February 17, 2007 Dogs are just children with fur

February 7, 2007

Dogs are just children with fur

Some of you may have heard the expression “Dogs are just children with fur.” Well speaking from experience, I can tell you how true that really is! I see many people daily and usually they refer to their dog as their “baby.” But I really want you to know that dogs are just like a 2-year-old child, forever! No matter how old the dog is, or what breed they are basically all the same and are figuratively speaking, a 2- year-old child.
For instance, a 2-year-old child will pick stuff up off the floor and put it in their mouths. So will your dog. A 2-year-old child would never be left unattended outside, yet how many folks let their dog run loose? Would you let a child wander around outside without any supervision? Of course not, why? Because they could wander into the street and be killed, they could be kidnapped, they could get hurt! So can your dog.
2-year-old children can be hard to understand when they talk. So is your dog. How many times have you looked at your dog and said “what?” They give you “the look” but you don’t exactly know what “the look” means. Sometimes they bark . . . and bark . . . and bark . . . so you yell at them to be quiet, but WHAT are they trying to tell you? Are they hungry? Frustrated? Need to go out and potty? Is there someone snooping around the house? Intruders? The mailman? How many of us really pay attention to their signals?
2-year-old children need a routine and structure. So does your dog. You can put a 2-year-old child in a playpen or enclosed area to keep them safe, but you don’t leave them in it 24 hours a day and give them no attention at all, except for maybe food and water. A kennel outside is just that. A playpen but they never get out of it. They seldom get attention. If you want a well-behaved dog that is a member of your family, you need to treat it as a member. That means supervision, love, discipline, a routine, playtime, etc.
If your 2-year-old child wasn’t feeling well, and you didn’t know what was wrong, you’d be taking them to the doctor. Yet so many people don’t bother taking the family pet to the vet because they are hoping they “get over it.” Kids get vaccines, well child visits, etc. Dogs rarely see a vet until it’s an emergency then it’s a life or death case.
Don’t get me wrong, I see plenty of spoiled pooches that are treated WAY better than most children, that in itself can be an issue, just like children, if you give them everything they want whenever they want it, they become spoiled and have tantrums and turn into creatures nobody wants to be around . . . so can your dog.
If a two-year-old child is going thru potty training, and has an accident, you simply clean them up and start again, watching more carefully next time. Yet when a puppy or dog has an accident, they are smacked with a newspaper, or have their face rubbed into it. Would you do that to a child? I think not. In fact the best advice I can give someone when potty training a dog is if you find an accident on the floor, roll up a newspaper, and smack YOURSELF in the head and say “I should’ve been watching my puppy! I should’ve been watching my puppy!”