[Redstreblo]

I am a cat person and most of the time when I come across a dog lover their number one argument against cats is that they cannot defend the house from burglers and bad guys like dogs do. I can see their point on that, however that is not the only reason to own a pet. I can point out many downsides to owning a dog, and yes a few downs to cats.

I would like to hear from the comunity about their reasons for having the type of pet that they do please post a vote before making a reply thank you. If you do not see an option that you like vote for snuffleupagus.

Be honest thank you!

Vote is open for 30 days and max 4 votes per user.

[Nuke]

kitties <3

while a cat might not defend your house (not always a case, cats have been known to attack burglars), there is no guarantee a dog will either. theres a dog for every person, and what makes a good hunting dog might not make a very good guard dog. so its not fair to say any dog will defend your property and a cat wont. i wouldnt take a cat hunting, he would probibly show me up. id never own a dog, theyre loud and require too much work. i think of a dog as about the same as having a clingy girlfriend. they're always there, in your way, in your stuff, eating all your snacks. cats on the other hand have their own buisness. they do cat things, make their rounds, kill some critters. when theyre in the mood they come see you, you pet them, they purr. then they go about their buisness. they do hold grudges and do get revenge on purpose. cats are generally evil like that. cats are evil, thats why i like them.

[Redstreblo]

  cats are gods! *changes vote*

[StarSlayer]

I don't know if it's so much the fact that they can defend the home as it's the fact that a good dog is willing to lay down their life to protect yours.  Lets face it many medium to small breeds aren't going to be able to stop a determined intruder all on their own, they'll try though.  Thats a level of loyalty and trust thats hard to come by.

[headdie]

I like both, though people who bang on about dogs defending the house is using a poor rational for what is an irrational decision.  Out of the 7 or 8 dogs I have lived with there is only one I would have trusted to do any guarding is mum's first dog which was a trained guard dog and our current dog is more likely to lick an intruder to death which is how most pet dogs is likely to react and most of the rest just need a few treats to pacify.  end of the day some people identify with dogs more than cats sometimes its the other way round and its irrational.  btw as a pet I prefer horses.

[Rodo]

Snuff!

For the record, I prefer dogs.

[Redstreblo]

I like both, though people who bang on about dogs defending the house is using a poor rational for what is an irrational decision.  Out of the 7 or 8 dogs I have lived with there is only one I would have trusted to do any guarding is mum's first dog which was a trained guard dog and our current dog is more likely to lick an intruder to death which is how most pet dogs is likely to react and most of the rest just need a few treats to pacify.  end of the day some people identify with dogs more than cats sometimes its the other way round and its irrational.  btw as a pet I prefer horses.

I agree. I do not believe dogs do make good defense animals, if they were they would attack anyone who enters the house. How would you invite friends over? Oh and this poll is the cats vs dogs debate it would grow too large if I put options for horses, birds, lizards, fish and all the other possible pets.

EDIT: Fix spelling.

EDIT: Fix spelling again....

[Scotty]

I have four cats (recently down from five ), and they're quiet enough to not disturb me overmuch and still be a cuddly pet.

<3 cats.

[General Battuta]

I love cats because they are not caring.

I enjoy the companionship of an intelligently self-interested critter rather than a drooling, slavishly loyal product of centuries of eugenic slavery!

CAT POWAAAA

[StarSlayer]

I like both, though people who bang on about dogs defending the house is using a poor rational for what is an irrational decision.  Out of the 7 or 8 dogs I have lived with there is only one I would have trusted to do any guarding is mum's first dog which was a trained guard dog and our current dog is more likely to lick an intruder to death which is how most pet dogs is likely to react and most of the rest just need a few treats to pacify.  end of the day some people identify with dogs more than cats sometimes its the other way round and its irrational.  btw as a pet I prefer horses.

I agree. I do not believe dogs do make good defense animals, if they were they would attack anyone who enters the house. How would you invite friends over? Oh and this poll is the cats vs dogs debate it would grow too large if I put options for horses, birds, lizards, dish and all the other possible pets.

EDIT: Fix spelling.

If you're actually getting a dog for the purpose of home defense you get them trained in Schutzhund so that they act only on command.  If your're getting one for a pet you socialize and train the animal to accept visitors.  Even if they aren't schooled in Schutzhund most well trained and socialized dogs can still figure out the difference between an aggressive intruder and a guest.  That said both require the owner invest time into properly raising their dog.

[Mobius]

It's unfair, there are 5 options about cats. That gives them a statistical advantage.

Voted dogs, because I have many of them (all English Setters) and also remember those who died due to their lifespan, which is so much shorter than ours. I use them for hunting purposes, something cats can't do. I see cats are more popular, but I find them diffident and not as loyal as dogs. :sick:

[Redstreblo]

I like both, though people who bang on about dogs defending the house is using a poor rational for what is an irrational decision.  Out of the 7 or 8 dogs I have lived with there is only one I would have trusted to do any guarding is mum's first dog which was a trained guard dog and our current dog is more likely to lick an intruder to death which is how most pet dogs is likely to react and most of the rest just need a few treats to pacify.  end of the day some people identify with dogs more than cats sometimes its the other way round and its irrational.  btw as a pet I prefer horses.

I agree. I do not believe dogs do make good defense animals, if they were they would attack anyone who enters the house. How would you invite friends over? Oh and this poll is the cats vs dogs debate it would grow too large if I put options for horses, birds, lizards, dish and all the other possible pets.

