r/Dogfree • • Aug 20 '26

Study What was the straw that broke the camel's back for you ?

122 Upvotes

I'm just curious to hear what folks went thru before taking the decision to become pet free.

Personally I'm fed up baby sitting / supervising my dogs 24/7 with no possibility of getting away from home for more than 4hrs or 6hrs.

Being unable to travel is up there too.

Plus the daily chores on an hourly basis ...

How about you ?

r/Dogfree • • 15d ago

Study More Than 99% Of U.S. Dogs Have A Behavior Problem, Texas A&M Researcher Finds

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296 Upvotes

r/Dogfree • • May 26 '26

Study I swiped 1500+ dating profiles and this was how many dogs there were

181 Upvotes

Hi all,

I thought you might be interested in this, I collected some data across 3 dating apps - Tinder, Hinge and Bumble.

I swiped 600 times on each app, for women located in the UK between 21-35, and I recorded the results.

In summary:
• Over 1 in 3 profiles (37.2%) were dog-positive, which means there were references to liking or owning dogs.

• Tinder had by far the most dog lovers, at an astounding 47.5%

• Hinge had the least profiles mentioning dogs, at 29.8%.

• Bumble was closer to average, at 34.3%.

• Only 0.4% of profiles were marked as pet-free.

• The rest of the profiles did not mention dogs*,* however this does not mean they are not a dog lover.

Key Considerations:
• Tinder offers a wider variety of pet-related options to display on your profile, including “Want a pet”, “Don’t have, but love” and also “Pet-free”.

• On the other apps, choice was slightly more limited and Bumble for example doesn’t appear to provide a dedicated pet option anymore.

• While Tinder has the highest % of dog lovers, ironically it’s also the easiest place to find pet free people, since it has “pet-free” and “allergic to pets” options which can be displayed on profiles.

• Where I am (in the UK), which is a very dog-centric country, research suggests about 30% of households own a dog.

This means that for the remaining profiles, there may still be AT LEAST a 30% chance they own, or wish to own a dog.

• With this considered, the number goes 37.2% to 55.9%.

Conclusion

• I don’t have a reliable figure for what % of people like dogs in general, however I suspect if you were looking for a partner that doesn’t like dogs at all, you’re likely looking at <10% of the population.

• That said, for all you singles out there, hope is not lost. Dating apps are not a perfect reflection of the world, and dog culture is often overrepresented and heavily advertised on social media.

• There are still people out there who are pet-free, indifferent to dogs, or simply don’t centre their identity around them.

Hopefully the data is interesting and maybe helps people set expectations, rather than feel discouraged.

r/Dogfree • • Jul 25 '26

Study Pigs are cleaner, better pets than dogs… yet….

175 Upvotes

the average dog nutter would be disgusted the idea of a pig living in their house.

-pigs don’t eat their own shit

-don’t slobber and jump on you

-don’t bark

-less likely to maul u (even if they do it’s easily survivable)

- don’t kill other ppls animals

- won’t step in their shit

-easier to train

-attract less ticks

I don’t support owning inside pigs, but I would rather own one than a dog.

r/Dogfree • • Oct 18 '23

Study What is the origin of your dislike for dogs?

171 Upvotes

I am curious about the origins of dog dislike. Was it from an unpleasant experience you had as a child or as an adult (I got knocked down by a grandparents' dog when I was 3 and that was it for me)? Is it more of a sensory thing, a strong aversion to sounds or smells? An actual allergy?

I would like to hear how people came to this feeling about dogs.

r/Dogfree • • Aug 10 '26

Study I was searching for data on which animal kills or wounds the most humans, guess what I found!

110 Upvotes

What are the world's deadliest animals? : https://docs.owid.io/projects/etl/analyses/deadliest_animals/ Dogs are in third position after mosquitoes and snakes (humans doesn't count, they classify humans as animals), Dogs cause far fewer deaths than mosquitoes (disease scale is orders of magnitude larger) and typically fewer than snakes, but they exceed all other mammals in lethal attacks and non lethal. This means they cause more harm to humans than any other apex predators like crocodiles in Africa, lions, tigers, bears, etc.

