What Your Pet Says About You

Careerbuilder.com sponsored an online survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, to determine trends in pet ownership as it relates to certain professions, annual salaries and level of job satisfaction. The survey polled a limited sampling of 2,300 full-time employees in the U.S. who are also pet owners.

Survey results indicate that:

• Employees in top-level positions (CEOs or senior vice presidents) are primarily dog owners.
• Snake and other reptile owners are among the highest paid workers, earning six-figure salaries.
• Bird owners are most likely to be satisfied with their jobs.

When it comes to career choices, the survey revealed some interesting trends:

• Entertainers, IT professionals, those in the military, nurses and professors are more likely dog owners.
• Doctors, lab techs, machine operators, personal caretakers and realtors tend to have cats as pets.
• People working in the financial field, hotel and leisure industry, in farming/fishing/forestry careers, human resources and transportation are more likely to own fish.
• Editors and writers, engineers, marketing and PR professionals, law enforcement officers and social workers prefer reptiles as pets.
• Bird owners are found in administrative jobs, advertising, construction and sales.

My bet is most of you could flip the Careerbuilder survey results on their head just by polling your own family, friends and co-workers. I know I could.

I'm not convinced surveys that attempt to measure people, for whatever reason, by the type of pet they own or don't own are useful or even accurate. But they're certainly entertaining...

Pet Product Marketers Want Inside Your Head

Because pet owners are big business, University of Oregon business administration grad students, led by the head of the marketing department, quizzed over 650 pet owners to see if they could determine what a person's choice of pet says about them.

The survey polled 417 pet owners and 240 non-owners. Of the pet owners, some of whom had more than one pet, there were 296 dog owners, 226 cat owners, 37 bird owners, 63 fish owners, 19 rabbit owners, 15 mouse owners and seven reptile owners.

A few curious takeaways from their questionnaire:

• Dog owners are more honest, religious and duty-bound than people who don't have a dog.
• Cat people are loners who are less religious than non-cat owners, want instant gratification, are satisfied with their jobs and are socially conscious.
• Fish owners are the most engaging of all pet owners. They are optimistic and hopeful, non-materialistic and introverted.

If You Were a Dog, Which Breed Would You Be?

According to a Forbes.com article on dog breed ownership, "You can pick up after your pooch and make sure he plays nice, but it's your dog's breed that truly speaks volumes about what kind of owner you are."

Here's what Forbes thinks of you based on the breed of your pup:

• Beagle owners are inquisitive, willing to learn new things, willful, loyal and stubborn.
• If you own a Cocker Spaniel you're family oriented, nurturing, gentle, playful and affectionate.
• Owners of Golden Retrievers are social butterflies.
• Chihuahua parents are high-energy mischief makers.
• If your first furry love is a Poodle, you are detail-oriented with an appreciation for art and culture.

Show Me Your Cat and I'll Tell You Who You Are

According to the Cat Fanciers Association, it's assumed certain types of people gravitate to certain breeds of cat. A few examples:

• Persian cat owners are homebodies.
• Siamese cats are owned by people who are great communicators.
• Calico and tortoiseshell cat owners are family-oriented with beautifully appointed homes.
• People who love Maine Coons tend to be family-oriented as well, and loyal.
• Abyssinian owners are flexible and creative.
• Burmese cat lovers like to relax and entertain at home.
• Russian Blue and American shorthair cat owners are independent and self-reliant, but also affectionate.

How You Care for Your Pet Is What Counts

In my opinion, surveys, myths and legends about pets as predictors of career success or indicators of who we are as human beings are more amusing than helpful.

It may be true that most CEOs prefer dogs over cats or people who own fish are optimistic, but in my experience, that's not the importance of pet ownership.

What's significant from my perspective as a veterinarian and animal advocate is each pet owner's commitment to the health and well-being of their animal companion.

So whether you're a snake enthusiast earning six figures, a parrot-loving advertising executive or a Burmese cat owner who enjoys entertaining at home, my wish for you is a long, loving association with the precious creature in your care.

For more by Dr. Karen Becker, click here.

For more on pet health, click here.

Dr. Karen Becker is a proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian. You can visit her site at: MercolaHealthyPets.com.

Her goal is to help you create wellness in order to prevent illness in the lives of your pets. This proactive approach seeks to save you and your pet from unnecessary stress and suffering by identifying and removing health obstacles even before disease occurs. Unfortunately, most veterinarians in the United States are trained to be reactive. They wait for symptoms to occur, and often treat those symptoms without addressing the root cause.

