Why does the countryside archetype ....

[WeirdArchitecture]

...such as Country Living and, say... Joules, for instance, put so much emphasis on dog ownership over cats? Having grown up on a farm and living rural/semi rural for much of my life, I find most people are a mix of the two.

Is it a seleling point? I guess dogs can have holidays in ways which cat's could not (dog friendly cottages!), not to mention them being welcome in pubs, etc. But the imagery and inclusiveness really speaks to dog owners as a dominant thing, which possiblyy doesn't reflect reality, more so than it prefers to signify 'gentry' or some such English trope.

What say you?

We are rural (though not landed gentry, sadly). I love both my dog and cats, but dogs are a part of your family u it in a way cats aren't. The cats do their own thing and find me when they want something. The dog goes with us nearly everywhere. She is dp's constant shadow, goes with him to work and everything. I think that is more common in rural jobs.

There is lots of dog snobbery in adverts too, countryside adverts have Pointers, Vizslas, Labradors.

*Because dogs do jobs.

Cats are feckless fuckers*

How many mice can your dog catch in a day?

@FuckPilledLatteplus

*Because dogs do jobs.

Cats are feckless fuckers*

How many mice can your dog catch in a day?

Dogs can and do catch vermin such as mice and rats - why do you think terriers are popular on farms?

@CatOfTheLand

Cat owner implies introvert while dog owner implies extrovert.

I worked in advertising and that's why women in cat food adverts always had to wear a wedding ring 🤣

This is amazing.

The link to hunting is a factor I suspect.

The great marketing thought above by happy and linked class thought by stompy agree with strongly.

Additionally dogs can be literally or figuratively triggers/indicators of ‘country pursuits’ - as hunters/retrievers/herders/companion animals.
Also think deeply en tranches male/female valued work is involved. Historically cats might be more frequently portrayed with women’s activities - spinning weaving in the dairy - more home based lower valued work.
Contrast eg old paintings of royals hunting with dogs nobility with their dogs (immediately showing they have land and money and power and influence).

Because landed gentry keep the cats in the barns to catch vermin and don't allow them in the house (unless the mice have moved in as well) but would prefer the dog over their spouse to share their bed.

Well I guess if you are a farmer then you have working dogs because they serve a purpose. Can't really get a cat to herd your sheep.

The Royal family all seem to have dogs and cats aren't mentioned. I used to know some ver' ver' posh landowners who detested cats, it was dogs all the way for them.

Sample of two but hey!

Because the half-open-stable-door-surrounded-by-roses shots beloved by Country Living wouldn't be half so inviting with an array of small headless corpses on the doormat...

@FuckPilledLatteplus

*Because dogs do jobs.

Cats are feckless fuckers*

How many mice can your dog catch in a day?

Of my current cat and dog, cat can’t catch anything (scared of moths, doesn’t go out without a companion!) and my dog is fully obsessed by small furry rodents and lives for sticking her nose down holes. But I appreciate they’re an odd couple!

Still, the point stands, to go with Happy’s “marketing of expensive things” - dogs with jobs require stuff to do their jobs, and sell stuff to people who do related jobs. Cats - even those with vermin control jobs - need nothing much. Country cats with vermin jobs need even less than town cats - they live and eat on the job and make their own entertainment with the mice, so don’t need toys or scratching posts or beds.

I always have cats because I just think its so wrong to have an animal on a collar and lead.

How many mice can your dog catch in a day?

During one of the mouse plagues we had when I was growing up, the cat got so bored with mice. He’d occasionally stretch out a lazy paw at a passing mouse as a token gesture to his role as rodent catcher in chief, but knew there’d be another along shortly so it wasn’t worth the effort.

The dog never let up on his efforts. Mouse! Mouse! Mouse!

The cat was undoubtedly cleverer, but the dog was more effective

Because you can sell people clothes specifically for walking dogs in, and persuade them to spend a lot of money on them. If you sold clothes designed to be approved for cat ownership, they’d all have to be cat-coloured and scratchproof, and probably not very marketable.