well, i have to say that my dogs are like my children except they can not or i should say DO NOT talk back. and, in some cases i would prefer my dogs over a human being. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
we are getting alittle off topic though aren't we??? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Yes, we're way off topic here. I'm just itchin to be moderated. Van Camp? Anyone? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Having given birth to two human babies, there is no way in the world that I could ever compare my dogs to being anything like my children. It's a completely different type of bond. I love my dogs very much, and will always give them the very best of care and training that I am able to give (my husband often complains that the dogs in our house eat better than the humans <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ). I can't imagine my life without a dog in it, and will probably always have dogs, even if I have to have a little ankle biter when I'm too old and feeble to handle a large dog. And yes, there are parallels between parenting and dog training, but my dogs are in no way, nor will they ever be "like my children", or "little kids with fur". I can't even wrap my mind around that kind of mentality.

I do know some people that admit openly that their dogs are child substitutes, whether it's because they have no children by choice, or by circumstances beyond their control. Hey, that's their right to feel that way. But I have a right to my opinion too....... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I don't think you need to wrap your head around that mentality - much like you said, to each their own. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> I suppose I shouldn't tell you about my sister in law that calls her new baby the bald puppy - LMAO! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I think that there is potential for problem if you think/call/talk about your dog as a "fur baby". Children should be dealt with differently than dogs, if for no other reason than there is a different thought process they engage in. As a case in point my wife very definitly babied her little dog. And the result was a dog on Prozac.

I think it probably depends on the dog and the person.

I have 2 small boys along with my 2 gsds. I believe that my dogs are very much like my children....I love them, feed them, console them when they aren't feeling well, discipline them, teach them, bathe them, groom them, etc., etc. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Of course, I did not give birth to the 2 gsds, but to me it's like adoption. If I have to care for something or someone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, etc. then yes there is a bond that is very much close to the human bond and in many cases much more. It is a proven fact that owning/caring for an animal lowers your blood pressure. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
You are right when you say "TO EACH HIS OWN".

P.S. beating (as well as babying) causes them to need Prozac too. So IMHO, don't do either....
there is a happy medium <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

My point is that a dog needs to be treated like a dog. They don't reason the way people do, they take a different type of discipline, and they require a different thought processes to deal with them.

I know most people here understnad the differences. But there is a danger in idea that dogs are surrogate children. It may creep in slowly, but eventually this type of thought process will begin to color the way the dog is dealt with.

We are begining to get off topic here, if we can't go back to the origional topic I think that this one may need to be closed.

Richard, I agree. There is potential for harm when treating a dog like a human. There is more to it than "different strokes for different folks". When Sassy bites little Jimmy in the face because Sassy thinks that she is little Jimmy's equal, that is a problem. These are the kinds of risks that are inherent in anthropomorphizing Sassy.