Dogs: Pets or Family?

I am an only-child. Growing up, I thought our dogs were my siblings. I’m not kidding. They were fantastic brothers and sisters though. We were as thick as thieves — we’d set out on a new adventure everyday. Sometimes I would lead the way, other times they were the trail boss. We always found good stuff to get into, no matter what. We’d all come back filthy, hair rife with hitch hikers and briers, much to my mother’s dismay. But, ooooh, was it fun!

I was never lonely and I never wished for a “real” brother or sister. Eeew. No way! Life was good back then. I’ve had a dog (or dogS) my entire life. And will have them for the rest of my life, I’m sure.

Because dogs are important family members in this house, I pay close attention to the advertisers that use dogs in their campaigns. Being a positive reinforcement trainer, I pay special attention to the dogs (and the equipment they’re wearing, and their body language, and, and, and…) in the commercials and how they’re used. Are they being exploited? Made fun of? Used just for their cuteness? For their badness?

Check out this teaser ad, I think the ad agency knows how to connect to dog people!

Look at those happy dogs! And how well they’re trained. Being a dog trainer, I look for stuff like that. I don’t just want a dog in my commercials — I want a happy dog in my commercials!

For a full look at the commercial that contains the scene above, check this out. It’s one of my favorite commercials. I especially like the last scene — that’s totally a dog I’d have. I won’t ruin it, watch it for yourself. “I have no questions!”

I’m really liking the folks at Subaru — they really get us dog people. They’re making commercials with dogs in them, for goodness sake! How good does it get? They’re to dog people what Budweiser is to Clydesdale people. They really get us.

I found this on the Subaru Facebook page: you can get your dog a driver’s license. It’s not real, of course. As much as I’d like to think that Tango could take the wheel on one of our cross country road trips, just because Subaru gave him a doggie driver’s license doesn’t make it so. Either way, it’s pretty cute. There’s other stuff there that will interest you if you have dogs in your family (matchmaker, dog route mapping system, doggie drivers license, and ask an expert).

Are your dogs considered family members? Or pets? There’s no right answer — no judgement here!

 

 

In the spirit of full disclosure, this post is sponsored by Subaru. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Dog Tested. Dog Approved.™ campaign. Regardless, I’m a Subaru fan and love that they (1) know that dog people are a viable audience and (2) have happy dogs in their commercials without yucky “training” equipment.