New Study Finds: You Raise Your Dog the Same Way Your Parents Raised You

As a parent, it’s natural to draw on our own experiences and upbringing when it comes to raising our children. But what about when it comes to raising our furry four-legged friends? A recent study has shed light on the similarities between human parenting styles and pet parenting styles, showing that the way we interact with our dogs may be influenced by how we were raised ourselves.

For some, like myself, who had years of experience raising dogs before having children, the lines between human parenting and dog parenting can become blurred. I found myself treating my babies and toddlers more like puppies, using terms like „house training“ and „toilet training“ interchangeably, and even referring to my son walking as being „on his hind legs.“ While some may find this odd, to me, it was just second nature.

It turns out, I’m not alone in this mix-up of parenting styles. The study, titled „Intergenerational Transmission of Human Parenting Styles to Human-Dog Relationships,“ suggests that we tend to parent our dogs in a similar way to how we were parented as children. Just as we carry the lessons of parenthood from our childhood into our own parenting styles, we also bring those lessons into how we raise our furry companions.

The study outlines four main parenting styles: Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive, and Uninvolved/Neglectful. Each style has its own set of characteristics and can have a significant impact on how children develop. While the effects of these parenting styles on dogs are not as well understood, it seems that pet parents who had permissive parents tend to adopt a similar style with their dogs.

But how do we develop these parenting styles in the first place? Research on pet parenting styles shows that the way we interact with our dogs can influence their behavior and health. However, there is still much to learn about how people develop specific parenting styles towards their pets. More research is needed to fully understand the impact of pet parenting styles on our dogs and ourselves.

Ultimately, recognizing the impact of parenting styles on dog-directed behaviors can lead to more effective strategies for enhancing welfare and fostering positive relationships between humans and dogs. By understanding how our past experiences influence our interactions with our furry friends, we can create a better environment for both pups and their parents.

In the end, the similarities between parenting humans and parenting dogs may explain why some of us, like myself, may have treated our children like puppies at times. While it may have raised a few eyebrows at the park, my sons seemed to appreciate my laid-back attitude when it came to their unconventional behaviors. After all, parenting is all about love and understanding, whether it’s for our human children or our furry companions.