Has something changed with dogs?

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BrexitVoter@reddit

This generations dogs are soft. Back in my day, dogs were DOGS. They used to play out side, they used to drink from the hose... Hell, even their turds were white

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Savvymundo@reddit

Walkies was uphill there and back in those days

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BrexitVoter@reddit

And they could smoke in pubs!

Can't do that though, these days, can they? They probably have to get a fancy latte or something instead.

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BrexitVoter@reddit

Wasting money on puppaccinos and food delivery services like Butternut Box 🤬🤬 and then complaining that they can't afford a new kennel

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ButternutBox@reddit

You sound like you're a hoot at dinner parties.

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BrexitVoter@reddit

Why would an owl be at a dogs dinner party?

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MrMonkeyman79@reddit

Back in my day all dogs were WORKING dogs and would do 7 hours down the pit before and after walkies.

And they never complained!

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BrexitVoter@reddit

Right?! Not like your modern mongrel with its little haircut and massage sessions.

Bring back National Service-Dogs!

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Everything has changed with time, it used to be ok to slap your kids for teachers to slap kids now you can’t. Used to be ok to drink and drive my dad tells a story of being to pissed to start his bike so a officer gave him a shove to start him off in 70s.

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Probablyatrollmaybe@reddit (OP)

So now we know better dogs need sunglasses and Ralph Lauren jackets and a baby pushchair and chef cooked risotto. They can’t go outside between May- Oct and dogs benefit from having their own instagram?

It’s ok to admit things have gone too far I think.

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Flat_News_2000@reddit

A majority of people do not act this way. You just sound like someone who is annoyed at a particular person and their dog.

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This_Palpitation6617@reddit

Everything is gone to far you can’t even say something without offending someone. I agree it’s too hot to walk some dogs on some days. I would say it’s upto the owner but I don’t want to offend.

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Far-Radio856@reddit

You forgot the “clothes”

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Novel-Case6821@reddit

Doggles. I cannot get over this, there exists such a thing as sunglasses for dogs. What a time to be alive.

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MembershipKey1520@reddit

Couple of years ago I was shocked to see "Wine for Dogs" on sale in my local Aldi store shortly before xmas. It clearly stated on label that it was 100% alcohol free but still, what kind of idiot pays £2 or £3 for something that's clearly a meaty flavoured drink ! Do they think the dog knows what xmas is ?

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Novel-Case6821@reddit

Probably. One of my neighbours sends Christmas cards from them and their dog. I'm sure the dogs not remotely bothered.

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Sea-Still5427@reddit

It's odd to look back. We shared our chocolate with them, didn't know raisins could kill them, walked them on choke chains or collars, without pockets full of treats or water bottles (for either of us), left them home alone all day or overnight if we went out, didn't put coats on them in winter or festive outfits at Christmas, told them no and smacked them when they chewed something they shouldn't, but they were much better at fitting in with our lives and just as happy as they are now.

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Lolabird2112@reddit

Dunno how long ago it was since you were a kid, but we also know a lot more about dogs now than we did in the past. We know it’s shitty behaviour to just leave it 8-10 hours/day, we know just spanking or rubbing its nose doesn’t do anything positive, we also know more about issues and health concerns as well. You’re kinda using the “well, my nan smoked 2 packs a day and lived to be 90” argument as to why people don’t smoke as much today.

You only had one dog who happened not to need any of that, as far as you know.

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RomHack@reddit

The bad part from what I've seen in friends is that a lot of dog owners treat their animals really well, but they still get the impression they're not doing something right. There's a lot of FOMO in the dog economy that seems to have popped up since COVID and I think that explains a lot of the excessive beauty aspect. Social media, unsurprisingly, plays a big part. It does with cats and other animals but it feels more pronounced with dogs.

Dogs themselves are absolutely grand.

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Scary_Prize996@reddit

Few things.

Firstly families used to cook from scratch with lots of meat and (importantly) off cuts. Often unseasoned food. This meant you could easily feed your dog scraps. You can’t feed a dog a veggie katsu curry.

