My wife and I will always cherish the day we brought home our miniature Schnauzer puppy. At just four weeks old, she fit snugly in my palm. During the ride home, I sat in the back seat with her, gazing down at her big, playful eyes as she cuddled against my knees.
In the subsequent weeks and months, we joked that it felt like a dress rehearsal for having a human baby.
Nowadays, a growing number of people embrace this sentiment, referring to themselves as “dog parents” and viewing their furry companions as stand-ins for children.
Recent research by European psychologist, Laura Gillette and Professor Enikő Kubinyi from Elte Etovas Roland University in Budapest, highlights this trend and raises important questions about its correlation with the global decline in human fertility rates.
Interestingly, my wife and I welcomed human twins a few years after we got our pup. But with rising living costs and a shift towards individualistic values, are many opting for dogs instead of children?
Rise in Puppy Ownership
In the UK, fertility rates are at a historic low: in 2023, the average was 1.44 children per woman (over 2 is needed to maintain the population), with just 591,072 births, the lowest since 1977.
In contrast, the number of pet dogs has surged by a million in the last decade, with 45% of owners being millennials. Many of us now treat our dogs like little humans, ordering Puppuccinos at local cafes and creating social media accounts for our pups.
According to Gillette and Kubinyi, our natural caregiving instincts, honed over thousands of years of domestication, push us toward nurturing our dogs. Their appealing features, such as large eyes and rounded faces reminiscent of infants, compel affection. In fact, many popular breeds exhibit “pedomorphism,” retaining baby-like traits into adulthood.
Studies suggest dogs could serve as alternative children. A 2014 brain imaging study found that mothers exhibited similar brain responses when viewing dogs as when seeing human children, particularly in areas linked to reward.
Another study in 2015 revealed that staring into a dog’s eyes increases levels of oxytocin, a hormone associated with bonding and crucial for mother-infant interactions.
Moreover, many owners communicate with their dogs using a high-pitched, affectionate tone often employed when addressing babies, known as motherese.
Gillette and Kubinyi draw parallels between human parenting and dog ownership. Psychologists have long noted that children develop various attachment styles that correlate with their behavior, shaped primarily by emotional consistency from their parents.
Research indicates that dogs form close attachments to their owners, akin to those seen in humans. Like people, dogs’ attachment styles are influenced by their owners’ caregiving approach.
There is also evidence that dog owners can experience something akin to postnatal depression. A 2024 study found that new puppy owners may feel “puppy blues”, characterized by emotional stress, anxiety about responsibilities, and challenges in adjusting to life with a new puppy.
If raising a puppy mimics many aspects of parenting, is opting for a dog over a baby a smart choice? It’s likely cheaper and less disruptive to your career. Personally, I’d argue that cleaning up after a puppy is easier than changing diapers, though neither option is exactly pleasant.
But does being a dog parent guarantee greater happiness than being a human parent? The answer is complex.
Photo Credit: Getty
The Weight of Responsibility
Research shows that human-parent relationships can lead to short-term happiness declines. While parents experience moments of anticipated joy, they often face a drop in happiness during the initial years of parenting, likely due to the rigorous demands of their roles.
This happiness penalty tends to diminish over time, eventually returning to pre-parenting levels. These findings surprised many who believed parenthood was the pinnacle of joy in life.
Ultimately, how one measures happiness—whether through fleeting joy or long-term life satisfaction—matters. Many parents still regard having children as the most meaningful experience in their lives.
What about dog owners? Again, the findings are intricate. In large longitudinal studies focusing on pets, the benefits of ownership aren’t always as rosy as expected.
In a comprehensive review of 54 studies, only 31% of dog and cat owners reported a clear positive effect on their quality of life, while 9% reported negative impacts.
Much like stories about parenting, mixed results concerning pet ownership likely stem from the emotional challenges of caring for dogs, including the demands of training and concerns about safety.
Additionally, factors such as financial stability and societal influences play a significant role. Parental happiness is generally higher in nations with supportive child policies.
Age also influences satisfaction for both dog and human parents. For instance, parents in their 30s tend to report higher happiness compared to those who become parents in their early 20s. Notably, older dog owners often find that their furry companions help alleviate feelings of loneliness.
Having a dog also encourages more physical activity and facilitates social interaction with other dog owners.
Comparing the joys of babies and puppies might not be the right angle. Both offer unique rewards and teach us to celebrate the better aspects of human nature that we choose to embrace.
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Source: www.sciencefocus.com
