160 Dog Quotes About Man’s Best Friend To Inspire You

These dog quotes will remind you of just how amazing our canine companions really are.

For many people, there is nothing in this world that is purer than the love of a dog.

A dog is ultimately selfless and totally devoted to the humans who have chosen them.

There are so many reasons to love dogs.

If you’re a dog owner, you probably love your pup in the same way as a family member.

Whether it’s waiting at the door when they know you’re coming home or wagging and happy barking when excited for food, dogs have a special place in our lives.

When you’re feeling down after a hard day, you can always count on your pet dog to improve your mood.

A dog will always love you unconditionally.

Even though you might get busy and lack the time to spend with them, your canine companion will always remain loyal and loving.

You are never friendless if you have a dog.

To help you celebrate your pup, below is our collection of cute, inspirational, and funny dog quotes, dog sayings, and dog proverbs collected from various sources over the years.

Dog Quotes About Man’s Best Friend To Inspire You

Dogs are a man’s best friend, our loyal companions at home who will love us unconditionally despite who we are.  

1. “You know, a dog can snap you out of any kind of bad mood that you’re in faster than you can think of.” — Jill Abramson

2. “Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell.” — Emily Dickinson

3. “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” ― Josh Billings

4. “Dogs are miracles with paws.” — Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

5. “A dog will teach you unconditional love. If you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad.” — Robert Wagner

6. “There’s just something about dogs that makes you feel good. You come home; they’re thrilled to see you. They’re good for the ego.” — Janet Schnellman

7. “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.” — Mark Twain

8. “No man can be condemned for owning a dog. As long as he has a dog, he has a friend.” — Will Rogers

9. “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” — Roger Caras

10. “A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart, and he will give you his.” — John Grogan

The best dog quotes to celebrate your canine companions

These quotes show why our furry friends are so special to us.

11. “The dog was created specially for children. He is the god of frolic.” — Henry Ward Beecher

12. “When I look into the eyes of an animal, I do not see an animal. I see a living being; I see a friend; I feel a soul.” —​ A.D. Williams

13. “The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.” — M.K. Clinton

14. “I like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross, and concentrating. Also, dogs are faithful and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk.” — Mark Haddon

15. “A dog is the only thing that can mend a crack in your broken heart.” — Judy Desmond

16. “I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.” — Gilda Radner

17. “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.” — Will Rogers

18. “The greatest fear dogs know is the fear that you will not come back when you go out the door without them.” — Stanley Coren

19. “Dogs are how people would be if the important stuff is all that mattered to us.” — Ashly Lorenzana

20. “Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.” — Dean Koontz

What are some positive quotes about pets?

If you’re having a hard time putting your love for your dog into words, these quotes will help.

21. “Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” — Ann Landers

22. “The love of a dog is a pure thing. He gives you a trust, which is total. You must not betray it.” — Michel Houellebecq

23. “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ― Anatole France

24. “If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.” — James Thurber

25. “When you adopt a dog, you have a lot of very good days and one very bad day.” — W. Bruce Cameron

26. “Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love. They depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog; it merely expands the heart.” — Erica Jong

27. “No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.” — Christopher Morley

28. “Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends.” — Alexander Pope

29. “If you don’t have a dog–at least one–there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life.” — Vincent van Gog

30. “There are three faithful friends: an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.” — Benjamin Franklin

What is the best happy dog quotes?

A dog’s unconditional love is like nothing else you’ll experience in life.

31. “I want to love like a dog, with unabashed devotion and complete lack of concern about what people do for a living, how much money they have, or how much they weigh.” — Oprah Winfrey

32. “The only creatures that are evolved enough to convey pure love are dogs and infants.” — Johnny Depp

33. “If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience.” — Woodrow Wilson

34. “If you want loyalty, get a dog. If you want loyalty and attention, get a smart dog.” — Grant Fairley

35. “For me, a house or an apartment becomes a home when you add one set of four legs, a happy tail, and that indescribable measure of love that we call a dog.” — Roger Caras

36. “Everybody should have a shelter dog. It’s good for the soul.” — Paul Shaffer

37. “Puppies are nature’s remedy for feeling unloved, plus numerous other ailments of life.” — Ann Landers

38. “Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one is a life diminished.” — Dean Koontz

39. “It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.” — John Grogan

40. “Everything I know, I learned from dogs.” — Nora Roberts

Dog quotes that describe how much they mean to us

If you have a dog, you understand exactly what the following quotes are saying about how much they mean to their owners.