Next, multi generational families and hosue wives were much more common. So there was always someone home looking after and training the dog.

Dogs were less pure bred and more likely to be mutts. Mutts are hardier and less prone to vitamin defiencies. You don’t need specialist care for them.

Also people were generally more competent and supported by wider family ties . People had experience of physical working dogs, animal husbandry, etc. Any badly behaved dog would be subject to community pressure and family intervention.

For example, Mixing a badly behaved XL bully with a toddler is obviously a stupid idea. Which is why all the XL bully attacks involve a low information parent from a poor socio economic background often with low social support. Basically no competent adults in the room to correct a dangerous situation

Finally, people had children and active social lives . There were no fur babies. A dog was a complement to the actual family. A lot of toxic dog culture and dog luxury spending comes from Childless people, lonely grand parents, lonely people.

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Probablyatrollmaybe@reddit (OP)

I think that’s closer to what I’m wondering actually so thank you. I’m all for things that make animals healthier or happier I have several and I really love them all. However when I visited the pet shop there is a Hugo Boss section for dogs, Ralph Lauren etc, designer baby pushchairs for dogs. Sunglasses for dogs and a “Single portion chef cooked risotto” for £11 for dogs. Then online anyone that knows how to set up a facebook group is now offering expert dog services and rival dog businesses post inflammatory accusations about other dog businesses. It’s, odd.

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Scary_Prize996@reddit

It’s very strange. They’re animals at the end of the day. As long as they get exercise and food they’re not bothered

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RomHack@reddit

To be fair, that's how I feel for the most part too.

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Apple_Master@reddit

Sorry to hear you were shit to your dog!

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finanzbereich345@reddit

For a lot of millennials dogs are a proxy for having kids at a lower cost/level of responsibility

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Master-Trick2850@reddit

You grew old and bitter

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Probablyatrollmaybe@reddit (OP)

Oh, did I ? I’m not bitter about it. I’ll give some context a dog has entered the family and it seems like literally everything has changed. There’s a little dog subculture where dog owners are horrid to other dog owners for all sorts of things. There are multiple people on social media claiming to be “experts” offering services with very little information about any qualifications to support it etc. seems really odd.

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juststuartwilliam@reddit

Have you only recently discovered the Internet?

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Probablyatrollmaybe@reddit (OP)

I have only just discovered the dog subculture on the internet yes. Seems very very argumentative.

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juststuartwilliam@reddit

Step away from it then, problem solved

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Asleep-Software-4160@reddit

Solution too simple, I need to fuel my outrage meter and things that actually happen just aren't annoying enough.

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KaylinT01@reddit

Dog culture online is always a minefield. I once got called an idiot for not agreeing that chocolate was okay for dogs in small quantities. I’ve also been told it’s abuse to tell your dog no. You open the door to a world of pain

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Desperate_Refuse4139@reddit

The second part sounds like how people parent nowadays.

Wife is constantly saying “I don’t know if it’s just a phase or if he’s naughty” about her nephew. I think a lack of being told no means it’s the second coz he knows he’ll get his own way if he misbehaves long enough

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KaylinT01@reddit

A dogs world is black and white. It’s either correct or incorrect behaviour. Dogs tell each other through sounds and mouth when something is wrong. Doesn’t mean you have to scream or hit them. But a firm no and then praise/reward the desired behaviour is the way I’ve found works best. My neighbour has one of those kids. They say no and he screams until it’s a yes. Boundaries are none existent for him. Sad really

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Novel-Case6821@reddit

Well, I'm guessing you didn't have the internet or at least social media when your childhood dog was around? Maybe it's not that the dogs have changed much.

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Short-Shopping3197@reddit

Ah, I think you identified what has changed. Social media came along and gave a disproportionate voice to a minority of people who are neurotic, unpleasant and judgemental, and you’ve made the very common misunderstanding that they are representative of wider culture.

