How much is too much for Man's Best Friend?

[dgiharris]

Thought i'd try to lighten this forum up a bit.

I'm watching the Today show and they just ran this special on how to use your dog for your wedding.

They brought out a 'line' of dogs wearing tuxedos and dresses.

http://www.palmspringslife.com/media/Palm-Springs-Life/Weddings/Annual-2006/Wedding-tails/

Am I the only person who thinks this is just absolutely ridiculous?

This got me thinking, how much is too much for Man's best friend?

What are some of the craziest things you've ever seen someone do for a dog, or with a dog.

Similarly, what are some of the coolest things you've seen people train their dogs to do. (links would be nice if possible).

Lastly, what is your argument or opinion (for or against) any of these crazy things.

Mel...

[RLB]

Dogs are cute and all, but I chose to go the all-human wedding party route.

The dogs in my building here wear outfits with coordinating booties. They are inevitably yippy and jump on you in the elevator as their owners yell, "Sit! Sit!" futiley in the background. Fortunately I like dogs, so it's not much of a problem, but it is funny to be trapped on the elevator with a pack of hyper, sweater-wearing dogs and someone who clearly is not a dog person.

I've even seen people with strollers designed specially for small dogs.

ETA:
Oh, wait. I do have an over-the-top story. My aunt had a male dog (I think a shitzu?) that a friend of hers wanted to breed with her female. Since the friend was trying to teach her daughter to wait until after marriage for sex, they had a wedding ceremony for the dogs before the, um, consumation. My aunt's dog wore a tux and the girl dog wore some sort of dog-dress. I think they had a few guests and even cake. I'll refrain from commenting.

[SHBueche]

Hey, I'm a dog writer (yes, there really is such a group, dwaa.org) and in my opinion, there is no such thing as "too much" when is comes to our furkids.

[MattW]

The "furbaby" routine grates on me, and I love dogs.

They are animals. You do not spend your life savings sending them to therapy, yoga, or keeping them alive with experimental surgeries.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I hate people who dress up their dogs. I think they should be kicked in the teeth and the animals taken away from them and given to someone who will treat them like the animals they are, not like little furry people.

This from a person who loves his furbabies.

[MattW]

If you hold a wedding for you pets so they no longer live in sin, you've gone too far.

[Shadow_Ferret]

If you hold a wedding for you pets so they no longer live in sin, you've gone too far.
Bestiality is never having to say your sorry.

[SHBueche]

You beat me to it, yes, I am a huge dog lover (and no, I don't call my dogs "furkids" either) but I don't dress my dogs up. Don't even paint their toenails.

[SHBueche]

I've heard a lot of dog stories, but a wedding so that your dogs "don't live in sin," takes the cake ... it's a new one to me.

[RLB]

I've heard a lot of dog stories, but a wedding so that your dogs "don't live in sin," takes the cake ... it's a new one to me.

Yeah, my aunt was pretty floored, but she went along with it. I don't know if I've quite forgiven her.

ETA: Which makes me wonder, what will this lady do when she wants to breed her dog with some other stud in the future? Divorce proceedings?

[Shadow_Ferret]

Well, I've seen some pet stores that hold pet birthday parties. I've heard some churches have a day where you can come have your dog blessed.

People are strange.

[Elaine Margarett]

I've trained dogs for years; drug detection, bomb detection, protection, etc. I love dogs. But dogs are animals. They aren't extensions of ourselves; they aren't our children and they most certainly shouldn't wear clothes!

I think it's demeaning to make our noble canine companions into shadow humans. They should be allowed to be what they are, (dogs) and appreciated as such.

[MarkEsq]

If you hold a wedding for you pets so they no longer live in sin, you've gone too far.


Absolutely. At the very most a civil union.

[Williebee]

RLB -- How do they know the dogs said "I do"?

Mine would just go into a Marvin Gaye impression. "Let's get it oooooonnnnn...."

Favorite cool dog trick. Skateboarding. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQzUsTFqtW0)

[NikeeGoddess]

an even better trick: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ePalTFw5iKM


Don't even paint their toenails.i've done this but we were going to a formal dinner and they needed to look their best. http://www.barkball.com/washingtonpost.htm

[icerose]

I've trained dogs for years; drug detection, bomb detection, protection, etc. I love dogs. But dogs are animals. They aren't extensions of ourselves; they aren't our children and they most certainly shouldn't wear clothes!

I think it's demeaning to make our noble canine companions into shadow humans. They should be allowed to be what they are, (dogs) and appreciated as such.

Exactly.