41. “A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.” — Robert Benchley

42. “The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.” — Samuel Butler

43. “My little dog – a heartbeat at my feet.” — Edith Wharton

44. “No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you feel rich.” — Louis Sabin

45. “Everyone thinks they have the best dog. And none of them are wrong.” — W.R. Pursche

46. “You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

47. “The poor dog, in life, the firmest friend. The first to welcome, foremost to defend.” — Lord Byron

48. “I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source.” — Doris Day

49. “If I could be half the person my dog is, I’d be twice the human I am” ​— Charles Yu

50. “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them, and filling the emptiness we didn’t ever know we had” — Thom Jones

Cute and sentimental dog quotes

Enjoy these cute quotes about dogs.

51. “The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog.” — Ambrose Bierce

52. “Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate.” ― Sigmund Freud

53. “A lot of times, my best friend was my dog.” — Rose Namajunas

54. “They [dogs] never talk about themselves but listen to you while you talk about yourself, and keep up an appearance of being interested in the conversation.” — Jerome K. Jerome

55. “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” — Groucho Marx

56. “Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail.” — Kinky Friedman

57. “There’s a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around.” — Dick Dale

58. “I believe in integrity. Dogs have it. Humans are sometimes lacking it.” ― Cesar Millan

59. “No matter how you’re feeling, a little dog gonna love you.” — Waka Flocka Flame

60. “I let the dog out, or I let him in, and we talk some. I let him know I like him, and he lets me know he likes me.” — Kurt Vonnegut

More dog quotes and sayings

There are a lot of great animals you can have as a pet, but dogs are one-of-a-kind, as shown in the following quotes.

61. “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.” — Andy Rooney

62. “Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.” — Roger Caras

63. “Dogs are great. Bad dogs, if you can really call them that, are perhaps the greatest of them all.” — John Grogan

64. “People love dogs. You can never go wrong adding a dog to the story.” — Jim Butcher

65. “You can usually tell that a man is good if he has a dog who loves him.” — W. Bruce Cameron

66. “Dogs are the magicians of the universe.” — Clarissa Pinkola Estés

67. “The dog has seldom been successful in pulling man up to its level of sagacity, but man has frequently dragged the dog down to his.” — James Thurber

68. “Don’t make the mistake of treating your dogs like humans, or they’ll treat you like dogs.” — Martha Scott

69. “A dog can’t think that much about what he’s doing, he just does what feels right.” — Barbara Kingsolver

Dog quotes to put a smile on your face

Try not to smile as you read the following quotes about dogs.

71. “What do dogs do on their day off? Can’t lie around—that’s their job.” — George Carlin

72. “Scratch a dog, and you’ll find a permanent job.” — Franklin P. Jones

73. “Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.” — Franklin P. Jones

74. “Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day.” — John Grogan

75. “There ain’t a man livin’ who hasn’t talked to his dog.” — Hank Williams

76. “Why does watching a dog be a dog fill one with happiness?” — Jonathan  Safran Foer

77. “You learn in this business: It you want a friend, get a dog.” — Carl Icahn

78. “Did you know that there are over 300 words for love in canine?” — Gabriel Zevin

79. “The dog lives for the day, the hour, even the moment.” — Robert Falcon Scott

80. “Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.” — Orhan Pamuk

Fun dog quotes

Here are additional quotes showing why we love dogs so much.

