5 Reasons Why Dogs Are The Best House Pets

by Alex Quarrie-Jones

As I currently write my cat is slumped at the end of my bed, like a furry black ball, looking rather content and calm as he snoozes. Most people would then stroke the cat or comment on his adorableness but I look at him with contempt and irritancy; for at 4am this morning he decided to engage in one of his favourite pastimes of bringing live mice into my room and then proceeding to play what can only really be described as ‘SAW’ for mice. Once he was finished he leapt up onto my bed and has been there right up until now. This has put me in a very anti-cat mood (and since chickens don’t really bring anything pet-wise to the table) therefore I am going to explain why dogs are best.

1.    Before you’ve even got a dog there is so much choice to make; with a cat it’s pretty much gender (to be honest that becomes irrelevant later) and colour, but with dogs there are over 100 different ‘pure’ breeds’ and even more cross breeds (my dog is a ‘Sprollie’, which is a cross breed between a Springer Spaniel and a Collie). Also different breeds come with different traits and qualities, e.g. Springer Spaniels love to jump while Golden Retrievers are excellent at finding and bringing. From these your dog can develop a personality to a much greater extent than any other household pet.

2.    Dogs are more versatile pets; most household pets (hamsters, snakes, fish, etc) don’t care where they are because they already have their own miniature home, once a cat is in one place, it stays, it may travel really far but it will return to exactly the same place (case hand point with my cat currently on my bed where I will always find him). Dogs do well with change; they adapt quickly and learn their surroundings even quicker. They also make ‘friends’ much better then cats (unless the cats are possibly siblings) but on the whole, the introduction of any new animal to the house will inevitably irritate the cat.

3.    You can do more things with a dog; dogs are the optimum household pets as they provide the motivation to do stuff whether it just be throwing a ball or a 10k walk, a dog will always be interested. Dogs also act as a tool for social interaction; you can relate to other dog owners and understand their dog-related problems, and yes, you can do that with other household pets but it’s very rare that two cat owners will meet outside their homes, with their cats (and not at the vets either, that’s just cheating cat-lovers). 

 

4.    Dogs are much more affectionate and willing to interact; a common name for dogs’ is “Man’s Best Friend” and this is certainly true with all the dogs I know. Dogs have an unswerving loyalty and bond with their owner/s which is insurmountable in contending with other domestic pets. For example dogs will always bark (as my dog is also currently doing) but this is a protective statement to all who might ‘threaten’ the dog’s owner. Although a dog’s bark can be annoying, we must remember what that dog is trying to say through its bark.

5.    I know I said five but here are some trivial reasons; the ratio of a pet’s life to activity is highest for a dog, dogs respond when you call their names, therefore a dog’s name is more meaningful, you can house-train dogs while cats will continually bring mice into your room at bloody 4 in the morning! Dog’s food smells the least worst, dogs can be taught to do tricks, dogs eat any leftover food and finally, they’re better just because they are.