By reading Dr. Becker's information, you'll learn how to make impactful, consistent lifestyle choices to improve your pet's quality of life.

 

Comments

[karen0803wall]

05:44 PM on 03/13/2012

How funny! I was in the military, am a nurse, and was a teacher AND I have a dog! Right on!

[cub4202]

10:17 AM on 03/12/2012

My farm, I got them all plus alot of other great loving animals. I just keep my fish in the lakes and the birds outside.

[stratego]

09:03 AM on 03/10/2012

Go here and sign the petition on behalf of all our friends who cannot vote against Romney who thinks there is nothing wrong with tying his dog to the roof of his car and driving 12 hours.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/441/685/800/petition-to-create-barc-legislation-ban-animals-on-roofs-of-cars/#taf

[NameUnknown]

08:08 PM on 03/08/2012

Always remember they are your pet and rely on you. They're not things or possessions, they are pets and should be treated with respect and kindness.

[Pema]

05:24 PM on 03/07/2012

3 cats all rescues...if i had more room...id have a collection of animals. esp the seniors that end up in the shelters. please fellow posters, help out your local spca's. even walking the animals keeps them socailized and that makes them easier to adopt... ('') =^..^=('')

[roberta4343]

10:24 AM on 03/06/2012

my two girlies are my companionship when my hubby is working and they keep me company when I go for walks. they are shelter dogs. one is a sharpei mix (probably shib una says the vet) and my boxer mix is a sweetie pie. they both are very loyal stay at my side dogs. they want me to go with them where ever they go and when they go outside they stop and look back asking if I was going to come out and play with them too?

rose

[Capricious Capricorn]

01:52 PM on 03/05/2012

What about those of us who have cat(s) and dog(s)?

[ragtally]

03:37 PM on 03/06/2012

what about cats dogs and fish

[Capricious Capricorn]

03:44 PM on 03/06/2012

Wow :) Add a bird or two and some guinea pigs and you have a petting zoo :) Congratulations, from another animal lover.

[Mike Dennison]

12:44 PM on 03/05/2012

What my pet says about me: "Bark"

[Open Circles]

11:24 AM on 03/05/2012

That was a crazy little survey but it's always fun to read about our pets. I'm really enjoying reading these comments about people really like about their pets. I feel that there are many who don't have a good reason to have them and "care about their health and well being." Keep doing good fellow pet companions!

[askskia]

11:09 AM on 03/05/2012

At the moment I only have Virtual Pets. Who knows what they're saying about me out in cyberspace.

[iLdoRight]

01:24 AM on 03/05/2012

My imaginary pets are not allowed to talk to strangers, so they don't say anything, they don't talk to each other because they speak different languages and can't understand anything. Yea, that's it.

[thebigbike]

12:44 AM on 03/05/2012

...."Here's what Forbes thinks of you based on the breed of your pup:"

a female siberian husky ( spayed about 8 years old)
a female queensland heeler X about 8 years old
a male great dane pt bull X about 2 and a half years old

husky, stray running in the busiest surface road on town (no collar no tags)
queensland X, was set to be taken to the pound by owners who were moving
Dane X from SPCA
blue pitty had been loose on the street in the neighbor hood for 2 days. no collar no tags
(all are NOW spayed or neutered vaccinated licensed and chipped)

a female blue pit bull about 1 and a half years old

so, Forbes......what does that say about me and my spouse?

[greymom]

08:35 AM on 03/06/2012

It says a lot about your character. Well done you! Rescues make the best pets and my chiweenie agrees with me.

[VegShark]

04:09 PM on 03/06/2012

That you are just all around awesome!

[heidihaspaws]

05:45 PM on 03/04/2012

Animals make us better humans.

[Capricious Capricorn]

01:53 PM on 03/05/2012

Also, animals ARE better than humans.

[see-ellen2001]

12:54 PM on 03/04/2012

I have pet rats. They don't mention rats. Why don't they mention rats? My rat may have to lodge a formal complaint.

[jcpet]

08:29 PM on 03/04/2012

Rats are great pets. Used to have one and he would sit on my lap to be petted just like the cat. Very sweet little furry critters.

[Kid Notorious]

11:58 AM on 03/06/2012

Rats do make great pets... I had albino lab rats as pets when I was a kid. They were awesome.

[Bandynose]

10:48 AM on 03/04/2012

I have two rescued dogs, two cats courtesy of a friend with a tarty tabby, fish, too many to count, and recently adopted my late nannys cockatoo. All healthy happy animals, by this time next year I'll either be running the world or trying to dig out from under a pile of pet poop.