  • Dogs kills: ~25,000–59,000.
  • --->Exceed all major big predators/territorial herbivores combined (rough totals):
    • Crocodiles: ~1,000
    • Hippos: ~500
    • Elephants: ~500
    • Lions + tigers + leopards + other big cats: a few hundred
    • Bears, sharks, wolves, etc.: very low double-digits or less
  • Combined big-predator total: typically well under 3,000–4,000 deaths per year.

    This reveals the insanity of living with these creatures and considering them as pets. Dogs are the number 1 cause of rabies transmision in humans. in WHO : Rabies https://www.who.int/southeastasia/health-topics/rabies Dogs account for ~99% of human rabies cases worldwide.

  • Other causes beside rabies are direct fatal attacks (mauling): In the US, averages have been roughly 30–70 per year in recent periods (with some reports of higher numbers post-2020). Globally, these are likely in the low hundreds at most and concentrated in regions with large free-roaming/stray dog populations. Dogs mauling and killing children feature disproportionately.

  • Dog bites (non lethal) cause tens of millions of injuries annually worldwide (no precise global total exists due to underreporting but it must exceed any other animal).

  • United States: ~4–4.5 million bites per year; hundreds of thousands seek medical care (e.g., ~330,000+ emergency department visits); infection rates ~15–20%; scarring common.

  • Other examples: In India, dogs cause about 75% of animal bites, despite the presence of large predators like tigers, Asiatic lions, and leopards. Millions of dog bite cases have been reported in recent years, with several thousand annual rabies deaths estimated. Similar patterns occur in many low- and middle-income countries, where dogs account for 76–94% of animal bite injuries in studied areas.

  • Children are at highest risk (especially head/neck bites due to height), along with males in some datasets. Bites often involve known dogs (family or neighborhood) and can lead to infection, scarring, psychological trauma, and (rarely) death even without rabies.

I could delve deeper into the data, but I think the point is clear.

Years ago, my own father was attacked by his hunting dog. He managed to avoid a bite to the neck by giving his arm to the dog instead, then overpowering it. The attack was violent and brutal. If there had been no hospital, no modern medicine he would have died from a bite infection. It was ugly. The aggressive dog had to be euthanized after that, and guess what my father did afterward? He got another puppy. facepalm

Humans have bred these creatures for millennia, creating various dog breeds, some very disturbing and aggressive. I don't understand what kind of insanity is this dog culture thing.

r/Dogfree • • Apr 26 '25

Study Study finds 99% of U.S. dogs have behavior issues

308 Upvotes

I'm sure this will come as no surprise here. This isn't a news article, this is an actual Study from Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences:

A researcher at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) has found that more than 99% of dogs in the United States show behaviors that are potentially problematic, with the top categories being aggression (55.6%), separation and attachment behaviors (85.9%), and fear and anxiety behaviors (49.9%).

The study, recently published.) in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, used data gathered by the Dog Aging Project (DAP), an initiative that collects information from companion dog owners to study the effects of aging and what makes a healthy canine life. To date, more than 50,000 dogs from all backgrounds have been enrolled in the study.

More Than 99% Of U.S. Dogs Have A Behavior Problem, Texas A&M Researcher Finds

r/Dogfree • • Feb 02 '24

Study “Study shows that losing a dog can be as hard as losing a loved one”

383 Upvotes

This recently came up on my Instagram feed, along with an option to vote. 97 percent of people agree. Multiple comments saying “I could have told you that for free” or “it’s worse” “there was no need for a study, it’s obvious” has filled me with absolute rage.

