Women go barking mad for puppy love

THEY FRAME their baby pictures, dress them in adorable outfits and lavish them with gifts at Christmas. But it's not babies that Scotland's women are doting over; it's dogs and cats.

New research suggests that childless Scottish women are substituting pets for babies, pampering them and treating them like the children they have not had yet. The survey showed that 77 per cent of Scots women acquired their furry friend for companionship around the home, 75 per cent buy their pets birthday and Christmas presents, and a quarter have adapted their home for their pet.

Meanwhile, 82 per cent of pet owners admitted to feeding their pets human food such as cheese, crisps and cake, which might be why 18 per cent of them have been told that their pet is overweight.

The survey, conducted by insurer Petplan as part of the Petplan Census, which has so far questioned more than 10,000 pet owners across the UK, also revealed that three out of four pet owners have suffered symptoms of pet-related angst of the type more normally experienced by parents of children, including worry and guilt at leaving their pets either alone, or with pet care providers, when they are at work.

Dr Deborah Wells, senior psychology lecturer at Queens University in Belfast and an expert in the study of the psychology of the pet-human relationship, says many women have a similar bond with a pet to the one they might have with a child.

"Dogs and cats can offer their owners many of the benefits frequently provided by children, including love and affection, companionship and happiness," she says.

"For some owners, notably women, pets can provide a useful training ground for 'motherhood', in some cases helping to shape important decisions on whether or not children are to be a part of their future. For others, pets can serve as a child 'substitute', offering people who choose not to have children, or those who can't conceive, an outlet for emotional attachment and nurturing behaviour."

One affectionate owner is Helen Ross, 33, from Inverness, who works in PR and owns a four-year-old English Pointer, Islay, with her husband Steve.

"She is my baby girl," she says. "That's how I see her. If I'm working away I'll say, 'How's my baby girl today?' when I'm on the phone. Because we haven't got any children she is it. She's the baby of the house and probably knows it as well."

The couple sold their beloved Mini for an estate car in order to accommodate the dog, and have swapped foreign holidays for trips within the UK because they miss the dog too much when they are away. Ross, who works three days of the week in London and employs a specialist dog sitter for the times when she is not there, also admits to making her husband send her a picture of the dog every morning that she is not at home. "I think we probably will have kids one day but we were definitely broody for a dog first, not a baby. When my mum meets her friends they've all got daughters who've reproduced and given them grandchildren, and my mum has to say, ‘Well, I've got some pictures of this dog.' I don't think she's delighted but never mind."

Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings warns that there is a danger that a relationship between a pet and their owner can go too far. "You've got to allow an animal a certain amount of independence, as much as you would a child, and there is that temptation for a lot of people to go that step too far," she said.

"Humanising them in that way because they've become a baby substitute is probably slippery ground because it becomes a bit silly and a bit sad. There's a fine line between welcoming an animal's unconditional love and companionship and turning it into a freak show because you don't recognise where to draw the line."

With recent National Statistics figures showing that almost half of all women in the UK give birth over the age of 30, the trend is set to continue to rise in the future.

"It's more acceptable now to have children later, but you nevertheless have that normal hormonal surge and that has to come out in some way," says Hemmings. "These women are literally replacing or appeasing those hormones by getting animals. It's an outlet for the hormones that are within us all."

Petplan spokesperson Alison Andrew said: "The rise of pet parenting - as opposed to pet ownership - is one of the most significant insights revealed by the first phase of the Petplan Census. "As a nation we're becoming increasingly petcentric, and every day we see the amazing lengths that owners go to for their pets, and the level of worry that can go with it." n [email protected]