Pets Play a Pivotal Role in the Dating Game
Between Jan. 3 and Valentine’s Day, Match.com sees a 60% spike in registrations due, in part, to the holiday blues and New Year’s resolutions, according to its blog. Needless to say, traffic is high then (50 million messages, in fact, according to Match.com). How can you improve your chances? Get a dog, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the University of Nevada conducted an online survey to identify the role companion animals play in the dating lives of single adults. They concluded that dogs served as social barometers more so than cats, and that single women appraised a potential mate based on his interactions with her dog.
Their findings were published in Anthrozoos on Dec. 9.
Researchers obtained data from a 2014 survey sent to registered members of the online dating site Match.com who had indicated pet information in their dating profiles. The researchers received 1,210 responses, 61% of which were women. Dogs and cats were the most common pets for both sexes.
The study found that women were more discriminating about a potential partner’s associations with pets than men, and, not surprisingly, that dogs were more commonly a part of social encounters than cats.