Are some dog owners a bit deluded about their dogs?

[jennylamb1]

Just putting it out there- my mum has dogs, but with a sensible attitude I think- the dog stays downstairs at nights, as a puppy he is being trained, he is treated well but not not like a human being.
Some dog owners though seem to justify their dog's behaviour out of some ill advised need to defend them at all times, even in the face of reality. A previous poster on here had a dog who was biting visitors, but justified it because he was a rescue dog and they were warning bites and hadn't broken the skin. I had to take a detour running on a woodland path yesterday because an aggressive barking dog was stood in my path and the owner just thought they'd tell them off without thinking of putting them on a lead/restraining them. This week at the vet a dog owner with two large dogs leaping up at my nervous cat's cat carrier said that it was OK because they knew cats at home and were fine with them (whilst leaping up at my...).
Are there dog owners and then dog owners?

Yes. People are entitled and insane about their dogs.

I have neighbours who constantly leave their dog unattended in the front garden where it goes mental at every passerby or car desperately flinging itself at the fence to attack. It's not fair on anyone least of all the dog.

I'm disabled and fucking hate it, I have to cross my own side of the road each time.

I told the son I was scared of it and sick of it, nothing changed, it's a young dog and if it gets bigger it will have that fence no problem

Yes we’re the same, ours has completed the Kennel Club good citizen gold ceritificate, our son has also done some young handler training, which we need to get back into really.

Yes, reading that was what made me ask the question. It's almost like people get a kind of 'Stockholm syndrome.'

we had neighbours who had a timid red setter that slept in their large bed between them, had its own (satin) pillow, I kid you not
I’m of the age when indoor dogs slept in the kitchen in a basket, taken out, run of the garden, or
outside, in a wooden cosy kennel, especially in rural or semi rural areas, often on a long lightweight chain, often Alsations, a prowler warning, didn’t enter the house,
fed on home cooked offal and scraps, brushed daily, happy dogs not neglected,
or if more than one dog, in kennels, often rudimentary but clean and swept/hosed daily, only little poodles followed mistress all over the house.

Fashions in dogs change as everything else - there were town dogs and country dogs,
wire haired fox terriers usually called Trixie
Alsations/German Shepherds usually called Sheba or Rex
retrievers, flat coated and curly, usually called ‘away’
corgis usually called ‘get down!’
poodles usually called Mitzi
heinz 57 usually called Rack, Bonnie, or the dog

the ubiquitous Labrador came later, now as mentioned ^^ we have designer dogs,
Pets at Home, dried food, flashing collars, tartan jackets, photos of dog wearing hapless expression, killer dogs, muzzles, little dogs on long leads across the pavement, the humanization of an animal, man’s best friend.

Real story. DH, at a work do, starts chatting to a guy from another team who he hasn't met before. He tells him we have a 6 week old baby. Other man replies "yeah, we just got a kitten, she keeps waking us up at 3am, it's really hard isn't it?". He wasn't joking. Are people that deluded that they think a pet=a baby???

I’m so tired of seeing dogs on TikTok being treated like they’re in some kind of spa - with bubbles and head bands and facial treatments. They’re animals for goodness sake not an extension of your personhood. Animals are a responsibility, they need care, training and attention - they aren’t people and shouldn’t be treated as such.

I think I am one of the deluded people you are talking about. We have a doodle do it's a designer breed. We have done the puppy class but we haven't even passed the bronze certificate yet never mind gold and are still struggling with certain things like leaving the dog. We don't have local family but do use dog sitters.

There’s nothing “same” about dogs and children. Not one thing.

It's pretty cringe. Young animals are hard work for training and teething and house-breaking, but it's temporary and not remotely the same - there's a reason I have dogs rather than children!! My go-to joke is that I can be reasonably sure of a puppy being house trained by the time it's five months, and that I would not have the patience for a baby.

My dogs get spoiled - one on my lap at the moment. I adore them, but they are dogs. They stay on leads when I'm walking them, and they stay at home if I'm off somewhere else. I certainly don't expect anyone else's life to revolve around the fact that I've got animals.

Do some people get dogs though because they have a big gap in their lives/are bored/have empty nest syndrome I wonder? I know people like to 'be busy' and I guess getting a dog to plug some sort of gap/boredom is easier than looking inwards.

