Are you a Dog or a Cat?

As most of you know, I have a 15 year old son at home.
What you may not know is my Wife and I have managed to almost raise a 26 year old son and two 23 year old daughters and we now have 3 grandchildren.


Having been parents for a good part of our lives, we have had our share of "can I keep it, I promise to take care of it" pets come through the Vlasin household.

At the present time we are the proud owners of a wonderful dog and a............clearing throat..............wonderful cat.

Now, before all you cat lovers start start jumping all over me, I do love my cat.
Cat's are just a little different in the attitude department than dogs are.

You see, pets all demand certain things.
Besides the obvious things like food, water, shelter, and a good vet, they also demand a little attention once in awhile.

It's how they react to that attention that makes them oh so different, and I think it's how we can relate dogs and cats to supervisors and managers.

Let's start with the Dog.
When I talk about dogs I need to generalize a little and talk about your everyday run of the mill loyal house pet that is there when you come home from work, follows you to get your slippers, sleeps by your bed, would protect your house at all costs, and would do anything to get a treat.

Dogs are first of all very loyal. They would do anything for you and are very humble when they make a mistake. They are also very forgiving when you make a mistake.
They are always there to pick you up and encourage you and let you know that even though today wasn't your best day, it's okay, because there's always tomorrow and they will still be there to encourage you.
They never give you that "look" that makes you feel like you are a complete idiot.
Even when you forgot to feed them or give them fresh water they still look at you the same way.
"Hey, I know you forgot, it's okay, but could you please take care of it now?"

Then there are cats.
Cats are also very loyal. Loyal to a comfortable place to sleep, the right food, not being bothered when it's nap time and only playing when it is convenient for them.
When a cat makes a mistake they give you that look that says "I did not do that, I am sure it was the dog".
When you make a mistake a cat does not encourage you and tell you it is going to be okay.
A cat will sit in the middle of the room, stick it's chest out, look straight at you with it's best "I am better than everyone stare" and say to you, "You are so stupid, how did you ever make it through today"?
A cat will then walk out of the room and leave you standing there wondering how you are going to make it through tomorrow.

So, what kind of person are you?
Are you a Dog or a Cat?
Do you Re-enforce or knock people down?
Are you building a positive work environment around you?

And one last question before I go because I just got one of those "looks" from my cat................

Who do you work for.....................

A Dog or a Cat?