How is a dog different from a child?

This is a touchy subject. Dogs are living beings, and deserve to be properly cared for, and appreciated for the amazing creatures that they are.

However, they were not created to be our babies. Companionship is certainly a central reason for their existence, but our own survival as a species came first on the list. We created them to help us survive.

For many, many years, dogs had jobs, and were expected to survive on whatever we threw aside. My own beloved breed is what it is today because the natives who developed it expected it to sleep outside in subzero temps and not only survive on a meager diet, but thrive and work on it.

In this day and age, we can pamper and love them just for sitting by our side while we watch our LCD TVs and sit in our easy chairs, or take our weekend hikes in our free time. But remember that this is a relatively recent development in our own history, and not everyone subscribes to the idea that a dog is a little friend to spoil.

Why do my dogs sleep outside? Because I have a lot of them, and they were bred to do it. They prefer it. They enjoy the company of the pack, and get hot and bored in the house. I have to constantly feed them chewies to keep them entertained.

Granted, my dogs get the medical attention they require, and eat the best I can give them. But they don't sit in my lap and dine on caviar. No self-respecting dog in my house would tolerate it.

The fact is, dogs are not our species, and as such, will never be seen in the same light as our own young. That is basic biology.

I can't explain to you why some people want a dog, but don't want to spend any more on its welfare than they're absolutely forced to...I suppose it's a sense of entitlement, combined with a lack of common sense.

But do not make the mistake of thinking that, unless a dog is sitting on the couch eating off your plate, it is somehow neglected.

ADD: Sadly, there are also parents in the world who *do* neglect their children's health care, and who *do* feed them crap on a regular basis (McDonald's dollar menu 3 nights a week, anyone?)...so this is where the analogy kind of breaks down.

I agree with Cave that a dog suffers psychologically if treated like a child. A dog cannot go through it's entire life with no rules or boundaries. A dog cannot go through it's entire life being treated like a baby.

A dog is a dog, not a baby. You will not catch me dead treating my dog as a child. My dog is an animal, and I know that. Yes, a dog depends on us for many things, but that does not make her my child. People treat them so differently than a child because they are not children. They are dogs.

Don't get me wrong, I take excellent care of my DOGS. They sleep in the house, on my bed at night. I use positive reinforcement training, because I do not want to traumatize them. When my dogs get sick, we go to the vet, and I do whatever necessary to make them better. I give my dog exercise and stimulation on a daily basis.

I do not make my dog live outside, and never will. I will never make my dog wait to get medical treatment. I will also never feed my dogs junk food. But I still see them as DOGS not children.

They are not "just a dog", but they are dogs. I love my dogs the same amount I would love a child, but I do NOT view them as children.

There's an easy practical answer to this question, but because it's blunt I imagine it won't get a very good reception. Oh well. It's blunt, but it's the truth.

The reason a dog is different from a child is because with a child, you are making a long term investment. You are training a human being who will be on this earth for the next 80-90 years, and you're showing them how to fit in our world and how to thrive with our people. A human has the ability for greatness as well as the capacity for evil. And with proper parenting, you're ensuring that you're furthering the human race in a positive way.

With a dog, in ten years all you will likely have is a freshly dug grave in the backyard.

That's why people treat them differently. Because dogs never change. Every dog is exactly like every other dog, and always will be. But with humans, there is a capacity for so much more (as well as a danger for so much worse).

We treat children differently than dogs for a reason. We put more work into children because there's a benefit. Putting "parent-like" work into a puppy doesn't help society. It helps YOU and the dog, but there's no greater purpose.

I mean, seriously, it's nice to treat dogs as humanely and kindly as possible, but for $50 you can always get a new one. There are lots. And they're all the same. They can be replaced.

How is a dog different from a child?

My dogs are usually better behaved than many of the kids I see.

I don't have to save up for their college education.

They will never come home pregnant and unmarried.

They eat what I put in front of them.

They let me pick the toy and they like it.

They are obedient.

They will comfort me in my old age.

Mario, I feel sorry for you. You have never seen the wonderful personalities of any of your dogs if you think they are all the same. Why do you bother?

I have owned many dogs. None of them can be replaced, and none of them were the same.

Dogs are dogs..

Humans are humans..

I never have rushed either my dogs or my children to vet or dr unless there was something clearly wrong... and that takes the ability to assess the situation.

I'm not fond of the "outside dog stuck in a kennel/yard ornament" thing... BUT in the case of dogs who actually WORK, it is sometimes necessary to kennel or have tie-outs. My grandparents Samoyeds never went in the house... but they were WORKING the farm alongside grandpa and grandma.

Personally, I think I'd be a better mother NOW that I've had and trained dogs. Operant reward conditioning rocks!! (as well as knowing when another, more direct, form of discipline is needed!)

PS.. my dogs eat raw.. my kids are 19 years and 22 years.. the dogs definately eat better than the kids... LOL.

People who treat their pets like actual children are usually nutty in the head! I've seen people diaper them, drive them around in baby buggies, take them everywhere they go, dress them (in ACTUAL clothes, not winter sweaters), address them as their "son" or "daughter", feed them people food that isn't even good for them, and insist that they get bizarre medical treatments or spa treatments that are usually unnecessary.

My dog is a dog, but he isn't JUST a dog. He is more important to me than most people are. I respect his nature, and do not force him to do things that are obviously not in his realm. Dogs as family and not as pets is a semi-new concept. A hundred years ago people still treated them as status symbols or a means of protection. More people will come around, but with anything else, time is necessary to enlighten people who still live in the dark ages.

This is a tough question to answer, because I am on both sides of the fence. Yes, my dogs are more than just dogs....they are valued family members and companions. Yet, I would not see them as my 'children'. Humanizing our dogs is something that we, as owners, do at the dog's expense. We begin to think of them as furry humans instead of thinking of them as dogs, which in turn leads us to treat them like little people instead of treating them like dogs. This is not beneficial to the animal. It is important, when analyzing your dog, that DOG psychology is used and not CHILD psychology. This sort of humanization is what leads people to believe that their dogs feel emotions that are specific to humans (jealousy, etc), and thus problems go untreated or are given up on because they are not seen from the animals point of view.

My dogs are DOGS first and foremost, and family members second.

Dogs suffer psychologically when we treat them like children. They are dogs with a powerful pack drive. You cannot treat them like children without having them trying to run all over you. I see it time and time again. There is nothing wrong with treating your dog humanely, giving it good quality food, lots of exercise, doing fun activities with it, but it is still a DOG.

"A dog is not "almost human," and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such."--John Holmes

a great amount of people do treat their dogs as if they were children, actually. but they ARE dogs, not people. there IS a difference. it's cruel to treat them too severely, it's weird to treat them too much like humans. there is a reasonable balance.

I agree with the first answerer. An owner should always take good care of their dog, but to treat them like actual children is inviting bad behavior. They need to be trained. They need to be controlled. They are dogs, not kids. Would you leave your child locked in a cage while you're at work? No, you wouldn't, but crate training is a wonderful tool to train your dog.