I’ve never been a fan of dogs. They make me nervous. I like animals, but dogs are just too needy, destructive, and abrasive. Working dogs are fine, but pets/companion dogs really bother me.
They are given so much free reign in homes, it makes me nervous. I shouldn’t have to be hyper-vigilant to guard my food and possessions because “the dog might get it!”
They’re often very loud, they demand your attention constantly, and they’re always in your space.
The worst part is that people nowadays bring their dogs into stores and restaurants, because apparently a lot of dogs have separation anxiety now.
Owners will let their dogs walk right up to me while I’m actively backing away, and assuring me that “they’re friendly!” But I do not want to be approached by a strange dog!! I do not know how they will react so I do not want them near me!!
I get that people love their dogs, but there is far too much poor behavior from dogs and their owners that I just can’t excuse it.
It dampens my enjoyment of a place when I am forced to guard my possessions, listen to loud barking and/or constant whimpering, be interrupted by the owner who always have to yell at their dogs mid-conversation to keep them from doing something their not supposed to, etc.
Dogs are just… exhausting.
And I’m very very tired of having to accept them into my spaces & having to deal with them in public settings. I don’t believe I’m a bad person for thinking this way. I’m just tired of dogs.
That is all.
Edit: Some of y’all are really offended & have taken that fact that I don’t like dogs very personal. Why can I not dislike dogs?
I relate to this a lot.
I entered this thread expecting a lot of pushback and am relieved to hear a lot of people share my experiences.
I will reiterate what a lot of other people have said here: we must take care not to misdirect our anger towards dogs when in reality it’s the owners at fault. But it’s also perfectly okay to not like dogs or want to be around them in my opinion.
I personally don’t think it’s fair to hate any animal, including dogs. But I do think it’s fair to expect that dogs owned by people are trained and under control, especially when off of private property.
To add to this conversation, something that often gets my blood boiling is when on walks in nature reserves and seeing dogs off of leashes in areas marked as requiring dogs to be on leashes, or worse dogs off of leashes in areas where there are not meant to be any dogs at all.
Many of these areas are sensitive wildlife areas. Usually for me as a birdwatcher, these are areas with ground-nesting birds. It’s horrifying the amount of nests, eggs, and chicks of endangered or otherwise threatened species that get destroyed by dogs off of leashes.
Also, the people who don’t pick up their dogs poo. Or bag it up and then throw that bag on the ground/into a nearby bush??
Edit: Grammar