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Just curious what the hive thinks regarding referring to one's pet as their child.
DH and I are picking up our first dog. We don't plan to have kids, and we really think of this dog as our baby! I know in NO WAY does it compare to a kid... but I'm finding myself catching myself about to say: We are being coming parents today! or, we are bringing home our baby girl today! :)
....I suppose adding 'fur' to those terms would be most appropriate.... just wondering if anyone has received grief from actual parents and/or if parents realize that pet owners aren't equating pet ownership to being actual parents...
If people want to get upset because I call my dog "my baby," or myself "mommy" and my husband "daddy" then IMO, they need to take a chill pill and find a more important issue to take a stance on 
lol!
People can always get offended by something. This would not sit on my radar as something to worry about - if it offends someone I think that's more their issue than yours. I've got two dogs and a baby and they're not the same but the dogs are still family, and if saying they're your child is how you communicate that then sure, why not.
If people are offended by this its too damn bad IMHO. My dog is my baby, I am her mommy and FI is her daddy and that's just the way it is! :)
Not at all. We don't have children yet and I consider our pets our children. They cost me as much as kids too. I just shelled out $2100 for dental surgery for one of my little girls. But they are worth it.
My dogs and cats are my babies and will continue to be my babies after my first two-legged child is born! :)
Nope! I refer to my cats as my fur kids. Personally, I prefer them to the furless kind.
Our dogs know us as mommy and daddy! They are our babies! I can't look at our pets and see them as just animals. They are a huge part of our family and we treat them as such.
I don't think it's offensive, but to be honest, it can be a little confusing out of context. I had a friend who started talking to me about her "babies" in all seriousness, and it took me a little while to figure out what she meant! I honestly thought I'd missed her entire pregnancy.
There's nothing wrong with it at all, as long as people understand what you're talking about, haha! :)
Haha, I don't think so. However, a friend of mine just had her first child and I keep comparing it to my cats... ("He keep crying for attention" "Oh yeah, my cat does that too!") which probably could get offensive. ;) Luckily she's a pet owner so she gets it.
I don't really see how this would be offensive (as the mother of a human child, it doesn't bother me). I do think it's a little weird in some cases (like when people refer to their parents as the "grandparents" of said "furbaby"), but I don't really care enough to actually get upset or offended by it.
I can't imagine why anyone would be offended?
That said, not being an animal lover, I can't relate to it so I always am thrown for a loop that people think of their pets that way :)
@toshella: I wouldn't be offended by that, but I might be put off that someone is comparing a kitten to a human baby - :) there IS a difference!
I refer to my dogs as my babies haha.... I don't think it's offensive at all.
@les105: My mother is grandmother to my cat, but that was something she decided all on her own! Lol she loves my cat *almost* as much as I do. :)
@MissBoPeep: lol, like I said, it's odd whenever I hear it, but I really could care less what other people do! I use plenty of weird references myself, so I can't judge :)
Our dog is a huge part of our lives. He was in our wedding, and is with us where ever we can take him.
It bothers me when people say "how is your baby doing"? It's a dog. Very important, special dog, but when babies do come along that is not to be blended in with the fact we're already "parents" to a dog. I do not like mom/dad/baby talk with regard to the dog.
My opinion of course. Dog is important, babies are special.
Love my dog, but can't wait to have babies as part of our lives in the future.
Lol I think it's awesome that people refer to their pets as their children. I always joke about how my "fursister" gets treated better than my brother and I ever did! :) My grandma also prays for her granddog at christmas and thanksgiving when she is saying a blessing for all her family! It's kinda funny. Some may find it offensive but whatever to each his own!
@les105: Yes, the "grandparents" thing is a little strange to me. But again, not offended by it. I'm sure the "grandparents" find it odd, too.
I don't find it offensive, I do find it kind of dumb/annoying sometimes, but it's a lot dumber to be offended by something like that.
I call my cats my babies, and if anybody actually takes offense to that, it's their issue, not mine.
My youngest cat has an actual name, of course, but from day 1, I have always called him Baby - as a term of endearment when talking to HIM, as in "How are you doing, Baby?" or "Baby, come here" or "Baby, it's not eating time yet." Now he doesn't even know his actual name, and therefore does not respond to it. But he would come running whenever I say "Baby."
So yeah, I am guilty of this, and I do not care if other people are offended by it.
