How does your pet parenting rate on a scale from ‘everyday family pet’ to ‘my fur baby has better clothes and more Instagram followers than me’?
According to the RSPCA, we have more than 29 million pets in Australia. That’s more pets than humans!
They provide us with love and companionship, they cheer us up when we’re sad, and dogs force us to get exercise when they demand to be walked.
Pets are definitely a much-loved part of the family, and that means many of us give them some special treatment every now and then.
Like taking them to cafes where you buy them treats from the doggie menu!
But how much special treatment is normal, and how much makes for a spoilt pet?
You may have seen a quiz on TikTok doing the rounds that has a list of 10 questions to help you work out how spoilt your pet is. There’s tons of cute videos – mostly of dogs – ticking all the boxes and clearly living their luxurious, dream life. No dog house for them!
Take the quiz
Give yourself one point for every statement that you say YES to about your pet and see what you score out of 10:
1. I let my pet up on on the couch or bed
2. I give my pet food off my plate
3. I have a toy box for my pet (filled with their favourite toys of course)
4. I let my pet sleep in or on my bed at night
5. I’ve had professional photographs taken of my pet
6. I give my pet birthday and Christmas presents
7. I greet my pet before I say hi to other humans when I get home
8. I bring my pet on holidays, vacations and weekends away
9. My pet has their own social media account
10. I’ve bought my pet outfits and accessories to wear
So be honest, how high did you score?
We won’t judge. It’s all a bit of fun of course, but it shows just how differently we treat our pets.
Check out these two very spoilt dogs who score a perfect 10:
@thegoodhype Duet or stitch your pet’s results! #dog #fy ♬ Spoiled Pet Test – Kali the collie lab dog
Yes, some of us treat our pets like children and talk to them as if they understand everything we’re saying. Because maybe they do, right?
And your dog might actually need clothes because they have very little fur and are always cold (we’re looking at you Italian Greyhounds).
Or you sleep with the dog in your bed to feel safe when you’re home alone. Nothing wrong with that.
Whatever way you parent your pet, the main thing is that we love them and enjoy every precious minute of their too-short lives with us.
