A couple of weeks back just as 2015 was winding down, there was one final internet craze to ponder, as if the ‘What Color is the Dress?’ debacle from earlier in the year wasn’t enough. The question: If dogs wore pants, how would they be worn?
What started as a late night tweet by Maxim editor Jared Keller after he saw the below image shared by a high school friend on his Facebook feed, it soon was trending overnight:

 

Dog lover or not, thousands took to Twitter to voice their response on the matter. So, would they be worn on all four legs or simply the back two? Everyone had an opinion, and the overwhelming consensus on social media was ‘back 2 legs.’ But of course, I was still curious about how our poll respondents would answer the question. Let’s take a look…

 

Topline results: After polling nearly 2,000 people in the beginning of January, we learned  57% of respondents say on the back two legs only, 16% say dogs would wear pants on all 4 of their legs and 27% were, apparently, stumped about it.

dogs wore pants - topline

Let’s take a look at the “winning” answer first: Who are these ‘back 2 legs only’ folks?

They are 13% more likely to get more sleep on weekends than those who said ‘all 4 legs’. They also are 39% more likely to not enjoy exercising and happen to be 36% more likely to shop at the grocery store by memory (vs. making a list) than those who answered all 4 legs.

All 4 legs:

In the ‘all 4 legs camp’: 24% of them have a graduate or professional degree and are 40% more likely to be 45-54 years old, as well as 3.5X more likely to say “donut” instead of “doughnut”. And if given the choice between tap or filtered water, they are over 5X more likely to choose filtered. And, as it turns out, these respondents were 49% more likely to say they keep houseplants alive than those who said ‘back 2 legs only’.

Will the debate ever end?

If a dog wore pants on their back 2 legs only, does this mean their front two legs are really their ‘hands’? Whether wearing them on all 4 legs makes sense to you or not, Canadian company Muddy Mutts may have solved the question on their own, as they sell dog pants… for all 4 canine legs:

dogs wore pants - muddy mutts

Image Source: Muddy Mutts

Which question will the internet pose next? I’ll be waiting, and I’ll let you know what CivicScience respondents have to say about it.