I'm tired of dogs. I just don't like them.

banjoman05, 11 months ago

(Sorry I just had to - it turned out better than I could have wished.)

I've never been a fan of children. They make me nervous. I like animals, but children are just too needy, destructive, and abrasive. Working children are fine, but pets/companion children really bother me.
They are given so much free reign in homes, it makes me nervous. I shouldn't have to be hyper-vigilant to guard my food and possessions because "the child might get it!"
They're often very loud, they demand your attention constantly, and they're always in your space.
The worst part is that people nowadays bring their children into stores and restaurants, because apparently a lot of children have separation anxiety now.
Owners will let their children walk right up to me while I'm actively backing away, and assuring me that "they're friendly!" But I do not want to be approached by a strange child!! I do not know how they will react so I do not want them near me!!
I get that people love their children, but there is far too much poor behavior from children and their owners that I just can't excuse it.
It dampens my enjoyment of a place when I am forced to guard my possessions, listen to loud barking and/or constant whimpering, be interrupted by the owner who always have to yell at their children mid-conversation to keep them from doing something their not supposed to, etc.
children are just..... exhausting.
And I'm very very tired of having to accept them into my spaces & having to deal with them in public settings. I don't believe I'm a bad person for thinking this way. I'm just tired of children.
That is all.
Edit: Some of y'all are really offended & have taken that fact that I don't like children very personal. Why can I not dislike children?

mercurial, 11 months ago

Perhaps I’m reading into it, but it sounds like the majority of your exposure is with someone(s) who is a poor dog owner and lets their dogs do whatever they like. Which is isn’t to invalidate your discomfort, but I wonder if you wouldn’t have a better time of things if 70%(or w/e) of your exposure to dogs wasn’t dealing with extreme misbehavior, and therefore it wouldn’t be at the forefront of your mind.

Geth, 11 months ago

Most owners are poor dog owners. The experience is the same all around Europe. Funnily enough, the 70% good behavior is probably real already, it's just that 30% bad is insanely huge percentage when a dog is capable to maul you and your kids.

mercurial, 11 months ago

I'm the last one to disagree with you about that. I have a large dog and go to great strides to make sure she behaves, and we're actively working on issues she has, as she's still very young. But other people who are or have been dog owners routinely try to introduce bad habits to her or guilt me for not allowing them -- no, I'm not going to teach the 75 pound dog to beg for food at the table.

The reason I posted what I did was because the OP gave very specific situations (i.e. going over to someone's house and having to watch their things/food, having to stop what they're saying) that implied to me that perhaps someone in their life is a poor dog owners, and that's 100% just cause to have less to do with them. If they're not comfortable because their dog is ill-behaved, then they have every right to not be in that situation. My grandmother had a poorly behaved dachshund that she thought was terribly cute, but bit me and multiple relatives, multiple times. I stopped seeing her as much because her dog was a nightmare.

lysy, 11 months ago

Go to Turkey, there are almost no fkn dogs on the streets. We visited it with friends and after two or three days realized that it's coolness and calmness is because of only few dogs around. However, there are tonnes of cats there, but they don't bark.
I was quite disappointed coming back from holidays to my neighbourhood, where everybody, especially after Covid19, have stupid, barking dogs.

Also, dogs would be less stressful if their owners had any idea on how to teach and train a dog. I'm all for a mandatory dog ownership license, so that you have to proove that you have knowledge and skills for training your dog. .

snorkitty, 11 months ago

I like dogs that get to know me over years, and small dogs. Unfortunately I get few opportunities to do so authentically (many of them I got to know as a child are deceased today), as I don’t like to be approached by random dogs because I believe they are thinking I have food.

I didn’t like the fact that my old apartment allowed dogs (I would leave the elevator whenever one showed up, seclusion and dogs don’t go well together). But I always smiled whenever I got a, relatively frequent, reply-all email from management about disciplining people whose dogs used the grass (or elevator, one time) as a toilet.

noob_dragon, 11 months ago

Most people don't seem to know this oddly, but in lots of parts of the world people don't really care for dogs. Wild dogs are more common outside of the first world and they can be extremely dangerous. People will often get injured by one and be afraid of dogs for the rest of their lives. I had a roommate from the middle east while I was in college and he said he did not care for dogs at all.

It is also pretty common these days for people to straight up not follow the law in regards to their dogs. Having dogs off leash in a nature area seems to be very common nowadays. My own dog gets very nervous while near an off leash dog and I basically had to stop taking him with me on hikes since they are so common. Makes me very angry.

thebuoyancyofcitrus, 11 months ago

I agree. I am always frustrated to see entitled dog owners who walk right by a sign that clearly states dogs must be on leash. I absolutely love dogs but I still feel this way. Not only because they can make other people nervous who are just trying to enjoy the space and may have very real dog related traumas in their past but often in natural areas they can be very disruptive to the wildlife. I also love birds and I don't like to think of all the shorebirds that are harassed or displaced by owners that don't take care to ensure that they are handling their furry friends responsibly.

Hotchpotch, 11 months ago

Sounds more like you are tired of poorly trained dogs and their incompetent owners. Unfortunatly there are many of the latter.

LoafyLemon, 11 months ago

Are you a bit of an introvert? I ask because I am and prefer cats myself because they're just there without begging for my attention. I understand everyone has different needs and wants though.