Wouldn't call it offensive. However, you are going to get some side eye if you insist on equating the developmental stages of the dog to those of a human kid, or believing that you are a mother in the same way that someone who is raising an actual kid is. NOT saying that you were implying that you would, just that I've known people to do this. My favorite recent example is when my FI's cousin and his wife brought the dog an hour in the car for Christmas, because "we couldn't leave our baby home on Christmas!"...despite the fact that everybody in that family knows that my FI is quite allergic to dogs. Total WTF.
But calling the dog baby or furbaby is not unusual, as long as you have the whole thing in perspective. And congratulations on your new addition! I hope that you and your pup have many happy snuggly years together. :-)
No, not a big deal at all :) So & I called the cats and dog the kids or babies all the time.
FI and I call ourselves mom and dad to the dogs, but to be honest the term "furbaby" drives me crazy, lol.
@AnnieAAA: agreed!!
We aren't having kids either, so our animals ARE our kids!! They are also brothers and sister, even though one is a cat and the other 2 are dogs :p Hubs is their daddy, and I'm the mama. If someone seriously had a problem and told me about it, I'd tell them where to go. Family is what you make of it!
No! Animals are a part of your family! I referred to my late Australian Shepard as my sister! I grew up with her and can't remember a time when she wasn't around.
@MissBoPeep: yeah, our parents call them their "granddogs" and they are referred to as Grandpa, Grandma and Pop, lol
I don't think pets compare to my daughter... However, I totally call my kitten my baby, because she *is* a baby - pets are largely entirely dependent on you and you need to care of them. I don't even call her by her given name, I call her Baby Kitten haha.
Nope! When DH and I talk for our pets, we call each other Mom and Dad. Our kitties are our babies.
We don't have children so we consider our cat to be our son. If someone has a problem with that then they can shove it.
I've actually had this conversation with a friend of mine. At that point she was a new mom and was commenting on how her husbands aunt and uncle refer to their dog as their child. She made a comment about how putting an animal on the same level as her human child was ridiculous and that they didn't even compare. She also isn't an animal lover so she finds it weird that people are as close to their animals as they are.
I would be offended if someone did NOT treat their pups like babies!!! That being said, I've accidentally compared my dog(s) to other peoples babies before, and that is usually offensive to them. OOPS!
Have people actually run into people who get offended with this? I find it such an odd thing to be offended by. Who the heck cares?!?
I can't imagine someone being offended by that! I definitely refer to our dog as my baby and DH and I as mama and daddy.
My mom even refers to her as her grand-puppy! :)
I've run into one person (who had a baby in the last year) who finds it disgusting to call our kitties our furbabies.
I refer to our dog and guinea pigs as my babies. Every night our dog sits in the window waiting for DH to get home while I say excitedly, "Yes! Daddy is home..here he comes!" I'm sure I would sound like a total idiot to many, but to my dog it is totally normal. :)
I worked with a girl thatvwould equate her love for her dogs to that of a mother to her child. One of the male operators told her that was bull shit and no one loved a dog as much as there child. Another operator chimmed in with the feeling you feel when your child plays the game of I will hide and not answer you and you think they are lost and you get that feeling your life is coming to an end the sheer panic you feel is undescribable ( I know my children have done this to me twice) you don't feel that for your dog.
I don't find it offensive, but I do find it annoying. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but it just bugs me when I hear it.
People can be offended by anything, I say who cares and do your own thing! Dh and I call each other mommy and daddy to our dog, and she is totally loved and spoiled just like she were a human child. We will someday have kids, and I will call her a sister to my human babies. If that bugs people, thats fine with me, because the love I receive from my baby (dog) is way more than the love I've received from those people anyways!
I grew up in Africa. Our concepts of pet care was so different and it is so ingrained in me. I've never had a pet. But I don't think if I did, I'd treat it the same way I'd treat my kid. I don't know. I remember being shocked that someone paid out thousands of dollars to take care of her cat's cancer. Where I'm from, folks can't even eat, talkless of going to the hospital, or paying medicine for their human ailments. Anyhow, to the point of the post, I used to find it strange when I first came to America. I don't anymore. Not going to lie, my family and I always get a chuckle out of it. Now, my baby brother got a shitpoo and he is crazy about his dog but he doesn't refer to the dog as his baby :)
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