http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...ttractive-potential-lovers-research-says.html
Dogs really DO help you get a date: Puppies make people appear more attractive, caring and approachable, confirm scientists
Single men hoping to find love may have more luck if they own a dog, studies suggest.
Research has found people with dogs are perceived to be more attractive, happier, caring, approachable and empathetic.
Men in particular are seen to be more caring and selfless if they have made the commitment to looking after their pet.
Women may read this as a signal that they will make a good parent as well as a partner, experts say.
In an in-depth article for the
New York Times, reporter Roni Caryn Rabin explores the scientific findings over dog ownership and romance.
Among the experts she consulted was Dr Helen Fisher, a senior research fellow at the Kinsey Institute in Indiana and a chief adviser to Match.com.
Dr Fisher says that men who own dogs give off that they are more capable of care-giving to others.
She said: 'Having a dog really says something about you.
'It says you can care for a creature, that you can follow a schedule and get home to feed it, that you can walk it and love it and spend time with it.
'That's the bottom line message that women get when they see a man with a dog: He's capable of nurturing, of giving without receiving a lot, of caring for another. He's made a commitment to this animal.
'And one thing women have needed for years and years is a partner who could share the load, be responsible, care for them if they're sick and show up on time.'
A number of studies that have looked into our perceptions of dog owners back up Dr Fisher's belief.
A study conducted in 1992 found that subjects of photographs were ranked as happier and more likeable when they posed with a dog.
As part of the study, 34 subjects viewed photographs of people pictured alone, with a dog or with flowers.
The subjects were asked to rate the person in the photos with regard to four aspects: approachability, how happy or relaxed they looked, and which was their best photo.
Photos of people with a dog were rated higher than photos of individuals pictured without one.
A paper published in 2008 showed that men were more likely to get a woman's phone number if they were accompanied by a dog.
Previous studies had suggested dogs aid social interaction between people, so a range of tests were devised to put this to the test.
In one, men were sent out into the street both with and without dogs to try and get the numbers of young women.
Men with dogs proved far more successful than those without.
In 2013, researchers found that men who were described to volunteers as only interested in short-term flings were more likely to be seen as potential long-term lovers if they owned a dog.
Women read short stories about men, detailing their behaviour and whether or not they owned dogs.
They were described as either 'cads', who were interested only in short-term hook ups, or 'dads', who were looking for something more lasting.
Cads who owned dogs were rated more highly on long-term attractiveness than their non-dog owning cad counterparts.
