Dog People

NM11046 said:
So my question to you parents -   are you all nuts or what? Why do so many of you insist upon turning your lives upside down for an kid that is smelly, messy, and expensive? Is it just for companionship or am I missing something? Come at me.
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Setting aside our biological instinct to propagate the species, children can grow into productive members of society and bring more value into our families and into our communities than simple companionship. Plus, our children give us a reason to want to leave the world a better place (hopefully) and pass on what we have learned. People who have children just for companionship have serious problems!

There are some good posts in this thread that I very much appreciate, but to me the way some people obsess over their pets still seems odd. Historically, early man learned to domesticate animals so they can be kept for food, hunting, or work. Somewhere along the way, someone decided to turn them into friends as well. Later on, people started to refer to them as "fur babies." 

 
Ulty said:
Setting aside our biological instinct to propagate the species, children can grow into productive members of society and bring more value into our families and into our communities than simple companionship. Plus, our children give us a reason to want to leave the world a better place (hopefully) and pass on what we have learned. People who have children just for companionship have serious problems!

There are some good posts in this thread that I very much appreciate, but to me the way some people obsess over their pets still seems odd. Historically, early man learned to domesticate animals so they can be kept for food, hunting, or work. Somewhere along the way, someone decided to turn them into friends as well. Later on, people started to refer to them as "fur babies." 
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You are entitled to your opinion - not everyone has the biological instinct to propagate the species, and the contributions of many offspring can be argued.  

Perhaps I misunderstood the intent of your post?  I thought you wanted to better understand why people own dogs and if the investment was worthwhile.  In retrospect it seems you really didn't want insight, but rather an opportunity to find folks that felt the same way and to debate and belittle those who feel differently.  

My point is that I dont' call people odd because they hover over every bowel movement and accomplishment of their children. To each their own. If we're talking history, the way parents raise children today obsessive.  It used to be that parents had children to help farm, to take care of siblings, to carry on the family name and business.  Somewhere along the way they've turned into worry wart helicopter parents that want to be friends with their kids, and give them an easier life.   I used to get kicked out of the house every summer day by 8 am and be told to ride your bike, play do whatever - see you when the street lights come on.  Today's kid is scheduled for multiple camps, is being driven to and from and has their every minute managed by mom or dad.  I had to be out of bed by 8am even on weekends and summers, now I have neighbors that ask me not to trim my hedges until after 9 am because their teenage son is sleeping.  Today parents have trackers on their kid's phones and have check in texts every hour.  They arrange for "play dates" and accompany the children to make sure all is ok.  I have a colleague that was complaining that his daughter was "bored" already after being out of college for 2 weeks and when I asked if she was working he said, "well she did for a week early on and earned some money".  Things evolve.

You have your interests and things you choose to invest in that I do not.  Your last sentence in the OP, while perhaps intending to stir up discussion is pretty condescending.

 
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NM11046 said:
You are entitled to your opinion - not everyone has the biological instinct to propagate the species, and the contributions of many offspring can be argued.  

Perhaps I misunderstood the intent of your post?  I thought you wanted to better understand why people own dogs and if the investment was worthwhile.  In retrospect it seems you really didn't want insight, but rather an opportunity to find folks that felt the same way and to debate and belittle those who feel differently.  

My point is that I dont' call people odd because they hover over every bowel movement and accomplishment of their children. To each their own. If we're talking history, the way parents raise children today obsessive.  It used to be that parents had children to help farm, to take care of siblings, to carry on the family name and business.  Somewhere along the way they've turned into worry wart helicopter parents that want to be friends with their kids, and give them an easier life.   I used to get kicked out of the house every summer day by 8 am and be told to ride your bike, play do whatever - see you when the street lights come on.  I had to be out of bed by 8am even on weekends and summers, now I have neighbors that ask me not to trim my hedges until after 9 am because their teenage son is sleeping.  Today parents have trackers on their kid's phones and have check in texts every hour.  They arrange for "play dates" and accompany the children to make sure all is ok.  I have a colleague that was complaining that his daughter was "bored" already after being out of college for 2 weeks and when I asked if she was working he said, "well she did for a week early on and earned some money".  Things evolve.

You have your interests and things you choose to invest in that I do not.  Your last sentence in the OP, while perhaps intending to stir up discussion is pretty condescending.
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Point taken, and totally in agreement about the quality of parenting out there. If you compare crazy parents to crazy pet owners (not all pet owners), then the bad parents certainly take the cake. A thread containing examples of questionable parenting decisions would likely be entertaining.

As to my intent: stirring up discussion, yes. Intending to belittle, no. You don't come across as insane, but I bet you know plenty of pet owners who are!

 
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Until you own a dog and you see the unconditional love this thing gives you, you will never understand. Id rather be around my parents dog than be around people I dont know. My dad is 83 years old. He was devastated the last dog we had that died. Took him 10 years to get another. If this dog dies before him, he will be soon after which is hard for me to say, but I know the way he reacted to the last death. 

There is a reason they are called mans best friend and people say dog is spelled god backwards.  Humans can learn a lot from their dogs. They would literally do anything for you and love you no matter how you treat them. But just like any young being, when they are pups, they need structure and to be shown how to behave properly. Some people are just too selfish or lazy to do that and then blame the dog for their poor behavior. 

 
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Thats a good video that shows the companionship side of a human and dog relationship. You also have the dogs that help kids with autism. The dogs that literally sniff out bombs and save human lives on a daily basis in both miltary and police units. The K9 units that work with their human handlers to catch criminals. The dogs that alert their epileptic owners minutes before they have a seizure so the person can get to a safe place. The dogs that jump in front of rattlesnakes and take the bite instead of letting their owners get bit like the story I just read the other day. The dogs that protect houses from robbers and intruders. The dogs that help blind people get around town. The dogs that save people from drowning. 

I can go on all day about what dogs do for humans. I guess my question to you is, even though you dont own a dog, how can you not respect and appreciate an animal that has done so much for the human race? Things that humans are not physically capable of doing at times. 

 
Moiraine said:
Right now, the thing I don't love about dogs is how often they ask for attention. And I don't love that sometimes dogs love me immediately upon first meeting them. I feel like I should have to earn it by doing more than existing.
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