Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats

by Bradley Trevor Greive and Rachael Hale

Book Overview

Dogs versus cats: This age-old contest continues to fuel heated debates around the globe. Now BTG bravely steps in to settle the dispute once and for all. Greive isn't anti-cathe's just pro-dog. In... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0740785133
• ISBN13: 9780740785139
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 2.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 8.3" x 10.2"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful comparison between canines & felines!

The photography is superb! The tongue in cheek humor had me literally laughing out loud. I'm currently a petsitter & live with 3 cats, a Bearded Dragon & a husband. I love all animals and could never portray any species as humorously as Mr Greive. Lovely book!

Hilarious, great photography

As a dog lover, I REALLY, REALLY enjoyed this book. On the whole, it is a hilarious romp comparing cats and dogs in text and photos, replete with one-liners like, "Dogs are social, cats are sociopaths.", "People train dogs, cats train their owners." , "Dogs want love, cats want fish." and "Dogs teach us patience, cats test our patience." :-)))) However, not all of the text is simple zingers. Much of it, while funny in its own right, also shows remarkable insight into dogs and their relationship with their humans. What really sets this book apart, however, is the choice of photographs to accompany the text. The combination of the two had me in rolling on the floor laughing more than once. Yet there are serious moments, as well, especially in the chapter entitled "The best and worst thing about dogs." In this chapter, the relatively short lifespan of dogs (as compared to humans) is discussed briefly. And then there's the section about dogs' unconditional love for humans and the ways in which some humans fail utterly in matching a fraction of their love: " The next time you see a stray dog in the street or in a rescue shelter, just stop and think about what it took to drive her away from her home. There is no living creature on this earth who is more entitled to your love and compassion." This passage really struck home for me, since I'm quite passionate about canine rescue. The epilogue likewise ends on a serious note, with a series of questions for prospective dog adopters to consider before bringing a dog into their lives. This one's a keeper for dog lovers (and maybe even for the occasional cat afficionado)! I'm already thinking about getting copies of this book as Christmas presents for several of my friends who love dogs as much as I do.

Fabulous Coffee Table Book!

As an animal welfarist and rescuer, I don't play favorites. I love both species equally. It's just somehow, the "Townies" dumped more cats at my rural lane than dogs so there are 13 kitties lounging around the house. My lone old "dump" dog is outnumbered but enjoys the feline company. Anyone who enjoys animal photography paired with great wit can spend hours immersed in its pages. Having a bad day? Leave this book out where you can grab it and thumb through a few pages. Your spirits will be lifted! You will have to pry it from a guest's hands! Greive and Hale have collaborated to put together a lovely, good natured tongue in cheek collection of "observances". You just can't stay in a bad mood after this one! Good job!

Hilarious and charming coffee table book sure to make fur fly in the long battle between cat and dog

There has never been a second in my entire 21 years, 8 month and 19 day lifespan when I didn't have at least one dog as a pet. Because of this I can't imagine growing up any other way. And also because of this, in my early years (say, 2-10) I was a die hard cat hater because my dogs hated every cat they came in contact with. This anti- feline attitude didn't last forever-in fact I have had, along with my dogs, two very lovely cats. But I feel the need to disclose any bias before writing this review, because quite frankly, there are cat lovers and dog lovers and in their rivalry the groups can sometimes get a little, well, rabid. "Why Dogs are Better than Cats" is an awesome, hilarious and visually beautiful book-and one that won't only appeal to just dog lovers. The text is always humorous and is just as likely to satire the pet owners as the pets themselves. In addition it isn't anti-cat-really. Yes there are a lot of cracks at cat's expenses ("Dog's are social; Cats are sociopaths") but in my opinion the frequent cute (and sometimes slightly menacing) cat pictures make up for it. But this book is really more about how humans bond with their animals. (Including an extremely funny section on the process of elimination for the title of "Man's Best Friend") and how the animal bonds back. That said there is a lot in this book that will piss cat lovers off. What needs to be remembered here is that this isn't some kind of manifesto by a group trying to wipe cats off the planet-it's more of a satire about the long held rivalry and comparisons between dog people and cat people. And whichever way you swing it is a flat out funny and visually stimulating coffee table book which cannot help but become the topic of conversation-and cheer up anyone who even slightly flips through it. Dog lovers-you need to have this book. Cat lovers, if you access your sense of humor over the great pet rivalry you might even like it. And in the meantime you can always wait until someone writes "Why Cat's are better than Dog's". Five stars.

Clever, beautiful book, not sappy and foo-foo at all..

As the owner of 4 cats and 2 dogs I thought this might be interesting. I have no desire to look at pet books with cutesy pictures and sappy sayings about how wonderful this dog or this cat is. Blech. This book is nothing like that, yes, the photos are gorgeous, you won't see your ordinary cats and dogs here, especially the cats! The style of writing is perfect, you are chuckling to yourself as you read it and agreeing to the authors comparisons. As the author writes, "dogs come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and most important, dispositions....cats, however all fit neatly into the same silhouette...only superficial differences and varying degrees of neurosis distinguish one breed from the other.". How true is that!? There are 225 pages in the book, but it can easily be read through in one sitting. My favorite section was how dog became mans best friend. The author explains that all creatures had a chance to win that honor over the past thousands of years. When describing the chance the ostriches and emus had to become mans best friend, the author explains they "can't stop themselves from constantly peering over your shoulder, which, if unchecked, is certain to create serious paranoia". One reason cats didn't take the top honor, aside from the part that they just didn't care, is that "humans don't like to be watched while sleeping". Forgive my quotes of the book, but those show that it is written with humor and creativity. Also for all the die hard cat fans, the author really does not dislike cats, you can tell he has some appreciation for them (even though he does fear they may cause the collapse of human civilization one day), and that he doesn't take pet ownership lightly. It is a responsibility that not everyone is suited for. As I was reading through the book, I could easily think of several friends this book would be great for. It is a breath of fresh air in the vast field of dog and cat books. The photography is top notch, overall quality of book is excellent, I love how the pages are thick and don't stick to each other. Kudos to the author for a fun book to keep, look at, and read.

Cats are Soft, Warm, and Sleepy

This book has wonderful photographs and very witty writing! It also has a good message for people to think about whether they are right for a dog or for a cat. It doesn't take a long time to read the book, but there are a lot of laughs in it, and that includes both the words and the photos! There is a also a great deal of warmth. The author and photographer show that a dog can value soft, warm and sleepy in a cat, too! Many of the photos of dogs are just glorious. It's not the dog show world, but the world of dogs who love people. And that is perhaps the main message of the book. Dogs love people, and often work very hard at it. The author also points out that there are ALL kinds of dogs, and they can be very, very different from each other. This is not so true with cats. While some people really are not in the right situation to have a dog, if you are, there is a type of dog for you. The author is allergic to cats, so he doesn't have any--he has three Great Danes. The photographer has a Dalmatian/Boxer cross. These dogs appear in the book along with many others. And the author makes it clear just how much work it is to have a dog--and that it just isn't right to get a dog if you can't do the work. This is a fun book. I had cats for over 20 years, and have had dogs longer. I'm allergic to cats--an allergy that became extreme over time--but not to dogs. In that, God is good! And so is this book!