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.

Also I never said dangerous, that was another poster.

@HelplessSoul one could say that the only vermin on the planet are humans, we’re the ones wrecking our environment.

Respectfully, I disagree. And that's what turned me from a person who was largely indifferent to dogs to someone who adores them.

I've had one dog I've looked after, sit at my feet, and look into my eyes to the point when I could literally feel him looking into my soul. The connection in that moment - one full of genuine unconditional love - was indescribable, a feeling I've only experienced from two other humans: my late father and my husband.

Sorry but you are projecting

Oh, that makes the rest of it acceptable then.

Love is just a chemical reaction in our brains. Humans can articulate it.
Animals have their own love language, and they have the same chemicals that are released that humans do.

And the moment your lights go out and your end of that “soul connection” shuffles off, it will eat your face.

A well-studied phenomenon.

I don't think anything I've said was out of line. I was merely pointing out that I didn't say something you said that I did. Being autistic myself, I don't like it when people tell me I said things that I didn't.

But not common.
People have been known to do it too.

Being an 'experienced pet owner' and 'dedicated' pet owner are two VERY different things.

I don't believe in souls, so I can't comment on that.

Personally I don't believe the expectation from love is that it should be unconditional. With the possible exception of parents to children, it would be unhealthy for most relationships to be based on unconditional love. I certainly wouldn't expect it from my husband.

The only reason there is no reading between the lines with a dog is because there aren’t any lines to read between.

It is a dog. Non-human. You can project whatever anthropomorphic bullshit you want onto it; it’s a dog. It is happy because you provide food and shelter. It will eat your face if you die alone in the house with it. It doesn’t really give a fuck, you just think it does.

I don't, hence why I've said it's possible to love and connect with animals whilst also understanding they are not capable of human like relationships. That's nuance.

Please get your kicks elsewhere. You views on dogs are tiresome and extreme. Put that energy into something useful.

I live with another human. Oddly enough, I don't confuse him with the dog. But, being the mentally ill weirdo that I am, I don't see my relationship with him as superior, simply because he's a human and she's a dog. I don't hold them to the same standards, so therefore I don't need to view my dog as "inferior", because for a dog she's highly intelligent. That's nuance 😁

Total BS strawman.

Not sure what part of that you think I disagree with TBH.

Your worship of dogs is also tiresome. Accept that they make things very unpleasant for those who do not tolerate their ubiquity.

A child has never yet (and I am 53) run up to me without any provocation, started jumping up and scratching my legs and, when called back by the owner, refused to come and just continued to jump at me.

Haven't a clue tbh 😂 I'm completely befuddled by the whole thread right now 😬

TBH I don't really think the point should be, who is more annoying, dogs or children - I've met several children who are significantly more annoying than several dogs I've also met. But they are human beings so it really makes no odds - they have more right to be annoying, regardless of whether or not certain other people don't like them and don't want to put up with them. You don't have a right to never encounter children or have them irritate you because they're humans and you live in a human society.

That's not to say I think children should not be disciplined, or allowed to run riot, before anyone twists it!

Some dogs do, but not all. You never make any distinction at all.

I hate dogs, generally, but they aren’t ‘just’ a pet to their owners.
A blind man could see the bond between a dog and its owner.

To be fair and speaking personally it is ALL dogs. A dog being somewhere makes it unpleasant simply by virtue of it being a dog.