My grandmother-in-law treats her little dog like it's a person (more like a really ill-behaved child), this dog sits at the table, eats off her plate, or food out of her mouth, (I know!) we're all very disgusted by it. This dog has no manners and looks like a coffee table. it's almost as wide as it is long and the back is flat. If it held still I think people would start setting their cups on it.

It's wrong for the dog and it's wrong for everyone who has to be around it.

[dgiharris]

an even better trick: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ePalTFw5iKM


WOW, that was interesting. Amazing what you can train them to do

[Jcomp]

This dog has no manners and looks like a coffee table.

Devoid of context, the above line becomes a Monty Python worthy non sequitir. It should be on a t-shirt...

[WendyNYC]

Someone in my building dyed their standard poodle bright purple. I've seen dogs in strollers, and LOTS of times strapped to their owners in baby carriers.

Although I probably shouldn't talk. My dog has a little mock horse blanket I bought at a horse show. Hey, it gets cold out on the street in January!

[icerose]

Devoid of context, the above line becomes a Monty Python worthy non sequitir. It should be on a t-shirt...

I'm going to take a picture of this dog and post it the next time I see it. It's a minature pincer, so it should be pretty slender, but it isn't. It's this bulk of a dog on stubby little legs. I think if I fashioned a coffee table to look like it, people would go crazy for it.

[Elaine Margarett]

I'm going to take a picture of this dog and post it the next time I see it. It's a minature pincer, so it should be pretty slender, but it isn't. It's this bulk of a dog on stubby little legs. I think if I fashioned a coffee table to look like it, people would go crazy for it.

It's a shame. I'm sure these people love this dog and think they are doing the absolute best for it but they are shortening it's life considerably.

As far as dogs wearing blankets or coats, that's different! I had an elderly dog I brought in from the kennel so she could live her last year in comfort. She wore a little red blanket because she chewed on her back and had brittle hair ~ a hormonal deficency. This was a German shepherd. She looked like the wolf who ate Little Red Riding Hood. LOL

Incidently, she made it through three strokes and lived in the house for almost three years. Crafty ol' girl. <g>

[icerose]

It's a shame. I'm sure these people love this dog and think they are doing the absolute best for it but they are shortening it's life considerably.

Oh, absolutely. She's already loved two other dogs to death with her feeding habits. Dogs should not be eating people food. It makes them morbidly obese. She takes the dog for walks and regular vet check ups, but dang it, she feeds it all the wrong food and spoils the little dog into clogged arteries, high blood preasure, and heart trouble.

[cethklein]

If you hold a wedding for you pets so they no longer live in sin, you've gone too far.

Doggy weddings seem trivial. I'm no religious expert, but I've got to believe licking your own butt is also a sin, I wonder how they'll prevent that.

[rugcat]

It's a minature pincer, so it should be pretty slender, but it isn't.Minpins rule. (See avatar)

A friend of mine had her dog carry the rings in a box in its mouth and deliver them at the appropriate time.

My dog would have eaten them.

[AndreaGS]

*shrugs* If the sweater is keeping the dog warm, I don't really see a problem with it. If, on the other hand, the dog is giving you that long-suffering why-are-you-doing-this-to-me look, then it's probably time to take the clothes off and give the dog back its dignity.

I had a friend in college whose dog LOVED being dressed up. She was so funny!

I like getting my cat something extra on his bday or for Xmas. I expect I'll do the same when I adopt a dog. I'm not baking cakes or lighting candles or anything.

Pets at the dinner table though? Pet weddings? Spoiling a pet so that it becomes fat/misbehaved? I think those are all past my line.

[small axe]

The "furbaby" routine grates on me, and I love dogs.

They are animals. You do not spend your life savings sending them to therapy, yoga, or keeping them alive with experimental surgeries.

I think they should use the hearts of executed murderers to put into sick doggies. If it were MY sick doggie, I'd support the use of convicted human shoplifters' hearts for transplants.

Some people aren't as deserving to live as some pets. Honestly, it's not my place to DECIDE, but I know what I'd consider a Just twist of fate.

In my world, there'd be seeing eye dogs saved by having wicked human hearts beating in them. I just don't see the way to get to that perfect world...

[nevada]

I've heard some churches have a day where you can come have your dog blessed.

This is very common in most churches. I believe it's the birthday of Saint Francis of Assisi. People bring their animals in to be blessed.

I don't like it when people treat their dogs like children. However, I can see that for some people their dog is as important as a child, if they don't have children. And some people may scoff at that, and that's their prerogative. But for some people the grieving process when the animal dies, for example, is the same as when a human dies. I don't have a problem with that as long as the animal is treated like an animal.

