failure. I love my cat but wouldn't rule out someone who doesn't feel the same?

The final nail in the coffin. I've been dating someone new. Had an absolute shitter of a week so far - nothing he can help with, not really serious, just work stuff. His response is 15 pictures of his dog being cute to cheer me up. He's just trying to be nice but I do not get it. I wouldn't expect pictures of my cat to cheer anyone up except, maybe, me. I'm being narky but I actually found it so so irritating and cannot even fake enthusiasm to reply. If I say 'awwww cute, thank you' he'll continue with this approach. If I say 'cute but why would your dog cheer me up ha' I'm gonna look like a knob.

I have no problem with others doing what they want to do but recently it is infiltrating everything. I know there are worse issues but ffs it's so annoying - what is this dog cult and how to we stop it? Can I tell this lovely man I'm dating that I actually have little interest in his dog?!?!?

I don’t get it either OP, I don’t mind dogs, my friends have dogs but they are treated as such, they get a fuss then go and lie down that’s it. I wouldn’t have one as they are too tying, I like my house not smelly and the chance of accidents; we both work out of the house and have kids so don’t want to add any more time intensive things to our life, I like spontaneity and don’t agree with dogs being allowed everywhere.

I also don’t understand all these people who hate kids and love dogs, dogs ain’t going to pay taxes for your elderly care or look after you in your dotage 🤷‍♀️

the problem is there are far too many of them now and mainly owned by irresponsible idiots

I agree with most of this.

I love dogs, I love all animals. I had 2 dogs. But they were treated like dogs, not mini people.

I didn't have "fur babies", they were left alone for periods of time to entertain themselves, the world didn't revolve around them, and they were trained properly.

I get it, people love their dogs (as well they should!), but the current anthropomorphism of dogs is off the charts in the general population.

I'm not saying people are weird for bringing their dog to places or including them in daily life (I'm glad to see dogs being welcomed in many places), but the "I can't go to a restaurant unless my dog can come too" is a bit nuts.

I kind of agree OP, I don't mind dogs and have a few in my life via family I am fond of but I think that people using dogs as emotional surrogates is unhealthy and not great for the dog. A vet once told me he feels many dogs now have mental health issues due to being treated at one minute as a beloved indulged child and then next as an animal, loads of dogs have massive anxiety but the owners often don't see it they are so busy getting their own needs met by the animal.

Never forget that dogs are just dogs, they cannot be substitute humans.

I do an exercise class and the owner has a puppy. She brings him along so he's not home alone. At least 15 minutes of the session I've paid for is always taken up by the hive mind fussing the puppy. Everyone loves dogs so no one minds apparently - except I DO mind. If I say this though I'm gonna be the dick.

This would really annoy me. If it genuinely is 15 mins out of a (presumably) hour(?) long class, where you're not doing anything, that's taking the piss and the instructor should get the class started.

I will also add that I feel the same way about people who do this with any pet - not just dogs.
Love cats but cat cafes are a very strange concept to me - I don't need to have a cat that's not mine on my lap whilst I'm eating.

It's only so annoying with dogs because it's literally everywhere in a way that it isn't with other animals - perpetrated by social media I think. Posts like 'I'm sad, send dog pics 😔' 'dogs are better than humans' 'we don't deserve dogs'.
Everyone has just lapped this up and suddenly it's normal to be obsessed, abnormal to be ambivalent or dislike dogs

Yet another moaning thread about dogs 🥱

@AlwaysGinPlease So you have nothing better to do than post on a thread you find dull?

It's about a specific phenomenon in dog ownership, not dogs...

S Korea has just banned eating dogs (with a transition period of several years until full implementation). I think partly because of the rise in keeping them as pets.

You are not wrong. I know somebody who refers to her son as her second born as the dog was her first baby. It really is a cult 😆

My dog has definitely a Human Soul and should be treated as such!

One can only presume that the Tibetan Terriers bred and kept as companions and watchdogs by the Lamas for over 2,000 years became close companions, particularly since Tibetan Buddhism holds that dogs are the last reincarnation before rebirth as human

https://nationalpurebreddogday.com/the-little-people-dogs/

I think all that you're saying is reasonable but give your bf a break, I think that's actually quite sweet and obviously coming from a good place. I like a dog but would never want to have one, I have no idea why people with young children would want another tiny needy creature following them around all day.

