So why do people like their dogs so much – they treat them better than children, and clean up after their junk, and will do anything to protect them from the real world.
What is the attraction that makes people go crazy around puppies and dogs?
This is right up there with “When did you stop beating your wife”. On top of that, it doesn’t look like a question with a factual answer.
They don’t talk back.
They give you unconditional love.
They are not judgmental.
Can you say that about a child?
Interestingly there is a GQ answer to this. It’s mainly because dogs are bred to *like us * so much. Dogs have an near innate capacity due to selective breeding to read human body language, and dogs will readily become part of our “pack”. It’s like having a sensitive friend who will give you unconditional affection, protect you, and never tell you you’re getting too fat.
What’s not to like?
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Thank you, Astro. Nice GQ answer. Unfortunately, I think all other responses will be opinions.
So I’ll move this pooch to IMHO.
GQ > IMHO
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When I come home from work my dog (Bichon) acts like I’ve been gone for 10 years.
She barks and paces and can’t wait for me to sit down so she can welcome me home. She jumps up in my lap and licks me on the lips for a good 5 to 10 seconds and then settles down for a good rub. (Hey, I realize it ain’t the most hygienic welcome.)
Anyway, as mentioned: unconditional love, no strings attached. My dog doesn’t give me shit for having too much to drink, or for coming home late, and she can’t talk to anyone about things I’ve done.
They stink.
Their breath stinks.
They lick their ass (see previous two).
They jump on people and scratch them.
They slobber.
They shed.
They tear stuff up when they’re bored.
They don’t crap in toilets.
They noise they emit is annoying at any hour of the day.
They bite people they don’t know.
People treat them like people.
There are plenty of reasons. Not everyone loves dogs.
Yes, I know I’m generalizing and not ALL dogs bite, tear, bark, etc. Whatever.
Besides adapting to us, and giving love, some dogs actually work for a living. A guide dog led a guy down many flights of stairs and out of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. How many other animals can do stuff like that?
Well, in this case, you’re probably just looking at badly trained dogs. Badly trained kids do these things, too.
Plus, I know a few humans who slobber and shed and have bad breath but they don’t make up for it with the cute puppy dog eyes.
No kidding, you’re generalizing?
Hell, the vast majority of the dogs I’ve encountered in my life don’t meet half the criteria of your list.
I’ve known some dogs whose breath would knock a buzzard off of a rotting moose carcass, but that’s still not as bad as the breath of a guy who is both a heavy smoker and coffee drinker.
I don’t like dogs. I’m a very private person. Dogs are demanding and in-your-face. It seems you can’t enter a room with a dog in it without the dog bolting up to you, wanting something from you. I hate that. Dogs, especially large dogs, take up physical and mental space that I don’t want to share. Dogs are ugly. They sound annoying. Dogs smell disgusting when wet. Dogs make a mess. Dogs, any dog, are potentially dangerous to small children. I have cats and I’m happy.
It’s actually a good question, even though everyone seems all het up over it.
I don’t know why I like dogs. Seems like half the fun of owning one is my wife and I saying to each other, “look what he’s doing now” or “guess what he did today”.
Maybe there’s just a fulfilling feeling of having something to care for. . .some people work on their cars & houses when it isn’t necessary. But, there’s no good pat answer to “why do we like a companion?” It’s just something to talk to, something that registers your existence, something that enjoys and depends on your existence. The answers to why we need to have those feelings fulfilled are for the psychologists, though.
What’s not to like?
we have two dogs. I have really grown to hate them, although they’re not that bad as dogs go. But I resent the “responsibility”(on top of the parental responsibiltiies which I don’t resent) Having to find a dog sitter everytime we want a weekend away, having to be home on time to let them out or feed them, their insistance on an early morning breakfast on weekends (they don’t seem to know it’s a weekend). They bark when anyone comes to the house (even me).
I don’t care about the hair all over the house. I don’t have to pick up their waste. I don’t even have to walk them if I don’t want to. (we live pretty isolated and they hang outside a lot and run around). Still, they add very little to my enjoyment of life. The kids say they love them, but would they miss them? My S.O. likes having the sense of security when I’m out of town.
Excellent answer to the question in the OP.
Wait…
I like just about all animals, including dogs, but I’ve wondered about this question myself. I’ve met several people now (okay, three of them are in the same family) who state that they LOVE dogs but HATE cats. They aren’t allergic, they just think cats are “skittish” or stupid because they won’t obey orders.
We’ve had a puppy for a couple of months now that requires near-constant attention, pees and poops in the house, bites everyone who tries to cuddle her, and tears up anything you leave within reach. She had diarrhea down the crack of the car seat, and her care has cost about eight hundred dollars so far. She has to be walked ten times a day in the hot muggy weather, and she’s not nearly as beautiful as the cats, yet still we have these “dogs are better than cats” conversations. It’s a little frustrating.
The cat we had growing up did all of the above & worse when she was a kitten. My hands were shredded, and my house stunk for weeks. Come to think of it, the litterbox ensured that it stunk for 20 years.
Cats & Dogs are two different animals with two different sets of characteristics. it would stand to reason that some people would like one more than the other. Especially when there have been many more years spent breading one of those animals with human compatibility in mind.
I love MY dogs. I don’t know why. I have SEVEN Jack Russels and I can’t imagine not having dogs around. I walk them, have at least attempted to train them, and take them to the vet and the groomers whenever it is needed. They eat really well, I have 5 doggie doors in various places. They follow me from room to room whenever I move and watch TV with me every night. The only big expense is having 49 birthday parties every year.
I also have both (cats and a dog that is). And even though it’s only me, I also have these “dogs are better than cats or vice versa” conversations. I have to admit, I used to be one of these people who thought that cats were standoffish, snobby and not affectionate. Now I know better, but there are pros and cons to each pet. The dog is nearly perfectly trained and since she’s an aussie with the normal vocabulary of her breed (IIRC it’s comparable to that of a toddler’s), so she understands and obeys commands very well.
Then again, so do the cats (most of the time), since they were both brought up under the disciplinary standards of “the Punisher” 
(squirt bottle).
The nice thing about cats is that they can take themselves to the bathroom, I don’t have to wait in -20 degree weather (after first having made sure to put on the cold weather dog booties) while they take their sweet damned time going. And when it comes to snobbiness, my dog really is the stuffy one, if I even so much as turn over in bed she heaves a giant long suffering sigh, jumps off the bed and flops down with yet another disgusted “Geee, can’t you be still for one minute?” sigh.
The two cats, other than an occasional squabble, will snuggle up and not move no matter how I toss and turn. And they’re very cuddly, they love the lap and all sorts of petting.
I guess I love cats and dogs! (and birds, I have two "Tiels and a parakeet). The OP’s declaration of “they treat them better than children, and clean up after their junk, and will do anything to protect them from the real world” is pretty silly though. And I’m not sure I get the “protect them from the real world” part of that. Ummmm…what are you supposed to do, make sure they watch the news and volunteer for Habitat for Humanity? The poster who villified them with “biting, tearing, barking” etc is equally silly.
Yes, I know that there are those Paris Hiltons of the world that dress their tiny teacup dogs up like dolls and cart them around in handbags. And I know that there are those who don’t train their dogs properly, but that’s a pretty broad brush with which to paint the whole dog population. Particularly when those are problems with bad owners, not bad dogs.
Most of us who love dogs just love them for the companionship and their unique and lovable doggy ways.
Good answer that bears repeating. Dogs were bred to be companion animals, and they’re good at it. We are their ecological niche.