h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This will probably wind people up, but hey, that's what I'm here for.

Dogs don't make good pets. They are far too big, menacing, and out of control to be the kind of animal who can be allowed to roam freely through people's houses. You wouldn't have a pet lion cub in your house, so why keep dogs. They belong on farms and in situations where they are specially trained to do good (blind dogs, sniffer dogs, sheep dogs). Though some dog owners are more responsible than others, a lot of owners let their dogs do their business in the street, which is completely unhygenic and causes a mess - and dogs often terrorise other people and children. Even dogs that don't bite often go up to sniff other people and be interested in them. To the dog this is being sociable and they may not mean any harm, but not everyone wants this. Too often am I in the pub and dogs come and annoy me. What's more, dogs bark a lot, gnarl menacingly, and generally seem to be aggressive. Even when they are being friendly they do so in a very boistorous and energetic way. Generally, dogs are bad news.

Now cats on the other hand, are friendly, don't need as much care, and don't take up as much room. It's much better to have a cat than a dog...

Hmmm Frankie, this isn't very well balanced. It says more about irresponsible dog owners then it says about dogs. Cat owners, much like aetheists, for some unknown reason tend to have a smug moral superiority about their animals. But I have yet to see a strong argument as to why they are better then dogs.

'Big and Menacing' - actually an awful lot of dogs aren't much bigger then cats.

Cats also crap everywhere. As a responsible dog owner I always clear up excrement but I have yet to have an apology from any of the neighbours who let their felines poo in my garden! Because apparently that is ok. It is also ok to let their animals just roam everywhere regardless. They are also responsible for the decline in urban wildlife.

Actually the best thing about having a dog was it kept all the local cats out of the garden.

*takes her gold plated pooper scooper and waves it menacingly at frankie*

frankie..you didn't wind me up..you made me....dogs are wonderful pets..they are descendants from the wolf..'man' has domesticated the dog..but..they still maintain some basic instincs..very few of these instincs are related to viciousness..that's usually due to bad owners or dog illness..i was once bitten in the face by a dog, was discovered dog had a brain tumour..you don't say if your anti-dog stance is due to bad experience..have you been bitten or attacked by a dog?..
unfortunatly there are a lot of irresponsible dog owners that give us all 'a bad name'..if anyone says to me they're considering getting a dog..i always point out..owning a dog is a bigger responsibility than have a child..you are responsible for a dog 24/7..for all of it's life..

Ah, but cats respect personal space. They're still affectionate, but not over the top

And my cat's 13 now, and has only ever had about three birds...mostly they tend to sit in their tree and laugh at her. She's a bit thick, really And what about dogs chasing ducks and rabbits?

dogs chasing other animals is down to training..i've had dogs & rabbits sharing my garden..no probs..though it would depend on the breed of dog..if they were originally bred as a hunting dogs..terriers tend to maintain that instinct..which can be modified by training..
it's mice my cats pressent me with..sometimes a live mouse..or..sometimes just the mouses head....then i have to search the garden for the body..to discard it..lovely!!!!!

Came downstairs one morning and stepped in the remains of two s and a frog.

Cats don't necessarily respect other people's personal spaces. They can be relied on to always jump straight onto the lap of the visitor that hates them the most. This is due to the fact that narrowing your eyes and turning your head away is a come-on in body language.

Emmily, there's a theory that it was actually dogs that domesticated humans.

- responsible owner

Yuk......

i've got vague memories of stories about..early/wild dogs approaching human *camps* in their scavenge for food and being friendly towards the humans..soon becoming their guard & hunting companion..
wolfs only attack humans..(unprovoked) in fairey stories..apparently....

Frankie, remind me to introduce you to my dog.

Abi, I object to your comments. Atheists aren't smug at all, it's strongly religious people who are smug - you don't see atheists knocking on doors trying to 'convert' people or threatening other people that they will burn for eternity if they don't believe. We let people believe what they like - it's not our fault if we just happen to be the only right ones...

Not all dogs are agressive, but when was the last time that you couldn't enjoy a pint in the pub because a stranger's cat kept coming up to you, sniffing your legs and trying to pinch your peanuts?

And you don't see many people buying cats as a status symbol - buying the biggest, fierest breed they can find and walking them round the block as a symbol of their own ego and testosterone (don't know what this says about women dog-owners!).

My cat never sits on anyone's lap. She also hates being picked up. But she sleeps at the end of my bed every night I'm home- handy in the winter to keep my feet warm

Going back to your original posting Frankie I thought a Lion Cub was a cat btw .

There are lots of small dogs as well you know. The thing you have to bear in mind my dear boy is that all Dogs are the products of mankinds breeding and selection programmes so we have exactly the types of dogs that we have desired and want. That's why we have such an abundance of canines that fill every possible role in our society from guard dogs to companion dogs. They are our most ancient domesticated animal and one that we have the closest emotional ties with.

