SO SAD The True Effect on Owners of Those Sad Puppy Dog Eyes….See more
The melancholy sighs, the lingering looks, the sorrowful eyes. Every day, a lot of pet owners leave the house with a dog or cat looking glumly out the window.
According to research by social scientists, pet owners always feel guilty about wanting to take better care of their animals. Scholars have referred to it as an understudied subject that requires greater attention, especially since more employees are being called back to work full-time.
Lori Kogan, a psychologist, felt bad about leaving her pets alone as she worked long hours. She was aware that they enjoyed their walks, but she felt even worse about cutting them short because of the cold.
Kogan, a clinical sciences professor at Colorado State University, says, “I felt bad about going out on the weekends or in the evenings, and the guilt was killing me.”
In the survey, the team measured pet owners’ sense of guilt with questions like, ‘I feel guilty when I can’t afford higher-priced food’ or ‘I feel guilty when I do not take my dog to doggie daycare.’ The types of guilt were categorized into five factors related to time/attention, time away from home, leaving the pet alone, physical health, and furniture rules.
The study also measured the respondents’ bond with their dogs, what they felt were attributes shared among ideal dog owners, and how they described themselves as pet parents.
In their assessment tools, the researchers used a scale intended for parents, replacing the word “child” with “pet.” Not surprisingly, they found that dog owners articulated similar guilt as parents did in studies about parenting guilt.