I have had dogs and a cat, and I have always treated them according to their breed. Dogs live in packs so I was always pack leader and the rules were pack rules. The cat? Well, really, what can you do with a cat if he doesn't want to do it? I kept him inside, which some people will disagree with but letting a cat outside cuts his life expectancy in half. My cat was 13 and would have lived for years more if it wasn't for the poisoned cat food problem.

So, ummm yeah, babbling. Short story, animals are animals and should be treated as such. But dressing them up? Who cares. If you like it and the pet doesn't care, it's harmless. And if I had a standard poodle I'd be tempted to dye its coat as well. Maybe the Calgary Flames logo. or appropriate to the season. I worked at a dog groomer so I know that the dyes used are not harmful. If you think the dog is humiliated, you are projecting your own emotions. Dogs are very smart and do have feelings and do dream but humiliation is a complex emotion that I think most of them don't feel.

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

My dogs were my children. My cats are my children now. The fact that they eat on the floor and have speech impediments (to human ears, at least) is no reason for me to treat them in any manner other than I do for the sake of others' approval. If others cut me slack on my children, I'll cut them slack on theirs. IOW: Live and let live.

[Little Red Barn]

Aye, OFG.

When I adopt a pet it does become and play a role in my family.

And this 'Man's Best Friend' always reminds me, how my daugh answered her kindergarten teacher when asked, "Who is man's best friend?"

She quickly raised her hand, responded, "Home Depot!"

That'd be her daddy's best friend and so she knew. ;)

[nevada]

I should clarify. My dogs were my children. But they were fed and treated as dogs. I did not allow them to eat off the table and they never got human food. I did put boots on them because -40 is too cold for dog paws.

When i had to put my last dog down, I grieved, as did I when i had to put my cat down. I have often said that I could live without people but I couldn't live without animals. I am now forced to live without my dog, (she's living at my mother's) my apartment building not allowing animals, and I didn't realize how much I missed her until last week. My mom's away and I'm dogsitting and reunited with my puppy and man, did I miss her. Just being around her has lowered my anxiety level by ten points.

<------------- My puppy, nevada. Yes, my online name is my dog's name. I'm like Indiana Jones that way. but only in that.

[Elaine Margarett]

My dogs were my children. My cats are my children now. The fact that they eat on the floor and have speech impediments (to human ears, at least) is no reason for me to treat them in any manner other than I do for the sake of others' approval. If others cut me slack on my children, I'll cut them slack on theirs. IOW: Live and let live.

Forgive me, I don't want to be controversial or disrespectful but as someone who's had a more intimate relationship with a dog the most of you have (and NO, I don't mean that! LOL) I don't understand the sentiment where someone equates loving a dog (or any other animal) like their child.

I'm a mom. I'm also a dog owner. I've had deep working partnerships with dogs (that's what I mean by initimate <g>). Anyone who has had a canine partner, either as a hunting dog, or a police dog, or SAR K9 will tell you when you have a "partnership" with a dog and the dog contributes something "over and above" what the human can do without it; it's a unique, special bond. I cried more when I lost my search dog prematurely, than when my dear, sick mother (who's passing was a blessing) died!

As much as my dogs have meant to me, they cannot remotely compare to the love, and worry, and hope, and worry, and pride, and worry that a parent feels for a child. A pet is under your control. It's a love that doesn't require the pain that comes from watching your child grow and falter and grow some more. It just doesn't hold the same emotional stakes.

And I have to add, to anyone who equates losing a pet to losing a child, you've never lost a child.

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

It's dangerous to try to declare any love as better than any other love or more/less worthy of high levels of grief. Yes, losing a child is a terrible thing. Losing a beloved pet who is thought of as a child is a terrible thing, too. I'm not about to try to tell you my grief is worse and I might have a hard time believing your grief is, too. It's a very personal, very subjective thing... and people can think it's silly and stupid to equate their grief with someone else's; that doesn't make it so.

[dgiharris]

Here is something amazing,

Dogs that can talk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04NAa_79bHU

[nevada]

A friend, who lost her two year old daughter to lukemia, said how upseting it was to her when well-meaning people would offer condolences by saying, "I know just how you feel." Her feeling was, "No, you have no idea unless you've expereinced it." This has stuck with me; if you haven't experienced it, you don't know.

Right, and because you haven't experienced the grief a person might feel for a lost animal, you can't judge it less than. To say that my grief is better than yours because mine is about a child and yours is just about an animal is to invalidate someone else's grief. It's like saying well your mother died so you should get over that in a week. your child dying you should get over in two weeks. Grief is different for everyone. And just because my father died does not mean that i understand what someone else feels when their father dies So you may think it's silly that someone would grieve over a pet as if they lost a child, but that does not make it any less painful for the person grieving.

