Dr Stanley Coren writes in Personality Differences Between Dog and Cat Owners about a couple of research projects.

Olive.

In one project at the University of Texas 4,500 people were given a 44-item personality assessment.

In Coren’s own research, he measured the characteristics of 6,000 people to find:

The general pattern that comes out of both studies is that dog owners are more social, interactive and accepting and cat owners (who own cats exclusively) are more introverted, self-contained and less sociable.

It’s a very interesting article, with some findings I found surprising. But then, I live with both cats and dogs, and am drawn equally to both.

Take a look at his article, then let us know in the Comments here what you think of his findings.

Apparently women want obedient dogs and men want dogs that look good, or so research at Monash University’s Anthrozoology Research Group in Australia shows:

“Women preferred male dogs, are willing to spend more time grooming their ideal dog and want a calm and compliant dog,” Ms King said.

“Men preferred female dogs, are likely to spend more money to maintain their ideal dog and are looking for a dog that is energetic, faithful and protective. Men also wanted larger dogs and preferred purebred dogs that are physically impressive to look at.”

[Via : Monash Newsline (Monash University)linked from : Perfect dog depends on gender (Science Alert).]

And the better informed we owners are about different types of dogs the better it is for all of us:

“Educating dog owners about the characteristics of different dogs is likely to help reduce the incidence of problem behaviours, such as separation anxiety, destructiveness or aggression. It is also likely to increase owner satisfaction and reduce the number of dogs relinquished to shelters.”

The Anthrozoology Research Group looks like a really interesting place:

Our relationship with companion animals can be dated back as far as 130,000 years. Australia has one of the highest incidences of pet ownership in the world, with approximately two thirds of households owning a companion animal. With recent changes in companion animal legislation it is more important then ever to understand our relationship with companion animals …

Our relationship with companion animals represents one aspect of our relationship with nature. Our research group studies these human-animal relationships to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship people have with nature, the environment and the planet we inhabit.

Their Research pages list some really exciting topics, too.