Topic Talk | Dogs

Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about dog ownership in the United States, Mexico, and Korea.Transcript:00:00:55JackWelcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we have a topic talk episode and today's topic is dogs and like dog ownership in different cultures, like how people think about their dogs and.00:01:10XochitlYeah, yeah.00:01:16JackTreat their dogs and so soap. So why don't you kick it off here for us? And UM, like, what is your generation people your age? How do they feel?00:01:26JackAbout their dogs.00:01:28XochitlOK, so I would say I kind of grew up in a culture where dogs are dogs and people are people.00:01:35XochitlAnd this is a very Mexican thing. And it's also a very.00:01:41XochitlReal staple of older American culture. My dad is a boomer, and in those days, you know it. Dog culture was similar to how it is in Mexico. You kind of let your dog roam free.00:01:54JackRight.00:01:56XochitlIn the streets, he like has his own pack of friends.00:01:59JackRight. And if there's if there's like an order, it's like the dog is the last. You know, there's no, there's no babying the dog and stuff. Like it's an animal.00:02:04XochitlYes.00:02:10XochitlAnd they also kind of hold.00:02:11XochitlTheir own independent life, like they go out kind of independently. That's still a thing in Mexico. And also it used to be a thing in, in the US and my dad was a kid in the 60s and.00:02:23JackHmm.00:02:24XochitlYep.00:02:25XochitlAnd and they they're very independent. They're not really babied. And they're kind of seen as like the lowest caste working member of a family because you have them for protection or sometimes you have farm dogs just or, you know, it's a companion animal. But most of the time it it has a job to do.00:02:46XochitlAnd it has a plate on the pecking order, as we say in the US, which is like the top dog is, you know, maybe the mom and dad of the household and the kids and then the dogs at the box.00:02:56XochitlAnd and I would say that was very, very true for the older generations. But now my younger generation, I've see, I've seen it as a global phenomenon in Korea and the US in Mexico, that people treat their dogs kind of like babies. I'm.00:03:12XochitlI'm a little guilty of.00:03:14XochitlThis when I first had Wendy, I swore I wouldn't be one of these people. I didn't even want to sleep in the same bed.00:03:19XochitlHis.00:03:20XochitlBut he's so cute. It was like hard so.00:03:24JackHe worked his way into the into the bedroom, up on the bed. Yeah.00:03:26XochitlHe worked his way up into his then. Yeah, because he got big enough to be able to jump onto the bed. And then after that, just kind of game over because I couldn't keep him off. I tried to keep him off and he was smarter than me and found out how to get through every obstacle course that I've placed for him. So that's how a.00:03:32JackOK.00:03:46XochitlLike 4 LB. Dog outsmarted me my whole.00:03:48JackYeah, I I feel.00:03:50JackLike Americans now, and maybe Canadians, too, are dogs are like their four legged children.00:03:59JackYou know there's.00:03:59XochitlYeah, and I.00:04:00XochitlThink it it it? Sorry, Jack didn't mean to cut you off. I was just going to think because a lot of people are having kids later or choosing not to have kids at all. And I think that really affects the way that we see.00:04:02JackNo, no, no. Go ahead. Go ahead.00:04:08JackYeah.00:04:13XochitlDogs and for me, I kind of people only say the older you get, the more sure you are that you're going to want kids and actually the opposite has happened. Now that I'm well into my 27 bear on this planet, I have started to become pretty sure that I don't want kids actually and.00:04:30JackHmm.00:04:33XochitlDue to that, Dwayne is basically my kid and.00:04:38XochitlHe plays the part of my child, you.00:04:41XochitlKnow I medical everything.00:04:41JackHe feels that the void or whatever, that maybe not not void, but like if you were, if you're thinking that you wanna take care of of a child, you're like, well, if I take care of this dog, it it it kind.00:04:54JackOf feels.00:04:55JackLike I'm taking care of something.00:04:56XochitlI I never.00:04:56XochitlHave the desire to take care of a child. In fact, I've really never had a desire to take care of a dog. But when they kind of fell into my life and and I, you know, decided to take him in, so then I became responsible for him. I've never had a desire to take care of a kid. So for me it's kind