For dog owners especially

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Does anybody on this site hate it when people refer to their very old dog as "baby"?

Don't get me wrong, I really like dogs. It's just that whenever people call my dog "baby," it kind of pisses me off. Last night, I was walking my dog, and after I had stopped to get some ice cream, I saw two women appreciating her as she was lying there. When I got up to them, one of them asked, "Is that your baby?" and, feeling annoyed by this, I said to them, "She's not a f*****g baby." Of course, they were upset, and one of them even called me a "f*****g c**t."

Has anybody else ever had this happen to them?

It annoys me a little, but now that I work with people like that I've caught myself doing it, although I usually say puppy. I find it a gender-neutral term to refer to the dog when you get tired of saying dog, and you don't know its name so people don't get offended when you call a dog "it."

My dog is 4, and I still call him my puppy.

What really annoys me is people who refer to their dog as their kid's brother or sister.

No. It dosen't bother me. I refer to my bearded dragon as "baby" and she's more like a little sister to me than one of my brothers was a brother to me.

A cashier saw her clinging to me at the store once and said, "Aww! He's huggin' on his mamma!" What does bug me is when people ask if she is real. No, she's just a manifestation from your mind.

No, but I find it annoying when people say "my dog" or "my cat" or "my whatever". I don't consider the dog and the cats as mine: they're just part of the family/group. In other words, I see animals the way they see me. Unfortunately, my relatives domesticated the animals in the house, despite my warnings against scolding the cats for bringing dead prey to the house...

I'm guilty of this. Our dog is maybe seven (I'm bad with dates) and we still call her a baby and a puppy even though she isn't really a puppy. And I call our cats mine (mainly the female) since she has attached herself to me a little more than anyone else and I prefer her to her brother and the dog, but I don't like the dog that much. I don't hate the dog either but she's not a very good dog (and we aren't very good dog owners). Our last dog was wonderful but he was already trained before we found him(and he attached himself to my mom. He lived about 16 years before we put him down due to his poor health).

Yep, my dogs are my babies and will be to the day they die.

Well sorry, what do you expect if you swear at people first? How was the other person to know you didn't like that term.



I'd probably notice that it was alive after a second glance, but it would still be more likely for it to be plastic if you brought it into a store... animals aren't really welcome in shops where I live.

@ jstrewth: My neighbor down the street sometimes calls my dog baby. He's not a baby, literally or figuratively. I don't find it offenisve, & I make no attempt to correct her. She can call him baby as long as she wants...even if he's old & arthritic. The dog doesn't care what he or she is called anyway, so long as he/she gets love & attention to go with the food, water, & shelter.

@Magnus_Rex: I don't see it derogatory to refer to *my dog,* as *my dog.* It's no different when I introduce *my daugher* to someone. She is not *my* personal property, but she does belong to me, being that she is my child. *My* can be termed as a possessive, but maybe it depends on how it's used in this case. My dog is much the same as my child...he is part of my family. He's more than just a dog or a pet, he's a companion. Spoiled rotten at that.

I am sorry to rub salt into your wounds, but I'm afraid that you really did behave like a **** **** when you cursed out a total stranger who meant you no harm. Who was only loving on your dog and trying to be friendly to you, and who had no idea you didn't like a certain word. Maybe you should try to keep your temper under control even though you have this quirk that irritates you.

I just wanted to say this just so you don't see me as too much of a prick: I don't actually mind calling dogs babies when the dog is actually a baby, or even when it's a small breed. When it's applied to bigger dogs, though (we own a labrador/German shepherd that's ten years old), that's when it bugs me. Just wanted to get that out of the way.

I think you missed the point people were trying to make; you're completely within your rights not to like someone calling your dog 'baby', whatever age it is. You can even object to people calling it a dog.

It's when you turn around and swear at complete strangers who are simply just admiring the animal, that you come across as obnoxious.

What's the big deal? So you have a big dog, & someone called it baby. What would you have done if they said mean things about it?

The truth is, you need to learn to pick your battles wisely. I would have let this slide because in all honesty, you made yourself out to be a complete jerk by firing back with obsenities. The person(s) admiring your dog was/were just trying to be friendly.

Well it doesn't bother me but its too funny.. I find it too cheesy..