It's all cognitive dissonance in the end. People are quite happy to have illogical and inconsistent beliefs because it lets them remain entirely ethical in their heads.
They will even become hostile when you challenge this because you are threatening the foundation of their ethics and mental health.
Otoh, relating to something is based on itself. It's a choice, not an obligation. In one ethical framework you're right, it's irrational to treat dogs better than pigs. In another, both lives are unimportant, but one picks dogs one level up for their utility. Inanimate objects also "experience" that. When you're sawing a plank, it's woodwork. When you're sawing a hammer, it's disrespect to the tool.
I’m pretty confident if someone filmed themselves sawing a hammer in half and filmed eating a dog. I know which one of these would receive hate and probably be taken off YouTube.
I didn't intend to make these look comparable, in part due to the fact that these two cultural sets are different in size and vocality. If the point of this comparison is to provide a non-selection based counter argument, it pretty much cannot.
They will even become hostile when you challenge this because you are threatening the foundation of their ethics and mental health.