I like dogs like I like toddlers. It’s fun to hang out with other people’s for a while, but ultimately they’re annoying, loud, and make a mess. I feel like in the past 10 years or so, dog owners have become increasingly convinced that everyone thinks their slobbering, untrained mutt is god’s gift to everyone, and expects everyone to love it unconditionally. Dogs in restaurants. Dogs in stores when you go shopping. “Oh it’s so funny that your dog is jumping on me and getting it’s dirty paws all over me while it tries to sniff my crotch.” “Oh oops! Your dog ate my food off the counter, fucking again. Guess that’s my fault because in this house nothing is safe from the coddled fucking dog.” “Hey man can you watch the dog? It’s really easy, not like it pisses all over the floor and knocks the trash over or anything. We have to leave the house for 2 hours and it has anxiety/depression/borderline personality disorder and he’s a wittle special boy who needs constant attention.”
I’m just tired of it. Nobody gives a goddamn about your stupid dog. Stop bringing your animal to restaurants, it’s disgusting and inconsiderate. It’s not your child, it’s a dog. Dog people have made me hate dogs.
There’s no accreditation system for being obsessed with dogs or cars. Different people put in different amounts of thought and effort into their interests. But from my perspective, someone walking 3 dogs and just saying “oh don’t worry they are friendly” as they let them do whatever they want with anyone in their path is just as much a dog person as someone who keeps theirs well-trained enough that the leash is mostly for show.
Just like I’d consider someone who constantly talks about their car a car person even if they take it in for service because the washer fluid reservoir is empty.
It’s not about competence, it’s about how strong the association is been that person and the thing.
Unless you’re talking about the other kind of “dog people” who are half dog, half person, like Mr Peanutbutter or dog centaurs.
There sorta is an accreditation system and it is that basic level of competence. A person with a strong association with something WILL pick up the basics of that thing over time, whereas somebody who pretends to have a strong association with something for personality points will not. Somebody who thinks about their car all the time isn’t a car person because to be a car person you have to have a vested interest in cars as a concept. Just like somebody who only eats grilled cheese and dinosaur nuggets isn’t a foodie and somebody who only listens to Linkin Park isn’t a metal head. Attaching your personality to “liking dogs” is a trendy social construct right now due to the last 10 years of doggo, pupper, doge, and cheems memes, there really isn’t much more to it than that. If there was something else that was quirky and whimsical to be “into” then they’d be into that instead.