This is why I like cats so much better than dogs

[BowserKoopa1]

No I am not trying to start a debate about which pet is better. I like both, and I've had many a dog and would love to have one again, but I like cats better, especially when delivering pizza. Here is why....
Last week I posted about a mean customer who stiffed me because without directly saying it, he was blaming me for his dogs barking when I knocked Last night, more of the same, although I got a small tip that time. I also had this customer SDL= Stupid Dog Lady
We are no longer accepting checks. Our idiot cashiers are not making that clear to everyone, so I gotta call the store. Where do the dogs come in? You'll see. The usual mayhem ensues when I knock or ring the doorbell.... Alot of barking and craziness as the customer has to waste time trying to control their stupid dogs. After waiting for about a minute and listening to some shouting and yelling at the dogs to shut up, a lady finally answers the door.
SDL: I'm sorry about the wait.
Me: Its no problem, Maam.
1 of her smaller dogs manages to slip out the door and the fun begins. Its hilarious to watch, but also annoying and time consuming at the same time.
SDL: Goddamit, no! Fuck! Get back here you dam dog!
I watch as she chases the dog, and the dog is clearly afraid of its master because its clearly trying to avoid SDL, but it finally rolls over and submits to her. She grabs the dog and yells inside the house.
SDL: I THOUGHT I FUCKING TOLD YOU TO KEEP THE DAM DOGS UNDER CONTROL!!! CAN YOU DO THAT FOR 1 DAM MINUTE?! (back to me): Sorry.
Me Not a problem.
Finally she pays and leaves a decent tip, and I leave.
Why oh why is it so fucking hard to control your dogs? If you order food and are expecting a delivery, and if you know your dogs go crazy (most dogs do), or if you know your dog likes to bolt when the door is open, then why for the love of God don't you just lock the animal up in a room for a short bit? Is that so hard? SIGH I am getting really tired of people and their dogs, but mostly people who blame me for their dogs barking when I come to the door. Once again people, they are dogs, its their natural instinct to bark to alert you when someone is coming to the door. Dogs are noisy, cats are mostly quiet.
And now you know why I like cats better than dogs I'm a cat person and dam proud of it!

[AmbrosiaWriter]

My dogs bark when anyone comes to the door and rings the door bell or knocks, but as soon as we tell them to sit and stay they plunk their butts down and simply watch as we get our delicious pizza / talk to the person who has come. They also don't bark after 8pm or before 11 am.

It's really not that hard to train a dog to either stop barking on command or to not bark when someone is at the door, people are just too lazy to do it and think dogs magically learn how to do it on their own. -.-; There are also dogs that have no bark, or their bark is soft and raspy just via the nature of the dog's anatomy. If people can't stand dogs barking, they should look into getting one of those.

More like stupid lady with dogs being dogs. At least you got a nice tip.

[Pixilated]

More like stupid lady with untrained dogs being untrained dogs.

A friend of mine has two small dogs. Everytime she tries to talk on the phone they set up the most unholy racket. She yells at them to no avail. Thank goodness I now live far enough away that long-distance rates apply and phone calls are no longer feasible. Yes, she got the dogs from a previous owner (who had obviously made little attempt to train them), but contrary to the old saying, old dogs can learn -- if someone makes the attempt to teach them. As AmbrosiaWriter says, dogs do naturally bark a warning when someone comes to the door (or possibly even when the phone rings) but if well trained, you can tell them to sit and be quiet and they will do so. It's also possible to train dogs NOT to dash out the door.

But of course that takes time ... and effort.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

As an additional note, my friend has this big, fluffy cat who can, and will, climb up their screen door and stare at the pizza delivery guy until my friend comes to pay. It's like the cat is psychic to when the pizza is getting delivered because the only time he will do this is when they're getting a pizza delivered.

Not Chinese food.

Not friends coming over, or door-to-door people ringing the bell.

Just the pizza guy. Any pizza guy.

[BowserKoopa1]

The thing I don't get is, if the barking of dogs drives people crazy, why do they have them? Its a well known fact that dogs are noisy pets, and they're naturally going to bark when someone comes to the door. Every time I see a cat, they sit there nice and quiet, or just go and hide. I have seen a few quiet dogs who do the same, but very few.
Worst case I had with dogs is when I delivered pizza a long time ago for someone else. I delivered to this house when it was dark. 2 big to medium szied dogs were running loose and circled my car, barking at me. Since I am unfamiliar with the canine language, I cannot tell if they are friendly or not, and I am certainly not about to get out of the car and take a risk of getting bitten So I call the customer and ask him to come get his dogs, and he gives me attitude about it Ok mr dog lover, we'll see how much attitude you give when somebody gets bitten by 1 of your dogs and presses charges against you.
Main point is, if you have dogs, please learn to control them, or as I said before, get a cat. They are much less of a hassle, more self dependent, and well, the list goes on and on

[AmbrosiaWriter]

And that's due to how cats were domesticated differently than dogs.

