Dog owners experience higher attachment levels than cat owners, study finds.
The study introduced a new scale to measure how much comfort people get from their pets. Dog owners tend to score higher on attachment measures because these often focus on interactions with dogs. When items specific to dogs were included, dog owners showed stronger attachment. But when only emotional aspects were considered, there was no difference between dog and cat owners. This shows that people can form strong bonds with various types of pets, but the way we measure attachment can affect the results.