Can owning a dog get you more dates?

Owning a dog is one of life’s great pleasures. Not only has it been proven to lift your mood and improve your wellbeing, now researchers are saying that owning a dog can help to kick-start your love life too. As well as enabling you to meet more like-minded people whilst out and about with your dog whilst on walks, at the vets etc., it can also improve perceptions about the type of person you are.

Research shows that dog owners are often perceived to be happier, more empathetic and more approachable. A 2015 survey by Dr. Helen Fisher, a senior research fellow at the Kinsey Institute and chief advisor to Match.com, found that of the 1,200 pet-owning Match.com subscribers that were surveyed, one-third of them said they had been ‘more attracted to someone’ because they had a pet and more than half said they would not date someone who didn’t like pets.

“Having a dog really says something about you,” says Dr. Fisher. “It says you can care for a creature, that you can follow a schedule and get home to feed it, that you can walk it and love it and spend time with it.”

Another study asked participants to rate people based on photos and found that those that appeared in the pictures with a dog were ranked safer, happier and more relaxed. Another experiment found that men were more likely to get a woman’s phone number if they had a dog with them.

On top of this, owning a dog can make the actual act of finding a partner easier too. As well as being more likely to meet a wider range of people while you’re out walking your dog, they are also fantastic icebreakers and immediately give you something to talk about and something in common.

So if you’re looking for love, grab that leash and get out there!

Fri Jun 22 2018