Corona lockdown means for many more time with their pets.
But are dogs and cats happy about our presence?
An Australian study comes to an interesting result.
Even if the ceiling falls on the head of many in the home office * and the corona pandemic does not bring with it any positive aspects, many pet owners still see a great advantage: more time for and with dog and cat. But what do our four-legged friends actually think of the fact that we are permanently at home? Australian researchers have taken on the topic and examined whether dogs and cats are happy about our permanent presence - or not.
That dogs adore their humans and cats want to be adored is probably no big secret among pet owners.
And the four-legged friends largely split society into dog and cat lovers - it is not uncommon for a discussion about which pet is better.
Now, as
reported by
echo24.de
*, based on the personality traits of the four-legged
friends
, the thesis could be made that dogs are more likely to be happy about the presence of their family than cats.
Or are cats happy about the 24-hour availability of their servants?
Australian researchers have come to an interesting conclusion.
Home office in the pandemic: Are dogs and cats happy about our absence?
A study from Australia, led by psychology lecturer Jessica Oliva, found out how dogs and cats deal with the constant presence of their owners during lockdowns. To this end, researchers from James Cook University in Townsville surveyed almost 400 people living alone and at the same time examined the effect that having pets had on people, as reported by the
editorial network Germany (RND)
.
The result seems to be less surprising: All dog owners, i.e. a full hundred percent, stated in the survey that their dogs were happy to see them.
It was a different story with the cat owners: Half of the owners stated that their four-legged friends were not happy to see them.
The cats are said to have shown the cold shoulder to their owners several times - although this is not necessarily an unusual behavior in cats even without lockdown.
Australian study: what effect does our presence have on our pets?
But in her study, the psychology lecturer not only examined the effects of owners on their pets during the corona lockdown, but also the effect dogs and cats have on people in the pandemic. The result: having a pet around and not being completely alone has had a positive effect on people.
Anyone who has a pet is probably familiar with this - dogs and cats are excellent conversationalists and are great to talk to. If you don't own an animal, you will probably shake your head at this point. But if you have a four-legged friend at home, you tend to speak loudly - even if nobody (human) is in the room in that sense. The interesting thing here: What some might think is completely stupid is definitely positive. Because, according to Jessica Oliva, speaking or thinking out loud promotes concentration and performance in cognitive tasks.
Dogs in particular had another positive effect on humans, because the four-legged friends have to go out every day with their owners, for better or worse. As a result, according to the study, dog owners felt less alone than cat owners. Because a dog forces you to get up, leave the house, and move around, which is good for your mental health.
Among other things, this may be one reason why numerous people in Germany also got four-legged friends during the lockdown.
But the psychology lecturer also warns: The decision to get a pet should not be taken lightly.
Because dogs and cats are lifelong companions and also need intensive care when travel is again possible without restrictions and home office is reduced.
Animal rights activists already fear a rush in the animal shelters * due to ill-considered pet purchases.
Dogs and cats: annoyed by our presence in lockdown?
Whether dogs and cats are really annoyed by our permanent presence at the end of the day, of course, cannot be clearly stated in the end. Even if we like to interpret a lot into the behavior of our dear four-legged friends - in the end they cannot speak. What is certain, however, is that dogs and cats above all can increase people's well-being and contribute to mental health.
And should the feeling arise that our pets are no longer interested in us, it is advisable to simply give the animals a break and offer them a place of retreat at any time. Because we do not want to be permanently used either. But one way or another, even if dogs and cats are annoyed by our presence in their realm: At the latest when the food bag rustles or the can cracks when it is opened, dogs and cats love us again and ensnare us. *
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