of more like.00:05:12XochitlLike.00:05:13XochitlIf I barely have the energy and financial resources to take care of this dog, not barely. But like it's somewhere in my mid range of possibilities, I'm definitely not having kids. Like, if I can, at least I can put Glenn in back or I can put him in a room. I can leave him at home alone. I can go party for a few hours.00:05:27JackSee.00:05:28JackOK.00:05:33XochitlYou can.00:05:35XochitlPut a kid if you did.00:05:35JackYou cannot leave a toddler at home alone and just with a bowl of food and water and be like alright, enjoy yourself, you know, take care of yourself.00:05:40XochitlYeah, hours.00:05:44XochitlActually, yeah. Or like if he gets really annoying, I give him the timeout by just. I put him in the bathroom and close the door and he just chills out in there and stops barking like crazy. If the kid is crying and screaming, he can't walk them in the bathroom. That's like a child abuse and but so.00:06:02JackYou can, but you may go to prison. You may end up locked in a room yourself.00:06:06XochitlYou care, but you shouldn't. And you? Yeah. You probably will rightfully go to jail. So, you know, it's kind of.00:06:13XochitlIt's like that. It's like this is the the most I'm willing to expend energy on taking care of something else. And he already limits my possibilities a little bit as far as travel and stuff.00:06:25XochitlWell, I just it's an extra step I have to think about and I can't even imagine with kids. It's like a whole other obligation, especially when they're little, you know.00:06:33JackHmm I I feel like in America the the.00:06:36발표자The.00:06:38JackIt's very strange. It's like the, UM, expectations for taking care of a dog really increased in the last like 30 or 40 years. It's like if you don't walk your dog every single day twice a day, you know, yeah, you're a criminal. You're just you're a rotten human being.00:06:47발표자Yeah, yeah.00:06:52XochitlThey're a criminal animal.00:06:58JackAnd not and it's. It's weird because like in in Korea that that doesn't.00:07:03JackThey don't have that feeling. I I feel like this is a very kind of American thing, cause I'm I'm assuming Mexico. You're not gonna get judged too badly if you're if you're not like, let's say you skip a day to take your dog for a walk or you.00:07:16JackTake your dog for a walk. Couple times.00:07:17XochitlI don't even walk blending here because it's kind of dangerous because there's a lot of big dogs, but a lot of people let just open up the gate and let their dog out into the street to rob kind of freak.00:07:26JackThat's crazy, because that means they're gonna. They could bite somebody or hit by a car.00:07:28발표자Yeah.00:07:30XochitlYeah. And some people go to recipe. These dogs are really friendly and at that point it's OK, but some are pretty aggressive and but it's kind of part of the culture. People just let their dogs out for a few hours. The dog comes.00:07:41XochitlBack and they have like their own intention life.00:07:43발표자If it comes.00:07:44JackBack. It's mine. If it doesn't come back, I guess it wasn't meant to be.00:07:48JackYou know, yeah.00:07:48XochitlGo on to the streets or someone else picked it up any already got hit by a car and died. Sad but true. So it's.00:07:55JackYeah.00:07:58JackThey're animals living in, in, in, in Mexican culture and Korean culture. They are animals and and and that that's the thing that I came to realize when we had a dog and then.00:08:08JackWe had a kid.00:08:09JackAnd I was like ohh this is just a dog. Like this is not even you know close to the value of a human being like a human life. And I feel like that line is that that distance is a little bit shorter in American culture. It's like, no.00:08:29JackIt's still, it's still your child. You need to take care of it, even though it's a dog. And I'm like, I just. I can't get there. You know? I'm like, no, it's.00:08:35Xochitl1 * 3.00:08:38XochitlSorry, my dogs running out here. People sometimes treat.00:08:44XochitlDogs better than they treat human children in the US, and sometimes they have like more privileges than the US and people like like them more than human children. And that is crazy. Another thing I think is that's really different. And I don't know if it's the same way in Mexico and Korea. I mean, in Mexico, it's still fairly like.00:08:47JackYes.00:09:04XochitlOK. For I wouldn't say it's OK, but I would say it's still commonplace for especially the older generations to hit their dogs. Nothing crazy like