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It's Actually Better To Own A Dog Than A Cat, And Here's Proof

by Sean Levinson

Dogs took a major lead in the war with cats thanks to an analysis of the emotions of each type of pet owner.

According to Daily Mail, a study conducted at New York's Manhattanville College revealed dog owners are happier and friendlier than cat owners.

Researchers surveyed 263 US adults ages 19 to 68 about pet ownership as well as positive and negative personality traits.  The results determined dog owners are more conscientious and less neurotic when compared to cat owners.

Lead researcher Katherine Jacobs Bao added,

[Dog owners] were marginally more extroverted and agreeable than cat owners.

But despite the difference in extroversion, cat owners were discovered to be slightly more open than dog owners.

It's not clear why dog owners reported being happier, but researchers suggested a canine's ability to help satisfy and regulate one's emotional needs may be a factor.

Previous research conducted at the University of California, Berkeley found cat owners to be more anxious than dog owners, while a BBC documentary that aired last month reportedly went so far as to say dogs seem to love their owners more than cats do.

One might argue dogs seek emotional bonds with their owners, whereas their independent counterparts focus on pleasing themselves.

The Manhattanville study also concluded pet owners have a higher satisfaction with life than people without pets, but there reportedly weren't substantial differences in happiness or negative emotions between the two groups.

The results of this study were recently presented at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Convention in San Diego, California.

Citations: Why dogs really ARE better than cats: Canine owners are 'happier and more outgoing' than people with felines (Daily Mail)