Roan (our 3yo) earlier told me the difference between a dog and a cat is a dog has “down ears” and a cat has “up ears.”
This description took instant possession of me. I’ve never quite heard the species separated out this way.
So, of course, I had to look into it. I started with Google (“Do all cats ears point up; do all dog’s ears point down; cat with down ears, etc”), just to see if there is any accuracy to this wild thing he said.
Typically, I have tremendous ease when tasked with disproving an argument with no supporting evidence to it, aside from maybe an anecdote, here or there. But this one took me a while.
At last, however, I did finally manage to find a few pictures of dogs with their ears pointing up (one of them, from what I could tell, was a French Bulldog), so I now have enough evidence to do away with my son’s assertion, I think.
I also discovered, upon further investigation, that dogs can either have “prick” ears (upright) or “drop” ears (folded). There is also a style known as the “bat” ear, like what a chihuahua has.
In short, “Dogs ears come in many styles. Some are long and floppy; others are short and erect.”
It really is amazing, though, isn’t it? He had claimed it with such confidence, too. Ah, but his father is wise old fox, he is. And he knows a hollow assertion when he hears one.