What Pet Owners Talk About Most Often with Their Pets 0 10

A survey of 2,000 cat and dog owners showed that nearly half (43%) of respondents are confident that pets understand the speech directed at them. Another 27% believe that dogs and cats even respond to them. Seventy-two percent of surveyed pet owners talk to their pets, according to The Sun, citing the study.

Weather is the most popular topic for conversation. Forty percent of respondents discuss it with their cats and dogs.

The second most popular topic is food. Thirty-three percent of owners talk about it with their pets.

In third place is discussing their workday with their pets. Twenty-six percent of respondents share their work problems with their pets.

Pet owners most often communicate with their pets during feeding (39%), walking (26%), and upon returning from a walk (31%). Almost half of the study participants (46%) are confident that communication strengthens the bond with their pet.

Catherine Mellersh, the lead researcher at the Cambridge University Veterinary School's Dog Genetics Center, commented that dogs can indeed read their owner's body language and even show empathy when their owner is sad.

"They read our body language, show empathy when we are upset, and often prefer human company to their own kind — all of this indicates how interconnected we are," she noted.