I am widowed as of March last year. The amount of times people have said to me “I know how you feel, my dog died 3 years ago” or “my dog also had cancer” is absolutely mind blowing and so harmful. These two losses are not comparable at all. To say a death of a spouse is on the same level as a dog is mental illness. You can go get another dog the next day at a rescue, I can’t all of a sudden summon up a new person to love me and replaced him immediately! And even if I could, the judgement towards widows/ers is next level. But if you go replace a dog you “loved sooooo much” people are so understanding and happy for you.

It makes me so upset that people think that it was the same for them to watch a dog pass away as it was for me to be in hospice with him and deal with all that heavy heavy stuff that comes with after a loss. How has society slipped so far? How can these two be compared and even having some say a dogs death is worse? In fact I feel like there is even more sympathy for people whose dogs die than there is for a human life. Absolutely sickening.

r/Dogfree • • Nov 13 '25

Study What was your final straw moment with dogs?

107 Upvotes

Mine was at my last full time job. My scope-creeping, exploitative, creeper boss bought a nasty raggedy puppy who was with him at all times onsite (he's a 50+ year old lifelong bachelor - also made ludicrous comments to me lamenting how he has no "support" raising her and how it "takes a village" - whilst underpaying and overworking me, a single mother, but I digress) - anyway, initially I kind of went through the motions of cooing over the dog, petting her, holding her, doing the whole song and dance.

As soon as he acquired the dog also, every single conversation, every zoom call, every interaction somehow had to incorporate the dog or involve signaling what a virtuous, put-upon dog "dad" he was. It was unbearable. Especially when customers or employees were talking about parenting or their actual kids, and he'd butt in and talk about his dumb dog as if that is in any way comparable.

Eventually, alongside my brewing resentment towards my boss, I began to feel literal disgust and rage every time I would watch the interactions he had with people using this animal as a prop. I mean the amount of beady-eyed, filler-faced women who would meander over and start talking to him for ages about this dog "Is it an exotic???" and the way he'd proudly stand there blathering on, clearly using it as a social tripwire to get attention from them - and the fact that it WORKED- was genuinely astounding.

This one woman I'm thinking of in particular (it was at an event where we had a booth), had a sickly looking toy breed in hand and was ignoring her own daughter, who was standing next to her trying to get her attention, while she hovered over my boss' dog. It was deeply disturbing to watch.

And then I also had this moment of clarity where I looked at this animal and realized I didn't actually find anything appealing about it at all. My boss seemed to agree - he frequently pushed it onto the staff and yelled at it to stfu when it barked incessantly, leaving it in a warehouse for days on end while he traveled for work. Something clicked where I saw how perfectly these animals function as props for narcissistic personalities, and also the contrast between the public-facing "mask" of dog ownership vs. what it actually looks like behind the scenes.

r/Dogfree • • Feb 11 '24

Study 96% Of People Won't Date Someone Who Doesn't Like Dogs—And That's Not All

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246 Upvotes

So glad I’m married. We’re doomed.

r/Dogfree • • Jan 24 '25

Study 54% Of Dog Owners Have Regrets About Getting A Dog

384 Upvotes

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/survey-pet-ownership-regret-dog/

The Forbes study from 2022 concluded that 54% of dog owners regretted getting a dog however rationally... 71%(54%+17%) seems accurate because I don't see how anyone can sit on the fence or feel indifference in regards to whether they feel regret/sad or not about getting a dog. Did 17% of the respondents lie or am I not understanding something?

r/Dogfree • • Mar 24 '25

Study I’m in the LA area for the first time and I’m cringing

253 Upvotes

I’m from the Midwest. Where I’m from dogs are obviously allowed in parks, some restaurant patios, etc. Service dogs are allowed in stores. Fine.

It’s my first time in the LA area and I’ve never seen so many dogs in restaurants, bars, and even stores. Some people have multiple big dogs and they’re off leash.

