Have you ever felt a deep and strange bond with your pet? Or felt that you resemble your pet in certain personal traits? In fact, a new study found that more than half of American pet owners believe their pets act like them and are influenced by their qualities.
A survey by OnePoll involving 2,000 people revealed that 80% believe their pet has a very distinct personality, while 55% think they share similar personality traits with their pets. Commissioned by ZippyPaws, the survey showed that Americans are particularly eager to believe that their pets are intelligent. When asked to choose between "smart" and "dumb" to define their pet's personality, 64% of participants thought that the best quality of their pets is their intelligence, while only 24% believed their pets were dumb. Additionally, the data indicates that most pets owned by Americans are described by their owners as more active than shy (50% vs. 42%), more social than solitary (50% vs. 35%), more confident than hesitant (57% vs. 31%), and more lively than lazy (51% vs. 30%).
However, life and living with a pet aren't always bright. Three out of ten participants admitted their pets are "anxious," while 33% defined their pets as "drama queens" (very emotional). One in five participants believes their pet is completely strange, and 48% have seen their pets engage in behavior considered unusual for their size or type, including cats playing fetch or large dogs sitting in people's laps like puppies. Nearly six out of ten people reported their pets behave completely differently when they think they are not being watched. One survey participant said, "My dog always tries to slowly take things out of the trash when he thinks I'm not watching, and I've caught him licking the dining table more than once." Jane Glaser, co-founder of ZippyPaws, commented, "Even when we don't spend much time at home, we all love to share stories about our pets. With the rise of remote work, we can now watch them during parts of the day when they used to have their own freedom away from us, so it's not surprising that we feel more in sync with their personalities than ever."
Pet owners can read and understand their pets' personalities like an open book: among the 57% of participants who own multiple pets, 80% said they always know which animal is making noise in another room, even without looking at it. Three out of four participants stated they can always tell what their pet is thinking just by looking at their facial expressions. However, knowing your pet doesn't mean you always know what they will like; in fact, 80% of Americans have bought a special bed for their pets, but only 58% said their pet has actually used it. Glaser concludes, "The things we buy for our pets may not be as liked by them as we hoped. You might buy a toy shaped like your favorite wine bottle because it resembles your favorite bottle, but all your dog knows is that it's just a chew toy."
