Monthly Archives: January 2010

What Dogs Do

I’m always interested when I hear a guy say this, because, in fact, I know a lot of great guys who are not dogs. (Well, they are dogs in the cute, cuddly and loyal sense but not in the pejorative sense.) So, why would a guy make this statement? Especially to follow-up any protestations with statements like: “Well, if you don’t think he’s a dog, it’s just because you don’t REALLY know him.” Or my favorite, “Just give him time.” You would think the guy would NOT want you to think men are dogs because then you might decide to become a cat person.

But I think he’s going for a bit of reverse psychology to excuse his own doggish behavior. You see, dogs are pack creatures by nature and not typically cut out to be a lone wolf. So if he can convince himself AND you that all men are just like him — then he has an interior justification for what he does and “good” reason you should accept his dog-like behavior. (Because anything better simply isn’t available.)

So, I’ve decided to add this statement to my rolodex of yellow/orange flags. Why not red? Well, sometimes a guy is just saying it because he’s mistakenly trying to commiserate with your bad date dog stories and intends to follow-up his statement with something like… “My mom and sisters taught me better.”