Dogs heighten our sense of community, but cats don't, research shows

Tokyo (dpa) – "So cute: Is that a Labrador? Can I pet him? Oh, a terrier you say – my next guess! Did you move here recently by chance?" And so begins another friendly chat with a stranger thanks to a dog. Be it getting a bit of tree-infused park air, ambling round the block or just a quick wander to the shops, having a dog on a lead or seeing one is always a potential ice-breaker. Small wonder, then, that a team of Japanese researchers have found an association between owning a dog and having a "stronger sense of community" – an apparent outcome the team puts down to the pets doubling-up as a conduit for "neighbourhood-based connections." "Compared to incidental interactions or friendships, anchored personal relationships fostered by dog ownership are more likely to be perceived as ties with neighbours," the researchers assert in a paper published in the science and medical journal PLOS One on Wednesday. Around 500 residents of Sagamihara in Japan volunteered to take part in the research, which was carried out by psychology and veterinary academics at Rikkyo University and Azabu University. The same tendency for dog-owners adding to connections within a neighbourhood was not seen as much among owners of other pets, including cats – a finding the researchers said was in line with other related work on the subject.  The team called for further research taking in distinctions such as differing effects of dog ownership and dog walking as well as the "frequency, duration, and distance of dog walks." Future studies should also take into account "dog characteristics" – a potentially challenging subtlety which the researchers contend could further help with the "disentanglement of the association between dog ownership and personal relationships." The following information is not intended for publication dpa spr coh

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