The author, Sean Curtis in the article Why Cats Make Better Pets than Dogs explains the reasons as to why he would consider cats as pets to dogs. He bases his argument on the facts that cats are generally easy to deal with and require less time as compared to the dogs. Besides, he states that even with the less effort needed to keep the cats as pets, they still can play the role of providing love just like the dog pets. The author, therefore, points out the facts about cats that make them preferable and easy to keep as pets, the majority of which are true and surely make cats less demanding as pets. Importantly, the fact that he clears the air about his liking for dogs makes the argument genuine and fact-centered rather than bad or good experience centered.
Firstly, the author in question explains the disadvantages the dogs have which include the constant feeding, constant attention as well as continuous walking (Bassham et al. 214). However, in my opinion, the dogs can be trained to adopt a particular behavior and remain as healthy as before regarding these three aspects. Firstly, dogs can be taught in such a way that they are only given two main meals, and still, they will be healthy as long as they are well fed in the two provided meals. Secondly, it is also my opinion that the author exaggerates when he says dogs need constant walking. Dogs could be walked every evening and a day could be skipped yet they would still maintain their strength as well as good health and well-being (Schreiber 200). Besides, walking the dogs act as an exercise if not a real fan but he makes it appear to be some punishment. Similarly, the fact that having dog pets will compel the individual to restrain from certain behaviors like drinking straight after work as the author indicates a greater sense of responsibility to the life of an individual. Therefore, I would differ with the author in the manner in which he depicts having a dog pet to be bothersome; I would call it being responsible.
Markedly, it is true that sometimes walking the dog could be hectic depending on the weather and how energetic or tedious an individual may be after work. Regarding the issue of poop, I think different cats and dogs have different habits. Hence, it would not be proper to assume that all the cats poop at one place while all the dogs poop all over (Bassham et al. 214). Besides, as I have argued, the pets can adapt to a lot of things with training. For instance, a dog or cat can be trained through offering reward when they act in the way required and offering punishment when they fail to measure up, which can help in issues like the pooping place. In essence, it is possible to train a dog such that it poops at one point, which will also make it easy to clean. Therefore, in as much as the author has some truth to this argument, I think it is not strictly one way and making conclusions using one side of the coin would not be fair.
There is total agreement that the cats do not bark, but the author fails to convince the readers in his argument that the meows of the cat in the middle of the night are not as annoying as the barking of dogs in either morning, daytime or evening (Schreiber 709). I am for the idea that it would be difficult for a dog to bark at night but the cat would not mind meowing, which is also a disadvantage on the keeping a cat pet because it may wake you up after a tedious day at work with meows. I opinionate that the loud barks could be disturbing to both the neighbors as well as yourself but the author overlooks the cats' meows and describes cats to be quiet, which is a fallacy. Some cats are noisy and meow-happy, which may not interfere with the atmosphere of the neighbors but sure does to the individual owning the cat (Ayayo 58). Thus, the author again puts much emphasis on the disadvantage of the dog and belittles that of the cat to depict the latter as better than the former.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I agree with Curtis on the final point's bit that in as much as an individual may like dogs, no one would want to carry the smell of other people's dogs as a result of a dog assault. Consequently, I am also impressed by the fact that he points out the possibility of training the dog pets to keep visitors. Thus, I would make a stance that any pet can be the best for an individual depending on the person's perception towards the pet. This stance can be proven by the fact that the author acknowledges that dogs can be trained, much as any other pet, to restrain from certain things. Therefore if a person likes a dog, it will be the individual's responsibility to train the dog to quit the behaviors that are not wanted and acquire the good ones.
Works Cited
Ayayo, Karelynne. "Critical Thinking With Sally Student." Teaching Theology " Religion, vol 17, no. 3, 2014, pp. 50-500. Wiley, doi:10.1111/teth.12204.
Bassham et al. Critical Thinking: A Student's Introduction. 4th ed., Mcgraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2011, pp. 1-482.
Schreiber, Melvyn H. "Dogs Are Better Than Cats." Academic Radiology, vol 6, no. 3, 2005, p. 200. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/s1076-6332(99)80409-7.
Schreiber, Melvyn H. "Cats Are Better Than Dogs." Academic Radiology, vol 3, no. 9, 2011, p. 790. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/s1076-6332(96)80426-0.
