Spinoff: Treating Dogs Like a Human

i dont like to generalize like the above statement.. i've seen spoiled rotten large dogs and normal balanced small dogs. my grandmother-dads mom- treats her chihuahuas the way you would treat a large dog... in that she doesnt over coddle or spoil them. but my other grandmother-my mom's mom- treated all of her animals like people. talked for them, bought them silly stuff, REFUSED to let them interact with other dogs....which later resulted in one dying when she picked too many fights with the wrong dog... she was under socialised and HATED strangers, children, and small animals. she had three intact male dogs(two small ones, one large one) refused to get them chopped because... well i dunno why. she spayed all the females though! but the boys peed all over everything, including you if you stood still long enough! they fought all the time.. yes.. the large rotti dog also fought with the little ones. there are still teeth and nail marks in the front door of my grandmothers house from one particular fight.

i dont like to say i "humanise" my animals... my husband says i do.. but he's wrong lol he is the one that says "She did that on purpose!!"   No... i canine..er..cananise? Doggify? I put myself on THEIR level and try to think like they would. yeah thats it! the majority of the time i'm right when i think like dog and not like human. and honestly thinking like a dog is a helluva lot easier than trying to think like a human!! all those stupid lame useless emotions get in the way of basic needs.....

my husband, poor man, thinks i treat my dogs better than people but he's simply wrong. he hasnt got a clue lol i treat EVERYONE the way that individual needs to be treated... duck, chicken, dog, rabbit.... or child! again i dont like to blanket every species in one way or another... i have two dogs of the same breed but you cant handle them the same way. that would be a disaster actually...

my grandmother-dads mom- treats her chihuahuas the way you would treat a large dog... in that she doesnt over coddle or spoil them.

My Dane gets spoiled like I would spoil any dog of mine. Here is where I see no difference.  I can see where we can say certain breeds need/want more human attention...but not size.  To begin with my Dane would love to be picked up as much as my sons Chi.  The difference is that I can't pick up my Dane as I could with a smaller dog.

I don't know... dressing a dog, well, before they get used to it they would rather NOT be dressed. If you dress them because of warmth or protection, its different.  A fun costume at times... a special dress for an outing or holiday is fun. I don't think dressing them is spoiling them...but yet I think when people feel they must dress them for no reason, its for them and not the dog.  That is kind of humanizing them in my eyes.

Crating a dog...is a good thing, if you want to do it. I don't. I don't think that my dog is spoiled because I don't either.  I want my dog to be standing at the window when a stranger is there, or greeting someone who breaks in.    But not all dogs are happy in crates. Bubblegum spent much of her first three years in a crate, when I got her and bought her a crate she was standing in it while we were building it around her...that is how secure she felt in a crate. BUT that did not last for long...in a few weeks she would shake horribly once she was in her crate... that was it...she no longer felt happy and secure there. And since she was trusted to not have to stay in a crate...why should she have to go in it?

Each dog is different...whats spoiling to one dog might be natural to another.  They say dogs don't like hugs... ask Bubblegum...she looks for them ALWAYS.  If you put your head down to her level,,her head is pushing on your face...thats a hug. There is not a time that I put her collar on that I don't hug her and tell her she is a good girl while doing it. Not because I'm spoiling her..or humanizing her, because I love her and she is a good girl.  I do talk to her all the time...and I don't think she understand my words...she understands that I am talking to her with a loving voice...she knows she is loved.

I do think you can go too far. Every once in a while I have to go back to "nothing in life is free" because she forgets that she IS a dog.  I have a shock collar for her if it is needed...because she IS a big and powerful dog.  Its no different than disciplinning your kids...you love them to death but must constantly remember they are kids ( dogs ) and must be treated as such.

My dog is part of my family and she gets treated as such.  She does not sleep with us, neither did my kids. She sleeps on the floor on a nice soft cushy bed...which some people would regard as spoiling.   But I do think that as mentioned above, many people think that dogs think like us...get back at us and are able to reason.... I don't believe that at all. They can't reason and I think its sad when people think they can.

This is my opinion anyway.

