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Comment by scotty79 | Hacker News Reader

> But it’s not the same as with the other two dogs I’ve had in adulthood, who were so much more excited to see me every day. It has been a disappointment, if I’m honest.

That's the weird thing about dog people (mostly). They need this affection. They crave it. It's nearly the core reason they have a dog. As a cat person, begrudging tolerance on their own terms is the only thing I'd expect from a pet.

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The most annoying thing is cat people being smug about people who like dogs and pets that visibly show affection. "I'm cooler than you because I don't need the affection of a dog."

This mark of pride in not needing love, probably borne out of misanthropy or misplaced sense of superiority, isn't as cool as you guys think. You still synthesise happy love and bonding chemicals when you stroke your cat like everybody else, or you wouldn't get one in the first place.

Sincerely, one that loves the independence of cats and the empathy of dogs. I only wish I could have both...

But that's where you are wrong. I, like many other cat people /live/ for cat affections. My cat gives it only whe deserved or when affection back is requested, and I accept it with enthusiasm every time. Every time she does it, it feels like a gift. Every time a strange cat does it, it feels like the biggest gift. Cat affection (from my experience) is not unconditional, and that's what makes it special. My cats get mad at me sometimes, and they show it, but they always forgive.

Maybe it's co-dependence, and maybe it's the inverse of a human/dog relationship.

I think I might actually like this dog.

Maybe it's like earned love vs unconditional love? Love earned with patience and care feels better for cat lovers. Dog lovers prefer unconditional kind. Maybe?

Dog's like Scotties, Great Pyrenees and a few other breeds can have a more aloof attitude, I've known scottish terriers that would put a cat to shame.

Great Pyrenees have radically different personality affect if they live in a human residence vs put out to guard livestock while young.

I just wish I could find a breed with that chill/aloof nature that didn't shed.

Spot on. I'm a huge misanthrope. Like a cat.

This sounds like a very negative comment and with many generalizations. Please consider thinking about what your comments bring to the discussion

Ridiculous. This is such an odd generalization, but I can only assume it's coming from a self satisfied "cat person."

Have you done enough polling out on the street to determine the sole reason for people owning dogs?

Anecdotally the reason that I own a dog rather than a cat is because I prefer a playmate that I can physically roughhouse and wrestle with. Try tackling your 10 pound cat and see what you get.

My 80 pound half husky half great Pyrenees has zero issues with going out on a 5 mile run with me every morning too - she's like a drooling portable gym membership.

Yeah. I won't go so far as "weird", but definitely "foreign". I think of it as an introvert/extrovert-type self-selection. Some people are energized by energy! Having a dog be excited just to be around you puts so much energy into the area that it's hard to ignore. Dogs are just bright glowing balls of pure joy.

But for those of us who do NOT get energized by energy, but rather get drained by things around us being too energetic (music is oppressively loud, sports fans are happy or angry, games are too chaotic, everyone is talking over everyone else, etc.), a dog is more like a very small version of those things which grate on us. And, in the same way that I love a good concert but still find someone cranking up their stereo in the car irritating can't be boiled down to "loud music bad"; dogs can't be boiled down to "dogs too energetic/needy".

Personally, I'm a "friend of dogs". I will never own one (though I may cohabitate with one; I wouldn't dream of imposing pet limitations on my SO), I won't spent a lot of time with any of them. But I will always be happy to see a dog; I will always try to engage them and play with them; I will always be grateful that there is a dog around, so long as it's not my responsibility to attend to their neediness. Dogs are some of the greatest friends I've ever known. I'm just not the type of person who can responsibly care for one, so I won't.

Cats, on the other hand, are the inverse. For people who are bored when they sit in silence, or people who constantly want to be "active", or people who like to lead instead of follow - for extroverts, cats are such non-entities. It's like... why hold affection for something that can't clearly demonstrate any particular feeling about me?

But I'm 1000% with you; I like to live around animals and essentially let them live their own lives with the small exceptions of providing stable food and water. That goes for any kind of animal, but doing so with dogs tends to make neurotic and depressed dogs, so I don't. But I'd live with apes, rodents, avians, and reptiles, so long as they manage their own business and leave me alone. Hell, cows are delightful if you've ever been around them long enough for them not to run away from you. So it's a blanket policy of "limited affection available for temporarily-needy stoics" for my pet ownership (and most human friendships, honestly), which is pitch-perfect for cats.

FWIW, I tend to be an introvert, but I'm much more of a dog person.

Maybe the unconditional love and affection is a salve to the loneliness that introversion can bring?

As an introvert with dogs, this is spot on. I also think that for some introverts, part of the introversion has a social anxiety aspect where we’re over analyzing every interaction, which is also exhausting. With dogs you have none of that. It’s relaxing because of how straightforward it is.

That isn’t to say “replace people with dogs”, we all need human relationships. Just that it’s sometimes nice to have a furry friend who doesn’t judge you.

Ah, good point! Even after the introvert/extrovert split (which, itself, has outliers), there's still the "what kind of introvert" splitting to be done.

As a "cat person", I think there is another dimension that's somewhat related to introvert/extrovert, but not the same - independence vs hierarchy (aka boundaries). If a cat doesn't want you to interact with them in some way, they're going to react negatively regardless of their opinion of you. They're essentially their own independent entities who come together by mutual consent. That is an anathema to someone expecting to dictate the agenda for those "under" them, which I suspect is responsible for that tired refrain that cats don't love their owners.

There are different kinds of dogs. Mine is a couch potato. He just wants to curl up in your lap, nothing more. Not too energetic. I've met those dogs too. Friendly but can be annoying.

What about dual dog and cat people?

Also, we have a native central american dog, according to her DNA and Cornell Vet School's database, and she's basically like our cats.

She's not attention seeking, unless we're all playing, and she's very pack loyal, like our cats.

With strangers, like the local coyotes or bobcats(lynxes), she'll just stare observing the person but never be up in their personal space seeking attention. Just observes...

> That's the weird thing about dog people (mostly). They need this affection. They crave it. It's nearly the core reason they have a dog.

I think that's a great insight. It rings true regarding myself, but I never realized it until you mentioned it.

As a dog person, i agree. Maybe im actually a delusional cat person.

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