people aren't beating.00:09:15JackLike smack it on the snout, it was a.00:09:16XochitlTheir dogs up.00:09:17XochitlYeah, yeah, yeah. You know, or snacking on his **** with the newspaper if it pees in the house and in the US, like, you've been yelling at your dog is like you're an abuser.00:09:17JackNewspaper or whatever, yeah.00:09:25발표자Like you.00:09:26JackI know.00:09:27XochitlYeah, and.00:09:29JackAnd here's the thing. It's like, OK, like animal abuse is wrong. It's it's it's not good. I I'm. I'm totally against animal abuse, obviously, but abusing a a human child is worse than abusing an animal. Like I'm gonna. I'm gonna level. I'm gonna put those on different levels, you know? And it's like, I feel like it's getting all blurred.00:09:29XochitlYeah, go ahead.00:09:47XochitlRight.00:09:49JackTogether in American culture, it's like it's to the point where almost people care about animals more than they care about human beings. There's like, yeah, you know, a whole orphanage of of kids that, like, don't have.00:10:00JackEmily's and yet everyone's like, you know, you gotta rehome this dog, you gotta, you gotta.00:10:06JackAdopt this dog.00:10:06XochitlPeople say the criminals are rehoming a dog in the US Now. It's like if you if you don't have, let's say you adopted a dog and then you realize it was more obligation than you had or or something came upon you and you no longer have the financial resources or the physical capacity to really care for your dog the same way or something happen, whatever.00:10:26XochitlAnd you have to rehome it and you're trying to rehome it responsibly. People will eat you alive.00:10:31JackWow.00:10:31XochitlUhm, I had a friend. Who?00:10:33XochitlTo her baby, her dog bit her baby.00:10:38JackYeah, that's it. I'm done.00:10:40XochitlYeah. And she she's like I I'm going to rehome him because I can't. And I understand completely where she's coming from because you just don't feel safe with your baby and your dog in the same home anymore. Even if you try to keep them separate or whatever. It was kind of what she'd been trying to do up to that point. And it's just so hard living in the same home in a smaller space.00:10:59XochitlAnd UM.00:11:01XochitlShe was getting.00:11:02XochitlEaten alive for lying to rehome the dog, even though the dog bit her baby.00:11:06JackThat's crazy to me, because a dog bites my baby that that dog will find a new home on the moon when I.00:11:17JackLike kick it.00:11:20JackAll the way up there. No, I'm. I'm joking, of course. But I mean.00:11:25XochitlIt would be hard to.00:11:25JackI don't know. I just.00:11:27XochitlTemper about it, it would.00:11:28JackIt would be so it would make me so angry. And it's it's my fault. I didn't train the dog properly or I left the dog alone.00:11:37JackI mean, I mean, I do think that we blame dogs for for bad owners, you know, for being bad owners. But at a certain point, it's kind of like, well, yeah, maybe I didn't train this dog properly, but this dog is bit my kid. I'm done like this dog is out of here because.00:11:51발표자Hmm.00:11:56XochitlYeah, and they can be kind of unpredictable like she adopted that dog. She was the second home and he I was actually, she was my roommate when she first adopted the dog, and he was a menace. Like when he came from the first home, he would just, like, attack randomly. He had serious issues.00:12:14XochitlAnd aggression. And she worked with him and trained him really well over a number of years. But when she had her baby, he kind of regressed, which is can be normal because they get jealous and.00:12:25JackStuff, but he's like he's now. He's different on a different pecking order, you know. Down. Yeah.00:12:30XochitlYeah.00:12:31XochitlAnd he bit her and bit her baby. And that was it for him. Well, she rehomed him, but she got rid of that and I think that's absolutely insane.00:12:34JackWolf.00:12:37JackYeah.00:12:43XochitlI just can't fathom that.00:12:44JackNo, they're, you know, ultimately at the end of the day, they're animals to. To me, it's like, I love my dog. My dog is very sweet, but it's an animal, and it's not a it's not a human. So I'm I'm OK with that. You know, if my daughter needed, you know, a $5000.00:13:03JackLife saving surgery without even batting an eye. I'm getting. I'm paying for that surgery. You know what I mean? Like, whatever it.00:13:12JackTakes, but if my dog needs a $5000 surgery, my wife and I are having a conversation. You know, it's like you've had a good life and you