--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People keep a dog and are ruled by this…" description: "\"People keep a dog and are ruled by this dog, and even Schopenhauer was ruled in the end not by his head, but by his dog. This fact is more depressing t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/thomas-bernhard-3514_animal_people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this_3166479.jpg" --- # People keep a dog and are ruled by this dog, and even… ![“People keep a dog and are ruled by this dog, and even Schopenhauer was ruled in the end not by his head, but by his dog. This fact is more depressing than any other.” quote by Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/thomas-bernhard-3514_animal_people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this_3166479.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/thomas-bernhard-3514_animal_people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this_3166479.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/thomas-bernhard-3514_animal_people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this_3166479.jpg) > “People keep a dog and are ruled by this dog, and even Schopenhauer was ruled in the end not by his head, but by his dog. This fact is more depressing than any other.” [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings often become subservient to their own passions, losing rational control. **In simple terms:** We are ruled by our obsessions, not reason. Key Takeaway Recognize and temper your own compulsions. Themes power obsession human nature Mood melancholic reflective Type aphilosophical literary When to use this quote - personal relationships - political leadership - self‑reflection Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What “dog” governs your decisions? - How can you reclaim autonomy from habit? A Different Perspective Rational thought can be overridden by emotional attachment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [I've owned a lot of dogs in my life - Marcela, Rusty, Petey Pup, Precious, Rosy and Ava. Each were in love with life's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-peterson/i-ve-owned-a-lot-of-dogs-in-my-life-marcela-rusty-petey-pup-precious/) [Bob Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-peterson/) > [No dog is too much for me to handle. I rehabilitate dogs, I train people. I am the dog whisperer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/no-dog-is-too-much-for-me-to-handle-i-rehabilitate-dogs-i-train/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [“Dogs don't censor themselves. Maybe animals were smarter than people. The dog was so happy. My mom and dad too. It felt good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/dogs-don-t-censor-themselves-maybe-animals-were-smarter-than-people/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I read the most extravagant things about people who suffer and depress because of things written about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-jagger/i-read-the-most-extravagant-things-about-people-who-suffer-and/) [Mick Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-jagger/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Antidepressants sure kill your sexual life...Now, THAT'S depressing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/antidepressants-sure-kill-your-sexual-life-now-that-s-depressing/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [It is, of course, a luxury to create art and, on top of this, to insist on expressing one's own artistic opinion. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/it-is-of-course-a-luxury-to-create-art-and-on-top-of-this-to-insist/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [It's so Canada. On some level, you laugh, but on another level, it's just depressing. We pride ourselves: We're not like the bad old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-backhouse/it-s-so-canada-on-some-level-you-laugh-but-on-another-level-it-s-just/) [Constance Backhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-backhouse/) > [We're in a situation where talented, motivated school leavers and graduates can send off a hundred CVs and not get a reply, and where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jameela-jamil/we-re-in-a-situation-where-talented-motivated-school-leavers-and/) [Jameela Jamil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jameela-jamil/) > [I think it is kind of depressing how few female filmmakers there are. I think it is in general depressing how few women there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/i-think-it-is-kind-of-depressing-how-few-female-filmmakers-there-are/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [There is not a country on earth that could get its fiscal house in order by shrinking opportunity and depressing growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-o-malley/there-is-not-a-country-on-earth-that-could-get-its-fiscal-house-in/) [Martin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-o-malley/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) ## More by Thomas Bernhard > [“He was the only world-famous piano virtuoso who abhorred his public and also actually withdrew definitively from this abhorred public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/he-was-the-only-world-famous-piano-virtuoso-who-abhorred-his-public/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“A body needs at least three points of support, not in a straight line, to fix its position, so Roithamer had written.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/a-body-needs-at-least-three-points-of-support-not-in-a-straight-line/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“The essential elements of a person come to light only when we must regard him as lost to us, when everything he has done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/the-essential-elements-of-a-person-come-to-light-only-when-we-must/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [Lawyers make nothing but confusion...A lawyer is an instrument of the devil. In general, he's a fiendish idiot, banking on the stupidity of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/lawyers-make-nothing-but-confusion-a-lawyer-is-an-instrument-of-the/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“I know nothing about nature. I hate nature, because it is killing me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/i-know-nothing-about-nature-i-hate-nature-because-it-is-killing-me/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“The empty rooms always had a terribly depressing effect upon my father when he considered, he said, that the person who dwelt in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/the-empty-rooms-always-had-a-terribly-depressing-effect-upon-my/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“Time destroys everything we do, whatever it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/time-destroys-everything-we-do-whatever-it-is/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“To wake up one day and be Steinway and Glen in One... Glen Steinway, Steinway Glen, all for Bach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/to-wake-up-one-day-and-be-steinway-and-glen-in-one-glen-steinway/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“It had always been impossible for me to write to him. Each time I would immediately become aware of the awkwardness of suddenly expressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/it-had-always-been-impossible-for-me-to-write-to-him-each-time-i/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [All my life I have had the utmost admiration for suicides. I have always considered them superior to me in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/all-my-life-i-have-had-the-utmost-admiration-for-suicides-i-have/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“I barricaded myself and stared out the window, without seeing anything but my own unhappiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/i-barricaded-myself-and-stared-out-the-window-without-seeing-anything/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [... Whatever condition we are in, we must always do what we want to do, and if we want to go on a journey,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/whatever-condition-we-are-in-we-must-always-do-what-we-want-to-do-and/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [Those are terrible people who don't like Glenn Gould... I will have nothing to do with such people, they are dangerous people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/those-are-terrible-people-who-don-t-like-glenn-gould-i-will-have/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [It would be wrong to refuse to face the fact that everything is fundamentally sick and sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/it-would-be-wrong-to-refuse-to-face-the-fact-that-everything-is/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“We publish only to satisfy out craving for fame; there's no other motive except the even baser one of making money…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/we-publish-only-to-satisfy-out-craving-for-fame-there-s-no-other/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) [Explore all 96 Thomas Bernhard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. 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. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. 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": "People keep a dog and are ruled by this dog, and even Schopenhauer was ruled in the end not by his head, but by his dog. This fact is more depressing than any other.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Bernhard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this-dog-and-even-schopenhauer-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this-dog-and-even-schopenhauer-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/thomas-bernhard-3514_animal_people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this_3166479.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/thomas-bernhard-3514_animal_people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this_3166479.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/thomas-bernhard-3514_animal_people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this_3166479.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People keep a dog and are ruled by this dog, and even Schopenhauer was ruled in the end not by his head, but…” — Thomas Bernhard", "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": "Thomas Bernhard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People keep a dog and are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this-dog-and-even-schopenhauer-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/people-keep-a-dog-and-are-ruled-by-this-dog-and-even-schopenhauer-was/#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 } } ] } ```