81. “A well-trained dog will make no attempt to share your lunch. He will just make you feel so guilty that you cannot enjoy it.” — Helen Thomson

82. “Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul: chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we’re the greatest hunters on earth!” — Anne Tyler

83. “As wonderful as dogs can be, they are famous for missing the point.” — Jean Ferris

84. “Dogs teach us a very important lesson in life: The mailman is not to be trusted.” — Sian Ford

85. “I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.” — Rita Rudner

86. “If you think dogs can’t count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them.” — Phil Pastoret

87. “I don’t think twice about picking up my dog’s poop, but if another dog’s poop is next to it, I think, ‘Eww, dog poop!” — Jonah Goldberg

88. My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That’s almost $21.00 in dog money.” — Joe Weinstein

89. “It all started when my dog began getting free roll over minutes.” — Jay London

90. What a dog I got, his favorite bone is in my arm.” — Rodney Dangerfield

Dog quotes that teach us something about life

We can learn a lot from our furry friends, as shown in the following quotes.

91. “The dog that trots about finds a bone.” — Golda Meir

92. “Don’t let the same dog bite you twice.” — Chuck Berry

93. “Revenge is often like biting a dog because the dog bit you.” — Austin O’Malley

94. “You kick a dog long enough, that dog is going to bite you or die.” — Dave Pelzer

95. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” — Mark Twain

96. “Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” — Lewis Grizzard

97. “Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this – no dog exchanges bones with another.” — Adam Smith

98. “How many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg? Four. Saying that a tail is a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” — Abraham Lincoln

99. “To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring—it was peace.” — Milan Kundera

100. “Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that is how dogs spend their lives.” — Sue Murphy

Additional dog quotes for pet lovers

If you’re a pet lover, you’ll love these quotes about dogs.

101. “Dogs got personality. Personality goes a long way.” — Quentin Tarantino

102. “A dog desires affection more than its dinner. Well – almost.” — Charlotte Gray

103. “A lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me.” — Barack Obama

104. “Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses.” — Elizabeth Taylor

105. “When an 85-pound mammal licks your tears away and then tries to sit on your lap, it’s hard to feel sad.” — Kristan Higgins

106. “You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.” — Harry Truman

107. “Never stand between a dog and the fire hydrant.” — John Peer

108. “It’s tough to stay married. My wife kisses the dog on the lips, yet she won’t drink from my glass.” — Rodney Dangerfield

109. “Every dog must have his day.” — Jonathan Swift

110. “I don’t understand people who don’t touch their pets. Their cat or dog is called a pet for a reason.” — Jarod Kintz

Dog quotes that remind us they’re so easy to love

Learn more about why dogs pull our heartstrings so much.

111. “The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.” —Charles de Gaulle

112. “Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards.” — Diogenes

113. “Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are God.” — Christopher Hitchens

114. “Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails.” — Max Eastman

115. “Dogs don’t rationalize. They don’t hold anything against a person. They don’t see the outside of a human but the inside of a human.” — Cesar Millan

116. “You call to a dog and a dog will break its neck to get to you. Dogs just want to please.” — Lewis Grizzard

117. “When there are dogs and music, people have a good time.” — Emmylou Harris

118. “Dogs have boundless enthusiasm but no sense of shame. I should have a dog as a life coach.” — Moby

119. “Dogs are wise. They crawl away into a quiet corner and lick their wounds and do not rejoin the world until they are whole once more.” — Agatha Christie

120. “Because of the dog’s joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift.” — Mary Oliver

Dog quotes about different dog breeds

There are many different types of breeds, and everyone has their favorite, as shown in the following quotes.

121. “The Dalmatian breed of dog has many primitive characteristics.” — Louis Leakey

122. “Franchesca and Sharkey, my French bulldogs, have their own blog. And they are brilliant at it.” — Martha Stewart

123. “I like to be at home because I just travel so much. I have four dogs, golden retrievers.” — Denise Richards

124. “I have two poodles – I’m a poodle person.” — Kathryn Newton

125. “My dog is half pitbull, half poodle. Not much of a watchdog, but a vicious gossip.” — Craig Shoemaker

126. “Snoopy didn’t start off being a Beagle. It’s just that ‘beagle’ is a funny word.” — Charles M. Schulz

