Science-Backed Arguments For Adding A Dog To The Fam
Dogs, like children, require a lot of care and attention. Owners have to take them on daily walks, buy them food, pay for vet visits, and put them in the back of the car for outings to the park. It’s all a huge amount of effort, so why do so many people go to the effort?
It turns out that there are a ton of science-backed reasons as to why owning a dog is just better for your life in general:
A Dog Can Make Us More Attractive To Love Interests
Having a dog can make a big difference in your love life. In fact, a study of singles in Europe found that those who owned a pup were more successful on the dating scene. Participants said that it makes them more attractive and approachable, potentially opening up possibilities for communication.
The reason for this might be to do with how people ascribe the properties of dogs to people. Dogs are warm, welcoming, and almost always happy, so some of those traits brush off on their owners, at least in the sights of their admirers. What’s more, dogs are a great way to break the ice, particularly if both partners have one. It gets the conversation started.
Dogs Want Us To Care For Them
With birth rates falling, fewer people have children and many are substituting the desire to look after something small and cute with dogs.
“Puppy showers,” grooming parlors, and birthday parties are all part of the story. It’s like having a child in all but name, and it fulfills an important human instinct to care for and be responsible for others.
In short, owning a dog can help to meet important human needs. When we feel responsible for our pups, the absence of children is easier to bear.
Dogs’ Sense Of Smell Keeps You Healthy
There are medical reasons for keeping dogs, too. Researchers, for example, have found that dogs’ noses are so sensitive that they can sniff out various types of cancer.
You don’t have to rely on specially-trained dogs, either. Instead, you can simply take your dog to a training center and get them to learn what cancer smells like. Then, when you are home, they will bark as soon as they smell the scent again, warning you immediately if you have a life-threatening condition. How helpful is that? It could save you thousands on hospital bills and get you treatment sooner rather than later.
Dogs Keep You Active
Studies from all over the world show that dog owners are far more active than their non-dog-owning counterparts. The average dog owner walks their dog for more than 300 minutes per week, meaning that they meet the CDC recommendations for weekly exercise. People who don’t own dogs usually only walk for 150 minutes per week – considerably less.
Dogs Increase Interactions With Other People
Sites like https://chocolatelabradorretriever.ca/lab-puppy-socialization/ discuss the importance of socializing dogs with each other. However, owners can benefit, too, and not just in the dating world.
Think about how often you stop to talk to people when you walk your dog. Studies show that dog owners are much more likely to have wider social circles because more people know them. This, in turn, helps to lower their stress levels and make them feel like they have more support in life.
There are also psychological benefits. Studies from Tufts University, for instance, found that owners who felt a strong connection with their pups were much more likely to have the same feelings for other people. Dogs made owners more empathetic about others in their social circle.
Teenagers may benefit, too. Research has found that young people who grow up around dogs tend to do better in measures of self-esteem and social engagement.
Dogs Make You Happier
Imagine if you could push a button and feel joyful every day. Well, unless you’re a yogi, that’s difficult. However, if you own a dog, you can make the task significantly easier.
Experts have confirmed that dogs make people happier. When you interact with your pup, it increases the level of oxytocin in your brain, a hormone associated with warmth, love, and affection.
Therapists have been using dogs for years to alleviate depression for years. When people relate to a therapist, they often transfer a lot of their baggage and emotions onto the therapist, which is something that needs to be worked through in sessions, taking a lot of time. However, people rarely commit transference onto dogs. Instead, they know instinctively that dogs are on their side, no matter what.
There’s also significant evidence that people over the age of sixty who live with a dog are happier than those who don’t. Dogs help to reduce loneliness and may even slow the pace of aging. Dog owners are around 75 percent less likely to have a depression diagnosis than non-owners.
Dogs Keep Your Cardiovascular System Healthy
Researchers are constantly looking for clues for how to reduce heart attacks and help people live happier and healthier lives. Now, new papers show that living with dogs could be helpful.
Investigators followed more than 360 US heart attack patients to see how they fared after a year. They compared the mortality rate of victims who owned a dog with those who didn’t. They found that dog owners were far less likely to die in the follow-up period than those who didn’t own a dog at all.
Researchers weren’t quite sure what was driving this, but they thought that it might be down to a range of factors. Hypotheses included:
People who own dogs are more likely to get exercise
Dogs reduce the stress people feel, cutting strain on the cardiovascular system
Dogs provide good bacteria for the gut, increasing the production of heart-healthy compounds in the stomach
Dogs Reduce Tension
Anxiety, stress, and tension are epidemics of the modern world. It seems like everyone is a victim these days, thanks to pandemics, lockdowns, wars, and political turmoil.
Dogs, though, might provide humanity with some relief. Studies show that even just petting a dog can lower blood pressure and make people feel happier almost immediately. They relax the muscles, slow the breathing, and reduce stress hormones and markers of inflammation. Dogs are actually so good that they may even work better than blood pressure medications. Plus, they come without any nasty side effects.
We all know anecdotal evidence of how owning a dog is beneficial for the body and mind. But now science is learning much more about why dogs are good for us. Interestingly, it’s not just one thing. In the past, people believed that it was because dog owners got more exercise, but it appears to go well beyond this.
The link between humans and canines is now thousands of years old. In that time, we’ve built deep bonds with these creatures and adapted to lie with them. We enjoy their devotion to us, and, in response, we take care of them. It’s a symbiotic relationship that benefits both parties tremendously. If somebody asks you why you shower so much love and attention on your pooch, just tell them how much good it is doing you.
