Both cats and dogs can be considered best friends to people. Not to mention both are extremely cute, hense the cutest dog breeds and cutest cat breed articles. But even in the pet world there's controversy on whether or not dogs are better or cats are better. But which pet is really the best? Let's find out.
Pros of Dogs
They teach responsibility.
With all of the care they require. If you only have one dog they need: play time, to be cleaned up after, trained, loved, among other things.
No matter how mad you get at them they will always love you.
Ever notice how shortly after you get mad, they do their cute cower down and try to be cute thing where they come back to you with lots of love? Yeah. No matter what they always love you.
There's a breed for everyone.
Each breed of dog has it's own personality to fit different people, as well as some are hypoallergenic, some are more relaxed and there are many different sizes for different likings of people. Some are even more used to living outside as well instead of inside as well. A similarity between all of the many different breeds is the fact that they are all loyal.
They are always excited to see you.
If you have a family, they may not always be excited to see you but your dog, on the other hand, will be very excited to see you no matter what, even if it's only been two minutes of absence. Plus how cute are the videos of soldiers coming home and their dog freaking out with excitement?
You are never alone.
If you live alone in a place that allows dogs they allow company for you. They might not be able to talk back in your language but they still are great listeners when you talk to them.
Even some of the sweetest dogs will let you know if there is an intruder.
If there is an intruder, a dog will normally make some sort of noise or do some sort of alert thing to let you know someone is there, even if not all of them will attack the intruder. Sometimes even if they're outside dogs they will bark if other animals are in the yard.
They're easier to train than cats.
Training may be on the harder side, but they still seem to learn faster and train a lot easier than cats do.
They can sense emotions.
When you're sad and your dog seems to be annoying you, don't get mad at them they're just trying to cheer you up because they can sense your sadness or your pain. They get more excited when you're happy and that's all they want in you is to be happy and not to be mad at them. They love you very much.
They're fluffy/furry.
Not to rag on hairless cats but dogs tend to have fur and pets with fur tend to be cuter, animals in general with hair tend to be cuter and the majority of all dogs have fur. Some with fur are hypoallergenic as well so don't worry.
Pros of Cats
They take care of themselves.
If you want a pet that you don't have to take too much care of but also want to be able to pet sometimes then a cat is for you! They don't tend to need too much care or attention to.
They take care of your mice problems.
Have a mouse/rat problem? Cats take care of mice typically so don't worry about your mice anymore with a cat.
Cats easily adapt to small spaces.
Dogs typically need a decent sized area to be able to run around in, whereas cats can adapt a lot easier to smaller spaces like apartments.
They make some good YouTube videos!
How cute and funny are cat videos?
Typically, cats are very soft.
The ones that have fur are very soft and if they let you pet them they are very soft and calming.
They don't need to be let outside.
They typically go in a litter box, once trained to do so, so they don't need to go outside all of the time and don't always like to go outside.
Cons of Dogs
They require lots of attention.
They love you so much that they require a lot of attention. If you like all of the attention then it's a good thing but if you have more than one dog they can get extremely lonely when you aren't home. Plus if they're indoor dogs then you have to let them out whenever they need to go to the bathroom.
You have to clean up accidents.
All dogs have them, and sometimes it can get annoying and smelly.
They bark. Always.
Their bark is generally loud and can be annoying when they aren't barking at an intruder or unwanted animal.
Get ready to spend a pretty penny.
Between food, meds and the vet caring for a dog can be pretty expensive. A purebred dog is at least $200 roughly, you have to keep up on food which bigger bags get closer to $25-$50, toys, collars, towels or other things for bed like stuff for them to sleep semi-comfortable, either supplies to groom them yourself or the cost to get them groomed, the last vet trip for my 3 dogs combined was over $400. Plus everything else you might need. It's pretty expensive. I guess that's why they're good for a test to see if you're ready for kids.
They don't live long enough.
It's always extremely sad when your dog dies. They're like another child.
You need to take them outside all the time.
Actually remembering to let them out for the bathroom can get annoying, especially when you don't want them to go inside.
Dogs need training.
Training them the way you want takes a lot of time and a decent amount of money for treats to be able to train them.
Cons of Cats
You have to clean their litter box.
Their litter box can get pretty disgusting.
They're less likely to be hypoallergenic.
There are a lot more cases of people being allergic to cats than dogs.
They are either anti-social or attention hogs.
Cats will either be anti-social and not want to be pet and be pretty much jerks, or they are extremely needy. This is worse than dogs can be in some situations.
Some tend to be jerks.
Hissing, clawing and everything else rudely they can do gets annoying. Not saying dogs can't be jerks either because some bite and are mean but cats tend to do that a bit.
They are costly.
Like dogs, they are very costly. They have vet costs, food costs, toy costs, litter costs and everything else needed for a cat.
Their claws are very sharp.
Generally, a cat's nails are sharper than a dog's, plus they're small nails too so they make a lot of those annoying thin scratches. They also use their nails a lot to rip things up.
They might bring down the bird population.
They also go after birds as well as mice so unless you hate birds then they will bring down the bird population in the area either way.
In all honesty, the only correct answer to which one is better is your own opinion. Both have pros and cons to their well being which is what makes them perfect for certain people. Either way both are very cute and adorable as well as great pets in their own ways. My personal favorite is dogs over cats but whatever you believe is what is correct.
