Dogs are not fur babies.

[Pjrt]

I’m seeing a quite disturbing trend of owners actually referring to their dog as ‘son’ and ‘daughter’. 

[persephone]

My brother, "The Boss'. who absolutely abhors the 'fur baby' thing often say to his dogs if they are barking or acting up  "Daddy will come out there" ..but NOT because he sees them as his offspring - LOL just because "daddy" is seen as the purveyor of discipline ....

[Deeds]

What about the people who persist in calling all dogs puppies.  Even when the dogs are 50-60kgs they tell their children the dogs are "puppies".

[persephone]

17 minutes ago, Deeds said:

What about the people who persist in calling all dogs puppies.  Even when the dogs are 50-60kgs they tell their children the dogs are "puppies".

That annoys me ..... *thinks back* I deliberately used to call Kieran 'puppy' in public, as he was a 45 kg 36 inch high brindle beast ...and could appear scary to some ..so , he had flowers painted on his collar, and was nicknamed "puppy"   we got lots of smiles that way

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by persephone
correct spelling

[Loving my Oldies]

3 hours ago, persephone said:

That annoys me ..... *thinks back* I deliberately used to call Kieran 'puppy' in public, as he was a 45 kg 36 inch high brindle beast ...and could appear scary to some ..so , he had flowers painted on his collar, and was nicknamed "puppy"   we got lots of smiles that way

 

I do it to put people at ease as well.  Not that I have big dogs, but if ever I am in that situation.  

 

I think we can overthink these things and be a bit anal.  Although I fully understand the point about how we speak about dogs influences how we [some people] think and act.  

 

As with most things, it is a balancing act.  

[tdierikx]

I refer to Harper as Horse Puppy... because she is a Great Dane cross and is a tall girl... hehe! She'll be 10 in September... so definitely not a puppy any more, but she still hasn't worked that out, as she still runs around like a total idiot at random intervals...

 

I sometimes feel like referring to my friend's monkeys as "the kids"... they are so very similar to a bunch of children, and are primates like us...

 

That said, when I was working with all the goat kids, lambs, and calves, I was often referred to as their mum... which I never got upset about. To all intents and purposes that was actually my job. I was raising them from a few days old, teaching them their socialisation skills, etc...

 

T.

[Kirislin]

People are now giving their dogs actual pet funerals, through funeral homes! Service and all.  I bury my pets at home, I keep my old pure cotton sheets for the very purpose of wrapping them up, but I won’t be having a funeral for them.

[sandgrubber]

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-social-self/201908/the-well-being-benefits-seeing-pets-family-members

 

there's some psychological research that sees it as healthy to consider pets as family members

[corrie]

I think more to the point is some people’s attitudes that dogs are a disposable, the ones that are treated like garden ornaments and not interacted with, the ones that once their puppy cuteness runs out or the human is on to the next shiny thing just get dumped at the pound. Irresponsible breeding. 
 

I call my dog my dog but he is my family and wouldn’t think anything of it if someone wants to use different terminology. Call them what you like just look after them. 
 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by corrie

[sheena]

12 hours ago, corrie said:

I think more to the point is some people’s attitudes that dogs are a disposable, the ones that are treated like garden ornaments and not interacted with, the ones that once their puppy cuteness runs out or the human is on to the next shiny thing just get dumped at the pound. Irresponsible breeding. 
 

I call my dog my dog but he is my family and wouldn’t think anything of it if someone wants to use different terminology. Call them what you like just look after them. 
 

 

I agree entirely.  It does'nt matter what you refer to your dogs as.  It is not hurting anyone if you choose to call your dog your baby or your kid or whatever.  I am telling my two all the time that I love them, & if I want to shower them with kisses & let them snuggle into me at night, then so be it.  I call them "puppies" as this is a much kinder sounding word then "dog" If they didn't like it, then I wouldn't.  Dogs don't know what you are saying, but they know by the tone of your voice, whether or not it is something nice

[tdierikx]

Humans communicate mostly with vocalisations... ie. talking...

 

Animals learn that this is how we communicate, and they choose to respond (or not) to it... most react favourably and try to communicate back in their own ways... if we are "listening".

 

I am one of those people who will happily chat away to pretty much any animal, and I am definitely "listening" to their responses. I get back SO much from animals of all types, so I'm not about to stop because some other human might think I'm silly or strange... more fool them I say...

 

T.

[asal]

On 15/04/2022 at 12:32 PM, tdierikx said:

Humans communicate mostly with vocalisations... ie. talking...

 

Animals learn that this is how we communicate, and they choose to respond (or not) to it... most react favourably and try to communicate back in their own ways... if we are "listening".

 

I am one of those people who will happily chat away to pretty much any animal, and I am definitely "listening" to their responses. I get back SO much from animals of all types, so I'm not about to stop because some other human might think I'm silly or strange... more fool them I say...

 

T.

 

the problems are the ones who never train their fur child as they dont want to restrict its options or 'traumatise" it by setting boundaries

 

well remember a neighbour who never said NO to his dog.   I could see it was running all the decisions but it all came to a head the day the dog decided he was not dropping his food fast enough and bit him clean through the arm.

 

for some strange reason he got rid of the dog after the second "attack?"

 

He failed to understand his dog had warned him, drop it now or else at the second growl!

 

I learnt fast when he began jumping on me and tearing my clothes, if I told him to stop, he would then discipline me by biting and really ripping my clothes instead of tearing them with his nails. I made sure he could not get into my place anymore.  he had also taken to biting my horse on the nose, but my horse soon taught him to back off after almost caving in his head with a hoof.

 

fixing the fence solved my and my horses risk. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by asal

[coneye]

Think you have to take it into context ,, Always had dogs all my life , but always big dogs and usually two at a time , shepards, boxers , rottys , every single one of them have known there a dog  , with bounderies , and always under my control , with verbal commands , never had one that did'nt know his place in the pack , and did'nt respond to commands ,, all of them have been inside outside dogs , Just sleep where they want to  , all have been good watch  / gaurd dogs  , simply because thats what i wanted out of a dog and trained them for  ,, But all of them came to work with me and really had to be TOTALLY under control , yet freindly too strangers which they met every day ,, i found the best way to get all this was NEVER forget they are a dog  and they have instincts you have to either encourage , or watch very closely  , example one male rotty i had , has freindly has he was ,  with strangers or people he knew , NO ONE was allowed to play rough with him ,,  shoving your arm in his mouth  and pushing shoving was a no no , he could go from  wo to go in seconds it was instinctive in him   he just had security dog tendencies without being trained ,, yet he was probably one of the frendliest dogs i've owned  he loved people  but you had to remember he was a dog  and rough play was out , it was never him i had to tell always the other people ,  who because he was so freindly and wanted a pat , they felt they could go one step further .A security firm wanted to buy him off me ,  after there  head trainer there seen how reactive he could be  after being teased . I never did he was afamilly pet , abit one which you really had to remember HE WAS A DOG

 

Now i say take it into context ,, they were all big dogs  healthy boisterois , playful , and confident  all had the traits  and breeding what you expected out of a shepard or a rotty  all were  excellent examples of there paticular breed and all needed a strong owner and needed to be treated like dogs ...

 

However the dog i have now a little shitzu / maltese  cross ,,, he's the most gentle dog you could find , i get on the floor to roll around with him  and unlike the other dogs , he's not interested , he just wants to sit on someones lap and suck there thumb  ,,, however he's not totally undog , he is actually a good little watch dog  definetly lets you know if someone is about , thats when he's awake , he loves his walks and when walking if i let him off the leash he becomes a terrier puts his nose to the ground and will not stop sniffing , but you got to let him do it he's a dog ,, most times if others are around he is on leash and will not walk instead just meanders  sniffing one plant to the next , .i  have a houseboat and spend a lot of time on the river    just us in the bush ,, but he will not go off the boat UNLESS he follows me , he's too scared  he'll defo follow me , but no way will he go on his own,,, so how can you treat this fella like the others you cant  ,   he shows dog characteristics , example lying at my feet while i type this ,, if  i get up and go watch tv ,   he will get up and come in jump on the settee and snuggle up , but thats not till after he wakes up  from where he is ,,, little fellas like him can be sucks but you tend to treat them accordingly  like babys ,   so like i say its in context ,   no way would i treat a mastiff or a shepard   the same way , these dogs  need to be trained , under control   and do has you command without question ,,, ths fella well  he's just there like an inquisitive little baby walking around  when he's awake , so he tends to get treated less like a dog especielly from my wife ,  who sits with him on her lap for hrs

 

I tend to talk to him has well ,,, I tell him i'm gonna get a proper dog   soon ,, he just tilts his head  , looks at me like i'm stupid , and goes to sleep  LOL

Edited May 3, 2022 by coneye
MISPELL

[Loving my Oldies]

46 minutes ago, coneye said:

I tend to talk to him has well ,,, I tell him i'm gonna get a proper dog   soon ,, he just tilts his head  , looks at me like i'm stupid , and goes to sleep  LOL

That made me laugh.  He knows you have a proper dog:  one who has you wrapped around his little paw  

[tdierikx]

I don't know about the rotties needing a "strong owner"... I've had around 10 of them myself over the years (5 of them at the one time together), and I never had to establish that I was "boss". Mutual respect and love goes a long way methinks... and all of mine would happily stand between me and any perceived danger quietly observing but not reacting unless there was imminent threat (only ever happened once, and the dog stood her ground and saw off the threat without violence).

 

T.

 

 

[PossumCorner]

I didn't much like the finger-wagging desk-thumping or whatever in the OP's opinion piece extract.  But it didn't mention terminology, just gave over-feeding and poor exercise/lack of discipline a bit of a spray.  It's just as valid to criticise situations where dogs are over-worked, under-fed and poorly housed.  Does happen.

 

On the baby talk or fur baby thing, I don't.  (Well maybe the sheep now and then, because so many lead a less than happy life in this country, with an unlovely end).  I'm anti-PETA with their stupid beliefs along with many airy fairy AR people who say we don't own animals, we are their guardians.  More slightly nutter terminology.  But I don't think it's right to dictate how people should or shouldn't speak to and with and about their animals: whatever works best between the owner's and animal's personality is good. 

[Loving my Oldies]

In this chaotic era of social media, the old adage, “Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but names will never harm me,” has long been  way out of touch.  Names DO have meanings and consequences, even if subconsciously, that affect people’s actions, reactions and treatment of others.    If not, why would millions of people march and demonstrate for them?
 

Disabled people were called retards, or spastics.

Gay used to mean happy and bright.

Dogs were given all sorts of derogatory names

To call a woman a “dog” was an insult

Ms / Miss / Mrs.  I remember the time when if Mary was married to John Smith, she was addressed as Mrs John Smith !!!

Vets are now called Doctor.  

 

The list is endless.   
 

The point I am making is that, with some people, to call your dog your furbaby can take away its “doghood” and consequently these people may fail to understand the needs and drives of a being that is first and foremost a dog.  
 

Here endeth the lesson.

 

    

 

[PossumCorner]

Oh yeah, 'shock/shocked' used to mean in real trauma shock or total horror.  Now it just means very mild surprise.  How did that happen?  'Things' get hijacked also, and given meanings that take away their normal place - rainbows, daffodils, our flag, black dogs.  Symbol hijacking can be as bad as word-theft.  I'm okay with doctor for some vets - anyone who has earned a doctorate has the right, doctor of philosophy or whatever.

 

Station break, fellow on ABC just criticising taxpayers' money being spent on dog parks - took his dog for a run this morning at no cost.   There will be a cost if it get attacked by some mindless owner's semi-stray dog aggressive animals.  Dog parks with good add-on facilities - including gated fields where little dogs can run in safety and then big dogs can run without owner stressing about a small fluffy initiating LD/BD outcomes - these are not a waste of money they are as much a community social need as footy fields and tennis courts.

 

(I still reserve the right to call Rheneas what I like without fear of making him into something other than the wonderful dog he is).

 

 

[sandgrubber]

5 hours ago, Loving my Oldies said:

In this chaotic era of social media, the old adage, “Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but names will never harm me,” has long been  way out of touch.  Names DO have meanings and consequences, even if subconsciously, that affect people’s actions, reactions and treatment of others.    If not, why would millions of people march and demonstrate for them?
 

Disabled people were called retards, or spastics.

Gay used to mean happy and bright.

Dogs were given all sorts of derogatory names

To call a woman a “dog” was an insult

Ms / Miss / Mrs.  I remember the time when if Mary was married to John Smith, she was addressed as Mrs John Smith !!!

Vets are now called Doctor.  

 

The list is endless.   
 

The point I am making is that, with some people, to call your dog your furbaby can take away its “doghood” and consequently these people may fail to understand the needs and drives of a being that is first and foremost a dog.  
 

Here endeth the lesson.

 

    

 

The concept of doghood has also changed.   Beating a dog isn't acceptable to most.  There are behaviorists and it is generally accepted that dogs have emotions (which are probably different from human emotions). 

Few dogs in rich countries have the opportunity to wander, choose mates, or form packs.  More dogs are child surrogates.  More are professionally groomed.

I don't go out for the more elaborate dog spoiling practices, foods, toys, etc because I live a low maintenance lifestyle and prefer low maintenance dogs. lt all seems like  fuss and bother to me.  But if someone wants to call their cherished pet a furbaby and pay $25/kilo for dogfood, far be it for me to judge, so long as they arent cruel and don't starve it or feed it into obesity.

[PossumCorner]

What Sandy said.