[BuzzardsWife]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

Absolutely--but I hope we agree (as parents and as dog owners) that there is a huge difference between the two. One mistake people make is thinking of their dogs like they are children. Dogs aren't children. They have completely different needs. Children need attention, affection, support, love, constant stimulation, etc. Dogs need exercise, discipline and structure above all--and love finishes in fourth place behind those.

If you only give your dog affection, ply them with treats constantly, let them have the run of the house whenever they want, give them an acreage that's all theirs to play with all the time, you're sending them a specific message--and it isn't "I love you, here's all this stuff." It's "you're stronger than me, why don't you take over around here." That's the kind of thing that makes dogs hard to train. In big dogs, it can make them dangerous.

a few months ago there was a thread about people that think dogs are as valued as human children..like my brother who compared his dogs illness to how i would feel if my daughter died from that..pretty offensive!