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What role does a dog actually play in our lives?

A cuddly pet? A responsibility? A friend? A confidant? A child?

Researchers at ELTE in Budapest decided to look at that question properly — not through memes about “fur babies,” but through data.

More than 700 dog guardians took part in the study. They were asked to evaluate their relationship with their dog alongside their relationships with four close humans: a child, a romantic partner, a best friend, and their closest relative. The researchers used 13 psychological scales, covering everything from emotional support and affection to conflict and power dynamics.

And the results were hard to ignore.

More support than people

Dogs were rated as providing more emotional support than partners, friends, or relatives. Guardians also reported greater satisfaction with their relationship with their dog than with any human relationship — with one exception: their relationship with their own child.

Less conflict than family life

No arguments about dirty dishes. No passive-aggressive silence. Conflict levels in the dog relationship were extremely low — comparable only to the relationship with a best friend.

Like a child, but easier

The overall structure of the guardian–dog relationship most closely resembled the parent–child bond. People saw the dog as someone who needs care, guidance, and closeness. But the dog also offered loyalty, stability, and a remarkable lack of complaint.

In a way, it looked like a mix of the best parts of a child and a friend — all wrapped up in one tail-wagging creature.

Not just for lonely people

The study also challenged a very common assumption: that dogs mainly compensate for a lack of human relationships.

That is not what the data suggested.

In fact, people who had strong relationships with other humans often had stronger bonds with their dogs too. This points more toward complementarity than compensation. The dog was not replacing people. The dog was becoming part of a rich relational world.

Child-free people often reported a stronger bond

Only one factor stood out clearly in shaping the quality of the dog relationship: whether the person had children.

People without children tended to report more closeness, more shared enjoyment, and stronger feelings toward their dog.

The dog as a social mirror

A dog does not simply enter our world. They become woven into it.

Their role changes depending on our age, our life stage, and the shape of our daily life. For a single person, the dog may become a partner in everyday routines. For an older adult, a companion in a quieter home. For a child, something closer to a sibling. For a family, often the one presence that helps hold everything together.

This is not just another warm story about canine loyalty.

It is evidence that dogs occupy complex, multidimensional roles in human life. We do not simply keep dogs.

We build relationships with them — close ones, lasting ones, and ones that matter.

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Turcsán, B., Ujfalussy, D. J., Kerepesi, A., Miklósi, Á., & Kubinyi, E. (2025). Scientific Reports, 15, 11871. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95515-8