# Treat Him Like A Dog?



## MarriedWifeInLove (May 28, 2010)

I ran across a very interesting and pretty telling article yesterday - thought I would share it with everyone. Tell me what you think.

Our pets wreck havoc and we love them still. Do we tolerate our spouses in the same way? "Most pets are loved in a way that makes us minimize...their demands." Any animal behaviorist will tell us that when we shower our pets with positivity, we get back unconditional love. Want a more loving marriage? Learn from your pet.

1. Lighten up. Whatever your mood, you will likely give your pet an animated hello and a display of affection when you walk in the door. Your spouse should get the same.

2. Don't assume bad intentions. The dog ate some of the mail. then your spouse hid the mail to keep it away from the dog. Now the mail can't be found. You know the dog wasn't trying to torture you by eating it. While you may react to the dog's deed with a choice expletive, you'll probably choose cuddling later over holding a grudge. Reality check - your spouse wasn't trying to torture you either.

3. Rise above. Few owners feel their image will be tarnished by their pets behavior. So when your spouse starts in with the corny jokes at a dinner out with friends, why not just smile and scratch his head?

Pretty spot on and gave me a lot to think about.

So I'm going to just smile and scratch my husband's head and shove sunshine up my own ass when I need it! :lol:


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## greenpearl (Sep 3, 2010)

How about treating him like the president? 

You are the wise man, and he is the president, you make suggestions, and he nods and shakes his head!

I am just joking!


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## greeneyeddolphin (May 31, 2010)

While I agree with some aspects of it, I think the theory itself is not quite right. I agree with not holding a grudge, and trying to keep in mind that they aren't deliberately doing things to annoy/torment/torture you, I don't think treating him like a pet is good. 

Animals are...well, animals. Their brains, although not as stupid as some people think, are not as smart as ours. So, to treat my siginificant other as I would my pet would be to imply that I think he's stupid, which he is definitely not. And I think he would take great offense to that, for which I wouldn't blame him, as I know I would take offense if he did it to me. 

Plus, we do essentially everything for our pets (bathe them, feed them, clean their litterbox/take them out, etc.), and expect them to entertain us. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to do everything for him, and I certainly don't expect him to entertain me...well, not all the time anyway. 

I do think keeping intentions in mind, and not holding grudges are both very sound ideas, but after that, I think the more appropriate approach to take is not to treat them like a pet, but to talk to them about what has happened so that they understand why you are bothered and you can both take steps in the future to avoid the same problem. If handled appropriately, even the pet can learn not to do things that bother you, so a human should have no problem with it.


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## greenpearl (Sep 3, 2010)

Just the title makes me feel very bad that people think like this!

Sorry, this is very disrespectful!


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## CLucas976 (Jun 27, 2010)

ha!

It's an interesting idea. but let me lay out the differences..

My pets:

I have a dog, a cat, two lizards, and two fish tanks. Yes, I feed my pets, I care for them, bathe and groom the dog, take care of their health issues, spoil them to no end, supply the healthiest highest quality food possible (I am that person sitting on the floor reading dog food ingredients, that has researched proper nutrition). 

In return my pets have, always loved me, always been there when I had no one and nothing, always found a way to cheer me up, snuggled me when I was cold, and they are always (minus the fish and the lizards restricted to their tanks) around me where ever I am in the house because I am their world. They've never done anything to intentionally hurt me, or done it knowing full well that it would hurt me, and they most certainly have not lied to me.

I absolutely cherish my pets, who came from insanely rough starts with all the odds against them, and have recovered. (both my cat and dog were rescues, my dog..after 2 years of abuse and neglect)

Humans:

I for years took care of my husband almost as dotingly as I do my pets. Food, cleaning, laundry, spoils, dates, responsibilites, did everything to take care of him and support him emotionally and mentally as well. (including every activity h e ever wanted to do even if it took time away from "us") I forgave every mis deed as a "he didn't mean it" accepted the excuse, talked about it and figured he'd not repeat it and things were fine.

in return: I get lied to, have horrible things hidden from me, financial debt out the ying yang, emotional affairs/attachments left and right, no remorse, and should it actually affect me, I get name called, insulted, lied to some more, and am forgotten, and prioritized under pot, beer, and his friends. the same cycle over and over again.

So from my personal experience, the same treatment to both, the only winning situation is with the actual pets. (who I feel are quite smart actually, not stupid, they just don't speak human) My thoughts on this are instead of trying to treat your spouse like you would a beloved pet, treat them like a person you actually love. accept their faults, accept mistakes, and take them for who they actually are, not who you would percieve them to be.


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## 4sure (Aug 8, 2010)

This article is comparing the way you think, feel, and act with your dog with the way you should treat your husband. hhmmm I think not, quite insulting imo. If one thinks more of their dog than they do of their spouse the marriage is in trouble.

Why not treat him the way you would like to be treated, with courtesty, and respect.


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## Kobo (May 13, 2010)

Only if your husband gets to treat you like a dog also...


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## MarriedWifeInLove (May 28, 2010)

Apparently what I got from the article and what other people think are two different things.

This article was not intended to say you should treat your spouse like a dog or an animal.

I believe the jist of what they were trying to get at - is treat your spouse like you would your pet.

For example, greet them with enthusiasm and love when you/they get home (like you do your dog, cat, etc.).

Forgive them when they make a mistake, don't hold a grudge.

Don't assume everything they do is "on purpose" or meant to cause you pain (like when your dog eats your slippers, or the cat claws up your favorite chair).

That's what I GOT from the article. And I thought it was quite insightful. 

I mean, think about it - those of you that have pets. If you have a dog, they greet you at the front door and you hug them, talk baby talk to them, kiss them and tell them how happy you are to see them.

But...do you do the same to your spouse everyday? Do you say "hi dear, I'm glad to be home, I missed you and am happy to see you," and give them a hug or kiss?

I bet a lot of you/us don't.

So the main point here was - treat your spouse like you would your pet, with love, praise, attention, forgiveness, etc.

At least that's what I got from it.


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## Chris Taylor (Jul 22, 2010)

I'd love to be treated like a dog. Mine has three goals in life... eat, sleep and have sex. repeat as often as necessary.


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## CLucas976 (Jun 27, 2010)

MarriedWifeInLove said:


> I mean, think about it - those of you that have pets. If you have a dog, they greet you at the front door and you hug them, talk baby talk to them, kiss them and tell them how happy you are to see them.
> 
> But...do you do the same to your spouse everyday? Do you say "hi dear, I'm glad to be home, I missed you and am happy to see you," and give them a hug or kiss?
> 
> ...



LOL, I actually ignore my dog until she calms down when I get home and then calmly say hello to her and pet her. I also require the same out of house guests. If you go psycho when they get home, it turns them into that dog no one wants to deal with when they walk through the door.

I used to greet my husband much better than the dog, he can keep his composure without jumping on my legs and yiping and freaking out. 

sorry, I had a chuckle about that. I can't greet her that way, it causes a revert on her post abuse/neglect training


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## Trenton (Aug 25, 2010)

There is a reason I don't have any pets...


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## Glacialiceland (Nov 14, 2010)

hahaha that is funny, think we baby our pets cuz they cant talk to us, judge us, that we know of and we can mess up over and over with them be our true whole selves and they still love us, but I totally get your point


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