Most dog owners will tell you that their pet is a key member of the family.
But a new study has revealed just how strong the connection between owners and their pets really is.
According to researchers from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, owners rate their bond with their pet as more satisfying than their relationships with their friends, partner and even their own children.
In the study, the team surveyed 700 dog owners about their relationships with their pets, friends and family.
The results showed that owners feel their dog loves them more than anyone else and is also their best source of companionship.
What’s more, there’s also less conflict compared to their other relationships.
Based on the findings, the experts say that owner-dog relationships could be best interpreted as a mix of child and best friend relationships.
‘The results highlight that dogs occupy a unique place in our social world—offering the emotional closeness of a child, the ease of a best friend, and the predictability of a relationship shaped by human control—revealing why our bonds with them are often so deeply fulfilling,’ senior author Enikő Kubinyi said.
The study of 700 dog owners found most said they felt their dog loved them the most among all partners (stock image)
Researchers have discovered that owners feel their dog loves them more than anyone else and are also their best source of companionship
Humans have expansive social networks which consist of different partners who offer varying forms of support.
For example, romantic partners provide intimacy and aid and children offer opportunities for nurturing and relationship security.
Meanwhile best friends are sources of low-conflict companionship.
The team asked 700 dog owners to rate their dogs and four humans – their child, romantic partner, closest relative and best friend – on 13 relationship characteristics.
Analysis showed that owners rated their bond with their dog as the most satisfying and ranked their pet pooch as the best source of companionship.
Owners also said they felt their dog loved them the most among all partners.
Similar to children, dogs scored high in nurturing and relationship security and, like best friends, had low levels of antagonism and conflict with their owners.
However, there is also a greater power imbalance toward the owner in the relationship with dogs than with any human partner.
Similar to children, dogs scored high in nurturing and relationship security and, like best friends, had low levels of antagonism and conflict with their owners (stock image)
In a previous study, researchers surveyed 800 dog owners and found that they all fit into three distinct categories
‘Unlike in human relationships, dog owners maintain full control over their dogs as they make most of the decisions, contributing to the high satisfaction owners report,’ Professor Kubinyi said.
‘Compared to humans, the relationship with dogs involves few conflicts and minimal negative interactions.
‘The power asymmetry, having control over a living being, is a fundamental aspect of dog ownership for many.’
The team found that owner-dog relationships could be best interpreted as a mix of child and best friend relationships, combining the positive aspects of the child relationship with the lack of negative aspects of friendship.
The researchers also discovered that strong human relationships were linked to stronger bonds with dogs.
This suggests that dogs compliment human relationships rather than compensating for their deficiencies, they explained.
‘We expected that people with weak human relationships would rely more on their dogs for support, but our results contradict this,’ said co-author Dorottya Ujfalussy.
‘In our sample, people did not seem to use dogs to compensate for the insufficient support in their human relationships.’
The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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