Cats vs dogs preference

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I like dogs much more than cats. In fact, I'm kind of afraid of cats for no reason. When I was a child I loved my dog plushies the best. It's not that I don't like their loudness and stinkiness, and I was chased and bitten by dogs before. They are cute, affectionate, grateful, and easy to read.

I don't like cats, my wife loves them. I love dogs, my last one was a german shepard husky mix I rescued from the shelter and my new pup is a black lab that I'm training to be a bird dog. Dogs are social but their rules are simple, once you understand them training is easy. I've only had my pup for 3 weeks and she know sit, stay, come, follow and fetch.

I most definitely prefer cats. I don't have any at the moment, but I used to have two kitty brothers, an orange tabby/white shorthair and a black/white very fluffy longhair. (Presumably they have different fathers, since cat reproduction works such that this is possible and even commonplace.) They're still alive and well, but now live in my mother's house; this is because I ended up getting a job in another country and couldn't take them with me. Then I was told that she wouldn't give them back even if I could house them, so obviously my mum likes them as much as I do.

I used to find all dogs scary. I've somewhat warmed to them after being properly introduced to some, but I still don't care for the way they behave or smell. My father has a Scottish terrier now, and she's definitely the individual of her species I like best of all dogs I've met. Not overly noisy or in-your-face, fairly affectionate though. She seems to grab my lap on the TV couch whenever I'm visiting my dad. But she still smells. I know bathing will solve that, but that's a lot of work compared to cats who keep themselves clean to the point of imperceptibility to my inferior human nose.

I would say that "not fully domesticated" of cats is a matter of opinion. Domestic cats are quite sophisticated in their social ability with humans. They even understand that small human children are just that, and hence their behaviour must be met with more tolerance than that of adult humans, just like kittens. And I can read cats a lot better than dogs; I think it's just a matter of what you're used to.

Dogs are kind of loyal servants, and I'm not particularly interested in having individuals around that I have to boss around (which is pretty much mandatory for keeping dogs properly, as I understand it). I'd much rather have independent but affectionate creatures like cats around.

I recently befriended someone who raises Siamese cats. It's kind of interesting the way they work. They're a bit lion-like; the senior tomcat in the household is definitely much like the head of a pride of lions.

1)I've never smelled a dog that smells as bad as a cat's litter box. And I work at a kennel with hundreds of different dogs every week. That being said, I will admit dog breath can get really smelly if you don't keep their teeth and gums clean.

2) "One of the most important things to realize about cats is that they haven't really been domesticated" Temple Grandin, "Animals Make us Human" p. 67, and then she goes into why they aren't fully domesticated.
Also, wild animals can only really be trained using positive reinforcement, which is why people used to think that cats couldn't be trained, since old training methods for domestic animals such as dogs and horses were negative reinforcement/positive punishment-based. Something that animals that weren't selected for to work with humans wouldn't respond well to. (I'm very against positive punishment-based training for ANY species)
So, not really an opinion. Cats are somewhat domesticated, but nowhere near the extent of the other domestic animals.

3) Dogs are not servants, and I don't know who gave you the idea that you have to boss them around, but I'm going to guess it was someone whose not up to date on modern dog training and behavior research? *coughCesarMillancoughgroupiescough* Excuse me. Dogs are partners, and family members. The human-dog relationship should be one of mutual trust and respect. Not someone bossing the other around.

I don't want to give anyone the idea that I don't love cats and I also don't care if people PREFER them, but I really feel that the bias against dogs is based on misconceptions and myths. Don't knock it until you've tried it. Coming from someone whose had both dogs and cats.

HarHarHar, me too.

When I was little, I wasn't afraid of dogs at all, but when I became a little older, I developed a fear for them. I think I know why too. There was a German shepherd living in our neighborhood. He was a calm and gentle dog, as far as I can remember him. I simply wasn't interested in him, which my mother found strange. She'd pet him and try to persuade me to approach to pet him, too. I wasn't interested, I was way more interested in staying put in my day dreams while she was preoccupied with him, so I just said no.
She kept on saying: "Come, he's not dangerous." and when my grandfather visited us, he said the same.
I wasn't afraid, just disinterested, but their continued attempt to have me pet the dog and their continued attempt to tell me it wasn't dangerous, had the opposite effect on me. I hadn't been afraid but with them going on and on about how it wasn't dangerous, I began thinking it had to be dangerous since they kept saying it, kept trying to assure me.
That lead to a few years where I was scared around dogs, and that only ended when we got our own puppy just before my 8th birthday.
Like a lot of small children I liked small animals more. I loved our little budgie Jakob, for instance.



Don't get me started on Cesar! I've seen a couple of his programs and I wasn't impressed, to put it mildly.
Victoria Stillwell is a far superior trainer IMO!


Yes.