Dogs were domesticated to be at your side, taking commands and doing a specific jobs.

Cats were domesticated to be thrown into a rat/mouse/rodent infested area and would only survive if they caught - and ate - said rodents they were supposed to get rid of and be pretty much left alone.

The problem comes is that people want dogs to only be at their side doing a job when it is convenient for them. They want a toy that when they don't want to play with it, it goes on the shelf and they can just ignore it. These are the people who scream at their dogs for doing what dogs do and don't understand why screaming only makes them bark more.

Also I don't blame you for not getting out of the car if the dogs were circling it, you did the right thing in calling the owner. Never, ever trust an unfamiliar dog unless you have specific training under your belt.

[Sapphire Silk]

Evil Empryss's dog Goldie rarely barks. She will try to greet anyone at the door, but backs off at the first command like the well trained dog she is. Brother's dog Maxie will bark like crazy, but stops when Brother tells her to, even when she's outside. He doesn't allow her to bark unchecked.

I have a cat. Lately, Taz has taken to growling whenever someone comes up to the front door. I'm not sure exactly why. However, she runs away from strangers I invite into the house, though she'll let people she knows and approves of pet her. She's learned not to try and get out of the house when I answer the door.

She's like an early warning system with visitors.

[PepperElf]

Why oh why is it so fucking hard to control your dogs?

What? You mean people have to be responsible for how their pets act?


Now barking when someone knocks - that's fine. We pretty much expect that. Like others have said, the dog's a good warning system.


But getting out... yeah that doesn't happen. when we first got her she liked to try running out the door - an escape artist - but with time and training she stopped doing that. Mostly. She sometimes runs out when my bf gets home, and jumps around him at the mailbox (it's right next to our door) but that's about it.

[emax4]

To lighten the mood, make sure you have the Benny Hill theme song handy on your iPod or MP3 player like I do. Next time a dog gets loose, it'll be funnier!

[EricKei]

My dog seldom barks -- rarely enough that my roomies are like "Holy crap, was that the dog or you?!" when he does ~_~ He's also remarkably calm (and/or lazy), despite the fact that he's a Husky. He only goes nuts when let outside (if he gets out without a leash on, he RUNS. Fast.), and about once every other week when he just goes on a tear and zips up and down the hallway for about ten minutes, then lies down again with a silly look on his face.

[ADeMartino]

Eons ago, when I delivered pizza, I was the subject of a prank by my coworkers. I had just started working at a new place and apparently this little trick was sort of an 'initiation'.

Fortunately, the prank turned out to be harmless. But there was definitely a moment of 'Holy Effing SHIT!' involved.

See, one of the addresses in our delivery zone was home to a TIMBER WOLF. I shit thee not, my friends, and it was a MASSIVE animal. Now, as it turned out, it was 'only' three-quarters wolf and one-quarter Siberian husky - and actually very friendly and well behaved. But you don't know that when you see this beastie chargin' at you full bore.

The owner would always leave instructions to call before making an attempt to deliver - this so they could coax Rover into the house and thus not be a problem. However, my coworkers deliberately omitted this bit of information from the delivery ticket.

I'd just gone inside the gate and was heading for the door when I saw this huge grey shape come galloping around the corner of the house. Having dealt with dogs much of my life, I knew that if it wasn't snarling or barking, the best thing to do is to just stand still and let the dog 'inspect' me. Puppy sniffed my hand and I was judged 'friend'.

His owner was shocked when I knocked on the door, because he hadn't received the requested phone call, and apologized for any problem the dog might have caused. I was happy to say that puppy hadn't been a problem at all, and I got me a generous tip. From that day forward, every time I delivered to that address, I brought some doggie treats for my new friend.

Gorgeous creature, by the way. Absolutely stunning.

[depechemodefan]

My cats like to look around the corner at me when I open the door when I get home. I have people telling me, "you should get a dog, it will bark if someone comes toward you house, and you can be warned." At least the cats don't need to be walked and so I don't need to be outside in bad weather.

[Bright_Star]

I have 3 cats. I love them to pieces! Arguably, a cat is more affectionate than a dog. & cats are much more independent than a dog. Give them food, water & a litter box & you can leave them alone for a while without worrying if when you come back to your house if you'll find stuff destroyed by a dog suffering from separation anxiety.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

for a while without worrying if when you come back to your house if you'll find stuff destroyed

Not really! Cats can and will tear up furniture, curtains, rugs, toilet paper, and many other things with their claws.

[depechemodefan]

Cats can and will tear up furniture, curtains, rugs, toilet paper

my evil Siamese will chew shoes and my posters.