I'm afraid that you need to learn the lesson that the only reason that there are bad dogs around are because there are bad owners around (same goes for kids too in my book). There are of course owners that misguidedly choose a dog without thought for their situation and end up with a bad choice (I have seen Great Danes in small apartments) - but it is a free world and people are allowed to make mistakes. The thing is that we have been breeding the wolf out of the dog until recent times when some sad folks have been trying to put it back in for no good reason. It's a sign of the society and a comment on man not on the poor Dog.

I'm afraid I'm just going to put you temporarily in the Dog House you know !

PS: 20 million households with Dogs in the UK can't all be wrong.

Franki, don't you know that Dogs Rule? They are such lovable, loyal creatures. Think about the life-saving work that dogs do. When was the last time a cat ever helped rescue anyone? (Other than isolated incidents, of course.) O.K., so Cats chase mice, and we've all heard how that turns out.
They are good friends, one on one, when the spirit moves them, but they are generally too independant and too small to be trained for the type of work that dogs can be trained for.
I can just imagine a seeing-eye-cat. He'd look up at his owner, as if thinking, "Surely you don't expect ME to cross that street? If you feel the need, my dear sir, by all means, be my guest." And sit down at the curb, cleaning his paws. Or maybe he'd just chase a bird (poor, defenseless thing *sniff*) and run his owner head on into a tree. He'd be half-way up the trunk, looking terribly annoyed at his unconsious owner because the leash pulled him short and the bird got away.
So, when he goes to a pub, buy the poor working dog an .

O.K., so I know the point was pet ownership...I just couldn't resist. Sorry.

Dogs have masters - Cats have servants.

It's true, cat's own you, dog's need an owner (part of the problem IMO).

I dis-counted specially trained dogs at the beginning...

Dogs pose a problem to society in a way that cats don't. They should bring back dog licenses - a tax on these people. And ban dogs from public place. And harassment from a dog should carry the same weight as harassment from a human - with owners held responsible. And owners who do not clean up after dogs should be fined.

That's really harsh Frankie, I don't appreciate being called 'these people'. My dog is only ever a nuisance to people that give him attention. If he's left alone, he leaves people alone. I don't see how you can say that dogs pose a problem to society in a way that cats don't. My dog doesn't carry a germ that can blind and kill unborn babies, and he certainly doesn't spread that germ far and wide by crapping in other people's gardens. Cats do. They kill birds, frogs, and anything else they can get hold of. Ok, so if they ever attacked a human they couldn't inflict the same damage, but they cause traffic accidents, sleep inside car bonnets and get themselves killed, leaving a nasty mess for the car owner to clear up - meaning the physical mess, and the emotional mess. At least the majority of dogs are on leads. Yes, people should clear up after their dogs - most of them do. How many cat owners do that? There is a fine for dog mess.

Ban dogs from public places? What's the point in that? If you don't want to be bothered by a dog in a pub, tell the owner! If it's the landlords dog - find a different pub!

Actually, Linda, your dog does carry a germ that can blind and brain-damage children and many many dogs do spread that germ far and wide by crapping in other people's gardens.
In many towns, these days, owners can be fined for not clearing up, but many still don't - and they certainly never bother in the countryside. They seem to think they can go out picnicking or rambling and let their dogs run free, because after all they're not in the city any more.
At least cat faeces are smaller and less offensive, and they make some sort of effort to bury them. Dogs will happily do it on your doorstep or on your driveway right beside your car and their owners just walk off and leave it.

I've never heard that the dogs carry that germ - pregnant women are not warned against dog crap - only cat.

There are places that dogs are allowed to run free - there are places - like in the woods in country parks - where we don't even have to pick mess up. If there's nothing to say I have to keep my dog on a lead, I let him off. Why is that worse than cats roaming the streets?

But I still say the majority of dog mess in the street is cleared up by the owners. None of cat crap is. And yes, they make an effort to bury it - that doesn't help gardeners when their plants are dug up, it's not pleasent to unearth when you're digging - my 7 year old wants to help me plant seedlings - I don't want him digging that up!

"But I still say the majority of dog mess in the street is cleared up by the owners."

Huh, you should see my area...! When was the last time you got cat crap on your shoe? Dog mess is a FAR bigger problem. And I don't think cats sleeping in car bonnets (thanks for that thought! ) happens with quite the same scale as dogs being a nuisance...

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I admit it's down to personal preferance, and I'm not that anti-dog really, but the cat v dog argument is fun. Did you see that film? I didn't, but apparantly the dogs were the good guys and the cats were the bad guys, boo...