Dog person
April 9, 2008I know that we have limited control over our kids’ personalities. I believe that we can influence them to some degree in the daily course of things, and that extreme behavior (e.g., abuse) can cause extreme changes, but I also think we kind of get what we get.
I would not have extended this theory to pets. I always thought that my dad didn’t like cats because his mother hadn’t, carefully ignoring the fact that his sister liked cats just fine. I would think that any child raised in a house with cats, barring any major incidents, would be a cat person.
Do you see where this is going? My child, whose very pseudonym means cat, is not what I would call a fan. While visiting children are desperate to see the kitties, Gatito is constantly ordering away: “Don’t go on my road!” he tells Crazy when he lies down on his road rug. “Get Hippo down!” he demands, when he is joined on the window seat at the kitchen table.
But we went into a pet store this weekend* and the kid was hooked on the dogs. Could hardly drag him out of there. Help! My son is a dog person!**
* Yes, yes, puppy mills, I know. Our cats are rescued and I would never buy any animal when there are so many in need of homes at the shelters. I only went in to entertain the kiddo as we strolled through Manhattan.
** I like dogs okay, but I wouldn’t want the responsibility of caring for one full-time. If my next door neighbor had a dog that I could take for walks or runs once a week, that would be perfect! 
come visit me. my puppies (yes, i still call them puppies!) would love to go for a walk or play with gatito. and the cats would get the hell out of the way for sure!
i was raised with both dogs and cats. given the choice, i’d rather just have the cats (it was important to P to have a dog)
My oldest son couldn’t care less about our pets, but my middle son would literally pester them to death, especially the cat. Poor thing was 15 when she died, she really hated the kids. She would sit and look at me like she was thinking ‘why did you bring ANOTHER one of those things home? I didn’t like the first one.’
Maybe he experiences them as siblings?
Our son thought he liked dogs better than our cats until we visited my sister’s extremely loud and frightening dog. I would never have planned something so awful but after the dog terrorized him to the point that he cried (by barking in his face for several minutes) we haven’t heard much about the doggie-love. I’m not thrilled with my sister for not keeping the dog in hand better, however; she knew the dog wasn’t going to hurt him but he didn’t.
He still finds the cats annoying when they’re on his stuff (which is defined as everything in the house). But that’s a long way away from the fear a poorly-socialized dog can inspire. I know there are people who successfully keep both kids and dogs but they frequently seem incompatible to me, at least while the kids are toddlers.
Dogs are definitely high maintenance if you are a good dog person. I suspect it is the pack mentality. They need interaction and if they don’t get it, you have a misbehaving dog on your hands. Isn’t it funny how people get divided into cat people and dog people?
Smacky treats our dogs a lot like Gatito does your cats - ordering, yelling, shooing away. And when we visit “cat” houses he’s all in love with the kitties. The dogs are indeed a colossal pain in the tush to care for…I’d love a cat but am allergic.
How funny! Coincidentally, we just got a puppy this weekend. I think most people do fall into broad categories of cat people or dog people. We’ve had cats but we’ve decided we’re dog people. Unfortunately, I should’ve chosen a larger dog or to run shorter distances- the Jack Russell terrier is not going to hang on these 14 milers!!
Ha! Cute!
All I can say is … there are worse things than being a dog person
… says the crazy lady with five pets. Although we’ve sworn to each other that these dogs are our last. Cats only from here on out. They are so much easier to care for and every bit as enjoyable.
Oops- I accidentallyposted this in the “About” section.
Anyway, more comments about this actual post will follow…Who let you into my brain? And while you are there, can you tell me what I did with my PIN for my student loans? Anyway, I have enjoyed reading your blog. You remind me a lot of the way I think…slightly paranoid, definitely skewed. (I totally would have POAS in some random bathroom after pregnancy symptoms that couldn’t possibly have been real. Who wouldn’t??)Yes, those are good things, depsite what our loved ones might say when we are at our most frustrating.
I’ll be 37 in June with a daughter who will be 2 that same month and am also TTC #2. My particular recent m/c flavor is chemical pregnancy. Just starting my RE journey and not looking forward to it.
Good luck to you. I’ll be tracking your progress. But not in a stalker-ish way, of course.
As for the dog/cat thing. We have 2 dogs that my daughter constantly tells to go away but she loves dogs we see on the street. And she loves cats. Me, not so much. My theory is that they just like whatever isn’t at home taking up their space.