[Little Red Barn]

Wow... I honestly don't know how to respond to this.

And for the record, I've never lost a child (Thank God!) but I've known people who have. The depth of their grief is something I pray I will never have to experience.

A friend, who lost her two year old daughter to lukemia, said how upseting it was to her when well-meaning people would offer condolences by saying, "I know just how you feel." Her feeling was, "No, you have no idea unless you've expereinced it." This has stuck with me; if you haven't experienced it, you don't know.

Sorry to drag this light-hearted thread off track! It's just a major sore point for me. I apologize.

EM
It's okay, sweetie. No worries. :Hug2:Now come on over with me and congrat Choas and Karen in there threads if you'd like, they just rcvd. agents. Yah and yah for our AW community! 3 good news in a row! ;)

[Woof]

Comparing a love for children with a love for dogs is a kind of unfair comparison. Many dog owners do not have children or family, for that matter. A dog is sometimes a lonely person's only companion, and it's perfectly natural that that pet would be loved as much as a child, spoiled and doted upon as much as a child, and grieved for with as much depth of feeling when it dies.

People become puzzled or even scornful when they hear that dog owners dress up their pets in clothing and treat them like humans. Well, perhaps it's the prerogative of pet owners to shower their dogs and cats with as many rewards as they like, because they receive so much in return in the form of unconditional love. Personally, I tend not to buy clothes for my dog, and that's not because I think that all dog clothes are frivolous - some outerwear is actually quite practical - but because he simply won't stand for it. His single article of clothing, aside from his leash and collar, was a raincoat which he bit at and tried to pull off whenever he was made to wear it. It took me awhile to clue in, but I eventually got the message that he was trying to communicate, that covering a fur coat with a raincoat is sort of redundant.

[HeronW]

Treat your pets for their best health--not stuff them with fatty and salty people food. Groom them for getting out matted fur, for skin conditions, to get out skunk smell, clip those dewclaws that can curl back on the soft pads, protect their feet from harsh conditions be it ice or sharp pavement. Gets sweaters or coats for the shorthairs who will get sick in cold wet conditions because they can't put out enough body heat.

On the flip side, it's friggin' roasting here in the summer--and some people have got to have a great pyrenees, or a husky or other gorgeous longhair cold-climate dog. ARRRGGGHHHH!

A dog will want to please his human and keep running after the friggin' ball long after his body's in an overheated state. Do the playtime in the early morning or early evening before it gets too hot for the pooch.

Summer's here--don't leave your dog outside in a car alone either. They'll dehydrate and die of heart failure when the heat goes over 120F in 15 min. This goes for your kids too!

[dgiharris]

...Summer's here--don't leave your dog outside in a car alone either. They'll dehydrate and die of heart failure when the heat goes over 120F in 15 min. This goes for your kids too!

This is a tragic thing that happens every year despite the ads and warnings.

The biggest problem is a phenonmenon known as time dilation.

When you run into a store for 'just a second' the time it takes you to get to the store and get what you need is LONGER than your perception of the time.

One reason is due to the way the human mind constantly dumps short term memory. You do not remember the walk from the parking lot to the store, that is forgoten (though it took 2 minutes). Then you wonder through the store dumping extraneous info that does not relate to the task at hand and it takes you 6 minutes to find what you were looking for. Then you stand in line for 3 minutes and start up a conversation with a friend, the conversation is quick and feels like only a minute when in reality, 5 minutes have passed.

You get to the head of the line, pay for your items (which takes two minutes) then walk back to your car, another 2 minutes.

2+2+6+3+5+2= 15 minutes which equals death to any child or animal left in the car.

Even though the entire 15 minutes felt like 2 minutes.

Saddly, this will happen probably 20 - 30 times this summer.

Mel...

[Jersey Chick]

People we used to live next to didn't have kids (and for that we're all grateful) - but they do have dogs. Two of them. Two of the fattest dogs you've ever seen (and these two replaced two other dogs who were just as fat, and that led to all sorts of problems).

Why are they so fat? Because this couple doesn't feed them dog food - they get people food. Fries from McDonalds. Fried eggs and bacon for breakfast. You name it, they get it, as long as it isn't dog food. These poor animals.

And, to top it off, once a year, this couple has a professional photographer come to their home and take pictures of the dogs. Just the dogs.

