Why We Love Cats and Dogs

Last night we watched Why We Love Cats and Dogs on the Nature Channel. I thought it was fascinating, spouse liked it and Lucy slept through it. The woman in this picture is Sarah Wilson who was featured in one of the segments. She explained her definition of 9 types of dog owners and their behavior patterns. Anyhow, here are her categories and types (sorta Myers-Briggish).

FEELERS

1. The Angel - these owners want to save their dog with love. They often have trouble disciplining their dogs ... and despise force. Angels will put up with "naughty" behavior.
2. The Soulmate - these owners are loving and attentive. They always are concerned with pet's health. The dogs of this type tend to be well socialized .... b/c they get to go more places (trips, outings, adventures).
3. The Free Spirit - these types are not interested in controlling their dog at all.

I found this characterist about FS interesting: most are high powered executives.

Free spirits want nothing more than to let their dog call the shots when they get home.

THINKERS 4. The Idealist - these type set high, but often acheivable standards for both pet and owner. Rules are important. However, Idealists often pleasantly surprised with the "natural chaos" as it can remind them "loosen up a bit". 5. The Expert - will research a lot about how to own a dog. These types are often smart and often enroll dog in obedience, agility and training classes. 6. The Observer - these types just genuinely enjoy that their dog is a dog. This type often will lose track of time b/c they love to watch their animal. Jane Goodall is a Classic Observer. DO-ERS 7. The Dynamo - busy people who get a lot done in a day. These dogs are well cared for. 8. The Master - this type usually describes themselves as "dog owners" and by most common professions = coaches, teachers and leaders. These type often have a strong bond with pet. Often master communicates wtih pet really well, but also master often needs to control. 9. The Buddy - these type love high energy, sporty dogs. Buddies usually don't have trouble training a dog. Sarah Wilson's interviews of different combo's of owners with their dogs was fascinating and ....sometimes hilarious. The 2nd act of this show about a shelters. So it gets pretty serious...but then they tell can test shelter animals and describe cats and dogs naturally personality and make better family matches. This is just so responsible. Then the 3rd act was about actual family stories. It was interesting and a little surprising to me. But, in my opinion, the best line from this show was "Cats have staff and Dogs have family."