50% of Pet Parents Talk to Their Dogs as Much as Friends—Sound Familiar?

Dogs are pretty much the ideal audience for a good story: They don’t interrupt, they don’t pass on gossip, and they generally give pretty good advice (which is usually to take a walk or give them a scratch under their chin). If you’ve ever found yourself preferring your pup’s ear to your human friends’, you’re far from alone. Tractor Supply surveyed over 1,000 pup parents and found that most dog people are chatting with their canine besties even more than their human ones.

Of the pet parents surveyed, 48 percent of pet parents said they talk to their dog as much as they talk to their friends. In contrast, 19 percent of people say they speak to their dogs only to communicate basic needs, and three percent of people said they talk to their dogs “only during specific activities like feeding and walking.”

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Some pet parents are even more dedicated to those canine conversations. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed said they talk to their dog more than they talk to their friends and family. There was a pretty wide gender divide; 35 percent of dog moms and 21 percent of dog dads admitted to chatting with their pup more than their human circle.

In general, forty-percent of the surveyed dog parents would rather spend time with their dog than family or friends — whether they’re gabbing or not. They prefer their pups to their coworkers, too; 41 percent have taken time off work to take care of their dogs.

And after all these stats, it almost goes without saying: The majority of respondents (58 percent) say their dog is their very closest friend.