know, like, let's, you know, maybe it's it's, you know, nature takes its course, you know, cuz I think people will spend a lot of money to just keep their.00:13:20XochitlIt's like what?00:13:27XochitlMaybe it's time to go.00:13:33JackDogs limping along.00:13:35JackAnd I'm like, you know, it's a it's a dog. It's an animal, so.00:13:39XochitlAnd their quality of life really decreases and it's different than for a human because they don't have like that capacity to rationalize and find new ways to enjoy the quality of life either. So it really affects them negatively too. But a lot of people just keep them.00:13:50JackReddit.00:13:56XochitlTrotting along for the sake of it.00:14:00JackYeah, I don't know. I hope I don't get a lot of hate mail from this this episode.00:14:01XochitlAlright.00:14:04XochitlI don't. We will. I I I don't think we will cause I think the US culture is really unique about it, about how we think about like dogs and you know animal abuse and.00:14:16XochitlThe culture around dogs is just completely different than it is like anywhere else in the world. And again, my generation is getting more.00:14:25XochitlWe're becoming more kind of like dog and cat parents because we don't have children.00:14:31JackYeah, that's an interesting insight. I think you're right about that. I think you, I think you.00:14:31XochitlAnd most of the.00:14:36JackNailed it, yeah.00:14:37XochitlYeah. It's like most of us don't want to have children. I blend is pretty much the the He's the my maximum capacity for what I can take care of and I didn't. I didn't set out to take care of him. It was like he kind of fell on my doorstep and at that point, you know, I'm still going to do everything I can. I I cover his medical expenses, his travel expenses and everything but.00:14:57XochitlWhen I see him running around barking in a circle and grabbing shoes and chewing on them and stuff, I'm like.00:15:04XochitlCan you imagine having a kid do this for like 6 years or eight years? And essentially I know they don't chew on shoes.00:15:10JackWelcome to my but.00:15:13JackNow my kid's 15, so I'm done. I'm through. You know, the gauntlet. But you know, yeah, it was.00:15:18XochitlYeah. And that's the thing though. It's like your dog is like in your home with you all the time. And when it passes, it passes. And with a kid, like, they're gonna outlive you, and you're going to worry about that kid for the rest of your natural life until you die. And that's something I don't think I'm ever going to be prepared for because.00:15:20JackIt was tough.00:15:33JackYeah.00:15:38XochitlI don't want to sound like a pessimist. The world can be such a a horrible place.00:15:43XochitlAnd.00:15:44XochitlAnd I'm so scared to have kids and them to go out into the world and potentially suffer, especially women, all the horrible things that can happen and and are not exempt, you know, but.00:15:55JackYeah. No, I don't. I don't blame you. Yeah. No, these are these are things that keep me up at night, you know?00:16:00JackSo just the parent.00:16:01XochitlYes. Yeah. You have a daughter, not, you know, not trying to scare you.00:16:04XochitlAnything but.00:16:04JackNo, no, no. I've you. You couldn't scare me more. I've I again. You know, I my my a lot of the real estate in my brain is dedicated just to worrying about my daughter.00:16:06발표자But.00:16:08XochitlYeah, you're right.00:16:16JackSo and very little is is worrying about my dog, so.00:16:22XochitlYeah, it shows the difference. Alright, listeners, we'll let us know what is the culture around dogs in your home country. I'm very interested to hear. And also for your generation, does your generation or does your country treat dogs differently based on which?00:16:37XochitlGeneration the person or the owner might be because for me I do notice a difference in in between probably people, millennials and Gen. ZI would say, which are our generations like 35 and under. I would say in the US people mostly like in their 20s to very early 30s.00:16:58XochitlIt's kind of a different.00:17:01XochitlBreed of.00:17:03XochitlLine of thinking. Cultural thinking. So yeah, I'm curious. Let us know in a comment down below at A-Z englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail at AZ English podcast at Gmail.00:17:13XochitlCom or join the conversation? Or we chat. What's up groups and we'll see you guys next time. Bye bye.00:17:18JackBye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-dogs/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy