Does how a person treats their pet correlate with how they treat a romantic partner?

[OlderAndWiser]

Looking back on the relationships I have had, the women who were most nurturing and loving to me were also nurturing and loving with their pets. There was one exception, a lady who was an only child who was fairly self-centered and did not make me a high priority in her life, although she pampered her two dogs.

What is your recollection of past relationships. Were the good pet owners also good romantic partners?

Updates

1 y

C'mon, man!

I am not suggesting that a woman should treat her dog as importantly as she does me, or that she should do the exact same things for me that she does for her dog. I am just referring to whether a person is kind, gentle, patient, and affectionate towards their pet.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

Possibly. I'd never date a guy who thought his dog was equal to me, though.

My late husband told me I reminded him of his (deceased) Chesapeake Bay retriever. He got a horrified expression when he realized he'd just compared me to his dog... I never let him live it down. :D

I guess being a one-man dog is a tendency of mine, though. LOL. :D

[Dongie]

You expect to surpass a man's puppy that he has raised from a baby when you waltz into his life? Hah, pepper, somebody lied to you. Sorry. But the heart does not work this way.

[OlderAndWiser]

"I'd never date a guy who thought his dog was equal to me, though." Not what I was asking. . . but I did once break up with a woman who treated her two dogs as if they were better than me.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@Dongie LOL, I didn't "waltz into his life". And ultimately, yes, I did surpass his dog. So there. :D

[Dongie]

Well good that's him.

[Dongie]

Ultimately. Not instantly tho

[Dongie]

Right? You did not expect it unnaturally?

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@Dongie I actually consider it a compliment to be considered more loyal and intense than a Chesapeake. That means something, haha!

[Dongie]

Awe... do you have a pet?

[Dongie]

So you're going to pick at me a notch because I thoroughly love my Cece puppy. Ok.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@Dongie Not picking at you at all. I had a Black Lab I've never replaced. Loved that dog.

[Dongie]

Ok. So you have been there. I grow painfully close. Cece is so helpless at 10 lbs, and I have seen her literally jump at her own shadow. Sounds funny, but it's not. You look into those big sad eyes, and there ain't a thing on this planet is going to touch her. I was gonna rip that dogs big head off when he pinned her with a paw that covered her entire chest area. Before, I was afraid to go in the room with that behemoth even with my cousin holding his collar. But that night, I was diving in on that idiot. I roared so loud, my cuz said he's deaf in one ear, he looked back at me instead of going on in to pick her up by her head and shake the life from her. His paw must have relaxed and she shot out of there like a bullet. As I was going through the air to hit that bitch I looked back. Cece was already running up the stairs, and he was halfway to the deck stairs.

[Dongie]

Argentina 160 pound dog with a head big as a Volkswagen wheel.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@OlderAndWiser Agreed. There is being a responsible, caring pet owner, and then there's a level of weirdness that's disturbing with some people, like they think their pet is worth more than people. I usually find it happens more with women, though. And they tend to be a little psycho...

[OlderAndWiser]

Yes, she was!

[Dongie]

I'm no pyscho. I've had 3 close calls where I could have lost her. It made me very protective of her.
I suppose everybody has seen people like that. I never understood it. I still don't but it is what it is.

[WodensGedriht]

Wdym? If I had a good and girlfriend, the girlfriend would have to be the one to sleep on the floor, of course.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@WodensGedriht LOL. :D

[WodensGedriht]

*dog

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@WodensGedriht I got you. :)

[Dongie]

A person that equates an animal with a human is unbalanced.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@Dongie Agreed. :)

[Dongie]

🤫🤔🫡

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@Dongie Not talking about you!

[Dongie]

I wasn't sure. I can kid/pick at pretty harsh sometimes. But I do love my puppy and would kill or die for her. She's helpless at 10 lbs, and I've seen her literally jump at her own shadow. She knows it too.

[DishLady]

Don't laugh, but I mentioned to a female friend that she "pets" her boyfriend's hair/ears/neck the way she does her dog's... It's a little funny.

[worldscolide]

Damn it that is funny. But I also pet my wife's hair like i pet my cats lol. Of course my wife likes it, and when I brush and play with her hair.

[DishLady]

@worldscolide Touching the hair can be nice -- hair can be a very sensual thing -- but in my friend's case I keep waiting for her to pul a biscuit out of her purse or something. I tend to smile when I see it, but have a really hard time not laughing at the visual.

[worldscolide]

You're not wrong

[exitseven]

@DishLady I used to do that with my kids. I still do sometimes.

[DishLady]

@exitseven Lol. And they all turned out ok, clearly.

[exitseven]

yes they all did /The cats too.

[DishLady]

😂😂😂

[Brainsbeforebeauty]

I’d hope not… I’d hope they’d treat their partner better/ different than their pet but that’s just me🤷‍♀️

[Dongie]

So what's he supposed to do to keep you from being jealous of his puppy he's had for over 4 years saw God save her when a car ran over the top of her and saved us both when a 160 pound Argentinan noise dog was about to pull her out from under his giant paw and shake the life out of her as I came roaring in and broke his concentration so that he stopped and looked back at me as I'm diving in on this dog who has a head bigger than mine and weighs just shy of what I weigh then Cece shoots out from under his paw and I miss him because he takes after her? Shit them a bump is removed and sent off for a biopsy. Which comes back negatory. Shit what have you done the 10 minutes you've known me

[WodensGedriht]

What if he treats her like a cat?

[AviatorTom]

Not normally. Most of the people I know treat their pets better than their partner. 🤨

[lightbulb27]

Imagine if your spouse never took a bath outside of licking herself, woke you up every night to play when you are asleep, and ruined the couch... yet got endless massages and nice talk. go figure.

