I say no. Some anthropomorphism is basically a necessary evil. Words such as personality, intelligence, afraid, happy, aggressive are human traits that are used to describe dog behaviors which is essentially a form of anthromorphism. People describe clothes as cute or decor as playful or the weather as ugly. Do dogs feel jealousy? Or guilt? They are human emotions. Saying a dog is jealous or guilty or even happy is a form of anthropomorphism. We, as humans, attribute human emotions and traits to all kinds of non-living things all the time, every single day. Essentially, in one way it's a means of communicating a message so that it's understandable. How else would you describe dog behaviors without using associated human behaviors and make people understand? Most people don't even understand dog behavior when you're guilty of anthropomorphism.

Anything done to a degree that affects your life in one or may negatively can be considered a mental illness but it's typically a definitive diagnose based on a recognized mental illness. I posit that anthropomorphism can be a sign of mental illness, but is not a mental illness in and of itself.

 

I'm with Jess, I don't think it's a disease. I however think it's more of a coping mechanism. It is human nature to adapt ones psyche to deal with what are believed to be negative actions. So a lot of people out there look at abuse in different ways and then utilize anthropomorphism to cover up the feelings they get when dealing with abuse and neglect.
I use it to a certain degree personally to deal with Ecko's cancer. I "baby" him and I speak to him and I ask him how he's "feeling" and ask him why he's "sad". I know that a dog is a dog and I am not a fur mommy, I have a break stick, I let my dogs pull for exercise when I can but demand a hard heel when I can't.
But when my heart is breaking, I am guilty of using it as a coping mechanism.

 

"J", don't know who accused you of having this but I doubt you do, LOL.

Seriously, I don't think I would go as far as calling it a "serious mental illness" but I do believe that some people go over board in treating animals like humans. I am humane to my dogs and love 'em to death but I don't categorize them on being on the same level as people nor do I treat them as such. Some people substitute their pets as human companions and go WAY over the top with letting them eat at the table with them, sleeping with them and buying them gifts but I wouldn't put it in the same category as schizophrenia or necrophilism, which to me are serious mental disorders.

 

You boys all like to front. I'm sure Bulldoggin' secretly prances his dogs out in their stylish outfits with designer duds on a regular basis and insists in private that they have conversations with him; he talks tough. And Joe we know your dogs have their very own poolside loungers....LOL just kidding boys

Mac makes a good point, that I think Joe touched on. Though I don't know if it's always a defense mechanism, I do think that many people (me included at times) use their dogs to fill a need within them - some more than others. I know Ciara's fur has held more than it's fair share of my tears and I tend to talk to all of the dogs like they are people sometimes. I think we are all guilty of it at least once in a while in some way, shape or form. The problem occurs when people do it, don't even understand that they're doing it or what they're doing, or expect something from their dogs that they are not capable of because they are not humans. The four of us in this conversation so far know that however we may treat or talk to or say about our dogs, they are still just dogs and know what to expect from them and how to treat them appropriately. The people that piss me off are the ones who think their dog should be behaving like a human or showing human emotions, actions, behaviors. Dogs don't have "guilt" (I found an interesting peer reviewed study in the journals confirming that dogs are more likely responding the to communication of its owner, both verbally and nonverbally, not showing or feeling "guilty") and dogs don't need canine "friends". And to anthropomorphize bulldogs is asking for problems and is dangerous. THAT is the real issue here - not anthropomorphism in general, but the extent that which people tend to anthromorphize their "pibbles" resulting in all the dangerous dog and BSL nonsense that the rest of us are forced to deal with for treating our dogs as what they are - dogs not people.

 

Lol if I get accused of it they don't know me.

I sincerely believe people won't believe some of their instincts and feelings are animalistic and not "human". And I feel other legitimately in their mind can't separate the two. I think those are the ones where it is a borderline mental illness. I also think the media, rescues, entertainment, etc does facilitate a lot of this.

And please don't get it confused, I do love my dogs. I've dedicated my whole life to them. I'm just a realistic person and know they are animals not people. And as much as I do love themI can separate the 2 and put humans on a higher level. If you can't I feel like you have a mental disorder or Maybe a learning disability. I say it a lot "life isn't a Disney movie" foxes won't play with hounds and bear kill people not sing songs and adopt them lol

Oh and I barely have enough collars to go around let alone outfits LBVVVVVVS

 

I sincerely believe people won't believe some of their instincts and feelings are animalistic and not "human". And I feel other legitimately in their mind can't separate the two. I think those are the ones where it is a borderline mental illness. I also think the media, rescues, entertainment, etc does facilitate a lot of this.

:goodpost: Totally agree with all of this. Especially the part I bolded. Those are the people with a problem - maybe not mental illness - but definitely a problem. They also most likely shouldn't have dogs and are first to buy those Disney tickets you speak of. They probably think "The Jungle Book" support their theory that we're all the same.