Celebrating you having a dog, but not honestly the dog..

HoundDogRuffDog

Zooville Settler
I'm a bit peeved and annoyed today..
I follow a lot of dog forums, blogs etc.. and I see this one thing SO often and I'm SO annoyed of it.

Usually it's the dog's birthday and the owners are posting like "George is 1 year old today!" or even something more self-serving like "I saved poor George from a puppy mill 1 year ago!" and the picture is a human hugging a very nervous, overheated and uncomfortable dog in front of a cream cake made for human consumption.

I'm just so done with people milking views and clicks and whatever by pretending to think of their dogs first before themselves when the whole setting is a HUMAN birthday party, HUMAN cake and then a confused and nervous dog dragged into the mix to rank up the cute-points. Sometimes it's even a full-blown party with noisy humans and the dog is panting, nervous and agitated in every picture but oh no, the photographer frames it as the dog "being so happy and smiling!" NO, the dog is just having it's whole mouth as wide as possible to get in as much air as possible because they are NERVOUS and overheated!!
If they really loved their dog and wanted to celebrate, they'd do stuff the dog likes??? A human birthday party and a photoshoot means nothing to them, they just make the dog perform to make themselves look better. This just.. peeves me so much..!!!!

If they really wanted to make a good day for their dog, they would do dog stuff? Bring them to the beach or a park, give a sirloin steak to them, run around until they are euphoric from exercise, bring them together with their favorite dog friends, buy them a new toy.. just anything else but a goddamn photoshoot in front of a stupid cake they can't eat anyway.

I think of dogs as equal to humans, but I still don't think they ARE humans. I don't anthropomorphize them, I see their different needs as unique to them and respect that. So this really keeps getting under my skin.

It's not a human child, it's an adult entity!
 
I'm a bit peeved and annoyed today..
I follow a lot of dog forums, blogs etc.. and I see this one thing SO often and I'm SO annoyed of it.

Usually it's the dog's birthday and the owners are posting like "George is 1 year old today!" or even something more self-serving like "I saved poor George from a puppy mill 1 year ago!" and the picture is a human hugging a very nervous, overheated and uncomfortable dog in front of a cream cake made for human consumption.

I'm just so done with people milking views and clicks and whatever by pretending to think of their dogs first before themselves when the whole setting is a HUMAN birthday party, HUMAN cake and then a confused and nervous dog dragged into the mix to rank up the cute-points. Sometimes it's even a full-blown party with noisy humans and the dog is panting, nervous and agitated in every picture but oh no, the photographer frames it as the dog "being so happy and smiling!" NO, the dog is just having it's whole mouth as wide as possible to get in as much air as possible because they are NERVOUS and overheated!!
If they really loved their dog and wanted to celebrate, they'd do stuff the dog likes??? A human birthday party and a photoshoot means nothing to them, they just make the dog perform to make themselves look better. This just.. peeves me so much..!!!!

If they really wanted to make a good day for their dog, they would do dog stuff? Bring them to the beach or a park, give a sirloin steak to them, run around until they are euphoric from exercise, bring them together with their favorite dog friends, buy them a new toy.. just anything else but a goddamn photoshoot in front of a stupid cake they can't eat anyway.

I think of dogs as equal to humans, but I still don't think they ARE humans. I don't anthropomorphize them, I see their different needs as unique to them and respect that. So this really keeps getting under my skin.

It's not a human child, it's an adult entity!
I figure the dogs do sometimes feed off the excitement of their owners and, because of that, do overheat from being buzzed. Dogs actually can eat cake as well as any human can as long as it is not chocolate: although it may give them the shits, it tastes good going down because they actually do have the receptors for sweet flavors.

A cat would prefer some liver mousse but would probably be mildly interested in cream, although the cream would give them the shits.

You are correct that the photo shoots are self-serving exploitative anthropocentric hooey that is not even slightly intended to benefit an animal that would probably much rather receive a blow job and watch some football.

Dogs understand the appeal of football better than most people think. To them, it is the only example they ever see of humans behaving rationally.
 
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If you're gonna gripe about something people have been doing for years, then you should be complaining about everything else that distresses dogs, like taking them to the vet, dressing them up like a barbie doll, entering them in dog shows, taking them to the groomers, etc.

Also, there are people who make cakes that dogs can eat, much like how there's ice cream for dogs (those treats called Frosty Paws sold in the Novelties section of stores like Walmart).

And if the dog was distressed, he/she would either leave the room, piss or shit on the floor, or likely bite someone. Dogs usually love being around people. Hell, I knew a dog who loved having his picture taken.

Majority who do this aren't being self-serving, selfish assholes, they're just celebrating their dog because they love their dog and are happy to have him/her in their lives.
 
If you're gonna gripe about something people have been doing for years, then you should be complaining about everything else that distresses dogs, like taking them to the vet, dressing them up like a barbie doll, entering them in dog shows, taking them to the groomers, etc.

Also, there are people who make cakes that dogs can eat, much like how there's ice cream for dogs (those treats called Frosty Paws sold in the Novelties section of stores like Walmart).

And if the dog was distressed, he/she would either leave the room, piss or shit on the floor, or likely bite someone. Dogs usually love being around people. Hell, I knew a dog who loved having his picture taken.

Majority who do this aren't being self-serving, selfish assholes, they're just celebrating their dog because they love their dog and are happy to have him/her in their lives.

Taking them to a vet is useful. I don't condone dressing dogs up or having dog shows as they are now, either. Dog shows are stupid dog-stress machines which praise ill mutants, there's a lot of cruelty going on there.
Doesn't mean I can't be peeved about smaller things. I am annoyed by the people's everyday ignorance and the ignoring of a whole specie's needs.

Making an instagram story about dog's birthday is self-serving and mean when they do it by stressing out the dog.
I'm talking about a certain type of stupidity, the same kind which causes a person to be a "doggy mommy" dress the dog up in stupid clothes, carry it around in a handbag, neutering it to force it better into the role of a baby etc.. I find this thing, to boast about a dog's birthday by highlighting their own awesomeness (look at this puppy I RESCUED a year ago!) just in so bad taste.

I'm not a total spoilsport, I'd put a hat on my dog and take a pic on their B-day because that would be funny. But seeing people completely disregard the dog's own personality, wants and needs and treating it like a human baby or a barbie doll for clout.
There's a growing trend, been for years now, to treat pets like sexless, simple little babies and if they don't fit the pill, they'll be discarded or just have no connection to their owners.
 
I usually hide some unusual treats around the room and let my dog find and enjoy them. Or make a little meat cake for him. Or on Christmas I give him a new toy. For dogs this is a day like any other. No need to overdo it.
 
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