--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always pet a dog with my left hand…" description: "\"I always pet a dog with my left hand because if he bit me I'd still have my right hand to paint with.\" — Juan Gris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/juan-gris-36997_animal_i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-bec_44259.png" --- # I always pet a dog with my left hand because if he bit me… ![“I always pet a dog with my left hand because if he bit me I'd still have my right hand to paint with.” quote by Juan Gris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/juan-gris-36997_animal_i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-bec_44259.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/juan-gris-36997_animal_i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-bec_44259.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/juan-gris-36997_animal_i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-bec_44259.png) > “I always pet a dog with my left hand because if he bit me I'd still have my right hand to paint with.” [Juan Gris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-gris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker values artistic productivity over personal discomfort, preferring to protect the hand used for painting even if it means risking a bite. **In simple terms:** Prioritizing creative tool over pain Key Takeaway Protect your creative instrument Themes creativity risk management humor artistic dedication Mood wry playful determined Type anecdote maxim When to use this quote - painting while handling animals - working with potentially dangerous tools - creative work under discomfort Key Concepts hand as tool physical risk artistic focus Practical Applications - advice for artists on safeguarding tools - humorous anecdote for creative workshops Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal safety with creative pursuits? - What would you sacrifice for your art? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify the seriousness of animal bites and the importance of safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Pet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pet/) ## Related quotes > [I, on the other hand, have a bit of a southern accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/i-on-the-other-hand-have-a-bit-of-a-southern-accent/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [“On the chalkboard was another horrible but familiar sight. Someone had dipped his or her hand into a can of paint and pressed it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buckley/on-the-chalkboard-was-another-horrible-but-familiar-sight-someone-had/) [Michael Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buckley/) > [If you wanna taste then take a bit right out of me I don't give a fuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breathe-carolina/if-you-wanna-taste-then-take-a-bit-right-out-of-me-i-don-t-give-a-fuck/) [Breathe Carolina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breathe-carolina/) > [Move over just a bit to the right of me, For I cannot see Where the booty is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dres/move-over-just-a-bit-to-the-right-of-me-for-i-cannot-see-where-the/) [Dres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dres/) > [If you can just actually let the character be for a bit, then you get the right sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/if-you-can-just-actually-let-the-character-be-for-a-bit-then-you-get/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [Everybody is a bit right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugen-rosenstock-huessy/everybody-is-a-bit-right/) [Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugen-rosenstock-huessy/) > [85 percent of people are right handed 15 percent makes me different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mcafee/85-percent-of-people-are-right-handed-15-percent-makes-me-different/) Leonard Mcafee > [“The Beatrice that obsessed Dante was a Florentine named Bice di Folco Portinari. 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He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. 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It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always pet a dog with my left hand because if he bit me I'd still have my right hand to paint with.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Juan Gris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-gris/i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-because-if-he-bit-me-i-d-still/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-gris/i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-because-if-he-bit-me-i-d-still/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/juan-gris-36997_animal_i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-bec_44259.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/juan-gris-36997_animal_i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-bec_44259.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/juan-gris-36997_animal_i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-bec_44259.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always pet a dog with my left hand because if he bit me I'd still have my right hand to paint with.” — Juan Gris", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Juan Gris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-gris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always pet a dog with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-gris/i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-because-if-he-bit-me-i-d-still/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-gris/i-always-pet-a-dog-with-my-left-hand-because-if-he-bit-me-i-d-still/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```