Anna writes…

Yesterday I posted this picture of my dog on Facebook (the caption below is the one I used):

You know it's winter when the dog has mini-icicles hanging from his chin.

Cute, right? I am the first to admit that my dog is super-cute but, since I’m not a general dog lover, I struggle to see how anyone else finds him cute….he is, after all, just a dog (a mantra oft-repeated in my house). However, the picture received 78 ‘likes’(ok…that’s a bit of an exaggeration….I probably don’t even have that many Facebook friends….or real life friends for that matter….ahhh!). It received more ‘likes’ than pictures of my children ever get. I happen to think my children are cuter than my dog. So, why is it that people love dog photos so much? (This isn’t a complaint by the way – I love that people find my dog cute, I just wonder why). I didn’t post the picture to show that the dog was cute. I was just showing that winter is finally here. Conversely, I firmly believe that all pictures of my kids are cute! (Yes, I know that’s a whole lot of bias).

A couple of people commented that he is like a dog they own or know (same breed and colour). So, in this case there is a point of reference. My kids, on the other hand, don’t look like anybody else’s kids. It’s easy to match a personality to an animal that looks like one you are familiar with. Labradors are known for being family friendly (as are many dogs) so an association is made. With children, you have to know something about their personality in order to find them cute. I’m sure you’ll agree, that despite ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ appearances, many kids are far from cute once their character is revealed! Of course, that isn’t the case with my kids – you can take it from me that the whole bundle is adorable (yep, more bias).

One friend commented that Maxi (that’s the dog) looked confused – there is something endearing about that. My kids, on the other hand, don’t generally look confused (at least not on photos but they have their moments!). If a dog looks confused, you just want to cuddle him up and make that tail wag. If a child looks confused they need explanations and conversation – basically more than a cuddle and a treat (although that would go a long way on the path to happiness).

Another friend offered sympathy for the dog. He is a pathetic sight in this picture, admittedly, but he’d just spent 15 minutes tearing through woodland having the time of his life! (And I am holding a treat right next to the camera to get him to pose). If the kids had done that, their faces would’ve been glowing, their smiles giving away the wonderful fun they had (and their hands reaching out for the treat). One friend, who knows Maxi and his winter walks well, recognized that the ‘mad hound’ was more than happy with his outdoor look. But, Maxi can’t show that in his face – the dog (and by that I mean any dog) is incapable of varying his expression and always looks pathetic and confused! Great way to get affection – there’s something in this ‘dog’s life’ business!

Don’t worry, you don’t have to answer the question in the title. I know my kids are cuter! I do wonder though, if you find dogs cute and why….

To finish, here are a couple of links to dog humour videos. Videos of kids are funnier if you know the kids, it doesn’t seem to matter with dogs.

The first one pulls off the confused dog look even better than Maxi!

This one is made all the more funnier by the giggling camera operator.