Dogs outrank cats in virtually every topic, except for internet popularity. Since debating which is better based purely on opinion is futile, I will choose to define which is better purely on facts. For all intents and purposes, dogs are more useful and therefore, as a whole, better.
For centuries, dogs have been “man’s best friend.” Take the Bonn-Oberkassel dog, which was found buried next to two humans and is dated to have been 15,000 years ago.
Cats, on the other hand, began bothering us around 10,000 years ago in the fertile crescent as humans farmed their future into fruition. In reality, cats helped to rid farms of pests. They also were a big limiter on plagues in the Middle Ages, namely the Bubonic Plague. Pharaohs were indeed buried with cats, but if you had an animal that could limit plagues and keep crop output up wouldn’t you worship it? Cats were honestly quite useful up until when the modern age hit.
The occasional dead rat present might be cute, but what about a home intruder? What will your silly little 2 a.m. zoomy monster do for you then? Even my little Shi-Tzu, Buster, would at least let me know someone had broken in. Even in the service animal field, dogs still top cats. Sure, you can have an emotional support cat, but a cat that can smell cancer? No. A seeing eye cat? Yes, actually! But the problem with cats remains. They just aren’t as big as dogs, nor as trainable. Dogs are physically able to perform CPR, pull or push humans, and complete basic physical tasks, such as opening doors.
Let’s just say you don’t care about your pet’s usefulness. You only care about spending time with your furry friend and occasional pets on their head. Dogs are more emotionally expressive than cats and are more likely to oblige.
Dogs also alleviate themselves outdoors, while cats need a litter box. Outdoor pet cats may seem as the best option, but they have the highest “turnover” rate as a pet. (Rest in Peace, Shadow.)
But I don’t have to go on forever. Dogs outcompete cats. A study done by the American Heart Association, “Pet Ownership and Cardiovascular Risk,” states that cat owners were 9% less likely to do any walking for leisure than nonowners. This study basically concludes cats can make people lazy. With dogs, it is quite the opposite. Dog owners were 64% more likely than nonowners to do any walking for leisure.
The use, the health benefits, and the love all point towards the dog as the better pet. They contribute more to you as a person than turd-in-a-box-producing felines.