Grandparents that don't have grandkids are relieving the pressure from their kids by spoiling their grand-dogs & filling that void. The role of the dog is integrated into family lives- there are over 43 million household's w/ dogs- there are more household's w/ dogs than children!
According to Sarah Wilson, a pet behaviorist interviewed in the video, bonding w/ your pup or grand-pup helps your health, b/c the more you bond w/ your dog the more oxytocin is released, oxytocin makes us social & more friendly :)