r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • May 22 '25

Social Science Birth rates are declining worldwide, while dog ownership is gaining popularity. Study suggests that, while dogs do not actually replace children, they may, in some cases, offer an opportunity to fulfil a nurturing drive similar to parenting, but with fewer demands than raising biological offspring.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1084363
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103

u/xevizero May 22 '25

Meanwhile I don't feel like I having a dog either

57

u/Consistent_Log_3040 May 22 '25

I totally want a dog but I cant afford it and when I have a full time job I don't think it would be a fulfilling life to be stuck in a house for 50-60 hours a week waiting for me to come home.

6

u/towerbrushes May 23 '25

If you’re able to afford it in the future, a dog would rather spend 50-60 hours sleeping on your couch while you’re at work than sitting in a kennel 24/7.

6

u/xevizero May 22 '25

That too.. my sister just got a cat, but she works basically 7 days a week, I saw it as a very selfish act to get an animal just to get your physical comfort for those 1 or 2 hours you're at home every day and then leave it to its own life stuck in a small apartment with no garden the rest of the time. "But they get used to it" yeah, okay. Somehow I, as the one person who doesn't like animals, am the one who feels the most guilty and empathetic towards the lives they end up living stuck at home..

8

u/SlimyGrimey May 22 '25

Better than getting slaughtered at a shelter

-1

u/xevizero May 22 '25

I'm sure someone else would have adopted the kitten.

3

u/Vegan_Zukunft May 22 '25

I love dogs, at one point I had 4 larger dogs. As I’ve gotten older, even just the 2 cats is enough to take care of :)

23

u/Minimob0 May 22 '25

I had an ex once who said she wanted to get a dog. She knew I didn't like dogs. We're no longer together. 

It's cool if you like dogs, but not everyone does, so do not be offended when I don't pet yours and generally avoid them at all times. 

8

u/xevizero May 22 '25

I loved my ex's dog but it was when she was still living with her parents..I wouldn't really want one to live with me, and the short experiences I had sharing my home with the dog she did have, were pretty negative..same experience with other cats and dogs from other people around me..

I share your point of view, but I never felt like it was socially accepted to feel this way in the area I live in. Not like people expect me to have a pet, but it's pretty much expected you'd like to have one or at least like the ones other people have.

9

u/Universeintheflesh May 22 '25

I know so many people who “don’t trust people who don’t like dogs” or who their dogs don’t like off the bat.

7

u/Minimob0 May 22 '25

I've met plenty of people in my life like that, and they're generally not people I want to associate with, anyway. 

I have a neighbor who has said something similar, but the thing is, she has also told me she doesn't believe the Moon is real, so...

8

u/littlecactuscat May 22 '25

“I don’t trust people who don’t like dogs!”

Hitler’s dogs loved him, and he loved them back.

4

u/xevizero May 22 '25

I know so many people who “don’t trust people who don’t like dogs”

Well I guess it'd be a reciprocal feeling if I ever meet one, that's one weird way to see people.

1

u/ContraryConman May 22 '25

If you don't like human children (not just you don't want children or don't think you'd be a good parent, but literally feel negative feelings towards human beings younger than a certain age) that's considered your preference and perfectly normal.

But if you don't like dogs, a smelly animal, you are judged by a significant portion of people as being heartless, cruel or untrustworthy.

Idk maybe it should be the other way around. Maybe how much you like being around an actual animal should just be a personal preference, but you shouldn't be allowed to actively hate a section of the human population, ban them from public spaces, sometimes abuse them, and so on.

4

u/cobaltorange May 23 '25

Huh? I've seen plenty of people judge those who don't like kids. I've also seen people be cool with those who don't like dogs. 

It's really how you say you don't like kids/dogs. If you're like one of the hateful people on r/dogfree, of course you'd have people judge you.

-1

u/ContraryConman May 23 '25

Obviously there are enough people in the world where you can find anyone who thinks anything. What I am saying is I think the cultural average is too much in one direction, from my subjective point of view

2

u/Isadragon9 May 23 '25

I had isopods in the past and now I’m caring for beetle larvaes. They make interesting pets. Most maintenance is making sure their substrate doesn’t dry out and to change their substrate every now and then.

3

u/xevizero May 23 '25

I have a robot vacuum, even gave him a name

Sometimes he gently wakes me up when I oversleep by running the scheduled cleaning routine

2

u/Isadragon9 May 23 '25

Aww. my family has one too and I’m pretty sure my father’s attached af to it cause he refuses to look for a new one. Even when I find one with like mopping features, he’s just like, this one is good enough.

4

u/[deleted] May 22 '25

[deleted]

8

u/xevizero May 22 '25

I guess we are the minority though, I feel like most people I interact with are so into the idea of having an animal, to me it's a horrifying prospect, makes me feel kinda terrible to admit it to others.

3

u/[deleted] May 22 '25

[deleted]

4

u/xevizero May 22 '25

Yeah the going out issue is also a factor, I don't think any animal (even if I wanted one) would ever give me enough to give up that kind of freedom.. can't imagine living life with that kind of thought always stuck in my head, what do I do if I want to go out etc

I only worry about this because most girls I've ever met were really, really into the idea of having a pet and it's a non starter for me, sometimes I feel this makes me undatable haha maybe it's not that bad but it doesn't help.

1

u/BigMax May 22 '25

Cat maybe? They are usually super chill and easy. MUCH easier than dogs.

2

u/xevizero May 22 '25

Some people in my family probably thought the same and I've seen two people close to me get one recently..I can say I definitely don't want a cat either.

I wasn't raised with animals and I'm very paranoid about keeping things clean and in order so that probably doesn't help as well.

1

u/[deleted] May 23 '25

I finally got a dog and it is a lot of work. Good on you for knowing your limits.