Dating Someone With a Dog: Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways:

• Some 71% of people are more likely to swipe right on a dating app if the person’s profile contains pictures of dogs.

• Hoping to improve their prospects of finding love, 7% of pet owners have walked in popular areas hoping to meet a match, while 3% have borrowed a pet to take on a date.

• However, pet ownership is challenging, with 10% admitting it makes it harder to date. Likewise, 27% have faced accusations they love their pet more than their partner.

• Some 69% of dog owners admit they wouldn’t date someone who dislikes dogs, underscoring the importance of pet compatibility in relationships.

What’s the best way to someone’s heart? Being yourself? Showering them with lavish gifts? Cooking them the perfect meal? In fact, if you’re looking for love, your best bet might be adopting a dog and letting them sniff out the right match for you. They get us out of the house, offer a conversation starter, and are more than willing to offer up a belly to rub during any moments of awkward silence.

But pets are for life, not just for dating. Woofz surveyed 2,000 dog owners on how their canine companion has impacted their dating lives. The results show that while attracting romantic interest comes easy for dogs, the hard work and dedication pet ownership requires can often put love on a leash.

Love Unleashed: Can Our Pets Help Us to Find a Partner?

When online dating, often, all you have to judge whether a person is worth talking to is a brief description and a handful of pictures. A skiing photo may suggest someone is sporty, adventurous, and daring. Likewise, festival photos indicate they’re outgoing and sociable.

But photos with dogs? That says caring, nurturing, and responsible – highly desirable qualities in the dating scene. It’s no surprise that 71% of people admit that they instantly find someone more attractive if their dating profile features a furry friend.

For those who find dating app interactions too impersonal and would prefer to meet their match in the great outdoors, dogs offer the perfect excuse to get out and strike up a conversation.

Close to one in ten dog owners admit they have used walkies as a tool to find love in the past, walking in busy spaces in the hopes of finding someone to flirt with. Wagging their tail and flashing their puppy dog eyes, your pet is bound to attract attention.

If you’re not a pet parent, you can always take a friend or family member’s canine Cupid with you on your next date.

One in 33 people admit to borrowing a dog to appear more attractive during a date.

Making Romance Ruff: The Challenge of Dating With a Dog

But as much as we love ‘em, dog ownership isn’t without its challenges – whether it’s the difficulty of traveling or those days when all that time you’ve spent on training feels like it was for nothing.

The same can be said when it comes to love. While pets are great at grabbing attention, they can cause headaches once it’s time to head out. Plans need to be scheduled around daily walks, and you can’t stay out too late or too long. Unsurprisingly, one in ten people admit that owning a dog has made it harder for them to date.

For many people, a dog is far more than a pet. They’re part of the family, and they always come first. Some 27% of pet parents have been accused of loving their dog more than their partner, with 13% regularly being called out for loving their canine child more.

But if they spend enough time with your four-legged friend, it’s only so long before they start to love them as much as you do – so there’s a high chance you’ll get a taste of your own medicine. Some 10% of dog owners say they have felt jealous due to their partner giving their dog attention, with 4% admitting they often feel envious.

But there’s no need to flash your teeth and fight for their attention. You should be happy that you’ve found someone who loves spending time with your pet as much as you do.

Swiping Left On Dogs: A Dating Red Flag

If dogs don’t get your tail wagging, it might be harder to find a companion. Some 69% of pet parents admit they wouldn’t date someone who doesn’t like dogs – and there are a lot of them. It’s estimated that one in three households globally is home to a non-human resident, with canines being the most commonly owned pet.

Sure, you can feign interest as they spend the date showing you countless pictures of their furry baby, but what do you do once the relationship progresses and you find yourself in their home with their slobbering pup staring at your food and licking at your face? Your dislike will come out eventually and will most likely land you in the dog house. Most pet parents will put their furry child first every time, with 73% of dog owners admitting they would dump a partner who doesn’t get along with their pet.

Wrap-Up

Dogs aren’t everyone’s best friends – and that’s okay. What matters is finding a partner who's on the same page as you. A passion for paws or a preference for a fur-free home can reveal plenty about compatibility. Just as you would quiz a potential partner on getting married and having kids, check whether dogs are a dealbreaker early on.