Research Says Pet Owners are Sexier

Looking to step up your dating game in the new year? It might be time to get a dog. A study?from Taylor & Francis that was published in Anthrozo?s found that men who have pets are found sexier by woman.

The research was a collaboration between PetSmart and Match.com. The researchers went to Match to track down 1,210 pet owners who were single. Of that number, 60 percent of them were women and 40 percent were men, while 72 percent were dog owners and 42 percent had cats.

Next the singles were given a 21 question survey about their dating lives and their pets. The questions gauged to see if there pets played any part in their dating life, like whether they would take a pet on a first date or not, and even whether they would judge a date based on their pet’s reaction to them.

Ultimately they asked if they were more attracted to people with pets and?25 percent of the women and 26 percent of the men said they had been more attractive to people who had pets. When asked what the sexiest pet a guy could own was, dogs beat out cats five to one.

If you’ve been toying around the idea of committing to a pet, it just?make your love life a little better too. Of course you can always borrow a friend’s dog for hikes or something if your life circumstances prohibit you from being a pet owner. In addition to making you seem sexier, spending time with animals has a ton of health benefits.

Dog owners statistically tend to be happy and healthier than the average person, from all that mutual love and adoration. Dog owners get a lot more exercise than the average person thanks to having to walk their dogs regularly. One study found that dog owners walk an average of 300 minutes each week while the average person walks 168 minutes, which is practically double. Other research has found that dog owners are less likely to be obese than non dog owners, so if you’re looking for a way to sneak some more exercise into your life, getting a dog could do it.

Pet owners have also been shown to have lower risks of developing heart disease. The?Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) have both done studies on this topic and found that pet owners have lower?blood pressure levels, lower cholesterol levels, and lower triglyceride levels, all of which can help prevent heart disease and heart attacks. Some research also suggests that people might recover better from heart attacks when they have pets around.

Owning a pet can help combat loneliness and give people a sense of purpose that is necessary for keeping depression and the blues at bay. We all like to feel like we have a purpose and when we have pets to take care of there is literally someone’s life and well being that depends on us to care for them. That can do a lot for the morale and make off days not feel so serious.