Are people with dogs more approachable than people without dogs (tentative hypothesis)

Today’s life is full of pressure from work and the increasing pressures from the rising cost of living which has resulted increased level of stress among the people together with stress related disorders. Various ways of reducing stress has been explored by experts all over the world one of them including owning a pet. Various ways of reducing stress has been explored by experts all over the world one of them including owning a pet. Having reduced levels of stress comes with accrued benefits such as being more approachable and attractive which improves a person’s social standing. In the study described below, we try to find out whether owning a dog makes one more approachable. The study involves carrying out a pilot study on a sample of 100 persons 50 of them being dog owners and 50 being non dog owners. The subjects are required to respond to mailed questionnaires. The results for the study showed that dog owners are seen to be more approachable than non dog owners and this is consistent with previous studies conducted on the same subject. Introduction In the world today expanding our social network has become hard. This has been as a result of the pressures that people face from the economy making them work for longer hours and more alienated from other people in the society. Finding the right partner in the dating arena has also become increasingly hard as area of physical interactions continue being scarce day by day. Psychologist and other experts have tried to explore ways which can improve social interactions. Owning a pet such as dog has been seen to make a person be approachable and thus increase their chances of meeting and making new friends and acquaintances. Research conducted in this area argue that the reason why people with pet are seen to be approachable is because a pet gives people a reason to stop and exchange pleasantly as they get a common ground to start a conversation on (Arluke amp. Sanders 2008). As such, people who own pets especially dogs which have to be taken for walks regularly have a great chance of meeting new people thereby getting a good chance of expanding their social network compared to people who do not own dogs. Moreover, the same research shows that owning a pet helps a person cope better with stress and actually lifts their moods. Psychology has shown us that people who seem to be happy with their lives are easy to approach compared to those who are always gloomy and engrossed in their problems and sorrows. Besides making people more approachable, there are other benefits accrued to owning a pet that make a person happier and satisfied with life. Among these benefits include getting rid of loneliness. Pets provide support where one cannot get the support of fellow human beings and gives companionship. An interesting finding in a research showed that nursing home residents were seen to be less lonely when they got a visit from their pet dogs compared to when they spent time with other human beings. Besides, since one has to walk their Dog, it encourages them to engage in outdoor activities and exercise which is good for health. Surprising, pets also help in reducing blood pressure levels. Another research also showed that In New York, stockbrokers who owned dogs reported lesser cases of hypertension compared to those who do not. This is considering that they work in highly uncertain industry that is bound to give them a lot of pressure. A recent survey carried out by the Dog Trust showed that 85% of people who own dogs are perceived as being approachable. The same survey also showed that among the people interviewed in the survey, 60% expressed that they were attracted to dog owners. In order to verify that owning a dog does actually make one to be more approachable, we conducted a pilot survey described below. The hypotheses for our research were: H1 Owning a dog makes one more approachable H0 Owning a dog does not make one more approachable Methodology In our survey, we interviewed through written questionnaire a sample of 50 adult Dog owners and 50 adults not dog owners to establish