[guywithahat]

Every person who has a dog/cat isn't stiffed, just that they progress less on average.

What I've seen is they aren't getting into real relationships or developing hobbies, and are instead becoming attached to their pets. I know it's dismal but the loneliness associated with being single is supposed to motivate you into improving yourself and finding a partner. By spending money and a few hours a day with your pet, you're not doing other (potentially more real) things.

[yoyohello13]

This has really not been my experience at all. If anything, having a dog is an excuse to get out of the house. Hell, my best friend found his wife because they both loved dogs.

[guywithahat]

I'm happy to hear you like your dog, but if you spent any time caring for your dog then that's time you can't spend doing other things. It's less of a subjective qualitative analysis and more of a quantitative one

[yoyohello13]

I guess I just don't understand what point you're trying to make. I'm mean, time I spend on HN is time I can't spend doing other things as well. Or commuting, or watching movies, or playing piano, literally anything we do in life that isn't directly related to survival.

In fact, things like taking my dog for a walk is a pure positive. I get exercise and sometimes my family comes along for the walk too. That's a boost to my family's health and relationships enabled by the context of caring for the dog. So trying to portray dog ownership as a pure energy drain is just not true.

[__turbobrew__]

I don’t agree. Most people spend their free time doing objectively useless/harmful things like watching TV and playing video games while being 30+ BMI and no friends.

Some objective things having a dog has forced me to do:

* I go outside more often * I meet more people outside and many have become friends * I have a schedule every day

[triceratops]

Bro are you aware that dogs are absolute chick magnets? If you don't have a partner, get a cute-looking dog* and walk it twice a day at parks or other places there are people, and the ladies will just walk up to you. The exercise from all the walking will make you more attractive to potential mates too. With a bit of personality and humor, anyone can convert that high-quality potential-partner funnel into a good relationship.

* I mean take good care of the dog obviously. It's not just a tool to improve your love life. But like if you genuinely think dog ownership is holding people back from romance, you really don't know how things work.