Only an honest-to-god kook would think that “raising” dogs is identical to raising humans. They’re dogs. Not people.
Totally agree. Substituting dogs for kids is disgusting.
Interesting, though, that Barbara Woodhouse, the famous British dog trainer once said that the best way to train a dog is to “be firm, be fair, and be fun.”
Worked with raising our kids as well. “;^)
I agree with everything you said except for the trite ‘substituting for kids is disgusting’.
Some of us simply didn’t want kids, focused on careers early on. Our three dogs do fill the void to a degree, if you call it a ‘void’ which isn’t how my wife and I look at it.
Believe me, I understand and meant no offense.
A couple near and dear to us has made the same decision to not have children, and treasures their three dogs as their ‘family’. I respect them wholeheartedly.
At the risk of sounding trite ~ again ~ as challenging as it is to raise and train dogs, it belittles the committment of raising and nurturing children to equate the two.
Your decision is not disgusting, but the dog owners who call them their ‘kids’ are as offensive as the folks who would criticize you for not having children. IMO.