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I come from a dog-loving family, which is to say that we are "dog people", as the popular blanket term goes. Some cats have broken through to the inner circle now and again, but mostly it's been dogs in pretty much every family home.
Even during my childhood years when my parents refused to have a dog in the house because they both worked and we wouldn't have time to take care of a pet, my grandparents on both sides had dogs: Taffy the poodle and Samantha the German shepherd on one side and Boss and Bonnie the Boston terriers on the other. I spent lots of time at both houses so I considered them partially "mine." My uncles had Old English sheep dogs, brothers named Flapps and Moses. My great-grandmother down the street had a Chihuahua named Pepe and a Yorkshire terrier named Bridget. Dogs, dogs everywhere, and I loved them. Loved, and love. I have to have a seriously weird reaction to a dog not to immediately love it, whether they like it or not. It's just the way I'm wired.
As soon as I was out on my own I got two Boston terriers of my own, who eventually took over my parents' house. All of the dogs of my childhood have long since died, but my uncles have continued to add pets: one has a Jack Russell Terrier addiction, with three at last count plus a mutt, and another has a golden retriever. We are, in my house, dogless at the moment, only because my dog just died in March and it's taking some time to get used to that sad state of affairs.
I've met cat people in my travels, some of them here on BlogHer. (Hi Elisa!) Some of my friends have had cats and I've even hung out with them on occasion. My best friend recently got a kitten, who plays well with her terrier, another one of my favorite canine buddies. Bandit the cat plays like a dog, though, Karen says. Still, I've never seen a dog bat string, or try to eat the cord on my jacket WHILE I'm wearing it. He's very sweet, though - some might even say yes, quite dog-like, so I'm a fan.
Actually, I don't dislike cats, or really any other animal, even those that could eat me for breakfast. But I can't say I'm always comfortable around them, which is from lack of exposure and experience more than anything else, I'm sure. I don't know how to react. Do I pet you? Are you going to hiss at me like my friend Jeremy's cat? Am I getting on your nerves? Or are you just totally on mine? What can I feed you? It's kind of like a first date, but not really.
"Cat person" friends have extolled the virtues of their low-maintenance pets, saying dogs are way too codependent and that morning walk? Forget about it. "Dog people" sometimes say that cats are aloof, unfriendly and just plain not-as-fun. (NOT my opinion, necessarily! Just messenger of sweeping generalizations, so please don't shoot! Thanks.)
John Woestendiek at The Mutts Blog at the Baltimore Sun reported on the recent Ball State University Dog Person-Cat Person study, and breaks it down thusly.
Cat people (like cats) are a little more mysterious, self-centered and independent, sometimes bordering on aloof; they are capable of entertaining themselves for hours on end, more tricky, more circuitous, more manipulative.
Dog people (like dogs) are more prone to dominance and co-dependence, crave constant attention and are more open, outgoing, social and likely to drool.
But a new study from Ball State University says that those stereotypes -- when it comes to the animals and the people -- are, well, stereotypes. And it suggests people should choose their companion animals not on the basis of species, but on how their individual (human and pet) personalities match up.
A study of dog and cat guardians found that it is the fit between owner needs and pet personality, rather than pet type, that best predicts companion animal attachment, said Lucinda Woodward, a professor of psychological sciences and personality researcher.
A good fit, the study points out, means higher success rates in animal adoptions. "We've long had this perception that cats think of themselves as being the center of the world, but dogs are happy to be around their masters, sharing in all sorts of social activities," Woodward said.
"Many people perceive themselves as being either 'cat