The other night I happed to flip the channel to supper nanny and I watched for a few minutes. It was very funny, because pretty close to the beginning she came into the house and she stated that the household was lacking "rules, boundries and limitations". I don't think my husband understood why I was laughing my butt off at this. It was funny, but at the same time true.

I probably spoil my dogs too much sometimes, but in the end I make sure all their doggy needs are met. They do have rule's, boundries and limitations and they can't do whatever they want. As much as they love to dig they are not allowed to dig up my yard, but I do bring them to places (the beach) where I allow them to fill that need. They like to bark, but they must hush up when told to. I make sure they have plenty of exercise, I train them, etc. I do buy them stuff like new collars, new toys, and realisticaly they don't care about these things sometimes. They would be just as happy with a plastic soda bottle or a tube of tennis balls over the $20 stuffed octi. I like buying them things, and I don't have kids and I probably do use my dogs to fill my maternal instincts sometimes. Even though I use my dogs to fill some of my needs I still don't overlook their needs.

I allow Salem to sleep in my bed sometimes, but he will leave if I ask him to and lay on his own bed. I like having him in bed, and we have a king sized bed so there is plenty of room for him. Both my dogs sit on my lap even though Salem is 65 lbs. He is a serious attention hog and loved petting, and I love my big lap dogs.

So I do sometimes treat my dogs like my children, but in the end I know they aren't and so do they. They don't think about things the same way we do and they have different needs.

kelliope

 I have really never understood the need to make sure everyone knows one places humans above or below animals/pets.

I posted this on the other thread, but it seems it more belongs here:

I don't either. Those "if you could only save human or dog...." or "if there was a fire, who would you save?" drive me up the wall backwards. Honestly, there is such a thing as a stupid question (contrary to what they tell you in school), and that is one of them. It's like asking "If you could save your wife or your daughter, who would it be?". My answer to any of those questions, if I decide they are worth answering at all (not usually), is "whoever I can".

It's not an either/or/one is more important, but rather if a situation arose in which an animal was involved or a person, I would help whoever I could help. Period. If a family is upstairs and I can't get up because of fire, but there are three dogs on the lower level I can help, then by gosh I'm going to help those dogs. I might not be able to help the humans, but it's not "putting one above the other". I think those humans, regardless of their fate (which is out of my hands) would be happy to know that their animals would live on. I know I would.

erica1989

I don't treat my dog as a human. I treat him as if he is a part of my family. But I don't forget he is an animal. He has rules he must obey, things he can do, and cannot. As a part of my family, he stays inside my house. Dogs will be dogs. If he wants to dig, he digs. He must sit for food, treats, walks, etc. He must not run out the front door, and he must potty outside. This is expected of all dogs visiting, and living, in my home. Cats follow the same rules, only they must potty in their box.

I do understand what you mean though, in fact, today on Dr. Phil, there's a woman who's going to be on that thinks her dog is her son!!!  She chews the food for her dog and I think, lets him eat out of her mouth!  Talk about weird!!!  This would be a prime example of mental illness, in my opinion, but it would also be the prime example of treating their dogs/animals like humans! 

kelliope

Does anyone really know very many people who treat their dogs like humans??? 

To me, it means misunderstanding the dog's needs, and treating the dog as if it had the needs of a human (and usually the needs of the human that owns that particular dog). It is in a huge part ignoring the utmost needs of the dog. Even though some needs may be the same, some needs are also different, and the type of need is also different.

For example, vegetarian diets. They are a human feature, not a dog feature, Dogs are predators, and carnivores, and they require meat in their diet to thrive. Forcing dogs to eat a vegetarian or vegan diet because of human beliefs is, in my opinion, wrong. I know people will disagree with e, but that is how I feel. Another is regularly dressing dogs in miniature clothing. By this I mean the multi-billion dollar fashion industry for dogs. For small and short-coated dogs living in cool climates, sure, a greyhound sweater or a small sweater is fine - it's for the dog's benefit. But when you dress your Chihuahua up in the lastest Mary Kate fashion with the diamond-studded insignia, that's going a bit far. The same goes for assuming small dogs do not require exercise, never need to actually walk on a leash but are carried everywhere, don't have a need to dig or chew, etc. For me it comes down to asking - is doing/buying/trying this for the dog, or for the human's sense of satisfaction?

