your dog: buddy or baby?

sydney is my buddy or my little buddy or sometimes my bubba.

amelia is my baby girl.

amelia likes to lay by our feet. sydney on the other hand likes to cuddle or sit on my lap.

Good question.  Both, but mainly buddy.  Riley is my best friend.

I often say that Penny is my buddy and Kit is my baby.

I was still a kid when I got Penny, so I never wanted to view her as a child. I wanted a friend, and that's exactly what she was and always has been. She's my best buddy, and my oldest friend at the moment.

Kit, though... he was such a tiny baby when I got him that my maternal instincts really kicked in. I won't say hand-raising a hare is the same as raising a human baby, but I tell you what, I feel like I at least have a vague idea of what caring for a human infant is all about. For weeks I was feeding Kit every few hours. He'd come to work with me and I liked to have him supervised as much as possible because he had a tendency to get himself in trouble. He was tiny, and dependent, and he needed love and cuddles. How could I not think of him as my baby! For months he was waking me up during the night because he was hungry or bored or lonely and wanted me to talk to him. It was very trying. He's 2 years old, now, and busy beefing himself up for a breeding season he's sadly not going to participate in. I don't think of him as my baby so much anymore, but he's my strapping little boy, and nothing rouses me like his wellbeing does.

Right now, Misty is definitely my baby, but I anticipate her becoming more of a buddy as she gets older. 

Abbi is definately both and more:  sometimes she takes care of me- when I am sad, she's a work-out buddy, a playmate, a best friend- she can't talk so she keeps all the secrets, she is my little girl and such a snuggler at night.

Conrad's definately my buddy. Marlowe's more baby than buddy at the moment but I think that's his choice. He's a mommas-boy and he likes that kind of attention.  Everyone that sees us together when we're out always remarks that, "I can tell that he really loves his mommy!" Conrad's more reserved with his affections, and just older-acting in general. When he's had enough of babying, he'll get up and walk away. Marlowe will take as much babying as you've got to dish out.
 
I sort of have the relationship with my dogs that my parents and I had and still have. I'm their kid but we're also best friends. They help me when I need help and I'm there for them too, but we also just like hanging out and having a good time. I don't think I spoil my dogs, but I take care of their needs as my first priority.

Maya is my Buddie, Houston is my baby, for as big as he is for only a pup and as brave as he appears, he's Momma's boy[]

Boomer is our buddy. Shy and Rotten are my babies, and SO's buddies. They don't seek attention from him or shadow him like they do me. But they're perfectly happy to have him feed them []

Russell's definitely a buddy and not a baby, that's his personality - and that's an improvement over his puppy personality ... when he was 8 weeks old we used to joke that if he could talk he'd say to us, "Please - you're embarrassing me. Now pick up my poop." [sm=rofl.gif]

Both. Usually they are my best friends but if one of them gets hurt or scared they come running to mommy!

I'd have to say both. They are my little buddies, because they do everything with me. I love spending time with them. But I think of them as my children. That won't change when we have human babies, but I hope to have some of the same buddy relationship with the human kids that I have with the fur kids.

ORIGINAL: Xerxes


They are my teachers and my students, my friends and my family.

So beautifully said, that is how I feel about Romeo.  He has taught me so much (patience most of all) and has learned from me (trust, love) he is the one I want to spend my free time with because with one goofy glance up at me, he makes me forget all my worries and really brightens my day no matter how gloomy it may be outside and without him in my life, my house would not be a home. 

Jake is my buddy []. I wouldn't be able to think of him as my baby unless he was even a little bit defenseless, but I'm absolutely certain he can take care of himself. But otherwise, we make a great team together, he follows me everywhere, we're in sync all the time (especially on walks, when he decides to go one way around a pole and me the other way, leash waiting to be wrapped around the pole, lol).
 
As for my cats:
 
Buffy is my baby and my buddy. She's kind of a bitch to everyone and is stubborn as heck, but I know how to get to that affectionate side of her, and in return she respects me unlike with anyone else (she won't hesitate to smack my sister if they lock eyes for instance, but when I hold her up and try locking eyes, she absolutely refuses to hit me). Plus, Buffy was orphaned at 4 weeks so I became her momma then and sometimes I'm not sure, but it seems like she still remembers that (and other times it's like she's going through that teenage stage and hates me, her momma, lol)
 
Willow - my buddy, if that. She's independent (*cough*anti-social*cough*) and isn't really close to anyone, but we're both at a sense of comfort around each other. I don't try to bug her (pick her up, in other words) and she decides to stick around and take a nap on the same couch as me (once in a while she'll even go to sleep on my lap)
 
Molly is my baby and buddy, not quite the same way as Buffy. She trusts me the most out of anyone in the family, and I see a side of her that nobody else ever sees (imagine my surprise the first time someone told me, "OMG, she's actually letting you pet her!"; basically she runs from everyone and doesn't act very affectionate to anyone else). She turns into a slobbering purring dope when I pet her, and she can't wait to lie on my lap, and I constantly have to look between her legs when I'm on the computer (we have a routine now, lol, if I feel her paws on the side of my lap, I lean back and she jumps up, and I pet her as she helps me type out messages to people, lol). In a way, it IS like with Buffy, but Molly shows affection more than Buffy (Buffy's "too cool" for it now, lol, while Molly's like a geek compared to her), yet Buffy is my little precious pumpkin who I bottle fed from a bottle. Molly came as a 5 month old who was stuck in a tree, and she's still pretty fearful of people and will even run from me from time to time.
 
 

That's a really neat sig.
 

I would have to say Dasher is my buddy.  He goes pretty much anywhere I go.  He loves getting in the car and going for a ride with me even if its just to the bank.  He loves to play and always puts a smile on my face.  We have a great time at trials regardless of if we "Q" or not.  He is a terrier, so if push came to shove he can take care of himself pretty well, the only time he acts like a baby is if he is tired or gets startled.  Then he looks to me. []

My previous dog, Reese was all baby. [] All he wanted to do was be in my lap or on the couch next to me.  He tolerated others simply b/c he knew it was the polite thing to do, he would rather be with me than anyone else. 

But Xerxes said it best, all my dogs are/have been my teachers, students, my friends and my family.  I couldn't imagine my life without them