EDIT: Fix spelling.

If you're actually getting a dog for the purpose of home defense you get them trained in Schutzhund so that they act only on command.  If your're getting one for a pet you socialize and train the animal to accept visitors.  Even if they aren't schooled in Schutzhund most well trained and socialized dogs can still figure out the difference between an aggressive intruder and a guest.  That said both require the owner invest time into properly raising their dog.

Ok, I admit that with propper training a pet dog can do very well with home defense. But I would prefer an animal that I don't have to worry about being afraid of or other people being afraid of. I had a cat before that was mistreated in its past and did attack me and we had to put the poor thing down. However that is the only instance that I have ever come across a cat that acted agressive against me.Whereas I hear stories of people getting attacked by dogs all the time.

[Nuke]

It's unfair, there are 5 options about cats. That gives them a statistical advantage.

Voted dogs, because I have many of them (all English Setters) and also remember those who died due to their lifespan, which is so much shorter than ours. I use them for hunting purposes, something cats can't do. I see cats are more popular, but I find them diffident and not as loyal as dogs. :sick:

im betting that dekkar is a dog person, and that he will add more dog stuff. im not a dog person so i cant think of anything to add

[Redstreblo]

It's unfair, there are 5 options about cats. That gives them a statistical advantage.

Voted dogs, because I have many of them (all English Setters) and also remember those who died due to their lifespan, which is so much shorter than ours. I use them for hunting purposes, something cats can't do. I see cats are more popular, but I find them diffident and not as loyal as dogs. :sick:

Original vote options were 4 vote options for dogs and 4 vote options for cats... moderator added option for cats are gods.   I would like to add another option for dogs, any suggestions??

EDIT: not sad or angry about the new option, CATS ARE GODS  however polls need to be nonbiased.

[Mobius]

"Dogs because are men's best friends"...

[Redstreblo]

"Dogs because are men's best friends"...

ah, but why are they mans best friend? loyalty, companionship, home defense? I need reasons.....

[The E]

New option added.

[StarSlayer]

I like both, though people who bang on about dogs defending the house is using a poor rational for what is an irrational decision.  Out of the 7 or 8 dogs I have lived with there is only one I would have trusted to do any guarding is mum's first dog which was a trained guard dog and our current dog is more likely to lick an intruder to death which is how most pet dogs is likely to react and most of the rest just need a few treats to pacify.  end of the day some people identify with dogs more than cats sometimes its the other way round and its irrational.  btw as a pet I prefer horses.

I agree. I do not believe dogs do make good defense animals, if they were they would attack anyone who enters the house. How would you invite friends over? Oh and this poll is the cats vs dogs debate it would grow too large if I put options for horses, birds, lizards, dish and all the other possible pets.

EDIT: Fix spelling.

If you're actually getting a dog for the purpose of home defense you get them trained in Schutzhund so that they act only on command.  If your're getting one for a pet you socialize and train the animal to accept visitors.  Even if they aren't schooled in Schutzhund most well trained and socialized dogs can still figure out the difference between an aggressive intruder and a guest.  That said both require the owner invest time into properly raising their dog.

Ok, I admit that with propper training a pet dog can do very well with home defense. But I would prefer an animal that I don't have to worry about being afraid of or other people being afraid of. I had a cat before that was mistreated in its past and did attack me and we had to put the poor thing down. However that is the only instance that I have ever come across a cat that acted agressive against me.Whereas I hear stories of people getting attacked by dogs all the time.

Again it comes down to breeding and training.  If dogs have been well socialized and trained then they aren't walking round on a hair trigger ready to go berserk.  Some breeds are more assertive and require more attention during training but all in all if a dog is aggressive and uncontrollable then I'd generally look at the owner or the breeder rather then assuming all dogs are big, scary and aggressive.

[Scotty]

I like both, though people who bang on about dogs defending the house is using a poor rational for what is an irrational decision.  Out of the 7 or 8 dogs I have lived with there is only one I would have trusted to do any guarding is mum's first dog which was a trained guard dog and our current dog is more likely to lick an intruder to death which is how most pet dogs is likely to react and most of the rest just need a few treats to pacify.  end of the day some people identify with dogs more than cats sometimes its the other way round and its irrational.  btw as a pet I prefer horses.

I agree. I do not believe dogs do make good defense animals, if they were they would attack anyone who enters the house. How would you invite friends over? Oh and this poll is the cats vs dogs debate it would grow too large if I put options for horses, birds, lizards, dish and all the other possible pets.

EDIT: Fix spelling.

If you're actually getting a dog for the purpose of home defense you get them trained in Schutzhund so that they act only on command.  If your're getting one for a pet you socialize and train the animal to accept visitors.  Even if they aren't schooled in Schutzhund most well trained and socialized dogs can still figure out the difference between an aggressive intruder and a guest.  That said both require the owner invest time into properly raising their dog.

If they act only on command, how can they be effective for home defense?  If you're there to give the command, I'd rate it more than likely you won't need to.

[General Battuta]

Just yesterday I met a cat while I was walking around barefoot in a guest bathroom. This cat was adorable: it started jumping on my feet, rolling over, and sliding down to the floor over and over again. Then it would rub its cheeks all over my ankles. It was so lovable and cute!

Of course it was only marking me as territory with the scent glands in its cheeks. I LOVE CATS.