Outside of that I think there’s a few little things. Affluence has increased meaning dogs can be treated better. Working patterns have changed meaning dogs are often left at home alone the whole day and benefit from walkers. Pedigree dogs have become more common compared to mutts and have far more susceptibility to illnesses and allergies that require medication and attention. And yes, like me you’ve probably entered the age where new things seem silly and you wish people would shut up about them.

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Mac_n_Ch33se@reddit

Consumerism is the reason for all these specific dog items, corporations trying to make big money off dog owners.
The summers are waaay hotter now than they used to be so I’m assuming that’s why your dogs feet didn’t burn
There less was known about animal welfare and the legalities of having a badly behaved dog were different. Again though, the desire for breeders to make a pretty penny might contribute to behavioural issues today, particularly for poorly bred pedigrees and especially those who were supposed to be bred for a specific job and are moved into a household that doesn’t reflect this. For example, I know a lot of millennials who don’t live an active lifestyle, nor are they farmers but have chosen working farm dogs as their pets and because of this they have soooo many behavioural issues.
No one can afford to stay home anymore, with households being dual income people want to take their dog to daycare because it’s not fair on the dog to leave it for that long alone. Back in the day it was common for only one parent to work.

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peppermint_aero@reddit

" It never attended “Daycare” we didn’t employ dog walkers to walk it."

Did you have someone had the time/energy to walk it every day around work?

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Dizzy_Blacksmith8593@reddit

Our dog would walk itself not even joking. We discovered this when it was raining heavily and jokingly told her to go a walk. We watched from the windows. Dog done the same route, peed in the same spot and returned home.

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Tim-Sanchez@reddit

Your childhood dog was old enough to be listed on the Wikipedia page for the oldest dogs? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-living_dogs

I think as a kid you may have rose-tinted goggles.

Also, just like with humans and everyone claiming we used to survive fine without vaccines, dental care, etc. one exception doesn't prove the rule. For every dog that lived to 20, many others died prematurely because we know better now. Or simply had miserable lives.

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Probablyatrollmaybe@reddit (OP)

Ah I don’t know actually, as I said I was a kid then. It’s always been remembered as such but maybe that’s embellishing it.

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SeaworthinessNeat516@reddit

Did the dog ever change size or colour overnight and stop responding to its name?

That happened with my seven year old hamster twice.

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Morganx27@reddit

My mum told me hamsters grow up to be Bernese Mountain dogs all the time and that I shouldn't worry about it.

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SeaworthinessNeat516@reddit

Makes sense if it just kept growing or ate a big meal.

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OurSeepyD@reddit

Maybe it was a cat. Might explain a lot.

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BrexitVoter@reddit

Yknow, that's quite likely to happen, and we have got to be thinking like a cat in this scenario.

OP - can you think of any point of entry where this cat might have gotten into your house disguised as a dog?

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MembershipKey1520@reddit

It's all marketing pish. Dog hotels FFS ! Taylor Swifts cats having their own social media profiles etc.

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glueman172@reddit

Laziness, dogs are now accessories

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Upbeat_Cheetah3921@reddit

Eh?

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sjw_7@reddit

And when I was a kid I trod in a lot of dog shit because the owners didn't clean up after them. Thankfully that has changed.

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Imperator_Helvetica@reddit

Just a different cultural approach, but like many things. My grandparents thought it was weird to put sunscreen on their grandchildren since it wasn't a thing for their generation to do - they mitigated for sunburn in different ways and more of their generation got skin cancer.

Similarly I don't remember dog sunscreen being a thing in my youth and presumably some dogs got burned or sick through a lack of it. If it is a thing now why not use it?

You could argue that people are 'softer/more caring' nowadays but you're just seeing social/cultural change and that's for you to judge it good or bad or even if it fits into your norms - there will always be outliers at both ends of the spectrum - there are people who treat their dogs badly now and there were people who hand fed their dogs pate from the table (treated well/spoiled them) back in the 1920s.

Social circumstances might have changed - smaller houses or no gardens might mean that a dog needs to be taken out to exercise because it can't run around the meadow, and if both parts of the dog owning couple work they find the more affordable option is to employ a dog walker. Or they may not be able to walk the dog around the shops if they get all their deliveries online and have no high street.

