Cats may rule the internet comedy realm thanks to LOLcats and other funny memes, but a new study finds that dogs are actually more likely to make their owners laugh out loud in real life.
As reported in Scientific American, the study titled Tails of Laughter investigated which types of pets made people laugh the most. Participants were asked to keep a “laughter log,” recording when they laughed throughout the day and what the circumstances were.
The results? Dog owners reported laughing more often than cat owners. When they did laugh, it was more often when they were around their pet.
At first glance, this might seem like great ammo for dog people to use against their cat-loving friends. If dogs keep you in stitches, that surely speaks to their superiority as pets, right?
But cat people would no doubt respond that the only reason dogs are funny is because they do such stupid things. Also, something about dog owners being easily amused.
This actually brings us to a major weakness of the study, which is that it doesn’t account for the personality differences between dog people and cat people. Maybe dog people really are more inclined to laugh, while cat people are more reserved. That actually fits pretty neatly with recent research on pet preference and what it says about the individual (yeah, I know, who commissions this stuff?).
The studies generally confirm what you probably already suspected. Dog owners are more likely to be extroverts; cat people are more likely to be neurotic loners.
Dog owners are often married suburbanites with young children; cat owners are more likely to be older, single apartment dwellers.
Dog owners are more conventional; cat owners more open-minded and creative.
Draw your own conclusions about which type of person is more likely to laugh at the antics of their furry little pal.
Of course, not everyone fits into one camp or the other. If you really want to laugh, try living with a dog and a cat.