Guardians, kids, or companions? What do dogs mean to us today?

What role do dogs play in today’s world? For many, they are more than just pets. New findings show that whether seen as friends, family members, children or guardians, these roles affect the way dogs are cared for, suggesting shifting dynamics in human-animal bonds shaped by societal trends and individual owner profiles.

In Western cultures, studies have shown that more and more people see their dogs as their best friends, family members or even their furry children. Up to two-thirds of dog owners consider their dog to be more important than any human in their lives.

One reason for these increasingly strong bonds between humans and dogs may be the demographic transition seen over the last few decades, characterized by smaller families and falling birth rates. Indeed, in a time when people feel lonelier and more socially isolated, dogs may have become a perfect substitute for human contact. However, not much scientific research has looked at this societal trend and how it affects the daily lives of dogs.

What is it about dogs that people love so much? Does regarding dogs as friends, children or family members influence the way owners care for them?

To answer these questions, researchers collect data from about 800 dog owners. They asked about the owners’ feelings towards their pets, how they treated them and how much they relied upon them.

What they found was 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 didn’t benefit from the social interactions generated by their dog, while 36.3% welcomed them.

A key question was the role(s) the dog played in the owner’s life. The novelty of the present study was that, instead of just choosing one main role, owners could attribute multiple roles to their dogs, like friend, family member, child, colleague, domesticated animal, and security guard.

What the researchers say: “Interestingly, even though we collected data from online groups dedicated to family dogs, the owners weren’t all the same” explained the lead author of the study. “We found three distinct profiles of owners whose dogs played diverse social and practical roles”.

Indeed, for some owners, the dog had a number of functions:

• Both practical as a colleague and a security guard, but also a strong emotional and social function as the most important individual in their lives.

• Another group of owners, labelled as “dog parents”, emphasized the human-like roles of the dog, suggesting a very close bond but no practical functions.

• The last group kept dogs mainly for companionship while showing a greater emotional distance from their pets.

“As we previously assumed, several dog and human factors were associated with these three profiles. 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 the researchers. “Moreover, they often belonged to breeds known for their working abilities, such as Border Collie, Belgian Shepherd Dog and German Shepherd Dog.

“On the other hand, owners keeping dogs for companionship purposes preferred the Mudi, the English Cocker Spaniel and the Labrador Retriever breeds, spent less time with their dogs on a daily basis and were older than other owners. Lastly, ‘dog parents’ were more likely than others to house their dogs indoors and their favorite breeds were Border Collies, Vizsla, Boxer, and Dachshund.

The researchers also collected information about the behavioral problems of the dogs as indicators of canine welfare, as these may result from inadequate management practices. 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, no association was found between these perceived behavioral problems and the roles attributed to the dogs.

Finally, the present findings also suggest a generational shift in the perception of the dog-owner relationship, with younger owners forming stronger emotional bonds with their dogs and more likely to refer to them as children than the previous generation.

More research is needed to better understand the consequences of this phenomenon in terms of animal and human well-being, but also what it says about our modern societies.

So, what? Most of what’s in this research is fairly obvious. I think its importance lies in emphasizing the fact that we increasingly see our dogs—and other pets—as a substitute for human companionship. As our society fractures and we spend more time on social media, and away from other social groups—like the workplace or places of worship—animal companionship will become increasingly necessary.

To Alicia and me, Maud, our dog, is a companion, a friend and a source of exercise. She enables our membership of the local dog-owners group which forms part of our social network.

When we had a DNA test done on her soon after we adopted her, we discovered that she was a mixture of 15 breeds—including American Pit Bull, Rottweiler, Kelpie, Boxer and American Indian dog.

A dog for all seasons, perhaps.