It shows what they are capable of in patience.

[NathanDavis]

I'm not sure about others, but at least in my experience... yes, it does match up

all my partners were great... and so they were great with their own pets if they had them, or with mine, if I had them

and my pets loved them too... lol

[worldscolide]

Simple, being a romantic love interest in a lot of ways means giving some measure of power over to your partner. Us as humans have ultimate power over our pets. If they are abusive to their pets it stands to reason they will be abusive to their partner. If they treat their pets well, it stands to reason they will treat their partner well.

[WodensGedriht]

Correct

[Razp_Sorbet]

I think that you can tell a lot about a person in general by how they are with animals. Truthfully in my opinion anyone who claims to hate or not like cats either has never experienced owning a cat or has issues with respecting boundaries.

[msc545]

Exactly right. My cats Allister and Angus totally concur.

[WodensGedriht]

Yes cats are full of personality, but people presume they're not.
by the way you look 🔥🥵🔥

[msc545]

These are people that have never lived with a cat. My cats have more personality than most people I know.

[Razp_Sorbet]

@msc545 facts 😂
One of my cats is obsessed with leafy greens and water, is super friendly loves visitors and cuddles. Super smart can do many tricks and picks up on new ones really fast.
The other has the attention span of a pea, sassy as fuck, doesn't like to be left alone but is afraid of strangers, hates change if anything is different she will pee on something. She is still cuddly though, she sleeps curled into my side all night 😇

[WodensGedriht]

@msc545 My cat Isabel is schizo but very loving. Her daughter, Buttercup is a nature living, meowing princess gobshite and the last Hyde, is a graceful, giant meditating Mongolian with a short temper and huge ego.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

Up to a point, I think.

I have four Dobermann Pinschers and I dote on them and absolutely love them. But I don't keep my wife in a pen (fully climatized with this heat), take her to competitions or requested her pedigree.

[luvstoned4him]

Not sure but I always said I won't date a guy who didn't like animals.

I have neighbors who kill dogs and cats on purpose because the hand around their yard or go into their garbage and I could never picture myself doing that.

[WodensGedriht]

You should twat them.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Yes, most certain. I won't date a girl who pushes animals away. My cousin says a man who loves cats, is her type of man to date.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

@OlderAndWiser I like this question/post excellent said , Thank you :) Darren

[WodensGedriht]

Quite from Wikipeda "On coming to power in January 1933, the Nazi Party passed a comprehensive set of animal protection laws."
They were the first to adopt animal rights.
Makes you think doesn't it?

[WodensGedriht]

*quote

[ttgteen]

I agree. My ex loved animals 😍 and he was so loving and gentle with me. Now I'm dating a guy that has a cat and leaves he alone by herself for weeks on end with no attention at all. No wonder he barely takes me out on dates or visits me. I feel so alone. Just like his cat.

[Massageman]

On a macro level more than a micro level, yes. Not necessarily in how they stroke each, etc. that is to say.

Consideration is something that could and should be used for all beings one meets, whether humans or pets.

[ttgteen]

This is so true. My guy friend has a cat, and he just lets her roam around the house by herself for days and even weeks with the same dry food in her bowl and no water in her bowl. He says she can drink the toilet water if she is thirsty! He barely cleans her litter box. She has no toys to play with and he only checks on her once a week if that! It's sad. No wonder he treats me so bad too

[TommyMountainFigure]

There have been studies over the years following young children who kill insects (then as they get older, cats, birds etc) for fun, and a direct correlation to their growing up to be psychopaths!

Therefore, yes absolutely. That's an astute opinion, and I agree 100%

[Dongie]

It's news to me. With that in mind you should see how I treat Cece. She should be spoiled rotten but she is to much a lady to carry on that way. She knows she's the boss.

[Dongie]

Well, there is no way I could treat a person better than I treat Cece. If your mind can't wrap itself around this in the logical sense, then you don't deserve me anyway.

[Jane1964]

This is a wonderful question. I would say yes, absolutely. I rescue dogs, sometimes cats as well, and the partners that have treated me best have always been caring to their pets, as well as mine.

[IslaTheWitch]

it usually correlates with being nice to others...

[LiamJHayden]

No correlation in my life.

[Jamie05rhs]

It's definitely a valid question. I don't think it's true across the board, though. A lot of people can love animals and yet be complete psychopaths.

[Twalli]

I've only had one girlfriend, who had pets, doesn't currently. She's the best I could have imagined.

[Ladsin2]

Probably not. It's more of a parent sibling relationship with animals.

[OfMiceandMen]

I think it's an indication as to how they treat the things they care about in general.

[Nikki1989]

There is some truth to that.

[Anonymous]

No.
I have treated my dogs better than my girlfriend lol, she is treated better than anyone else in my life so as long as she’s happy with second place.

[Charliefretz329]

Nah, pets are not the same.

[OlderAndWiser]

Never said pets are the same. They clearly are not and I know that, though I did have one girlfriend who started treating her dogs better than she treated me. Obviously, she became an ex.

[Charliefretz329]

This question reminds me of the guy with the poodle in silence of the lambs 🤣 sorry

[WodensGedriht]

I mean I treat animals better then I treat humans cause humans can talk.

[Charliefretz329]

I knew one lady who was batshit crazy and watching her interact with her cats told you a lot about her true mental state… one cat didn’t even exist… 😳

[WodensGedriht]

Scary shit

[Charliefretz329]

Understatement lol yes

[msc545]

It definitely does correlate.

[Anonymous]

Not always. It could be a tell though.

[DrPepper12]

Undoubtedly.

[LunarEclipse433]

In my opinion yes