Posts Tagged ‘Dogs’

A few weeks ago I shared a few of my favourite quotes about cats and a few fun words about dogs. I couldn't resist adding a third volume to the series.

With this collection everyone from world leaders to the rather-not-be-named offers up an opinion on cats versus dogs. Here are 9 quotes I particularly like:

• "Dogs have owners, cats have staff." – Anonymous

• “A cat, after being scolded, goes about its business. A dog slinks off into a corner and pretends to be doing a serious self-reappraisal.” – Robert Brault

Photography: Ohnoitsjamie

• “Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later.” – Mary Bly

• "Cat's motto: No matter what you've done wrong, always try to make it look like the dog did it." – Anonymous

• “In order to keep a true perspective of one’s importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him.” – Dereke Bruce

• "A dog is a man's best friend. A cat is a cat's best friend." – Robert J. Vogel

Photography: Claudio Matsuoka

• “If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer.” – Alfred North Whitehead

• "Cats are ultimate narcissists. You can tell this by all the time they spend on personal grooming. Dogs aren't like this. A dog's idea of personal grooming is to roll in a dead fish." – James Gorman

• "Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow." – Jeff Valdez

Do you have a favourite quote that compares cats and dogs? Or maybe one about rabbits and guinea pigs?

Just a quick note to let you know who won the pair of Julie Klam books offered up in last week's Pet Blog. As usual our trusty friend, the Random Integer Generator, has the answer:

And our winner is:

Congratulations, Dianne! I'll be in touch about getting you your new books!

And thank you to everyone for your comments. My to-read list just got a bit longer!

Since 1999 the Iams Home 4 the Holidays campaign has helped
5.8 million orphaned animals in 21 countries.

The goal this year has been to help 1.5 million homeless animals find homes from October 11, 2011, through January 3, 2012.

If you've been thinking of adding a four-legged member to your family, check out Facebook.com/Iams to search for adoptable animals near you. (In Canada, there are as many as 250,000 orphaned animals.)

Even if you already have a litter – or are unable to adopt a pet – you can still help our furry friends out by donating a bowl of food to an animal shelter; find out how here.

Iams is how happy to offer a gift basket (value: $100) to one pet-loving reader. In it, you'll find:

• Full-value Iams pet food coupons
• Pet bed
• Pet picture frame
• Pet treat holder
• Disposable poop bags and holder
• Food dish
• Cat litter scoop
• Pet stocking

For your chance to win this pet gift basket, please leave a comment on this post by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, January 3, 2012, telling me how your pet became a part of your family. One comment per person, please; this contest is open to residents of Canada only. Not open to any TC Media employees or the people they live with. I'll randonly select and announce the winner on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

Now this is one happy puppy!

If his vertical matched his excitement level of seeing Baby, he could propel himself right through the ceiling. Instead, what we get is an irresistible game of peekaboo between canine and kid.

Does your pet get this excited around your kids?

What can I say? I'm a sucker for smarts and Jesse the Jack Russell terrier has got me smitten. He's adorable and tidy! Thanks to my colleague Daniela for forwarding this video to me. It put a smile on my face and I hope it has the same effect on you.

Without further ado, behold the amazing tidy-up dog. I want one.

If I had a dog and I could train it to do just one household chore for me, my pooch would be fetching groceries for me. What household chore would you like to assign to your (hypothetical or real) dog?

Catman? Photo, courtesy of chrisdlugosz

Cat guys get a hard time. Cat's aren't especially manly pets, and that tends to (unfairly) reflect on the owners. They're not "man's best friend" and they don't have that kind of manly duty of defending hearth and home (not that I've ever actually seen a dog do that, unless you count giving the mailman a hard time, or running into the front hall when someone on TV rings a doorbell). Worse, I've heard from more than a few women that they look with a weird kind of suspicion on single men who own cats.

I'm not cat person particularly (I'm allergic, and so they seem magnetically drawn to my stuffed-up face), but as the owner of a not-very-manly small white fluffy dog, I can empathize with guys who happen to have a potentially emasculating feline pet. So I thought I might share this video, that I dug up over on The Cat Blog.

The amount of swooning that any of you female readers do or don't do over the guy in the video is entirely at your discretion. But he's certainly a "real man" (whatever that means) and he appears to have a pet cat. It's part of the Much Love Animal Rescue's "It's Okay to be a Cat Guy" campaign.

Maybe man just got himself a second best friend.

This is a question that I've been forced to grapple with because, against all expectations I once had, I now find myself the owner of the kind of little dog that, well, might just need clothes. For the record, I'm mostly against clothes for dogs – I tend to think that they come wrapped in all the clothing they need – but I realize that exceptions need to be made. (more...)

I remember how much I loved snow when I was a kid. It was like a huge toy had just fallen from the sky, and I would be sadly remiss if I didn't take full advantage.

These days it's just more annoying than anything else, which is kind of sad, really. That's why I would pay money – lots* of money – to get half as excited by snow as my dog Bobo.

(Thanks to my girlfriend, Agnes, for the video.)

*Note: I don't actually have "lots" of money, in case anyone is actually ready and willing to sell winter enthusiasm.

After first seeing this video, I wanted desperately for my dog to be able to do half the stuff that little Jack Russell can do. Imagine: You wake up to a freshly fetched paper, a tidied home and a friendly little pup; then you get home from work and dog takes your coat off, pops in a movie and does the dishes. "It's like having a little furry butler!" I said. "What could be better?!"

On second thought, however, I realized that I would very quickly devolve: a) some sort of evil genius, using my hyperintelligent dog to do my bidding; or b) a useless sloth, incapable of doing anything for myself and unmotivated to try. The apathy would likely infect the dog, too, as I'd be too wasted away to bother reaching for his reward treats. Consider this a likely model for how things would go.

But, still, it would be great for a while, wouldn't it?

A quick note for today: It may be a pain to remember to regularly brush your dog’s teeth (though it's important to know how to do it properly) or take care of your’s cat’s chompers, but at least you don ’t have to do this.