I grew up with dogs in the house, so it was a pretty natural step for me to have a dog as soon as I was able. I like walking so that part works for me. I'm also not a great partier or socialiser, and I'm happy at home pottering in my garden rather than going away on holiday, so I think they suit my personality.

I hate seeing them humanised /taken out to cafes/pushed round in prams. Just sad. I also think Pets R Us (or whoever) have got large and powerful advertising budgets to normalise all of this.

I suspect there are deluded people in any group, @jennylamb1. But yes, some dog owners are deluded.

Not me - my dogs are perfect and not spoiled at all. And the cat is not spoiled, and he is not a furry bastard either.

The worst ones are the people who compare their dog (and the love of the dog) to a child. These are usually people who don't have children. They genuinely believe the love is the same 🤯

Our dog is 12, and has always been treated like a dog. He does what he's told, goes to his bed when asked to, knows that life doesn't revolve around him, and sometimes we will be out and he stays behind, and that's that. He's a shite sometimes, and no matter what we've tried he has a passion for going through handbags and stealing stuff, and also can't resist barking at other dogs. But apart from that, he's a good dog... But he will always be a dog, he's not a replacement child, he doesn't need to be dragged everywhere we go, and he certainly wouldn't ever come to a supermarket/restaurant with us. We love him, and he knows his place in our family, and respects us, as we do him. I'm so sick of people with dogs treating them like children and not being able to leave them at home for one second of their life. It's a ridiculous mindset, and not sustainable unless you're willing to give up your entire life for potentially 18 years. They can be loved and treated with respect and kindness without taking over your entire life, and annoying everyone else around you.

No pets here. We've brought up two sons and we don't want the resonsibility of another living creature. Not prepared to put in the time and money for a cat or dog.
I hate seeing animals treated as humans. I cringe when I see pictures of animals dressed in silly clothes etc.. They are animals with their own specific needs which are not the same as human needs. People who treat their dogs as if they were human should try reversing the role and see how comfortable they are living the life that a dog is naturally wired to live.

Yes definitely. Dog owners whose dogs have nearly attacked my son and been very close to biting him seem totally unconcerned at the effect it's hard, even though they have children of their own and have seen for months afterwards how distressed he is. I think they think it's like an argument between two children and they are happy as long as their child (dog) came out okay.

I think some of the never leaving them stems from lockdown, when people got dogs in droves, didn't attend any puppy training and the dog had someone with them 24/7. Hence the chronic separation anxiety.

I've got 2 spaniels who are mud magnets, hedge surfers and would probably strangle themselves wearing a coat on a walk. I spend my life surrounded by muddy dog towels. However they do sleep on the sofa next to me, and they're also now sleeping in my room as our old dog is deaf, losing his sight and started barking at 2am when he couldn't smell me (even with an old T shirt in his bed). So he sleeps in his bed upstairs and we all get rest!. It's really sad he's growing old.

The world is not short of arseholes and some of them own dogs.

I would say a high percentage of dog owners are deluded. Generally the ones who treat them like humans.

Honestly? Yes.

As someone else said these people are frequently delusional about their children's behaviour too or rather they have a level of entitlement that makes them think it's OK to train neither pets nor small humans in acceptable behaviour!

I don't think I could call ours well behaved, but he's a million times better behaved than when we got him. And we are still working with a dog trainer and putting in the time and effort.

He wasn't treated well before us though, so it's taking a lot longer than expected. (Not abused, just only meeting the bare necessity of needs).

If you came across us on a walk or saw him barking at you through the living room window, you might assume we were shitty owners with a badly-behaved dog but I promise you we're not. It's just taking a lot more time to train than if we'd had him from a young puppy.

People are the same about their annoying ill-behaved brats.

I know some very good owners and some equally poor ones. I love my dog but don’t expect everyone else to. We don’t take him everywhere with us and certainly wouldn’t assume he’s invited somewhere we are invited to. He has good manners (most of the time - we are still doing lots of training) I only allow him off lead when no one else around and as soon as I spot someone coming towards us I pop him back on his lead. We are working hard to train him (he’s still a pup)

Dogs do not compare to children.