They dress them up for Halloween, buy them doggie blankets for the winter (which is cold, but unless they were greyhounds, these dogs don't need blankets and besides, how cold can they get with all that extra weight?) one has a leather bomber jacket, hat and boots. The other has just the hat and boots. Boots.

they're nuts. IMHO

[rugcat]

People become puzzled or even scornful when they hear that dog owners dress up their pets in clothing and treat them like humans. .But they're not humans, and any projection that they are isn't particularly healthy.

That doesn't mean you can't love your dog, in fact dogs are much more lovable then humans. But they're dogs. I would risk my life to save my dog. But he's a dog, not a person.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[sassandgroove]

the place we take Leela for grooming puts a bandanna on her; I think she looks cute in that. But clothes I don't get, unless it's freezing cold outside and you have a chihuahua or something. The woman who runs the place, it's called Groomingdales, the first time I called to ask prices and make an appointment, said, "And what's your baby's name?" Depending on the delivery and overall attitude that could bother me, but when I went there and saw how she interacted with my dog and the dogs there, she obviously knows they are DOGS, but that our dogs are our babies. I don't have kids, even though I'd like one, and it looks like I might not have any- but I have this creature who depends on me for her care and loves me and so she is my baby. and she will still be my baby-dog if I have a human baby to love as well.

Sometimes I call her Baby Dog. Or Baby Leela Dog. or Baby Puppy Dog.

[Jersey Chick]

Bandannas are okay. They're pretty cool, depending on the breed of dog. My dog Bear (RIP) was a collie-shep mix and they used to put a blue bow on him at his groomers. A. Blue. Bow. I swear the other dogs made fun of him. And Bear was Baby Bear - even after my 1st child was born. And when he died, it was one of the bleakest moments of my life.

There are people who think of their pets as children, and those who really believe it. Those are (in my experience) the ones who don't have kids and will never have them. For better or for worse.

[sassandgroove]

at least it wasn't pink.:D

[Monkey]

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article460471.ece


A young Norwegian mother who took a litter of puppies to her own breast when her dog died giving birth remains proud of her unusual move. Now, six weeks later, both her infant son and eight of the puppies that survived are crawling around the family's Christmas tree in Siggerud, south of Oslo.

[Mac H.]

This was common in Papua New Guinea .. they used to do it to keep piglets alive.

It makes a lot of sense ... when the well meaning missionaries tried to convince them it was a 'bad' thing it almost worked ... until the locals discovered that the missionaries had the revolting habit of suckling from cow's teats themselves!!!
(OK, they pay someone else to put the milk into a container first, then the missionaries would drink from the container - but it is still just as much a revolting concept!)

It is weird that we have arbitrary boundaries like this, and act horrified when other people act as if our boundaries are illogical...

Mac

[Monkey]

Personally, I've expressed milk and given it to a puppy...

I've also given mouth-to-mouth to newborn pups right as they came from the womb. Not a pretty proposition. But several of the puppies made it.

I've never dressed a dog up, though I don't find it offensive when others do...well, not if the dog doesn't seem to mind.

And I love my pets dearly, but the one time I've had to choose between my pet or my child, guess which one I chose? My pets are like family, but they aren't my kids.

[dgiharris]

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article460471.ece

Wow,

that is hilarious. Not quite sure how I feel about this.

Mel...

[StephanieFox]

1) I covered a dog wedding for a Jewish publication – it was a mixed wedding (with mixed breeds), but it was a Jewish wedding. The whole thing was an excuse for a party PLUS, it was a fund raiser for the Humane Society. I have no problem with that. The dogs were 'married' again the next year and the event raised more money.

2) I think having a dog at your wedding is a better idea than having tiny kids at the wedding.

3) I live in Minnesota and when the temp gets below zero, my shorthaired dog needs a coat.

4) My bulldog dresses in a tutu for a city celebration at Mayday. She walks in the parade and around the park afterward. She doesn't mind the costume because it attracts people who want to pet her. She has a great time and she brings joy to the people who see a tubby looking bulldog in a pink tutu.

5) Many churches (especially Catholic churches name after St. Francis of Assisi, patron of animals) have a blessing of the animals. This is centuries old. It's for pets now, but it used to be for farm animals.

6) In most cases, dogs are better 'people' than humans. Plus, dogs don't deceive and their love in genuine. I like people, but dogs are special.

[DamaNegra]

If you think the dog is humiliated, you are projecting your own emotions. Dogs are very smart and do have feelings and do dream but humiliation is a complex emotion that I think most of them don't feel.

Tell that to my dog! She gets angry and snappy if her hair is cut too short, she likes having longer hair.

Also, she wears a sweater during winter because it's just too cold. I'd rather she look ridiculous than have her shaking with cold.