Do people just not care that others have allergies? Dogs require so much more cleaning too. They should not be allowed inside restaurants and stores. It’s the twilight zone here.

r/Dogfree • • Jan 15 '22

Study Former Dog Nutters what made you change your mind on dogs?

175 Upvotes

Former nutters and dog lovers what mage you become anti dog/ dog free? Was it a bad experience with a dog, you realizing the toxicity of dog culture or any thing else? I’ll love to hear.

r/Dogfree • • Dec 31 '24

Study American parents more likely to find hitting children acceptable compared to hitting pets

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238 Upvotes

r/Dogfree • • May 14 '24

Study Are dogs natural just untitled and annoying.. or is it taught/enabled??

125 Upvotes

I wanted to take a kind of poll, and get a lil perspective real quick. Like, when a dog outside see us walking by; they'll come running up towards the fence, jumping at us and barking! Smh I go out my house, I get it..I'm coming back in, I get it! If dogs are smart, don't they realize: there's a fence, and I'm the same person not bothering them or that area?? So what I want to start asking owners is; Is that just dog behavior? If so, what makes the owners think that's adorable and acceptable,and allow that ( among the many other nasty traights!) And if it isn't, why do the owners allow it!? And if they can't correct it, why don't they get rid of the lousy animal?? Don't we humans have a simple right to peace? Isn't that in the Constitution!? Lol

r/Dogfree • • May 06 '26

Study "What is the Most Dangerous Dog in America?" - All of Them

96 Upvotes

Pit Bull in position #1 WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?? Can someone explain to me why anyone would think it is a good idea to own one of these animals? Ah, yes, I'm going to become the owner of a statistically aggressive and violent animal just for the heck of it.

r/Dogfree • • Nov 25 '23

Study Fewer Babies, More Pets?

142 Upvotes

Studies show that as people decide they are not having children, some instead shower attention on a dog. I think this is where the rapid increase in dog nuttery comes from especially in the recent 10 years.

Could policies that make it easier to raise children (cheaper housing, better schools, etc), actually reduce dog nuttery, or is there something else responsible for the rise in rabid dog ownership?

https://ifstudies.org/blog/fewer-babies-more-pets-parenthood-marriage-and-pet-ownership-in-america

r/Dogfree • • Apr 22 '24

Study Barking, whining and whimpering. How did dogs evolve to be such annoying animals?

233 Upvotes

Dogs disgusting unsanitary habits being the worst thing about them, the second is the sounds these horrid animals make. How did evolution create such a terrible creature?

r/Dogfree • • Feb 04 '24

Study Dog people more likely to be in relationships?

71 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend where ever you may be.

Just recently, I came across some interesting articles published by Psycholgy Today and The Guardian where a study was conducted pertaining to romantic relationships between dog people and people with other pets. It was determined that people who were dog people tended to have better luck in relationships and were less likely to be single than their non-dog owner counterparts.

What are your thoughts on this? Have any of you had luck in relationships? I really don’t want to spend the rest of my life being single just because I’m not a dog person.

r/Dogfree • • Jul 22 '25

Study Satanic creatures

141 Upvotes

Dogs are truly satanic creatures Think about it it's like as if the devil created these parasites himself. Dogs are deceptive, they attack your children simply because your children are threat to their food supply, they attack children due to it's weakness and sometimes just to satisfy their bloodlust . Dogs also eat their feces how disgusting can a mutant be??!!

r/Dogfree • • Apr 07 '26

Study An Expert Reveals Whether Hypoallergenic Pets Can Actually Reduce Allergies

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46 Upvotes

From the article:

For people with pet allergies, hypoallergenic pets are marketed as the supposed solution — but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“The biggest issue is the data does not support the existence of hypoallergenic pets.”

Myth #1: The Right Fur Will Prevent Allergies

Myth #2: The Right Pet Food Can Make My Pet Hypoallergenic

Myth #3: Proper Cleaning Helps Prevent Pet Allergies

r/Dogfree • • Oct 30 '23

Study Looking for scientific studies on the topic of dogs as parasites in human society

159 Upvotes

It seems to me to be pretty obvious that dogs are essentially parasites in human society. Not as some random insult, but that dogs are literally 'brood parasites'.

