Good news for single fellas who own a dog... Apparently, if you whack a photo of yourself next onto your furry friend to your dating app profile, you're more likely to have luck on there.
My colleague told me, and I quote, "Personally, if I'm swiping through tinder and I see an average looking guy BUT they have a picture with a cute dog then you bet I'll be swiping right, no questions asked."
And as it turns out, science is backing that opinion.
Forget the witty bios, the gym mirror selfies and the fishing photos. If you're swiping through the dating apps, maybe a photo with a dog is the reason you're not having as much luck as you could be.
A study completed in 2021 by the University of Jaen in Spain has proven once and for all that if you're pictured with a furry friend on your dating profile, it'll help you out.
300 college students were shown pictures of blokes walking with and without a small dog. According to the Mirror, the guys with a small dog were perceived to be less intimidating and threatening compared to ones without.
I mean, let's be real, you're less likely to be intimidated by someone with a small little fur baby with them.
We also dug a little deeper and found another study that shows that guys pictured with a furry friend might be more likely to be seeking a long term relationship.
According to the New York Post, Maryanne Fisher, an evolutionary psychologist, conducted a study at Saint Mary's university in Canada, which found that men featured with a dog in their dating profile pictures were more likely to be looking to settle down.
For men who were searching for something serious, an average of 8 in 10 had a dating app photo featuring a dog. In comparison, only 5 out of every 10 men looking for a fling were seen posing with a pup.
Fisher also believes the puppy pics subconsciously signal to single women that a man is trustworthy and responsible.
“Keeping a dog alive is a huge investment. It is an investment financially, but also you have to walk it and care for it and keep something alive,” she told the Times.
“By showing these pictures perhaps they’re thinking, ‘OK women, you’ll see these and infer that I’m willing to do the same things in our relationship.'”
And let’s be honest, it probably works both ways - I bet plenty of guys would swipe right on a cute dog too.
Now that we've confirmed that guys with dogs in their dating profiles can have better luck with the ladies on there, it raises the question of dogfishing.
Dogfishing is a term used to describe a guy using a picture of a dog that's not theirs in their dating profile pictures to entice women to match with them. Fair play, I say.
Look either way, dogfishing or not, it's good to know that a cute dog photo might actually be doing more for your love life than your best chat-up line could.
