"Aww! Whose a cute little puppy- poo!"
"I have seen dogs. That is definitely no where near a dog,"
"Oh, leave the little cutie alone,"
"I'm serious, are you blind?"
Gorqax sighed. "Look. I can tell you're going to be pedantic about this. A dog is a non-cogniscent deathworlder mammal of Terran origin that is quadrupedal, fur-bearing, and carnivorous."
"Yes, that is the definition." Plegg rolled hir eyes.
"This creature that I am currently grooming is also a non-cogniscent deathworlder mammal of Terran origin that is quadrupedal, fur-bearing, and carnivorous."
"Yes, but--"
"Therefore, this is a dog. Oozagoo'boy?"
The 'dog' in Gorqax's manipulating appendages meowed.
"Dogs also utter a loud, abrupt sound as their typical call," stated Plegg. "Known as a bark. And that is not barking."
"Not every dog is the same, yes?"
"True. I have only seen one dog. I have been informed that there are breeds of varying height and mass... but this creature is showing signs of pleasure... while growling."
"It could be an anomaly. A genetic variant."
A human broke the argument in the end, while Gorqax and Plagg were playing with the contested quadruped. And arguing about its status as a dog.
"Oh there you are," said the human they called Ping. "I see you found my cat."
Gorqax refused to give up. "Is that the breed of dog ze is?"
It was going to take half an hour to explain all the differences.