…then cats must be teenagers.
First off, I have to admit I enjoy making that "dogs are like children" comparison if for no other reason than I know it must annoy at least some of the people out there currently raising kids. But trust me, the parallels are amusing, if a bit scary.
Take jealousy, for instance. We have two dogs, a male and a female. The female is a German Shepherd mix, a couple of years old. The male is a Rottweiler mix and he's about 9 months old. We got Athos (the Rottweiler) first, then Nala adopted us a week later. And we've been seeing jealousy issues between the two almost from day one. I'll take them out for a walk and, when we get back, Athos will race over to Nala's space to grab the bone she's left behind, then gleefully trot over to his space, where he's already got a bone. She'll come prowling into the house, find a toy he's been playing with, and take it out into the yard, stepping over the toys already littering the yard. And let's not even talk about their behavior when they perceive that one is getting more attention than the other. I haven't seen this kind of jealousy since my brothers and my sister used to argue over who got the most soda in their glass at dinnertime. (We finally had to put the glasses side by side and carefully measure out their drink each evening to make sure everyone got the same amount.)
Dogs are also needy (and I don't mean that to be as negative as it probably sounds), crave attention, and are extraordinarily sensitive to your moods and attitude. Snap at a dog, and they will react (whether to bark or cower depends on their temperament.) They are outgoing in their affection (sloppily so) and, once they've bonded, are quick to show you that affection. And they can play the same game, day in and day out, for, seemingly, hours on end without tiring. (And how many times have you seen your kids' favorite DVD?)
Cats, meanwhile, are like teenagers. Come home unexpectedly in the middle of the day and startle them during naptime and they're likely to look at you like you're some alien thing that crawled out from under the house, and should return there posthaste. While not actually aloof (ours are demanding to a fault), attention is always on their terms. Walk past them and they'll demand to be petted. Lay down at night, and I am guaranteed at least one will attempt to curl up on my chest to go to sleep. But they don't often come looking for attention, unless it's time for dinner, or their water dish is empty or there's some other crisis that only the thing with opposable thumbs can handle. They'd just as soon do it themselves… they're just not equipped.
Now that I understand our relationships I'm comfortable with the dogs' inevitable bouts of insecurity and the cats' inevitable arrogant demands. It's all part of that family thing, apparently.
First off, I have to admit I enjoy making that "dogs are like children" comparison if for no other reason than I know it must annoy at least some of the people out there currently raising kids. But trust me, the parallels are amusing, if a bit scary.
Take jealousy, for instance. We have two dogs, a male and a female. The female is a German Shepherd mix, a couple of years old. The male is a Rottweiler mix and he's about 9 months old. We got Athos (the Rottweiler) first, then Nala adopted us a week later. And we've been seeing jealousy issues between the two almost from day one. I'll take them out for a walk and, when we get back, Athos will race over to Nala's space to grab the bone she's left behind, then gleefully trot over to his space, where he's already got a bone. She'll come prowling into the house, find a toy he's been playing with, and take it out into the yard, stepping over the toys already littering the yard. And let's not even talk about their behavior when they perceive that one is getting more attention than the other. I haven't seen this kind of jealousy since my brothers and my sister used to argue over who got the most soda in their glass at dinnertime. (We finally had to put the glasses side by side and carefully measure out their drink each evening to make sure everyone got the same amount.)
Dogs are also needy (and I don't mean that to be as negative as it probably sounds), crave attention, and are extraordinarily sensitive to your moods and attitude. Snap at a dog, and they will react (whether to bark or cower depends on their temperament.) They are outgoing in their affection (sloppily so) and, once they've bonded, are quick to show you that affection. And they can play the same game, day in and day out, for, seemingly, hours on end without tiring. (And how many times have you seen your kids' favorite DVD?)
Cats, meanwhile, are like teenagers. Come home unexpectedly in the middle of the day and startle them during naptime and they're likely to look at you like you're some alien thing that crawled out from under the house, and should return there posthaste. While not actually aloof (ours are demanding to a fault), attention is always on their terms. Walk past them and they'll demand to be petted. Lay down at night, and I am guaranteed at least one will attempt to curl up on my chest to go to sleep. But they don't often come looking for attention, unless it's time for dinner, or their water dish is empty or there's some other crisis that only the thing with opposable thumbs can handle. They'd just as soon do it themselves… they're just not equipped.
Now that I understand our relationships I'm comfortable with the dogs' inevitable bouts of insecurity and the cats' inevitable arrogant demands. It's all part of that family thing, apparently.
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