10 Strange Things All Dog Owners Secretly Do

Never is it more annoying to be asked when you’re going to have kids than in front of your fur baby. Clearly Aunt Zelda has lost it—how can she ignore your little scruff monster like that?! Grr! Okay, okay, take a couple of deep breaths. You have to admit it, to other people it’s odd that you think of your dog as your fur child. They just don’t accept it. It doesn’t matter how cute their personalized dog collar is or how well-trained they are; non-dog owners just don’t understand what it means to have a dog. It’s sad really, how can they not know how great it is to have a dog?

Your excitement has been known to weird people out, so there are some things you do that you’ve decided to keep to yourself. But you’re not alone, other dog owners exhibit these behaviors too. Here are 10 things doggie parents think they do in secret (it’s not so secret).

1. Refer to yourself and your partner as your pup’s parents . When you get home from shopping and can’t find your dog, do you yell their name and tell them to “come to mommy?” Why don’t you use your name? You don’t use your name because as the caregiver of the dog, you believe you are truly the pup’s parent.

2. Order them a “Puppuccino” at the Starbucks drive-thru . Don’t even try to deny it: when you’ve gone through the drive-thru to get yourself a caffeinated pick-me-up and you look over at your dog and he gives you those sad puppy eyes, you order him a pick-me-up too, only his is made entirely of whipped cream!

3. Celebrate their birthday with a doggie surprise party . Yes, dog owners celebrate their pride and joy on their birthday with special homemade treats at home or at the dog park. If the birthdate is unknown, owners will celebrate on the day the first adopted and brought the pooch home.

4. Call your dog by a random nickname. If your dog’s name is Bailey but he’s 10 pounds overweight and prances on the leash, you might call him Chunk, Muppet or Prancer. Whatever the nickname is, it has nothing to do with his actual name.

5. Picked your pup up to show her what she looks like in the mirror
. You want your dog to see how adorable she is, so you have hoisted her onto your hip to show her who the good girl is.

6. Have laid on the floor motionless to see what they would do . You’ve read the stories of heroic dogs getting someone’s attention when their owner has fallen or gotten injured. What would your dog do in that situation? Apparently ignore you and go into the other room.

7. Ran after a ball when the dog refused. Playing a game of fetch is a fun and good way to get exercise, but sometimes your pup seems to forget how it’s played. That’s okay, you’ll run after the ball and show her how it’s done.

8. Still call your senior dog a puppy. It doesn’t matter that your rescue dog is going on 13-years-old, she will always be a puppy, gosh darn it!

9. Held your dog like a baby. The dog is your fur child; it wouldn’t make sense not to cuddle with him like you would a human child.

10. Asked them questions about their day and offer a response . When you ask them how their day was at home, you offer up an answer in a tone of voice you think they would use.

Another thing we do for our dogs? Buy them lots and lots of toys and treats! For the best doggie chews and apparel, shop at Hot Dog Collars!