These days we’re more likely to think of dogs as family members than pets. We give them human names, dress them in fly threads, feed them human-grade food, and ensure that they’re kept as safe as if they were our own children. After all, it’s a small price to pay for all that undying love and devotion. If you’re having a bad day, your dog’s always there to lend an ear and give a sympathetic nuzzle.
But exactly how close are we to our dogs? And when they’re providing a shoulder to cry on what do we share with them that we wouldn’t tell our own friends? As the UK’s largest network of dog walkers and pet sitters, we thought we’d set out to find some answers. We surveyed 1000 dog owners across the nation and uncovered some fun, fascinating stats about the relationships between UK dog owners and their furry best mates.
Read on to find out how many people said they’d confide in their dog if they used someone else’s toothbrush or even cheated on their partner!
How Many of Us Talk to Our Dogs?
As 9 out of 10 (89%) of the owners we surveyed consider their dog part of the family, and nearly 8 out of 10 (78%) count their dog as one of their best friends, it’s no surprise that nearly all of them speak to their dogs. In fact, 95% of participants told us that they enjoy talking to their little buddies.
How Many of Us Confide in Our Dogs?
We all know how it feels to have something weighing on our conscience. Whether you haven’t been honest about liking your partner’s new hairdo or you’re keeping something much more serious to yourself, it’s nice to be able to confide in someone you trust won’t spill the beans.
The emotional support that our dogs offer goes above and beyond that expected of a pet so it makes sense that our dogs have become our trusted confidants. In fact, over half (51%) of the UK’s dog owners surveyed said that they tell their dogs their deepest, darkest secrets. And although 84% of owners don’t think their furry wee friends understand the secrets they share, 16% think they might.
What’s even more interesting is that a lot of owners admitted they’d rather reveal secrets to their dogs than to loose-lipped friends and family members:
- 44% tell their dog secrets their friends don’t know
- 40% admit they confide in their dog over their family
- 36% tell their dogs things they wouldn’t tell their partner
The Deepest Secrets We Confess to Our Dogs
Given that your dog can’t repeat what you tell them, they make the ideal friend to confide in—especially if you have a humdinger of a secret that you want to get off your chest.
The list below shows what percentage of people would confide in their dog if the following hypothetical secrets were true:
- 43% You broke something
- 43% You spent more money shopping than you were supposed to
- 40% You dislike a present your partner gave you
- 40% You cheated on a diet
- 39% You’re going to become a parent
- 38% You don’t like the dinner your partner cooked for you
- 38% Where the secret presents are hidden
- 37% You don’t like your mother-in-law
- 37% You lost something important to someone e.g. a piece of jewellery
- 37% You don’t like a family member’s new haircut
- 35% You failed an exam
- 35% You’re in serious debt
- 29% You committed a crime
- 29% You used your partner’s razor
- 28% You used a family member’s toothbrush without telling them
- 27% You cheated on a partner
- 26% You used a family member’s toothbrush to clean the bathroom
So there you have it, our dogs provide us with a comforting, non-judgemental presence in our lives that many of us would be lost without. Long may our special bond with them continue!
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Featured image: Men’s Health
