Question to Dog Owners

[davidsprincess]

Now I realize not all of you do this. Heck, maybe none of you do this, but why oh why do you tell a 4 year old that your dog is so excited to see them and can hardly wait when said dog and child have NEVER met each other?

For some reason this really irks me. Just be honest and tell the child that YOU are really excited for your dog and child to meet.

 

[ckay87]

Hmmm, maybe I don't understand. But I can honestly tell you that my dog IS excited to see your 4 year old despite the fact that they have never met. Heck, she's probably even MORE appealing because they've never met.

Dogs don't think like people.

Unless I misunderstand you. Are you talking about what I might tell your child when my doggie is all excited and tail-waggie around her? (Jumping is unacceptable)

 

[davidsprincess]

Sorry, I should clarify. When they meet of course the dog would be excited! I did have a dog once upon a time and knew when the dog was excited to see someone. I am talking about telling the child the dog is excited to meet them BEFORE the meeting actualy takes place. As in they haven't even laid eyes on each other yet, but the dog is excited to meet them.

Is that any clearer?

 

[SundaeAfternoon]

Sorry, I should clarify. When they meet of course the dog would be excited! I did have a dog once upon a time and knew when the dog was excited to see someone. I am talking about telling the child the dog is excited to meet them BEFORE the meeting actualy takes place. As in they haven't even laid eyes on each other yet, but the dog is excited to meet them.

Is that any clearer?

I am really confused as to why you are irked about this. A lot of people who have pets (myself included) treat them like their children. I don't see this as anything more than an innocent comment to a four year old. She is probably just excited for the child and dog to meet. Really not seeing how you need to read into anything here.

If I were the dog's owner and saw your thread, I'd be the irked one. Just my honest opinion...

 

[ckay87]

Oh ok. Well you're right, technically, the dog doesn't even KNOW he's going to meet someone. But I might say that to a 4 year old in the spirit of talking to a 4 year old. Know what I mean? We say so many nonsense things to little kids when you really start to analyze things (put your tooth under a pillow for a quarter comes to mind). Doesn't seem particularly harmful, but again, I might be missing something. What's the story? Does this happen a lot?

 

[NMAmy]

Sorry, I should clarify. When they meet of course the dog would be excited! I did have a dog once upon a time and knew when the dog was excited to see someone. I am talking about telling the child the dog is excited to meet them BEFORE the meeting actualy takes place. As in they haven't even laid eyes on each other yet, but the dog is excited to meet them.

Is that any clearer?

Because I know my dog is excited to meet ANYBODY.

 

[Disney Doll]

You're pretty lucky if this is your biggest problem today.

 

[Mermaid02]

Because I know my dog is excited to meet ANYBODY.

Mine too! We keep the treats by the door and visitors almost always slip her one when they come in...... she loves EVERYBODY!

 

[davidsprincess]

She is probably just excited for the child and dog to meet.


then why not just say that?

 

[ckay87]

Because I know my dog is excited to meet ANYBODY.

True! If my dogs could understand English, I could say to them "hey you're going to meet a little kid today, ok? He's going to kick you, though, and pull your ears. Do you still want to meet him?"

And my dogs would say "yup, ok, yup yup yup...when are we leaving? can we leave now? can we can we? please please please?"

"SQUIRREL!!!"

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

When my kids were younger I would say....We're going to WDW...Mickey can't wait to see you!! Did Mickey know we were coming?? Probably not....he's a busy fellow. But it added to their excitement.....and 4 yr olds live in a world of imagination. I don't see how this is different.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm not a dog owner, but I don't see the need to be irked. To me, it's the same situation of telling your children that their baby brother can't wait to come home from the hospital to meet them - obviouly, a newborn really doesn't know he's going to meet them, or even that apparently he gave his older siblings new gifts!

 

[Jockaroo]

I'm not sure I'm understanding everything here, including the OP's irritation. The one explanation I could see would be engaging the child in conversation. I don't have kids--what do you talk to a 4-year-old about? It is also a way for a responsible pet owner to maybe weigh any fear issues a 4-year-old could have regarding dogs. Saying, "My dog is excited to meet you," and getting a negative response from the child could allow the pet owner to make arrangements to isolate an overly enthusiastic dog during the child's visit, or keep the dog on a close leash. I would never want my dog to scare a child. I do have a breed that is basically indifferent to all strangers and is not one to enjoy meeting new people.

I'm going out on a limb and assuming that it is your 4-year-old in question. You would not like it if a happy, excited dog jumped on your child and knocked him/her down. (Agree with another poster that jumping should not be allowed.) I see this as an ice-breaker conversation with a child and a way to gauge the child's opinion of dogs. Not every person enjoys the company of a dog, as we often see on this board.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I say that because little kids might be intimidated about meeting an animal that wants to lick their face, and stands about as tall as they are.

heck, they are excited to meet me when I come back into the house from the garage.

 

[Disney Doll]

My dog used to take it one step further and be amazed that people who came to our house might have actually wanted to see someone other than him!

 

[Pakey]

I would say this too. My dogs are so ugly that I have to "sell" them to everyone.

 

[Jockaroo]

Pakey, I knew you had hairless Chinese Crested before I even saw your tag. But they are cute in their own special way!

 

[pigletgirl]

Because my dogs are excited to meet ANYBODY! Generally kids smile and laugh when they seem them. Only a few freak out...

 

[Sgt Mickey]

Include me in the my dog is excited to see everyone category.

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

I think the dog owner was just being sweet and engaging the young child. Wouldn't irk me in the slightest. I'd be glad that the adult friend took an interest in my child instead of ignoring the kid. Seems like a real trival thing to be irritated by.