Regarding smell... not all dogs smell bad. My two didn't, unless they were cold or wet. I've met dogs you could really smell from afar, but that's not true of all dogs.

Lol, I won't. Don't get me started either because dog behavior is one of my special interests and I WILL go on about it xD
Victoria is one of my top three favorite people in the animal training and behavior fields! She's the one who got me interested in dog behavior and positive reinforcement training! (And for cat people, she also works with cats but that's not as well known because she's mostly known for being a dog trainer).
I'm just going to say that for this comment alone, I think you're awesome. And now I'll stop hijacking this thread. Sorry everyone!

I like both dogs and cats. I have to admit that I like cats better. They seem easier to care for.

Dogs .

I like cats well enough, but I can't have with them the sort of connection I do with a dog. Most dogs like me wherever I go. Cats, some do, but they are all aloof and stuff

I'm a cat girl all the way.
The more wild or feral, the better.
They love me and I love them.

I love wolves of any kind or dingoes, and they love me too.
For some reason the more wild instinct an animal has, the better connection I have with them - it seems to depend on that more than what kind of animal they are.

Dogs love me, and I can stand them, as I do like any animal, but I don't love them.
I do like large dogs - they are preferable to me over small ones which annoy the crap out of me.

I love both cats and dogs..we have both 2 cats and one dog..although i like the calmness of the cats i love the little pommy she is just mad..so for me makes no diffrence..i love all animals..exept the human kind

We always had cats and dogs when I was growing up but I didnt really get along with either. I prefer calm and control in my environment rather than animals running around all over and dropping hair everywhere....that said, my wife wanted cats and she normally gets what she wants so we now have 2 cats - brothers from the same litter. I admit that, now we have them they can be sweet but would still say I am not really an animal person on the whole. I am glad we have cats rather than dogs though as dogs seem like a lot more hard work.

Matter of preference and individual sense of smell, heh. Dogs smell rather worse to me than a cat's litterbox. Seems like an unfair comparison, too, the smell of the animal in general vs. the place where most of its waste is deposited.

I'd actually hold up breath as being one of the few cases where cats DO smell worse than dogs, and these are cats who were perfectly healthy. No, doggy breath isn't that nice, but cat breath is worse. You just don't get it on you as often given the way each species behaves when up close and personal.



I really should get around to reading Temple Grandin's work sometime. Sounds like I'd be quite interested in what she has to say on that topic.

I've seen examples of cats being successfully trained by both methods. Though in the case of positive punishment (just on the order of "No! BAD!" mind you) it might mostly be a case of them keeping it together while there are humans watching.



It's possible, but I would need more data before I agree it's not a matter of opinion.



From dog owners bitching about other dog owners doing a bad/remiss job of raising their dogs, who then tended to become aggressive and out of control. I don't think they were particularly into Cesar Millan, but I'd have to ask them.



Well, hardly my area of expertise, but I was under the impression making sensible family members out of dogs involves the human establishing themselves at/near the top of the pack. Which doesn't necessarily take much in the way of force or "bossing around", perhaps, but certainly some firmness at times. I'd be interested to be corrected on this.

No dog owner nor their, or my, dogs have really made a different impression on me; it's all been a case of giving lots of cues to the dog about how they should or shouldn't behave in a given situation, vs. cats only when they do something really bad to begin with.



I've tried it. I know where my preference is, but I don't have a problem with dog people so long as they take good care of their dogs (whatever that may or may not entail).

Thank you! I think you must be a pretty awesome dog owner for applying methods used by Victoria Stillwell; it's good for the dog
I didn't know she had cat training too.
Who are your other two favorites?

Well thank you! My girl has some minor anxiety issues (I think due to a mix between genetics, her just being a sensitive dog, and a bad boarding experience she had as a puppy) and positive reinforcement training has definitely boosted her confidence.

Here's an interview where she mentions working with cats, but it's pretty brief. I didn't know either until she posted this on her facebook page.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvPK_UV-F8k

My two other favorites are Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Ian Dunbar. Temple Grandin because she's contributed immensely the fields of autism, animal welfare, and animal behavior, all topics that I'm interested in. And she does a really good job explaining animal behavior and emotions in her books. I personally have "Animals in Translation" and I'm reading "Animals Make us Human." She also does a good job explaining research and studies done in these books in a way that's clear for the general public to understand. I'm going to see her next month!
Ian Dunbar because he's a very smart man who has done a lot of research on dog behavior and is a strong advocate for positive reinforcement training. He's also got an excellent sense of humor. I also love reading his and his wife's (Kelly Dunbar, an excellent trainer in her own right) website, Dog Star Daily. It has a wealth of information on dog training and some really great articles and blogs.

I don't like cats, as i feel that they don't respect the owner and i can't be near one without fearing that it's going to claw me.
I like calm dogs but i don't like the ones who bark, for obvious reasons.

Was the comma in the last sentence right?