If I see any more comments on Mumsnet of it's just a dog

[Lifeneedsaresetagain]

Do people not realise that for those who welcome them into the family they are part of the family. And if you have a dog and say it's just a dog, I'm not sure you should have one.

This. A pet is a pet. A human is a human. 🤷‍♀️

Of course animals should be well cared for, but they haven’t got the same status as a child to most people.🤷‍♀️

My child - dog ranks lower.
Your child - my dog ranks higher to me.

I knew that my post would provoke someone. There may be some breeds that humans have bred to be like this but it would be weird if dogs pined away when they shifted owners or one of their pack died. I think most dogs have a better instinct for survival than this and it is really not the norm for them to starve themselves. The ones I took on adjusted in less than a week. It is not just my own experience either. There are many, many dogs that have been rehomed perfectly happily.

some actually genuinely cannot be left alone. Of course dogs are not babies, they are MUCH nicer.

I am also interested in other people's dogs.... not so much their children, unless it's my brother's kids.

Children who scream at, bark at, throw things at, ride bikes at dogs deliberately-- rather awful things.

OP, your dog may be part of your family, but if you come to my house, by all means bring your DC but I don’t want you to bring DDog with you. You have every right to let your dog do absolutely as you see fit in your house, and if I come to visit you I will be happy to see your DDog, but whereas I wouldn’t expect you to leave your DC behind if you visited me, I would expect you to come without your DDog. The dog is not the same as the DC. You always have the option of declining to visit.

You're never going to get universal agreement on here about dogs being part of the family. On MN dogs are disliked almost as much as MILs. It's one of those issues that makes me think 'so what if i consider my dog as part of my family?? It hurts no-one else so mind your own business.. '

I’d actually consider you very emotionally stunted because it’s clear you can’t relate to a species you can’t communicate verbally with. It’s actually a sign of high emotional intelligence to relate to and bond with animals. You have to rely solely on body language, subtle clues, complete shifts and changes in energy, different sounds and signs. Being able to extend compassion and understanding and empathy to a species that isn’t your own is a sign of being emotionally regulated and in tune with the wider picture.

To be able to pick up on all of that and have a bond with an animal is an amazing thing and I feel sad you clearly aren’t mentally capable of that. Do you need every interaction spelled out clearly for you?

That's insane.

And no, dogs are animals. They are not humans. They are lovely (most of them), but they are not people.

I don't think you have a lot of experience of working with dogs, especially dogs who have been separated from their owners due to hospitalisation or because the family have dumped the dog. I do and dogs do not switch. Yes they have survival instincts and yes they can be rehomed easily, but the work that goes on in the interim can be long and hard. Many dogs do not trust easily, it takes work to get the dog into the position where it readjusts to you easily, you just don't see that.

Agreed. I did that in response to OPs opening post. Personification of animals is odd. They are animals and have great characteristics but they are not human.

Where did I say I haven't emotionally bonded with my animals? I have two cats I adore and i have had much loved pets all my life. I foster for rescues. When my elderly cat had to be put to sleep last year I was devastated.

I still stand by my opinion that if you genuinely think an animal life is worth the same (or more) than a human life then yes, you have something lacking. It's not a coincidence that many narcissists are animal lovers. Hitler was one.

Some people just prefer dogs. I'm one of them.

I was on a train a while ago and walking down the carriage to the toilet. On the seat to the left of the toilet was a man with a labrador sitting on the floor next to him. On the right was a woman with a pushchair containing a very young baby. I was so happy to see the dog that I barely noticed the baby. I will always be more excited to see a dog and make a fuss of them. It's the way I'm wired. People who don't have the same love for animals can't understand.

Plenty of people haven't got any interest in babies that aren't theirs. I haven't. But if I had to save a baby or a dog I would choose the baby. If you wouldn't there is something wrong with you and that's a hill I will die on.

So you start a thread on dogs and think people cant comment?

Weird.

Dogs are filthy anyway - come back to me when dogs can create anything that humans can.

Until then, dogs are just fucking dogs - unhygenic vermin that some put on a pedestal.

This kind of sums it up well for me.
It's not that I don't like dogs, but some people need a bit of perspective.

Dogs famously took the polio vaccine to outpost communities in Alaska in 1925. More than a dog, more a part of our society.

Agreed.

Dogs developed with humans, we are closely aligned.

Everyone has their own views, my dog is not just a dog to me she is part of the family. I have lost 2 dogs and was utterly heartbroken so to me they were not just dogs.

I do realise though that to other people my dog is just a dog. They can think what they like as long as they don't come into my home and tell me she needs to be outside/in another room etc while they are visiting. I would never let her jump all over anyone or get in the way if we have workmen in but other than that she lives there and they don't

It sounds pretty narcissistic to me to consider human life above other species! I’d easily choose my animal over the life of a human. They don’t mean any more to me just because they had the good luck to be born human?

Stupid argument re Hitler too. Ricky Gervais, Joaquin Phoenix, Tom Hardy, Jane Goodall, Steve Irwin & his family, Cesar Milan, Diane Fossey, Jackson Galaxy - these are all people who have openly said they prefer animals to humans and they relate to them deeply. By your calculations, all of these people are emotionally stunted and potential narcissists.

I feel for you that you see the world in such a way.

If any of those people openly said they would choose to save the life of a human baby over a dog then yes, I would consider them emotionally stunted. If you really feel that way then you're genuinely deranged.

I’m a dog person. Grew up with them, always had rescues, wouldn’t be without them, and I prefer them to most people. My dogs are better behaved in public than the majority of kids. That said the whole ‘fur baby’ thing makes me roll my eyes, and I don’t like dogs being in food shops etc.

I think the problem arises when people behave as though dogs actually ARE children, or are equivalent to them. No matter how much you love your dog it isn't a child and you should never expect it to be treated as such. I've seen people equate a dog's death to that of a child or other loved family member and I find that abhorrent. I have also seen people with dogs (usually women) celebrating Mother's Day because they have a dog. Harmless perhaps but also to my mind both sad and somewhat demeaning.