Doing the Dishes

[Turtle]

Little kid wants to help do the dishes but he's not nearly tall enough yet, and the dog is in the way. So the kid adapted and overcame.

But, what do these pictures really illustrate?

Is it a lesson in perseverance in overcoming obstacles and attaining your goals?

Or is it a cruel, selfish and despicable illustration of a parent failing to teach discipline and respect for the family pet, that it's abuse and animal cruelty?

Or is it simply family life where the dog is far smarter than many people give it credit for, and everything here is perfectly fine, nothing to see here, move along?

Interesting. And it's even more interesting when these pictures are filtered through the sieve of politics.

 

[Ragman]

Or is it simply family life where the dog is far smarter than many people give it credit for, and everything here is perfectly fine, nothing to see here, move along?

That would be my choice.

 

[layoutshooter]

Looks pretty normal to me. My kids "used" our dogs for all kinds of things. They rode them, climbed on them, dressed them in funny clothing. The dogs LoVeD it! When the dogs tired of it, they left, they had places, where the kids could not follow, where they would go. It is kind of sad how many people today have little understanding of how the "pack" works.

 

[Ragman]

Looks pretty normal to me. My kids "used" our dogs for all kinds of things. They rode them, climbed on them, dressed them in funny clothing. The dogs LoVeD it! When the dogs tired of it, they left, they had places, where the kids could not follow, where they would go. It is kind of sad how many people today have little understanding of how the "pack" works.

Dogs of the world - UNITE!

 

[layoutshooter]

I sure hope that "dog union" is some kind of joke.

 

[Ragman]

I sure hope that "dog union" is some kind of joke.

It's the real deal.

http://dogunion.org/

 

[layoutshooter]

That is sick.

 

[Turtle]

That's my take on it, too. Kid gets up on the dog, dog checks it out, lays back down. "I'm good," he says.

I've never had a dog that didn't make its concerns known, in no uncertain terms, when it was in pain or uncomfortable.

If the dog had a problem with this, one way or another the kid wouldn't be standing on the dog. Either because of an audible warning, or more likely, the dog would simply get up and go elsewhere.

 

[Ragman]

That is sick.

Why?

It's an organization in England akin to the a.s.p.c.a.

 

[Turtle]

It's the real deal.

Home

There are some people who scream animal cruelty when you put a party hat on a bulldog, so the responses from those people were fairly predictable.

Still, there are others who had to look harder to be offended, and of course make the parent the target of their sensibilities. I thought it would be interesting to post this without posting who the kid or his parents are.

 

[layoutshooter]

People seem to forget that dogs were domesticated to serve Mankind's needs. The ancestors of today's dogs allowed themselves to be domesticated because being in the service of Man benefited them.

Even though dogs have been domesticated for eons, they are still a "pack" animal. They do best, and are more content, when they have a function and know their place in the pack. In today's world the human family becomes the "pack". Dogs must know what their role is. They must be put in their proper place in the "pack". They function better when that is done.

Have a purpose helps as well. Dogs need to "do". They need to "work" to fulfill their needs. They are, by virtue of their breeding, meant to serve Man. It is their nature. That "service" varies from breed to breed, but they all have that need in their genetic make up. When they are not allowed to fulfill that need, they become "discontent" and we see barking/chewing and other behavior "issues".

There a large numbers of people out there today who attempt to make "humans" out of their dogs, then they just can't understand when the dog eats the couch.

 

[layoutshooter]

Why?

It's an organization in England akin to the a.s.p.c.a.

The A.S.P.C.A is a very sick organization as well. They have done so much harm it is hard to fathom how they can claim they are out to "protect" animals.

 

[Ragman]

The A.S.P.C.A is a very sick organization as well. They have done so much harm it is hard to fathom how they can claim they are out to "protect" animals.

Oh my!

Sorry turtle for the hijacking. Ragman out.

 

[danthewolf00]

I think that's why the service dogs do so well is because of that need to help.

 

[Ragman]

I think that's why the service dogs do so well is because of that need to help.

Still, the aspca is a fine organization working to prevent animal cruelty. A noble goal it is, IMO.

I just found out who the owner of the dog is. I still say big deal.

 

[layoutshooter]

Organizations like the A.S.P.C.A, the Humane Society of the United States , etc, are doing great harm to wild populations with their constant personification of animals. If groups like this get their way, many wild animals will eventually cease to exist, driven to extinction, by poor management, over population, etc

They try to stop "normal" usage of animals, like attempting to prevent sled dogs from pulling sleds. Plow horses from pulling plows, buggies or carriages. They are active in trying to outlaw the use of dogs for hunting or retrieving game.

 

[Turtle]

Oh my!

Sorry turtle for the hijacking. Ragman out.

Thanks. Yeah, the Dog Union kind of derailed things.

But the question remains, what do the pictures really represent?

 

[davekc]

My first "no need to complicate the simple" for 2015. Going with window number three.

 

[Turtle]

Still, the aspca is a fine organization working to prevent animal cruelty. A noble goal it is, IMO.

I just found out who the owner of the dog is. I still say big deal.

I think it's an interesting experiment in social science to see comments filtered and unfiltered by a political agenda. I must say that out of all the places this experiment has been tried today, this is the first place that someone has actually posted an actual rant against the ASPCA, even in the places where charges of animal cruelty was the predominant response.

There are other pictures in the series, but they and the two above show the same thing... the kid got on the dog, the dog checked it out and actually made an adjustment by shifting its own position to better support the weight of the kid. The only thing that dog is being "used" for is..... a member of the family.

Thus far, the overwhelming response has been of the "no big deal, the dog ain't stupid" variety. The other categorized responses cited in the OP have come from the "party hat on a pitbull is cruelty" crowd, or from those who know who's kid it is. Those who want to talk in terms of personal agenda politics (be it cruelty or the idiocy and incompetence of the parent) just won't shut up about it. Those who view the pictures for what they are, don't seem to want to beat "everything normal, no big deal" to death.

I find that fascinating.

 

[layoutshooter]

Putting the "political" side of this, which is, in itself, likely driving much of the "negative" views of this, I believe the problem that many have with these pictures is a total disconnect from the realities of nature and animal domestication. The constant drumbeat of personification of animals is starting to take it's toll. People are becoming more and more divorced from the "natural", and many are starting to "assign" "human traits" to animals.