In a new study, researchers in Hungary surveyed 800 dog owners and found that they all fit into three distinct categories.
The study, published on Scientific Reports on November 12, dives into the role dog owners play in their pet’s life and how it affects their daily life.
“Owned dogs are often regarded as family members, best friends, or even as substitutes for children,” the study’s abstract read.
“These new roles and their effects on human well-being have received scientific attention, but little is known about how attributing such social functions to dogs might influence the caring behaviour of the owner, which in turn can impact canine welfare.”
In the study, the researchers created an online survey to answer their questions about the characteristics of the owner and the dog, management practices of the owner, the dog’s behavior, and many more.
The researchers got results that helped them put the 800 dog owners into three distinct categories. These results include:
What owners appreciated about their dogs:
- Petting and physical contact with their dog (97.6%)
- Unconditional love (93.7%)
- The dog’s beauty (88.4%)
- Walking with the dog (86.5%)
Most frequently mentioned problems:
- Socialization issues (20.4%)
- Lack of time (15.9%)
Most frequently mentioned canine behavior problems:
- Jumping up (33.2%)
- Chasing animals (28.5%)
- Territoriality (26.7%)
- Overexcitement (20.9%)
Furthermore, the researchers found that almost a quarter of dog owners rated their dogs as “totally obedient” while 30.6% are rated as “totally safe off-leash”.
With these results, the researchers were able to come up with three dog owner profiles, based on the roles they attribute to their dogs. And these three categories are:
- Dog Parents (49.5%): These are the dog owners who rated their dogs higher on the following roles: domesticated animal, friend, family member, child, and more important than any human, compared to the roles of colleague and assistance/guard dog. This dog owner profile emphasizes that these dog owners think of their dogs as family members.
- Companion Dog Owners (19.4%): These dog owners are described as people who keep dogs for companionship but appear to maintain a greater emotional distance from their dogs.
- Dual Status Owners (31.1%): These dog owners are a mix of both profiles. They see their dog as their “colleague” and security guard to keep them company and safe, but also has strong emotional ties to their dogs.
“As we previously assumed, several dog and human factors were associated with these three profiles,” said Professor Eniko Kubiny, one of the study’s researchers and the head of the Department of Ethology at the Eötvös Loránd University.
“For instance, dogs with dual functions were perceived as very obedient and were trained with positive reinforcement and professional training methods like clicker training.”
The researchers concluded that despite general trend observed in Western countries, not all dog owners are the same.
“Despite the general trend observable in Western countries, in which dogs are more and more perceived as family members providing unconditional love and support, this study highlights that not all dog owners are the same, even in a convenience sample interested in dog behavioural studies.”
And while they believe that their research may not be true for the entire pet dog population, they believe that the results “contribute to a better understanding of the modern dog-human relationship.”
What do you think? Which category do you belong to?