And I get what you're saying, OP.

I have a group of old school friends - it was our habit to meet 2/3 times a year for a restaurant meal. Then one of them got a dog and became obsessed with it and now we can only meet for lunches in areas with good dog walking. The dog is cute and well-behaved, no problem with the dog, but I don't particularly want to have to prioritise its needs every time I meet up with this friendship group.

I love my dog, he's a member of the family. But I fully recognise that he's a dog, not one of the kids.
I don't get the dog cult either. I laugh at some of the antics of 'dog mums' but it doesn't bother me.
Your exercise instructor shouldn't be taking up so much of the class on dog admiration. That's nuts. And I think you're well without yout rights to tell your new chap that his dog won't cheer you up. I told my DH that I didn't like his cat when we met, he just laughed and put it out of the room. I think saying "I'm not a cat/dog lover" is perfectly acceptable.

Great generalisation there.

I'm a dog owner. I've never taken.my dog to an exercise class or anywhere else where dogs arent really suited to. I've never called my dog my baby and I've never referred to myself as his mum. I don't talk about him because I'm aware that, much as I love him, no one else is interested in him.

And yet you wouldn't want to make friends with someone like me because I own a dog? I'm happy to make friends with anyone, no matter what animals they own, as long as they are friendly and open minded.

I agree op and I'm a dog owner. My dogs get treated like the animals they are. They are working dogs so do actual work, they don't wear coats, don't go in bedrooms or sleep on beds, don't get taken out to cafes or shops etc. They get treated just as dogs should.

Fully paid up member of the cult, sorry!
My dogs have an instagram account, we take them everywhere, I would cheerfully spend all of my free time with them and not humans.
Dogs bring joy to people, in a world of so much misery and people being shitty to eachother. I cannot imagine life without them and my mental Heath is far better now they are in my life. I also have horses and grew up with cats, dogs, rabbits, I love all animals but there is something about dogs which is very special.
Just avoid the friends and classes if you don't like it! There are plenty of non- dog friendly places to go and activities to do! Let us dog cult members be happy and enjoy them, I'm sure there are things you enjoy that I'm not into

This.

I am a beauty therapist and I used to work in a salon for a lady who was obsessed with dogs. She would bring her elderly, sick dog to work and expect me to be able to do people's nails perfectly whilst her dog had frequent bouts of diarrhoea all over the salon. A lot of first time clients never came back because of the constant farting and shitting which, let's face it is absolutely gross when you're trying to have a treatment. In the end, I left that job.

"Just find another exercise class..."

Can you imagine if the instructor had started wasting 15 mins of each class showing off pics of their new baby, or house, bf, or literally anything else, what the response would be?

Posters would be champing at the bit to condemn the instructor's unprofessionalism and urging op to call her out and spam her with bad reviews.

But it's a puppy, so op should just hang her fee-paying, anti-canine head in shame and slope off somewhere else, right...

Would rather follow dog accounts on Instagram than some boring videos of people trying on clothes. Bring on the dogs.

My dog is the centre of my world, and I’m very happy with that!

I find it really funny when people who love dogs say they don't like cats because cats scratch. When dogs are capable of killing people which cats really aren't.

It seems no one can own a dog in a normal way anymore. As in I have a dog, the dog is a pet not a person, dogs aren't god-like solve all creatures, it's fine if not everyone loves my dog as much as me - like I am with my cat
That's YOUR normality. If more and more people start to do things differently, then tour normality might not be societal normality any longer.

There are things I don't agree or think are 'normal' when it comes to the new generation way of raising their kids but I accept that it is the new normality.

Thankfully for you, the majority on MN will agree for you if not in 'real' life.

People loving and enjoying their pets, how awful

I hate the term fur babies and when people write as though they are their pets. The word "hooman" really irks. I love cats and dogs. I've always been more of a cat person and my last dog was a lovely dog, but nevertheless a dog. However, following a really difficult fews months and bereavements, our lovely dog died and I got a puppy. Whether it is my current state of mind, the kids growing up, hormonal changes etc, but this puppy is like a baby. I'm becoming more and more bonkers by the day! He doesn't own any clothes, but I could talk about him for England. He's just so funny and super cute.