Dog Owners Admit Their Pets Have A Better Social Life

If you have a dog that has lived through this pandemic with you; it’s likely you know two things.

One, quarantine has made them both happy and sad. They love the fact that you are around so much more but probably are super sad they haven’t been able to see all their friends. Be that their fellow K-9 friends, or your friends who are also their friends.

And two, that they’re more popular than you are. In fact, according to a recent study the pandemic is just showing us how much more popular our pets are than we are. With two out of three pet owners believing their dog has a better social life than they do.

According to a survey of 2,000 U.S. dog owners, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of ACANA Wholesome Grains in celebration of National Pet Month, most of us are also concerned that our pets have not been getting enough socialization with other dogs during quarantine.

Here’s what researchers discovered:

• 66% of pet owners believe their dog has a “better social life” than they do.
• 85% don’t believe their dogs getting enough socialization with other pups during quarantine.
• 63% say their pet is the “uncontested star” of any Zoom call on which they make an appearance.
• 57% said their friends and family seem more excited to see their dog than they do to see them
• 53% admit they themselves have been guilty of sometimes being more excited to see a friend’s pet on a video call than their actual friend.
• 38% reported that the number of playdates they have scheduled for their dog has increased.

“Dogs have been the saving grace for so many of us during this strange and stressful year,” says Jennifer Beechen, vice president of marketing for ACANA Wholesome Grains, in a statement. “So it’s heartwarming to see owners are sharing that ‘puppy love’ with friends and family, even if they haven’t been able to convene in person as often.”

The dogs aren’t suffering, either, as the extra time at home that many dog owners have had during the pandemic also appears to have helped their relationship with their furry friends. With 6 in 10 saying that between table scraps and the extra treats they’ve dispensed during the pandemic, their pup pal is eating better than they have in the past year. Moreover, nearly 7 in 10 report that since it’s important for families to eat meals together, they try to eat dinner around the same time their dog does every night.

As for the lack of socialization? Hopefully we are on the tail end of that particular problem.

Source: https://bit.ly/3h2HNkn