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Should I Get A Cat Or A Dog?

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A cat or a dog – which is better?

I was recently asked by a family friend which is better or more to the point should I get a cat or a dog?

Ahhhh yes, the age-old question of DOG vs CAT rises again!

Today we are focusing on what makes a better pet: a cat or a dog.

White puppy running on tennis court
Puppy pic to sway your opinion

After seeing this image again I’m going to have to say mark 1 for the cat.

Should I Get A Cat Or A Dog?

If you asked my mother she would not hesitate in her answer.

She prefers cats and currently has three living at her home (I’m sure she’ll have more soon).

On the other hand, come talk to me and I’m pretty sure I can convince you that a dog makes the better pet.

Of course, I’m biased after all the name of this blog is PUPPYintraining.com and not KITTYinTraining.com.

Well lucky for us we don’t have to rely on mine or my mother’s biased outlook on dogs and cats.

Instead, we came across an article that reveals a scientific approach to determine whether a dog or a cat is the better pet.

Let’s visit the results from the Daily Mail website:

In the ‘great pet showdown’ experts compared 11 traits from brain size to environmental impact by looking at research published in scientific journals.

Here are the results of those 11 traits:

  1. Brains – who have bigger brain size in proportion to their body size – Winner= CATS
  2. Time Species Has Been Domesticated – dogs have shared history with humans.  Domesticated at nearly 135,000 years ago – Winner= DOGS
  3. Bonding – Research has shown that even a 4-month-old puppy chooses a human companion over another dog – Winner= DOGS
  4. Popularity – 204 million cats in the top 10 cat-owning nations vs 173 million dogs in the top 10 dog-owning nations – Winner= CATS
  5. Ability to Understand Words – One study has shown a Border Collie named Rico has mastered over 200 words – Winner= DOGS
  6. Problem Solving – dogs can follow gestures such as outstretched fingers or the nod of a head – Winner = DOGS
  7. Purr vs Bark – the attention-seeking purr wins out against the dog bark even though a dog can change the frequency, pitch, and range of their bark – Winner = CATS
  8. Ease of Training – dogs are said to be easier to train than cats (I guess the proof there can be my mother’s attempts at training her cats) – Winner = DOGS
  9. Senses of Sight, Smell, and Hearing – no contest a cat can see in lower light, have a wider range of hearing, and can smell better than a dog – Winner = CATS
  10. Eco-Friendliness – because a cat is smaller in size they have a smaller ecological footprint.  Less land to farm food…less poop – Winner = CATS

The score is tied at 5 with the final category (the tie breaker):

Usefulness -Winner = DOGS

Dogs, studies show, help cut human stress, while taking them for walks keeps their owners fit and helps them meet new people. New Scientist says: ‘Dogs can hunt, herd and guard.

‘They can sniff out drugs and bombs; they guide blind and deaf people, race for sport, pull sledges, find someone buried by an avalanche, help children learn and possibly even predict earthquakes.’

And in a conclusion bound to set tongues wagging, it adds: ‘Cats are good if you have an infestation of rodents.’

There you have it.

The dogs win out by a hair.

As always it really comes down to personal preference and this list of categories is not comprehensive in reality each category should carry some kind of weighting.

As I scan over the list of traits in this comparison many of the Dog-Friendly traits seem to be a result of earlier domestication things like bonding, ability to understand words, problem-solving, and ease of training.

On the other hand, the traits more suited for cats seem to be those traits that make them more adapted to living in the wild (less domestication) such as larger brains and better sense of sight, smell, and hearing.

Honestly, I love both dogs and cats.

My biggest deterrent for not having a cat right now is allergies.

There seems to be a much higher number of people allergic to cats versus dogs.

So, if you are highly allergic to cats then my answer to the question:

Should I Get A Cat Or A Dog? is A DOG!

What do you guys think? 

Which is a better pet?

A Cat or A Dog?

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15 Comments

  1. everyone has a opinion people like cats and dog so you can’t say dogs are better than cats. some cats are mean some cats are nice some dogs are mean some dogs are nice it doesn’t matter what people choose let them choose not you so stop being mean to cats. oh and cats are good companions they get rid of pests insects rats and other stuff, they don’t have to get a bath cause they bathe themselves, they don’t stink like some dogs do, and cats can cuddle with you too. some cats can be mean and scratch because they might be afraid of you cause you did something to them before that you might not remember but they do, so that is why they scratch or bite, or hiss at you . so dogs and cats are good pets to get, you can even get both cats and dog when they are babies because they aree closer together like that.

  2. Dog dog dog!!! Have you ever heard of a cot guiding the blind? Knowing when a storm or something is going to happen? I dont think so!!!! Dogs are loving, fetching, playfull pets. Cats…… HISSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!! HISSSSSSS!!!!!! Dumb cats. Get a dog!!!! Hope this helped!!!!

  3. Dogs donot kill cats, we got a baby kitten from a rescure, and i have a full grown doberman, they were scared at first of each other, it took 2wks. of them being together, but not alone, and they love each other now sleep together, play , the cat is all over her, and she dont hurt the kitten at all its all how you raise them.

  4. Hi Tia,

    We are dog people too, but as a kid growing up we’ve always had dogs and cats. So we like both. If you look at our family it’s split. My Dad, brother, and I are dog people and my sister and mom are the cat people. It’s kind of interesting that the males like the dogs and the females like the cats…

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Colby

  5. get a DOG there way better then cats. cats dont play like dogs do and there eat small animals like fish or hamster. every so often u get a dead mouse or bird off them sick i know.

    Dogs are loving animal, they are play full, loyal and get along with most other dogs. So get a dog, i would’t lisen to the cat lovers out there.

  6. dont listen to the people who said cats. dogs are loyal, friendly,and loving. a cat is
    . great but they will eat your pets and dogs are really not aggressive people made them agrressive. dogs dont kill cats my dog is a jack russell terrier and friends with a stray cat. cats will run and hiss when they see people a dog will walk up to them happily.and finnally dogs tend to be more friendly, loving, and caring than cats. if you get a cat dont blame me or a dog because your fish hamster ferret rabbit bird or pet mouse gets eaten.therefore i suggest dogs

  7. i have had 18 stray cats in my lifetime. rescue cats.
    they have taught me alot about life and death.
    i actually published a book about how to grieve called FINDING THE GOOD
    IN GOODBYE. my pets inspired me to do this. i have one elderly
    gal left. it’s not about which soul is BETTER.. it is about who you connect
    with and saving a life.

  8. Cats are so much better.

    Dogs are such whiney bitches. “FEED ME WALK ME I WANT ATTENTION”

    Cats: “What’s good nigga how was ur day….purrr”. They are just chillin.

  9. ADD: Dogs are needy and cats are not…they are very independent. Also, you have to earn a cat’s trust whereas dogs usually trust most people. In Italy, especially the coast, cats are loved as they keep the rodents out…I think they are treasured in Europe since they eliminated the rodents carrying the fleas that caused the bubonic plague. I do love dogs also but cats are definitely my fav. Momo

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