By Lisa Ellman

I don’t dislike cats, but I am fundamentally, totally, a dog person. I would happily invite cats to come live with me — if I couldn’t have a dog. In fact, I have.
Quite frankly, dogs are a lot of work — cats, not so much. Dogs can be especially time consuming if you get them as puppies, housetraining, chewing, etc.
Cats, if left to their own devices, can manage perfectly well on their own.
Stanley Coren, a dog person, writing for the Psychology Today Magazine, points out the differences in the animals themselves that helps explain why we do or don’t connect with the two species: “Certainly the relationship between cats and humans has always been quite different than the relationship between dogs and people. In the wild, cats are usually solitary hunters and often are active mostly at night.
“In contrast, our domestic dogs retain the need for social interaction to the degree that without a master and a family, a dog seems unhappy, almost lost.”
There also appears to be a clear personality distinction between dog and cat people. One study, by a psychologist and his graduate student at the University of Texas in Austin, revealed that dog people were generally about 15-percent more extroverted and 13-percent more agreeable; both of which dimensions are associated with social orientation. In addition, dog people were 11-percent more conscientious than cat people. Conscientiousness involves a tendency to show self-discipline, to complete tasks and aim for achievement. The trait shows a preference for planned rather than spontaneous behavior.
In comparison, cat people were generally about 12-percent more neurotic (I loved this one), however, they were also 11-percent more open than dog people. The openness trait involves a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience.
Coren continues, “Perhaps one of the most telling differences between dog and cat owners is illustrated in a single comparison. I asked people who own only cats ‘If you had adequate living space and there were no objections from other people in your life, and someone gave you a puppy as a gift, would you keep it?’
“The answer to this was compared to what I got when I asked people who own only dogs the same question about a kitten? More than two-thirds of the cat owners (68%) said that they would not accept a dog as a pet, while almost the same number of dog owners (70%) said that they would admit the cat into their household.
“This suggests that most people who own only a dog are potentially dog and cat owners, while most people who own only a cat are exclusively cat owners.”
Many students over the years have asked if I train cats. I can only look at them like they’re crazy.
My reply is usually, “Are you kidding? Cats are from a whole different planet.” Like I said, totally a dog person.
I did my own survey with a few cat people friends. Here’s their view:
“Cats are complicated, much like people. They are mostly moody and as an owner I have learned when to pet him and when to give him his space.”
“They are magicians, they create their own routines and rituals.”
“Cats are the alpha in all situations.”

Lisa Ellman has been working with animals for over 20 years, including dog grooming, presentations with wild animals and vet tech positions. Her passion, however, is dogs and in 1996 she founded Good Dogma Obedience Training, offering basic obedience training and behavior modification. Her comprehensive theory on training is simple: “Train the human, condition the dog.” See her website at: www.Gooddogma.net and catch her radio show on 97.3 FM The Rock in the Estero Bay Area, 4 p.m. Saturdays. Email her at: [email protected]. Good Dogma is a monthly feature of Tolosa Press.