Dog Health Benefits for Owners

The benefits are enormous. We might even consider dogs and cats instead of medicines. Don't take this as a joke, but increasingly scientific research is telling us: pets, among the many benefits they give us, they also have a therapeutic action for some pathologies. And they can even replace medications, or at least reduce their use (and often waste). But why are dogs so good for your health?

For example, it has been discovered that dogs and cats are perfect antidepressants for elderly people left alone, but also—and this is especially true for younger people—that they increase our level of responsibility, since having a pet requires us to take care of it. This is also true for other pets, such as guinea pigs . Other benefits concern cardiovascular disease : owning pets improves blood pressure , reduces stress, and lowers cholesterol levels . A 2017 Swedish study, on a sample of 3,4 million women and men, showed that the company of a dog reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially among those who live alone. Dog owners visit the doctor less frequently and spend less on medical care.

Numerous studies also confirm that pets bring many benefits to the workplace : when allowed in the workplace, dogs and cats help reduce the risk of tension and arguments between colleagues.

Even physical contact, a caress or a hug from a dog or a cat , is very healthy for humans. It's called the biochemistry of emotions . When pets, our traditional companions, interact with their owners, they release significant doses of oxytocin, the anti-stress hormone. And beware: the exchange is reciprocal. Researchers have shown that a dog, after playing with its owner and being petted, experiences a 57 percent increase in oxytocin levels in its blood. The same amount a parent experiences while playing with their child. American researchers at Manhattanville College have come to this conclusion: pets are sources of happiness, and make us feel more satisfied with our lives.

From happiness to the use of dogs to address autism and the dark disease of anorexia . A study by the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan demonstrates how a relationship with dogs improves the interpersonal skills of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa. And pet therapy, based on the results achieved in the field, is an increasingly popular therapy in hospitals . In Italy, a dozen hospitals offer pet therapy at various levels, including leading institutions such as Niguarda Hospital in Milan and Meyer Hospital in Florence.

The origins of pet therapy are traced back to the discovery, in the mid-twentieth century, by American psychotherapist Boris Levinson, who was concerned about failing to establish an effective relationship with some of the children and young people who came to his practice. Everything changed when he played with his dog Jingles, and from that moment on, Levinson began using dogs as a tool for his pet therapy. His story was told in a book published in 1961, The Dog as Co-therapy, which became the first reference text on pet therapy.

A recent Swiss study , published in the journal PLOS One, has established a connection between petting a dog and improved mood and attention span. The researchers reached these conclusions not by focusing on the volunteers' subjective feelings, but by closely analyzing changes in activity in their prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for regulating social behavior and decision-making.

Life with a dog changes first and foremost in one very important way: by forcing us to engage in physical activity (which then becomes a habit), a dog is a pleasant incentive to break out of torpor, overcome laziness , and be active throughout the day. Biologist Cornelia Drees describes this benefit with a very specific definition: thanks to a dog, humans "recharge their batteries."

According to several studies, dogs and cats are also valuable in the development of children and adolescents. Specifically, it has been found that those who live with dogs develop greater cognitive abilities than their peers who don't have pets, and develop higher self-esteem.

Health benefits of dogs and cats

Read also:

Want to see a selection of our news?