127. “He learns a bit more slowly than a shepherd dog, but what he learns he knows forever. The Rottweiler is a very fine character dog, but not everybody is suitable for this type of dog.” — Resi Gerritsen

128. “I have one pug and one Czechoslovakian dog called Prazsky krysarik.” — Agnetha Faltskog

129. “Australian cattle dogs, are not like Labradors, where they just like to just sit around by the fire and get petted. They’re working dogs, so they have a lot of energy, and they can drive you crazy.” — Owen Wilson

130. “In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn’t merely try to train him to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.” — Edward Hoagland

Funny Dog Quotes To Make You Smile

If you’re having a bad day, laugh your worries away with these funny dog quotes every dog lover can relate to. 

131. “I once decided not to date a guy because he wasn’t excited to meet my dog. I mean, this was like not wanting to meet my mother.” — Bonnie Schacter

132. “You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, ‘Wow, you’re right! I never would’ve thought of that!’” — Dave Barry

133. “If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail.” — Fran Lebowitz

134. “A boy can learn a lot from a dog — obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down.” — Robert Benchley

135. “The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth will ever be.” — Konrad Lorenz

136. “My tragedy is that all I want is a dog, and yet I have been cursed with cats all my life.” — Michael Sheen

137. “Happiness is a warm puppy.” — Charles Schulz

138. “A dog is one of the remaining reasons why some people can be persuaded to go for a walk.” — Orlando Aloysius Battista

139.”There is no faith which has never yet been broken, except that of a truly faithful dog.” — Konrad Lorenz

140. Before you get a dog, you can’t quite imagine what living with one might be like; afterward, you can’t imagine living any other way.” — Caroline Knapp

Dog Quotes That Describe Their Love and Loyalty

Learn about the loyalty of these pets with the following dog quotes.

141. “The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s.” ― Mark Twain

142. “My fashion philosophy is, if you’re not covered in dog hair, your life is empty.” ― Elayne Boosler

143. “When the dog looks at you, the dog is not thinking what kind of a person you are. The dog is not judging you.” ― Eckhart Tolle

144. “Opening up your life to a dog who needs a home is one of the most fulfilling things you can do.” ― Emma Kenney

145. “Nobody can fully understand the meaning of love unless he’s owned a dog.” ― Gene Hill

146. “Intelligent dogs rarely want to please people whom they do not respect.” ― W.R. Koehler

147. “Dogs have more love than integrity. They’ve been true to us, yes, but they haven’t been true to themselves.” ― Clarence Day

148. “They say the smart dog obeys but the smarter dog knows when to disobey.” ― Amy Hempel

149. “Dogs don’t lie. A dog’s tail is a strikingly honest window to their souls.” ― Jim Hillibish

150. “A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog when you are just as hungry as the dog.” ― Jack London

Dog Quotes Honoring Our Canine Companions

Pay honor to man’s (or woman’s) best friend with the following quotes.

151. “Dogs love company. They place it first on their short list of needs.” ― J. R. Ackerley

152. “The dog who meets with a good master is the happier of the two.” ― Maurice Maeterlinck

153. “I reserve the right to tell shaggy dog stories or even common jokes as part of what I’m doing. I don’t give a damn if half the audience walks out.” ― David Antin

154. “A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A waterlogged stick will do just fine.” ― John Grogan

155. “Dogs are my favorite people.” ― Richard Dean Anderson

156. “Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one of them’s making a poop, the other one’s carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge.” ― Jerry Seinfeld

157. “Dogs never bite me. Just humans.” ― Marilyn Monroe

158. “Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent.” ― Milan Kundera

159. “A house is not a home without a dog.” ― Gerald Durrell

160. “I care not for a man’s religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Which of these dog quotes is your favorite?

Dogs mean so much to us.

They show loyalty to us, protect us, are our exercise partners, and they love us more than they love themselves.

If you’re an animal lover, you’ll agree with us that dogs are among the sweetest, cutest, and most lovable pets.

We hope the dog quotes above have given you a reason to celebrate your canine companions.

Did you enjoy these dog quotes?

Which of the quotes is your favorite?

Let us know in the comment section below.