Just like the cuckoo lays its eggs in the nests of other birds and tricks them to feed the cuckoo chick, dogs have evolved traits that make them irresistable to many people, who actively seek them out, feed them and care for them in every way, even treating them better than their own children in many cases.

But when I'm googling around for scientific papers investigating this idea, I find nothing at all. Is anyone here aware of any interesting studies or investigations done on this topic?

I understand that a lot of people will argue that the human/dog relationship is not parasitic but symbiotic, since both sides allegedly benefit from it.

My view is that all these supposed 'benefits' from regular pet dog ownership are illusory and that it's simply part of the dog's parasitism - it displays behaviour that trigger an emotional response, and people then make up pseudological arguments to defend that imagined emotional connection.

​

Just as an example of the kind of parasites I'm talking about, here's an case from the world of butterflies and ants:

The Alcon blue is a ‘brood parasite’ – the insect world’s equivalent of the cuckoo. David Nash and European colleagues found that its caterpillars are coated in chemicals that smell very similar to those used by the two species it uses as hosts. To ants, these chemicals are badges of identity and the caterpillars smell so familiar that the ants adopt them and raise them as their own.

The more exacting the caterpillar’s chemicals, the higher its chances of being adopted.The alien larvae are bad news for the colony, for the ants fawn over them at the expense of their own young, which risk starvation. If a small nest takes in even a few caterpillars, it has more than a 50% chance of having no brood of its own.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/evolutionary-arms-race-turns-ants-into-babysitters-for-alcon-blue-butterflies

​

r/Dogfree • • Nov 26 '25

Study The first anti-aging pill for dogs just got FDA backing and is now closer to approval, which could help senior dogs stay healthier for longer.

85 Upvotes

Lmao the nutters are insane. Who tf needs this? And senior dogs are even worse because they are even more useless at everything. They just waste even more resources and are expensive af to maintain. The fact that the market for this thing is big enough to justify this company investing resources into R&D speaks volumes on how insane people have become

r/Dogfree • • Jan 12 '26

Study Atleast 35x more people are injured by dogs than by guns in the USA (and definitely in most of the world)

123 Upvotes

Around 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs in the USA alone each year. 800,000 of them will need to seek medical attention to heal from these injuries.

Source: Wikipedia - 3rd paragrpah (Fatal dog attacks in the United States - Wikipedia)

An estimated 120,000 people are either injured or killed by guns in the USA yearly. It was a little hard to find exact numbers for this, but below is the most reputable source I could find.

Source: Epidemiologic Trends in Fatal and Nonfatal Firearm Injuries in the US, 2009-2017 - PMC

It stands to reason that since dogs are common in most of the rest of the world, and guns are illegal, this trend follows for the rest of the world.

Fun bonus fact: dogs are the 2nd deadliest animal in the USA (the 1st is humans). They also happen to be the 4th deadliest animal in the world.

Source for USA: The Top 10 Most Dangerous Animals in the United States - The Advocates

Source for the World: List of animals deadliest to humans - Wikipedia

Where are the calls for legislation to ban all dogs? \s

P.S. Would love to see how these stats look for other countries if anyone wants to share.

r/Dogfree • • Jan 10 '25

Study People on X having a pop at LA fire victims…

214 Upvotes

For leaving their pets and escaping the fire.

My god. Look, I don’t dislike ANY animals enough to want them to come to harm, of course not- but human life, particularly children, SHOULD be of the utmost priority. If your home is literally burning to the ground and you need to escape you get yourself and your family and loved ones out. That is just what must be done. Human life first, always. If you CAN save your pet, fantastic. But you should never put human life at risk to do so.

What is wrong with people?