Do you trust people who don’t like Dogs ? (and Vice Versa)

[AMC]

It is completely understandable for someone who had a negative encounter as a young child with an aggressive animal to dislike/distrust that species. It's also likely to be a continuously reinforced dislike, since dogs especially will respond negatively to fear and distrust. They don't know why you're afraid of them, and assume the worst....because that's what their pack instincts tell them to do.

My dog is both a joy and a pain in the ass. It's a double edged sword having a highly intelligent dog. They're more than capable of training YOU, and you need to guard against it. My girl is extremely sensitive to body language and smell, especially the family's. She picks up on vigilance on my part instantly, that I know no human has picked up on. She's especially sensitive to, and protective of, my wife and daughter. If they are quiet apprehensive, the dog will definitely keep an eye on a stranger, and let the stranger know they're being watched. This is not a foolproof system, though. The dog is also distrustful and occasionally nervous around disabled people, who's body language and affect can be 'off'. So there can be 'false alarms' so to speak. But she's definitely part of the family, and makes me more comfortable being out of the house. I dont want to be without what a dog brings to our family.

[UniSol]

I've met many that I couldn't wrap my head around their level of enthusiasm FOR dogs. I'm primarily cats. Grew up with them, still have them.

We had a dog for about 3 years, probably one of the sweetest animals I've ever encountered. She was a yellow lab/retriever mix, a little undersized but cuter for it. Very, very sensitive and perceptive. We inherited her from my wife's uncle. I think she was moderately neglected. Uncle's wife got tired of her digging holes in the backyard and we decided to take her in. We put her down 3 years ago. Her back legs stopped working, heartworm issues, some kind of mass in her c-spine. Quality of life moving forward, even dumping money into the problem, and the continued stress of taking care of her, and the extreme stress on the dog that surgery and out of city trips would have imposed, made it the only real choice. The stress leading up to that choice SUCKED, and we were crushed to have to put her down, and we haven't replaced the dog in our household.

We also had to put down one of our 2 cats earlier this year, and it was a quality of life call, he didn't wake up one day and make it a no-brainer for us. He was also a sweet, quirky animal, and it was a son of a bitch making that call and going through with it.

Guess what I'm saying is I don't feel "all in", and I don't have the driving urge to get another dog right now; I damn sure don't begrudge someone's less than stellar feelings towards dogs as a whole, as long as it's simply avoidance and not cruelty or neglect.

If a dog dislikes someone it's worth paying attention to, but I remember walking my cousin's black lab/rottie mix, real sweet kind of dopey, docile animal, along the Pacific Crest Trail once, and he LOST HIS MIND barking and and backpedalling, eyes bugging out, when he saw 2 little black girls coming our direction. My cousin is a dreadlocked, dyed in the wool Rastafarian, so the dog hadn't been conditioned negatively towards black folks. So who knows why he reacted that way.

[LSP552]

My dog is an excellent judge of character. We dislike the same people.

[JAD]

There is a good existential knot to pull on: I have heard some say that they love dogs, but they can’t stand the thought of going through losing another dog.

It’s an interesting system where the deprivation of a good has more weight than the food itself.

[Hambo]

. Imagine how a certain culture feels about us for eating beef and wearing leather made from bovines.

They probably feel I'm unenlightened, but they don't eat dogs so we're all cool.

[45dotACP]

Dogs are awesome, but I probably won't own another one for a while due to living constraints and the last dog (losing a dog is always a miserable experience).

I'm probably in the "cat person" phase right now, which is basically short for "people who like affection, but don't go in for being jumped on, licked and having their leg humped...yet"

But so help me God if I see a doggo on the sidewalk I'll ask if I can pet it.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[JAD]

https://youtu.be/ZXILzUpVx7A

[Cypher]

To be fair Mutt does not like dogs



But I trust her.

[blues]

There is a good existential knot to pull on: I have heard some say that they love dogs, but they can’t stand the thought of going through losing another dog.

It’s an interesting system where the deprivation of a good has more weight than the food itself.

It's the cost of admission and the price we pay for the love they give. I hate it and I dread it but it's hard to imagine a world without them.

They make us better.

[JAD]

They make us better.

One way to express the relationship people have to their world is ‘stewardship;’ the idea that we’re responsible for the proper care of things despite not being able to claim any real ownership. I think having dogs has helped me understand that better.