Kamirose, 11 months ago

because they’re just there without begging for my attention

You clearly haven't met my mom's cat, lmao

marshadow, 11 months ago

Same. I like/tolerate well-trained dogs, but those are basically nonexistent these days.

Where I live, dog culture is really strong. People here violate leash laws all the time. When you gently but firmly raise a knee to keep a big jumping dog off your chest, the owner acts like you just did a heinous crime. If you complain about not wanting to be jumped on/knocked over by a giant dog that weighs more than you do, you'll be told to seek therapy for your phobia.

Bad dog owners have ruined dogs for me. Training is considered taboo, something close to animal abuse. Which boggles the mind, because the psychology of dogs is such that they need training and maintenance discipline to be well-adjusted. IMO, not training your dog is animal abuse. But here we are, with untrained dogs running around bowling people over and sticking their tongues in strangers' mouths.

CosmxTi, 11 months ago

I like dogs. I just keep a healthy distance. I've been bitten by too many "good boys" to really care for raising my own.

davefischer, 11 months ago

Reminds me of this clip from Pink Panther:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qypEulhiHAw

CosmxTi, 11 months ago

Lol, thanks. Honestly got a good laugh out of that. My first dog bite happened in a similar way :p

Hank, 11 months ago

I feel exactly the same like you OP if you replace the word dog with child.

Skooshjones, 11 months ago

I like dogs in general, grew up with a bunch. My spouse's family always had cats though. After a few years of living with cats vs dogs, cats take the win easy for me for general ease of living.

No needing walks, liter box is easy to scoop, they spend most of the day sleeping and will come by to play or get pet for a few minutes, then move on lol.

Two things though:

1. Some of this is culturally American. In other countries, dogs are not given the same free reign of the house as here.
2. I'm probs gunna get a lot of flack for this... A majority of people have horribly trained dogs. In my experience, most folks consider their dog a "good" dog if it has a good mood, that's all. Doesn't matter that it doesn't listen to commands, doesn't matter that it jumps all over people slobbering and barking. Doesn't matter that it is always butting into meals and begging.

Can't tell you how many times I've had a dog jump all over me, licking my face and getting stinking drool all over my clothes only for the owner to say, "oh sorry haha, he/she just loves people!"

If your dog won't stop barking the moment you tell it to, it's a badly trained dog. If your dog jumps up on people when they enter your home, your dog is badly trained. If your dog constantly comes over to the table while people are eating and whines, badly trained.

And it pisses me off that when this behavior happens, the owners either don't care, or get angry at the dog and do something asinine like lock it in another room alone.

I like dogs! I still want one when my spouse and I have property. I don't care if your dog gets to lay on the couches and roam the house freely, that's fine, but it has to act civilized like any other member of the family. Yes it's possible BTW, any professionally trained service dogs will behave like this and more.

bottle, 11 months ago

Dogs that misbehave are the fault of their bad owners. I’m sorry that all the people you know who own dogs are bad owners so you actually don’t have any idea what it’s like to be around obedient, we’ll behaved dogs. Why don’t you post about something you like? Oh, probably because you know most people love dogs so if you make this long post about how much you dislike them, yeah that’ll fire people up. Then when they get all mad you can say “why can’t I just dislike what everyone likes”. You can genius. You’re just gonna get an earful. Next time instead of posting something that shows how little experience in life you have (in this case, interacting with dogs) why don’t you post something that you like, or maybe even love. Or maybe you just sit around hating dogs all day and don’t actually do anything. Lol.

petrescatraian, 11 months ago

@SharkEatingBreakfast indeed, dogs are really curious of the surroundings (happens with all the animals ofc, but dogs are some of the most obvious about it). And I know it doesn't help, but most dogs really are friendly and they do not intend to harm you or anything. If you happen to stumble upon one dog that is not, that is the fault of the owner. Also as a person who owned a dog, I can tell you that if they are threatening, you will know about it. They will signal that if you come close to their proximity, they won't stay like that. Otherwise, they do not attack you directly.

Stray dogs are a bit of a different story, in that they are also territorial, but you do not know where this territory would be and if it is in your path or not. Plus they go in packs, which makes them even more dangerous.

And yes, I understand that you might feel uncomfortable being smelled by them in public. Owners should keep them closer, but still, they are just curious. They do not do any harm or otherwise.

Owners will let their dogs walk right up to me while I'm actively backing away

Those people who do this on purpose suck indeed. I never let my dog go around places in public either. But you can try one thing: if you encounter a dog in a place where there's nowhere to move away from, and it starts smelling your hand for example, try gently petting its head (of course, make sure it doesn't show the teeth). You'll both enjoy this 😊

GreenAlex, 11 months ago

To be fair, you seem to have a lot of experience with bad dog owners. They generally shouldn't be in a store and especially not be allowed to just run up to you in a public setting (leashes, people). The only time I'll make people deal with my dog in any way is at home, and that's because it's his home, too. Even then, I'll try to take reasonable steps if needed to keep him separate from people.

No shame in disliking dogs, though, as much as I disagree. They definitely have a higher level of needs than some people want to handle, and that's fine.

Shift_, 11 months ago

This sounds more like you dislike badly trained dogs/inattentive owners. Dogs that are well behaved and trained don't do any of that.

yunggwailo, 11 months ago

No shit but like gun owners all dog owners think theyre good and responsible owners.

e-ratic, 11 months ago

My American bulldog XL would never hurt a fly!