--- title: 8 Things Your Pet Says About Your Personality description: 1) Researchers have established some general conclusions about pets and their owners personalities: Fish owners are happiest. Dog owners are the most fun to be... canonical: https://time.com/3652226/pet-animal-your-personality/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-06T05:01:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:20.206Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 8 Things Your Pet Says About Your Personality og:description: 1) Researchers have established some general conclusions about pets and their owners personalities: Fish owners are happiest. Dog owners are the most fun to be... og:url: https://time.com/3652226/pet-animal-your-personality/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteca5c8a286638c6e/698777e08e060125c645980a/dog-cat-pets.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5100 og:image:height: 2869 og:image:alt: dog and cat og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 8 Things Your Pet Says About Your Personality twitter:description: 1) Researchers have established some general conclusions about pets and their owners personalities: Fish owners are happiest. Dog owners are the most fun to be... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteca5c8a286638c6e/698777e08e060125c645980a/dog-cat-pets.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 8 Things Your Pet Says About Your Personality > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Inside New York's First Cat Cafe [Watch (HLS stream): Inside New York's First Cat Cafe](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0MiiFeak.m3u8) (1:49)  _Published 2014-12-12. Meet the cats of NYC's first cat cafe, Meow Parlour, and hear more about the growing trend of paying to play with cats from the cafe's two owners._ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jan 6, 2015 5:01 AM UTC  Golden retriever dog with ginger tabby cat resting on sofa (focus on foreground) Golden retriever dog with ginger tabby cat resting on sofa (focus on foreground) Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jan 6, 2015 5:01 AM UTC 1) Researchers have established some [general conclusions](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-does-your-pet-say-about-you) about pets and their owners personalities: * **Fish owners are happiest.** * **Dog owners are the most fun to be with.** * **Cat owners are the most dependable and emotionally sensitive.** * **Reptile owners are the most independent.** 2) Yes, there are [differences between cat people and dog people](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-there-personality-differences-between-dog): * **Dog people were generally about 15 percent more extraverted, 13 percent more agreeable and 11 percent more conscientious than cat people.** * **Cat people were generally about 12 percent more neurotic and 11 percent more open than dog people.** 3) According to [research](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-does-your-pet-say-about-you) by [Richard Wiseman,](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307474860/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0307474860) people often see their pets’ personality as a reflection of their own. So, more often than not, **a quick way to find out what someone is like it to ask them to describe their animal friend’s temperament.** 4) You can [tell a liberal from a conservative](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-tell-a-liberal-from-a-conservative-by) by the breed of dog they own. Via [The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307377903/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307377903): --- > “” --- 5) That guy with the pit bull [might be just as scary as his dog](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120522084326.htm): --- > “” --- 6) Dog owners [are healthier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-dogs-mans-best-friend). Via [59 Seconds: Change Your Life in Under a Minute](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307474860/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0307474860): --- > “” --- Dogs provided more health benefits than a cat — or a spouse for that matter. Further research showed that at least some of these effects were **causal, not correlative**. You don’t even need to own a dog to get some of the stress-relieving benefits: watching a video of a cute animal can [reduce heart rate and blood pressure in under a minute](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-quickly-relieve-stress). Stuffed animals can [improve your immune system](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-stuffed-animals-stop-you-from-getting-sic). 7) Researchers know [the type of person who doesn’t clean up after their dog](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-kind-of-person-doesnt-clean-up-after-the): --- > “” --- 8) A few other fun facts about pets: * Your cat may be manipulating you with [mind control powers](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-your-cat-manipulating-you-with-mind-contro). * People buy [healthier food for their dogs](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-people-buy-healthier-food-for-themselves-o) than for themselves. * Scientists have (nearly) turned [wild foxes into puppy dogs](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-turn-foxes-into-puppy-dogs-yes-video). **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/8-things-your-choice-of-pet-says-about-your-p/)**_._** **Join over 151,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [6 Hostage Negotiation Techniques That Will Get You What You Want](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/06/hostage-negotiation/) [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/) [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) _Read next:_ [_How to Read People Like Sherlock Holmes: 4 Insights From Research_](http://time.com/3650136/how-to-read-people/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3652226/pet-animal-your-personality/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3652226/pet-animal-your-personality/"},"headline":"8 Things Your Pet Says About Your Personality","datePublished":"2015-01-06T05:01:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:03:20.206Z","description":"1) Researchers have established some general conclusions about pets and their owners personalities: Fish owners are happiest. 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