Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My mom does not show up with her dog to peoples home but she does treat her dog better then most kids gets treated by parents. When she travels she has to bring him though she stays at her dads who said the dog could come. My mom did train her dog to be a therapy dog and volunteers with him at a hospital. She gets a lot of joy from her dog and talks baby talk to him.
My mom deals with depression and anxiety so I am just happy she gets comfort from him.
She knows though boundaries and for example going to a friends house she would never bring her dog because some people don't like animals.
I agree with a lot that has been said already. I never bring my dog to anyone's house. But I will say this, I much rather tolerate an untrained playful dog than a spoiled child that doesn't listen to their parents.
I wouldn't. A dog could tear up my house in a heartbeat. I can handle the child, even if his parents can't. Believe me. I have no problems at all dealing with little spoiled brats. Of course, their parents might not ever come back to my house again.
On Black Friday we saw at least 3 or 4 people with dogs in WalMart. I know there are people that think that no matter where they go their dogs should go. I think unless a dog is a seeing eye dog or helps a severly disabled person in a wheel chair there are places they do like belong, such as a restaurant, grocery store, or any medical facility for people. I know there are dogs that people can get that are considered dogs that assist (most are just dogs and don't assist anything) people that have mental or emotional problems. I don't mean these dogs. Lets face it, we all know people that are mentally or emotionally unstanble and if they were all allowed to have dogs and all chose to bring them into restaurants, stores, grocery stores, hospitals and doctors offices it would be a mess. Also I think if someone goes to someones home and that person makes it clear that they do not want the dog there, for whatever reason, that person either needs to leave the dog at home, or not go.
You make a good point. People who presume that their dog is welcome anywhere they go are very disrespectful of other people, and others' property.
I don't think it's just disrespectful. It's also good old-fashioned narcissism. It's almost as if they need their dog as an accouterment or something to elicit more praise. "Look at me! I have a dog! Stop your conversation and talk about my dog -- and me by extension!"
And for those who say, "I take my dog uninvited places and nobody ever seems to mind," that is because they are likely just trying to be nice. They don't want to cause a scene. In their mind, they are saying, "Okay, this is really annoying to me, but is it really worth risking a relationship?"
In that sense, you have become the person who is cordially tolerated, rather than the person with the great dog. If you are traveling, just board the dog unless you are getting enthusiastic, unsolicited invitations to bring the dog in the first place. Otherwise, you are taking advantage of their hospitality. You are just too blind to see it.
It's cute how some people treat their dogs as they would their kids (sometimes they are). It's less cute when people don't respect other people's rules of "no dogs at my house" and bring them anyway or don't at least ask first. My mom brings her dogs everywhere. They throw colossal fits if she does leave them, but it's like, they'll survive>
I would never take her to someone's house without an explicit invitation, and even then, it would depend on the setting and who else was around. I just do not understand this mentality -- if you think your dog is your kid, fine, but you also shouldn't necessarily take your kids absolutely everywhere you go, either.
I'm lucky that my dog is welcome at my parents' house on our trips back to our hometown, but we've also found a lovely place to board her if we need to. They treat her nicely, she doesn't act "weird" when we pick her up, and yes, it's expensive...but so what? I agreed to these expenses when I adopted her.
I would never take her to someone's house without an explicit invitation, and even then, it would depend on the setting and who else was around. I just do not understand this mentality -- if you think your dog is your kid, fine, but you also shouldn't necessarily take your kids absolutely everywhere you go, either.
I'm lucky that my dog is welcome at my parents' house on our trips back to our hometown, but we've also found a lovely place to board her if we need to. They treat her nicely, she doesn't act "weird" when we pick her up, and yes, it's expensive...but so what? I agreed to these expenses when I adopted her.
Exactly. When we had our dog, she loved being boarded. She would get excited every time she saw the Vet's building. We called it the Doggie Spa.
Okay. I've owned dogs. Had dogs I loved. If you just own a dog, you are not the subject of this thread.
But help me understand this subculture among dog owners who think it perfectly okay to haul their dogs wherever they go. In other words, if they are invited to a party, the dog comes along. And they are offended if their dogs aren't welcome.
Here's the issue. My daughter is severely allergic to dogs. We're not talking a bout of sneezing here. We're talking about major reactions to the point of having gone to the emergency room a couple of times. She pretty much gave up babysitting because all her clients had dogs. What's more, she's not alone. Somewhere around 15% of the population has allergies of varying severity to dogs. My family has been great about accommodating this.
So my brother hosts Thanksgiving this year. It's a big affair with about 40 people invited, family and friends alike. One couple who was invited has been friends of our family for years. But they also like to bring their labrador with them. So when my brother invites them, they mention how excited Max, their dog, will be to come over. But when my brother, a pretty diplomatic guy, mentions that bringing Max wasn't a good idea, he was told that if Max wasn't invited they wouldn't come either. And hung up. My brother couldn't even get out that my daughter had major allergies. Instead they simply got angry and refused to come.
Fast forward to today. It was my mother's 80th birthday party. We rented out a nice restaurant and invited 120 guests. And, what do you know, the same two people show up with the damned dog. This time, the restaurant manager strolled up and said, "I'm sorry, but no dogs are allowed in the restaurant." Again, they left in a huff.
I'd like to say that this is unique. But I've noticed over the years that it's become increasingly common for people to haul their mutts to any event. As in the animals are family members and have a right to be there. Never mind that one person in every seven is allergic to dogs. They just think this segment of dog owners think it's their God-given right to bring Trixie along.
So what's the deal here?
WOW.
First off, sorry about your daughter's serious allergy - that is scary!
Second of all, what's happened is that some people have elevated their dogs to "kid" status.
Maybe they never had kids, or maybe they have kids who grew up and don't like their parents very much - whatever - but the dog(s) have become the childlike creature they can now bestow and invest all their love in, who unlike real children will never want autonomy or to leave them at all.
And the minute someone says or implies their "baby" isn't welcome somewhere they become highly insulted.
It's sad really, but it's a free country - so all the self-centered, unaware folks can and will go right on choosing to be offended
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have no problems at all dealing with little spoiled brats. Of course, their parents might not ever come back to my house again. 