Some people really seem to believe that dogs think like people do. They assign things like spite to their dogs - giving them qualities that dogs don't seem to have. They seem to think that dogs naturally understand human language and desires ("But he KNOWS what I want!";).

That's not to say that people don't do things for their dogs, or buy them dogs that dogs don't necessarily need or care about. I think it would be lying to say that they don't. Even I do, although I am a person who is very, very, very much into understanding dogs as dogs, understanding their needs as dogs, and fulfilling those needs as dogs. My thing is getting them collars that I consider appealing. And often I get a leash to match it. The shelves are full of collars, but I'll go out of my way to order special ones that aren't on the shelf. The dogs don't care what their collar is made of or what color it is. I do. But that's something I'm perfectly happy to live with knowing. Another example is buying them gifts for their birthdays or Christmas. You know? The dog has no idea it has just aged another year, it has no relevance to a dog. But the dog enjoys the "fun day with new stuff", and I like having excuses to buy extra stuff and give them....lol...so that's good enough for me. I think it becomes "humanizing" when we actually believe that the dogs care or know about these things.

The only difference is the extent to which we will do such things. I would never have a stroller for a dog unless it was for a health reason (on the other hand, I did once push Shimmer around a store in a shopping cart once to prevent her from walking around yucky unknown floors while a very young puppy - health reasons, not fashion. The shopping cart was pretty ugly *G*). I don't dress up my dogs unless there is a reason to. When Gaci was spayed, she wore a T-shirt to protect her belly and stitches from catching on things. When she had surgery on her vulva, she wore toddler panties to prevent excess bacteria from entering and to make it feel less "Naked" and more "hairy" (as that feeling made her very anxious). Again for me it is asking - is it for the dog, or is it for you? I would never in my life consider piercing my dog's ears. Yes, people do it.

As for as "treatment" goes, I would indeed treat my dogs with the same level of empathy and respect as I would a child. But that's not humanizing, that is being human and understanding a dog for what it is.

Janet808

you mean though, in fact, today on Dr. Phil, there's a woman who's going to be on that thinks her dog is her son!!!  She chews the food for her dog and I think, lets him eat out of her mouth!  Talk about weird!!!  This would be a prime example of mental illness, in my opinion, but it would also be the prime example of treating their dogs/animals like humans! 

If anyones interested you can read the interview on dr. phils website with this women. http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/1004 . 

That women really has a problem, and I bet that is one dysfunctional dog. I would agree that would really be the prime example of treating your dog like a human. She even got him a pet dog!

OMG - that is too weird.  Though I do have to say there is something "human like" about Chihuahuas! LOL   But as I've said before, I wouldn't carry a human around all the time either! 

 This has been a very interesting discussion for me.  I think in my mind, humanizing a dog has to do with denying a dog his basic needs and putting human emotions on his behavior - "He peed on the bed to get back at you for going on vacation" when in reality it could have been the stress, change of routine, possible medical issues, etc.  But certainly not vengeance.

 I do think there is somewhat of a difference between toy breeds and larger breeds.  If I had a big dog it would not be sleeping in my bed.  He or she would have its own bed.  Also, I wouldn't be taking my big dog on most errands with me - though this would be tough as I would take them to the barn.  But a big dog I would leave in the car if I had to make a stop which means I would probably not be making stops.  I also probably wouldn't let my big dog on my furniture.  All these are reasons I never had my own dog prior to fostering these toy breeds.  I didn't think I could adequately provide for the needs of a big dog with working a full time job, etc.  We always had dogs growing up and lived on a small farm, so the dogs had much company and excercise.   My Chihuahuas require a shocking amount of excercise - at least an hour walk every day!  So I am sure a big dog would require even more.

 Anyway, it was good to hear everyone's opinions here and get some clarification.  Now, I'm off to take my dogs for their Spa Day...JUST KIDDING! 

Here they are - enjoying life: