How we cite our quotes: (line number)
Quote #7
It's just…it's just that…it's just that if you can't deal with people you have to make a start somewhere. WITH ANIMALS! (163)
Jerry's logic here isn't that clear. But one big difference between humans and animals is that humans talk. If you're not communicating well with speech, maybe go look at some animals. You might not understand the ways they communicate (be it mooing or oinking or neighing), but at least there's nothing to understand. Maybe that makes Jerry feel more hopeful.
Quote #8
Whenever the dog and I see each other we both stop where we are. We regard each other with a mixture of sadness and suspicion, and then we feign indifference. We walk past each other safely; we have an understanding. It's very sad, but you'll have to admit that it is an understanding. We had made many attempts at contact and we had failed. (165)
Again, accepting a failure to communicate is less painful than trying to communicate and not having it work. At least Jerry isn't poisoning the dog, and the dog isn't biting him. If he'd used that model with Peter, he could have just walked on by and they could have never spoken. Which would have been happier, yes, but would have made for a much shorter play.
Quote #9
And was trying to feed the dog an act of love? And, perhaps, was the dog's attempt to bite me not an act of love? If we can be so misunderstood, well, then, why have we invented the word love in the first place? (165)
Not understanding the dog, trying to kill the dog, and then seeing the violence as an act of love—this is not a healthy relationship, Jerry. Jerry doesn't listen to Shmoop, though. He just does the same thing again with Peter. The moral is—listen to Shmoop, people—break the cycle. Also, don't poison dogs.