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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

Published on: October 13, 2017

Human left-sided cradling preferences for dogs.

Ernest L Abel¹

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. eabel@wayne.edu

Psychological Reports

|October 7, 2010

Summary

Women tend to hold dogs on their left side, mirroring infant cradling behavior. Men do not exhibit this same left-sided preference, suggesting potential sex-based differences in caregiving postures.

Area of Science:

Behavioral science
Evolutionary psychology
Comparative psychology

Background:

Previous research indicates women often cradle infants on their left side.
This left-sided preference in infant cradling is hypothesized to be linked to brain lateralization and emotional processing.
No studies have explored whether similar side-holding preferences exist for non-infant companions, such as pets.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether women exhibit a left-sided holding preference for dogs, analogous to infant cradling.
To determine if men display a similar or different side-holding preference for dogs.
To explore the implications of these findings for theories on human caregiving behavior and lateralization.

Main Methods:

Analysis of photographs featuring men and women holding dogs, sourced from dog-themed magazines.

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Last Updated: Jun 8, 2026

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

Published on: October 13, 2017

Training Dogs for Awake, Unrestrained Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Training Dogs for Awake, Unrestrained Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Published on: October 13, 2019

Categorization of holding preference based on the side of the body the dog was predominantly held.

Statistical comparison of side-holding preferences between men and women.

Main Results:

A statistically significant majority of women held dogs on their left side.
Men did not demonstrate a consistent left-sided preference when holding dogs.
The observed pattern in women holding dogs aligns with previously reported patterns for holding infants.

Conclusions:

Women's preference for holding dogs on the left side may reflect a generalized caregiving posture, potentially influenced by neurological factors.
The absence of this preference in men suggests sex-specific differences in how companions are held.
These findings contribute to understanding the behavioral and potentially evolutionary underpinnings of human-animal interactions and caregiving.