Summary: New research shows that how users perceive their dogs—as friends, relatives, or safety soldiers —shapes the way they care for them. According to research from over 800 dog owners, those who view dogs as family frequently form closer ties and spend more time with them, whereas those who view dogs as primarily for companionship or useful roles.
This generational shift in how people view canines as family members is alarming. Additionally, the study found that pups ‘ security is not harmed by the various functions they play. These findings reveal intricate, constantly evolving relationships in human-animal relationships influenced by contemporary political changes.
Important Information:
- Users perceive their pups as friends, family, or useful partners, influencing treatment.
- Younger dog users are more likely to have strong family ties with them.
- Canine happiness is not affected by puppies playing human-like roles.
Origin: Eötvös Loránd University
What position do pups play in today’s world? For some, they are more than just animals.
According to recent research from the Eötvös Loránd University Department of Ethology, dogs are viewed as friends, family members, children, or guardians in ways that reflect shifting relationships in human-animal securities, as well as societal trends and unique user information.
In Western cultures, more and more people see their pups as their best friends, family members or even their woolly children. In fact, studies have found that dog owners believe their dog to be more significant than any other person in their life.  ,
The statistical shift, which has resulted in smaller communities and declining birth rates, may be one of the causes of these growing human-dog ties.
However, in a time when people feel lonelier and more politically isolated, puppies may have become a great alternative for human touch.
This societal tendency and how it affects dogs ‘ daily lives have not been studied extensively in scientific studies, however.
What makes people adore pups so many? Does how puppies are looked after by entrepreneurs as buddies, children, or family members?
To answer these questions, researchers at the Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University ( ELTE ) have studied questionnaire data collected from about 800 dog owners.  ,
First, results revealed that almost all owners really liked the physical contact with the dog (97.6 % of owners ), the “unconditional love” the dog provides them (93.7 % ), and the sight and beauty of the dog (88.4 % ). Other benefits were less unanimous – for example, 24.3 % of owners did n’t benefit from the social interactions generated by their dog, while 36.3 % liked it a lot.
One key question was, of course, what role ( s ) the dog played in the owner’s life. The innovation of the current study was that, instead of just choosing one major role, owners may feature many roles to their dogs, like friend, family member, child, colleague, domesticated animal, and security guard.
” Interestingly, even though we collected data from online groups dedicated to family dogs, the owners were n’t all the same” explained , Laura Gillet, PhD student at the Department of Ethology and lead author of the study.
” We discovered three distinct owners whose dogs played a variety of cultural and practical jobs.”
However, for some owners, the dog had two functions: both functional as a colleague and a security guard, but even a strong psychological and social function as the most important individual in their lives.
Another group of owners, labelled as “dog parents”, emphasised the human-like roles of the dog, suggesting a very close bond but no practical functions. The last group kept dogs primarily for companionship, but they also displayed greater emotional separation from their pets.
These three profiles” as we previously assumed, several dog and human factors were related.” For instance, dogs with dual functions were perceived as very obedient and were trained with positive reinforcement and professional training methods like clicker training”, noted Prof.  , Eniko Kubinyi, head of the Department of Ethology and of the MTA-ELTE” Momentum” Companion Animals Research Group.
” Moreover, they often belonged to breeds known for their working abilities, such as Border Collie, Belgian Shepherd Dog and German Shepherd Dog”.
Owners who own dogs for companionship, such as the Mudi, English Cocker Spaniel, and Labrador Retriever, preferred the breeds because they spent less time with them each day and were older than other owners.
Lastly, “dog parents” were more likely than others to house their dogs indoors only, and their favourite breeds were Border collies, Vizsla, Boxer, and Dachshund.
The researchers also gathered data on the dogs ‘ behavioral issues, which could indicate their canine welfare.
The most frequently reported issues were jumping up ( 33.2 % of dogs ), chasing animals ( 28.5 % ), territoriality ( 26.7 % ), overexcitement ( 20.9 % ), and fear of new things or situations ( 19.4 % ).
However, it was not possible to link these allegedly behavioural issues with the roles the dogs play.
In total, dogs have a variety of benefits and can play a variety of roles in their owners ‘ lives.
This novel research technique more accurately captures the complexity of the dog-human bond.
In addition, the roles that dog owners assigned to their dogs appear to have a direct impact on how dogs live daily, despite the fact that, according to this convenience sample of dog enthusiasts, giving them human-like roles had no adverse impact on canine welfare.  ,
The present findings also point to a generational shift in how dog-owner relationships are perceived by younger owners, who are more likely to identify their dogs as children than the previous generation.
More research is required to understand both the effects of this phenomenon on human and animal health as well as what it says about contemporary societies.
About this news about research in animal psychology
Author: Sara Bohm
Source: Eötvös Loránd University
Contact: Sara Bohm – Eötvös Loránd University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
” Owner management practices and characteristics are a factor in dog’s role, but not perceived canine behavior issues.” by Laura Gillet et al. Scientific Reports
Abstract
Owner management practices and characteristics are a factor in dog’s role, but not perceived canine behavior issues.
Owned dogs are often regarded as family members, best friends, or even as substitutes for children. Scientific research has focused on these novel roles and their effects on human well-being, but little is known about how the owner’s caring behavior may be influenced by the use of these new social roles, which in turn may have an impact on canine welfare.
Our online survey of Hungarian dog owners ( N = 790 ) sought to find out what owners value most and least in their dogs, as well as the connections between the dog’s social and non-social functions, owner’s and dog’s traits, management techniques, and dog behavior, including behavior issues.
We found that most owners appreciated petting and physical contact with their dog (97.6 % ), followed by ‘ unconditional love ‘ (93.7 % ), the dog’s beauty (88.4 % ), and walking with the dog (86.5 % ).
Socialization issues ( 24.9 % ) and time constraints ( 24.9 % ) were the most frequently raised issues. Regarding canine behaviour, jumping up ( 33.2 % ), chasing animals ( 28.5 % ), territoriality ( 26.7 % ), and overexcitement ( 20.9 % ) were common problems. Nearly a quarter of owners rated their dogs as completely disobedient, and 30.6 % as completely safe off-leash.
Based on the roles that dog owners give their dogs, we came up with three different dog owners. More obedient dogs ( 31.1 % ) and those who had practical tasks as companions were viewed as more trustworthy and gave their owners more safety benefits than dogs with these characteristics ( 31.1 % ).
Dogs with older owners and shorter lifespans were regarded as “accompaniments” ( 19.4 % ).
Lastly, owners labelled as ‘ dog parents ‘ ( 49.5 % ) were more likely to keep their dog indoors only than others. Importantly, the roles attributed to dogs were not associated with owner-reported canine behaviour problems.
We came to the conclusion that while the roles dogs are given to them are numerous and appear to have a direct impact on their daily lives, these variations in management practices do not always seem to affect their welfare.
