Dog moms take their pets very seriously, survey shows
Dog moms take their pet parenting very seriously, according to a new survey.
Dog moms take their pet parenting very, very seriously, according to a new survey from Rover.com. This isn’t really that surprising, though.
Neither is the realization that the Saturday before Mother’s Day is National Dog Mom Day.
75 percent of female dog owners surveyed considered themselves “dog moms,” with more than half “strongly” agreeing with that characterization. It applies pretty much across generational boundaries, too – nearly two-thirds of Baby Boomers (born around 1948-63) “strongly” agree with that classification.
Gen X (born around 1965-79) has just over half (52 percent) of owners saying their pets are part of the family (duh), while 54 percent of Gen Z (born after 1998) pet parents say their dog is their child. (That sounds a little over the top, but okay, we’ll go with it.) Millennials (born around 1982-95) seem to not have been surveyed.
Nearly half (45 percent) of owners refer to their pets as “fur babies,” which seems accurate. (Though it sounds gross.) The same percentage of Gen Z dog moms would consider themselves helicopter parents, which makes sense – for the most part they haven’t started having kids yet, since they probably can’t afford to, and so the dog is a way to practice their parenting skills.
As the firstborn, the dog is…overly sheltered at times, let’s say. That’s just how birth order theory works. It’s an endlessly fascinating subject, just like the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Enneagram. (I am a firstborn Milennial, so I speak from experience.)
Milennial and Gen X pet parents love their dogs dearly, but don’t tend to worry so much about them when they’re separated – there’s more to the world than just pets, even though they are a wonderful facet of our lives.
40 percent of the owners Rover surveyed own dog mom clothing, while another 17 percent want some but don’t have any yet. 55 percent of Gen Z owners do, and wear it proudly. They should check out what our pals at Skull Pup or Antonio Ballatore’s’ Born With a Tail have to offer – we did a really cool interview with him not long ago.
44 percent of owners say their dog has special clothing for holidays or special occasions. This can get overkill really quickly, but on the other paw, they do look pretty hecking adorable in their Halloween costumes…
About half of the respondents post online about important milestones like their doggo’s birthday, which sounds just right, honestly. Another 40 percent have stayed up most of the night to comfort a crying puppy, which also sounds right.
About one in four owners said they had missed work because their dog was sick. If it was an emergency, that’s understandable, but otherwise might be pushing it.
Next. Seth Meyers spotlights dog mom Mother's Day cards. dark
Dog dads were not part of any of these survey statistics, but if they were, I would bet they would answer yes in significantly lower percentages (though underreported as a lot of these behaviors seem too feminine).
Finally, Rover has a cool quiz to see what kind of dog mom (or dad) you are. I got the “Free Spirit Dog [Dad],” which feels about right.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the dog moms out there. Y’all rock.