Science Says Dogs Are the New Babies, Minus the Tantrums and College Tuition

People are, generally, hardwired to care for others and we do this by forming families that come in all shapes and sizes, many that inclue raising kids. But today, more and more people are finding that same type of connection with someone a little furrier than a baby. Dogs aren’t just pets anymore, they’re family and treated very much.

And it turns out, there’s science behind this shift. A new study dives into the growing trend of dog parenthood and why so many couples are choosing to be parents to pups instead of babies, and researchers found some interesting data. Here’s what we know.

According to the Independent, fertility rates are falling across North America, East Asia, and Europe while the number of households that have a dog family member is on the rise, with nearly half of the homes in European countries caring for at least one dog.

Related: New Study About Dogs and Human Conversation Is Mind-Blowing

The research, published in European Psychologist, was conducted by scientists at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest’s Department of Ethology. The team looked at global trends around fertility and dog parenthood and wanted to find out if there’s a connection between the declining number of people having babies and the increase in pet parenthood.

And what they found is that yes, there might be a connection.

Dogs have long been considered family members, but the researchers found that “an increasing number of [pet parents] have begun to regard their dogs as their children.” They continued, explaining that people are beginning to choose dogs because they are “easier to control and care for than a child,” and people “might see their dog as a child surrogate to spoil, others actively choose to have dogs and not children”.

“The demands of caring for a companion animal have been found to reinforce the choice not to have children among some pet [parents],” the study explains. That doesn’t mean everyone who loves their pup is avoiding kids altogether.

The researchers emphasized that only a small percentage of people truly treat their dogs as if they were human babies, in the full sense of the term. Instead, in most cases, people are drawn to dogs because they aren’t children; offering affection, loyalty, and neediness in a much more manageable package.

Of course, there is still a lot left to research and discover about the connection between parenthood and pet parenthood. But the bigger takeaway is clear: for many, dogs offer a uniquely fulfilling way to connect, care for, and create a loving family that fits more comfortably into modern lifestyles.

And dogs are just really, really cute.

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Science Says Dogs Are the New Babies, Minus the Tantrums and College Tuition first appeared on Parade Pets on May 27, 2025

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