How to leave the house

Excellent post, I enjoyed it quite a lot. I often tell people that if they want to meet new people, get a dog. If you want to meet girls, get a puppy. When I was in college I would see other guys my age (early 20s at the time) walking a new puppy around campus and they became magnets for girls.

Plus, humans were MEANT to have dogs, and dogs were meant to have humans. We grew up together; dogs are one of our first forays into genetic engineering. We created an animal which was perfectly acclimated to human companionship

> If you want to meet girls, get a puppy.

Since puppies turn into full grown dogs quite quickly, how often do you suggest I replace the puppy?

> We created an animal which was perfectly acclimated to human companionship

This is why I think having a cat is so much more satisfying. A dog loves you unconditionally, not by choice but because it was literally bred to do so. Despite this you still have to keep it on a leash. Cats by contrast stay with you because they want to, despite having every opportunity to move in with someone else.

Foster?

I hate to say it, but pet cats kill an estimated ~390 million animals annually (in Australia). They should also be on a leash and not allowed to roam freely.

> Since puppies turn into full grown dogs quite quickly, how often do you suggest I replace the puppy?

I’ll bite - you replace the puppy when the one you have expires after 14 years. Don’t be that guy.

Cats have also been engineered for companionship in areas where dogs weren’t economical. Cats were big in Egypt. However, like you said, cats have their own agenda - murder. Your outdoor cat has killed more small animals than your vet. Neuter/spay them and keep them inside.

Man that feels entitled.

We made dogs for us because we needed them for protection.

And you advocate getting a dog now due some stupid reason and then keeping it potentially in a flat?

Don't get a dog. Don't get animals which don't get the env they need.

Don't get breeds which became breed into sickness.

> Since puppies turn into full grown dogs quite quickly, how often do you suggest I replace the puppy?

You must complete the mission before the puppy becomes a dog. Otherwise you must wait 14 years until you can get another puppy.

I think this is bad advise.

I love dogs and cats but I am not someone who cares enough to properly take care of a dog or cat. So I do the responsible thing and don't have pets.

Getting a dog specifically to meet women seems insane to me. There are all kinds of conversation starters that don't involve getting a living animal.

Or, you can have two dogs!

You have to keep a dog on a leash because it wants to explore the world around it. You can train a dog to be by your side no matter what which you definitely cannot do with a cat which definitely needs a leash no matter how hard you’ve worked for its approval.

Cats won’t alarm you if a stranger sneaks into your tribes living area or your apartment. I have a 10 pound mix and I guarantee you she would take on a thousand pound grizzly knowing it was fruitless but in order to protect her pack including me. A cat is going to just run away from things like that and yeah I’ve seen the cat saves toddler from bobcat stories but those are the exception and probably more related to territorial. Who do you want a person who was raised to be a loyal friend and would sacrifice themselves for you or a person who is fickle and hard to win approval of and even when you do win their approval they start eating you within a few hours of your death.

Don't worry too much about it. Women are nearly as easily impressed by a full-grown dog.

Building a loving bond with a dog still takes work and energy. It's just that, genetically and instinctually they have a communication advantage: they can read humans better and emote to humans in more obvious ways than cats (having even evolved special muscles around the eyes to do so!). It's not like earning a dog's respect and love is inherently trivial. It's just that most people haven't moved past the "he's plotting to murder me" type assumptions about cats.

There’s nothing wrong with adopting sick breeds like pugs. Just don’t continue their breeding.

There is more than one type of dog. Many among the multitude are both capable of living in a small apartment, and not having genetic medical issues.

Cats, like any other predators, are born to kill other animals. It’s a natural order of things. My cat regularly brings back mice, birds, lizards and little snakes. I do have to get rid of them, but he makes me proud.

Cats are invasive species in the US and Australia, with very few natural predators left

Some dogs are good in apartments. My hound is a total couch potato, you have to drag her off the couch to get her to go for a walk

Obviously you shouldn't get a pet if you can't take care of it. But getting a dog to meet people seems more fruitful than using dating apps, which seem almost completely pointless to me

Dogs have all kinds of behaviors.

Not all dogs can be trained to stay next to you. At least, not by all owners

I have a husky mix whose prey drive means he will charge at other dogs, kids, usually playful but not always. Positive reinforcement is meaningless because he cares more about the chase than any treat.

Also dog owners don’t seem to understand that the sweet loving animal they have at home can be very aggressive towards anyone not part of their pack

I have had off-leash dogs start scrapping with mine on walks and I GO OFF on those owners. 100% of the time they never apologize and tell me how gentle their dog is

Well lady, your dogs charged mine, barking and growling. And and I don’t like breaking up dog fights.

Point is dogs and owners come in all kinds. Lots of bad ones out there.

You can go on walks with a cat without a leash. I do it every night. It's a bit different to walking a dog, sure, but he never strays too far from me. It might not be for everyone, but it works for us.

> You must complete the mission before the puppy becomes a dog.

The 'mission' being ...? One night stand? Fling? Established relationship?

Because people who find puppy ownership attractive probably won't stay with someone who re-homes the animal once they get what they really want.

I live in Europe though. Cats have been living in Europe for thousands of years.

> It’s a natural order of things.

Natural, in the same sense that air conditioning and pickup trucks are natural.

Feral cats mostly live in cities, or are fed by farmers to encourage them to stay where they can protect feed stores. Like modern corn (maize), they don't naturalize into the wild.

Eh, it's a bit like buying ivory products (tusks, not soap). It encourages the breeding.