As for dog behaviour specialists - dog trainers have been around for years - there was even that famous TV show with Barbara Woodhouse and people have been training their dogs ever since we've had dogs. Standards have changed in how - hitting, choke chains, clickers etc and there are fads, changes and new approaches just like in child rearing or decorating.

Dogs haven't changed, but culture, attitudes and the environment they exist in (more vape litter to chew) have. Just part of time rushing by us.

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box-o-locks@reddit

I guess you don't remember Barbara Woodhouse then.

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seven-cents@reddit

Lol, good old Barbara. She was practically a household name in the 80's!

Sit! Stay! Walkies!

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everything2go@reddit

Something has happened to dog owners though. Dogs have become way more popular to own, especially since covid, with many being clueless as to the responsibilities of owning a dog. Thus lowering the average standards of dog ownership.

Many are clueless on how to appropriately train their dog, when it should be on a lead especially if it has poor recall, where it is appropriate to take a dog, and what to do with dog poo.

It's honestly got so bad that some form of mandatory training classes would be great, as some people don't like dogs and it's reasonable to be out in public and having a choice as to whether you want a dog in your personal space.

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Double_Double7407@reddit

"Day care" - people are working longer hours than ever; and work extends into home life. Once my dad finished work at 5, he was back home and that was it. When I finish at 5;30 I'm dealing with emails/ Teams messages on the way home and will often log in again in the evening for a bit.

Diets/ skin care - it's like the growth of skincare for men in the 90s. Manufacturers realised that if they can market to women... then they can open up the market to men... and if they can sell to men AND women.. why not animals?

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Dry_Yogurt2458@reddit

We learnt more about dogs and became better educated about them and as we did so we gained more empathy towards them,

In the 70's and 80's dogs used to walk themselves. You would open the door and let the dog out and an hour or so later he/she would come back home. It wasn't right but we learned and now that doesn't happen.

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VooDooBooBooBear@reddit

It's just understanding of dogs has changed. It's like saying has something changed with people, back when you were a kid almost noone had a diagnosed mental health condition, these days we understand a lot more about that stuff.

Can a dog survive walking in 30 degree heat? Sure. Is it good for them? No.

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Fine-State8014@reddit

80s dogs might have looked 35 but they were actually 5 or 6.

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More-Complaint@reddit

I think that the argument here is not the longevity of the dog, it's more a question of quality of life. I grew up with dogs and currently have three of my own. I have an eighteen year old mutt that needs nothing outside of walking and feeding (she'll eat anything with zero issues). I also have an American Bulldog that needs regular interventions for ear infections and eczema, requires a strict grain free diet and only tolerates minimal exercise. Dogs aren't monolithic. My parents Airedale (the dog I grew up with) required constant medication for a variety of issues. She died in 1991 at fourteen years of age.

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Novel-Case6821@reddit

Yep, there is much more evidence and information about how to care well for pets now than previously. Plus there could be other factors such as changes to environment etc that affect animals as much or more than they affect us. Also, maybe you were lucky that you had a healthy dog that didn't need assistance. Just a thought.

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jonschaff@reddit

Dogs these days would never ‘ave survived the Blitz

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LewisMileyCyrus@reddit

can't even say you're a british bulldog these days without being called racist

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La-Orange@reddit

A combination of things

1) People generally treat pets better - better animal welfare etc

2) Pets often replace children nowadays and people want to spend more money on pets

3) Companies take advantage of this and make up products to sell

4) Lots of people bought dogs during lockdown, and they tend to have behavioural problems/separation anxiety.

5) social media encourages people to buy pets products, show them off, get sponsorships etc

It's not the dogs, it's the people. Saying that, there's always been dogs somewhere with behaviour problems, but it's down to the humans who own them

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BeardedBaldMan@reddit

I remember dogs in the 80/90s being a bit different to that.

Not in how you talk about them being treated but more along the lines of "we had him put down, he was eleven and showing his age" to which the response was usually "that's not a bad age for a lab and they don't want to be at the vets all the time"

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