Your dog is not your babies 'brother'

[Thisandthatandthensome]

Watching ITV news tonight about XL bullies. The amount of money it's costing to Kennel prior to pts, £1000 per dog per month! Huge amount.

Anyway, this delusional owner has one with her 5 month old baby girl. She reckons she knows the dog so well that she knows he wouldn't hurt his 'sister' and that he knows he's her babies big brother.

I mean I like some dogs but aibu to think you're a big delusional if you call them brothers or sisters to your actual children.

Aibu? ynbu no they are like brother and sister

Yanbu these folk are out of touch they are dogs

The problem is this ridiculous humanising of dogs translates beyond the home - it culminates into this recent tend of having dogs EVERYWHERE - in cafes, pubs, trains and even on planes. It’s the muppets who let their dog jump up at you on a walk while they bellow “It’s ok he’s friendly”. It’s the ones who don’t and won’t train their dog because they want to treat them like a child because training can feel unpleasant, and everyone around them suffers as a result. And in worse case scenarios it’s the idiots who think their dangerous human killing beast is a “big softie” like an child and become very lax with safety around others.

So whilst saying a word “brother” may one affect others the “fur baby” mentality absolutely does and has indirectly been part of the many losses of life thanks to XL bullies

I just don’t understand what was ever wrong with treating dogs like pets.

Pink juice them.
That really grinds my gears. What an irritating expression.

What's that supposed to mean?

You're a bully.

I am ‘Mum’ to my 2 dogs, I can tell what they want from the tone of their whine, they way they look etc and I absolutely adore them.

They are soft dogs and love a cuddle, never bitten anyone, and I am pretty much sure that they wouldn’t attack anyone. But I can never be 100% sure and I would never leave them alone with children. If very young children around I am next to them just in case.

Sure, but the problem lies when people believe that animals are the same as children. Pets and children are not the same.

XL or regular?

Get a life, grip and some perspective. You don’t grow a dog, give birth to a dog, breastfeed a dog.

I know three people unfortunately who have these dogs. 2 are as thick as pigshit and one has one because he thinks it makes him look hard. They are not friends. The dogs owned by the thick as pigshit pair seem to be okay (I know you can never tell) on a lead and they both use a muzzle. One has young kids!!!

the dog own by the man looks like it is straining to break free from its lead and attack. It’s always growing. Horrid thing

YoungGunsHavingSomeFunCrazyLadiesKeepEmOnTheRun · Yesterday 21:45
If my dogs aren't my babies and not my children's siblings then how do I have these scan photos?

there are no words 🤦🏼‍♂️

It reminds me of the lady on 'All creatures great and small' who wouldn't believe that her female dog was pregnant, because the only other dog she came into contact with was her brother.

I remember many years ago, when people were lobbying for being able to take their dogs on holiday to the EU (which became possible afterwards with pet passports), some dog owner being interviewed about how the then-ban was ruining his life. He literally said "Some people don't seem to realise, a dog is human". It must have been 30 years ago but I can still remember it vividly (not least because he had the accent of my home town).

we were in a cafe and a dog jumped up and out his paws on our table and slobbered. When I said shoo the owner said “he only wants some attention from you, you could give his belly a rub.

i then actually managed to do something I would usually only have though of after the event.

i said “get your dog away and maybe you would like to clean his slobber up”

She actually said- “Oh don’t mind the slobber that’s what my ickle baby does. Just wipe it.!!! All said with a chuckle.

i then stood up and plonked my then 7 month old DD on her table (she was in a car seat) and said “she has done a dirty nappy because that’s what my ickle baby does-just change it”

she stared at me for a bit with her mouth open like a goldfish. She stood up, grabbed the dog who by this time was standing on its hind legs at another table and shouted at her husband to get a move on. She then stormed out dragging dog by its collar with husband following sheepishly behind.

That may have been my finest hour. Can I just say I have no issue with well behaved, under control dogs in cafes.

This is what the issue is.

The belief that animals/dogs in this case, have the reasoning skills, intelligence and emotional understanding and regulation of humans - and expecting behaviour to match.

Unrealistic and unreasonable expectations that lead to a loss of inhibition around what they actually are and what drives them.

What drives these dogs is killing large animals, they've literally have the attributes that made them effective to do that bred into them. In the same way my spaniel has had the attributes to flush game out of bushes and carry things in her mouth to give to me bred into her.

You can't love that out, you can train but that will only go so far because they are instinctive behaviours that we have enhanced, and when you don't train but rely on the moral compass of an animal who doesn't have that capacity, to do or not do something, it's disastrous.

There’s a dog fairly locally who isn’t an XL bully. He’s some kind of mastiff. But some dick (probably on Mumsnet given the hatred of dogs on here) has reported him as an XL bully. They have to kennel him whilst they investigate. He’s a fairly prominent dog as owned by a business and knows lots of people as a result. So the community is incredibly upset.

Those who are saying no money should be spent on kennelling would have him killed for not much reason apart from being a large dog. At least he’s got some chance of returning home at the moment, you’d all make that nil.

We always refer to my kids as the dogs sissy and bro! The kids (20 and 16) would be furious if I referred to them as anything else now! I don’t have (and never would) an XL bully and I wouldn’t have wanted a dog when mine were toddling round / potentially pulling at a dog. Mine were 9 and 12 when we got our dog (gentle breed). My dog is gentle but i’d never say he 100% wouldn’t bite as you just don’t know. So with such a large breed, no way i’d have one around kids

I didn’t mean it like siblings bite dog so dogs are OK. I was saying sibilings can’t always be trusted so the arguement that the dog is like a sibling is not a valid arguement for safety.

Watch the article. The lady thought the dog knew that the baby was his sister so wouldn't hurt her.

So everyone on here who's said they jokingly refer to their dogs as a sibling is mentally ill or stupid. Rather that than a miserable git.

If anyone asked DM if she had grandchildren she'd say one boy called Harry. Harry was my cat. She didn't believe for one minute that he was really her grandchildren but she got fed up with people pitying her if she said no. The final straw was when some nosy old bag started on about how selfish I was for not giving DM grandchildren. DM was neither mentally ill or stupid.

I always refer to as my pet cat and pet spider as brother and sister.

Suppose the difference is I know that cat would definitely eat spider for absolute sure if he got half the chance.

It’s grim. Not least because that child grows up potentially feeling no more important than the dog. I know, I was that child. It always felt like my mum loved the dog most.

This is one of the most unhinged things I have ever seen on MN.

This is the key point.

refer to your pets as brother and sister if you want- but the lady in the o/p appears to believe the cat knows the spider is it’s “brother” and therefore won’t hurt it.

that’s the delusional bit.

i have to say though the increasing prevalence of people attributing human relationships and emotions is exactly why kids and children are being put in dangerous situations with pets.

I think there's a big difference between referring to a dog as son, brother etc in a slightly tongue in cheek way and the frightnening scenario described in the OP. I know plenty of people who fit the former category, but at the end of the day, they are aware enough not to leave their dog unsupervised around very small children etc.