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In a study conducted in Sweden, data illustrated a correlation between owning a dog and "reduced risk for cardiovascular disease and death." In particular, the relationship was stronger with retrievers and pointers. An idea suggests that the relationship may be due to the owner's personality in choosing a certain type of dog, but another is that certain dogs act differently around their owners due to their own personality.
Having a dog is more motivation to exercise because they need to be walked, but dogs also offer companionship. If your parents are on the border of allowing you to get a dog, perhaps, you could show them this article. Additionally, the study will be linked here.
Questions:
1. I think that dogs release dopamine in the brain. What do you think explains why humans may be healthier when they're owners of a dog?
23 comments:
Dogs are great for both mental and physical health. Dogs instinctually want to walk and exercise, which requires the owner to go on long walks each week to keep the dog healthy. This not only improves the physical health of the owner, but helps shape an exercise routine and structure that the owner can stick to. Interacting with dogs also has proven to be extremely beneficial to mental health, as many Universities provide dogs that students can pet in order to relieve stress during finals week, and therapy dogs are commonly used in nursing homes and hospitals. Dogs also help improve certain life skills such as responsibility and hard work, as dogs require lots of attention and care.
There seems to be somewhat of a correlation here, and I think arguments can be made for why this might or might not also be causation.
For example, lots of people may want to raise a dog, but considering the responsibilities associated with doing so, only a select portion of those people will actually follow through. This makes me curious about studies with other animals. Do people with cats live longer too? This might suggest that it isn't the dogs, but some other quality that is linked to owning animals that makes people live longer.
But then again, we can also make the argument for a cause and effect relationship. After the initial push/commitment that someone makes to own a dog, then they are bound (or at least have more incentive) to go outside for walks and to engage in physical activity, making them healthier in the process. It's like signing up for AP Gov (making a commitment to own a dog), which makes you read news and comment on this blog (having to go out for walks), making you more knowledgeable about current events (becoming healthier and living longer).
LOL Nora! I think pets in general make people happier because petting them and playing with them can ease anxiety. I've read a thing about how petting your dog or cat can lower blood pressure. Additionally, I think oxytocin levels also increase in the brain which makes you happier.
I'm curious if ALL pets increase happiness, or just dogs. What about lizards? Snakes?
I also think that having a pet and playing with it releases dopamine which makes us happier. Dogs usually never cause any emotional stress, so spending time with them almost always can get someone's mind off of stressors and relax them. I think having a pet is kind of like having a fun friend with you all the time, so spending time with them is something that people enjoy. However I think the biggest reason people feel happier when they have a dog is because people have so much love for their pets. Feeling love towards someone or something is what causes people to feel a lot happier and knowing that their dog will always be there for them makes people feel secure. The strong feelings of attachment are what make people happy and a happy life is a healthy life :)
I agree with Olivia dogs are great for both mental and physical health. The companionship of dogs help owners with feeling lonely. In addition, dogs encourage owners to get out more and participate in more physical activity. With feeling happier, less lonely and more active it explains why Dog owners tend to be more healthy. I do not find this surprising because those who have good mental health will live longer than those who don't.If having a dog helps with your mental health I understand why dog owners are physically healthier.
As an owner of dogs, I can say that they do help relieve stress. Some dogs are very active and need to go outside or be walked by the owner. Thus, this helps the owner become more physically fit due to working out with the dog. Furthermore, dogs are able to comfort the owner during times of depression. Though this does not pertain to all dogs, there are some who are intelligent enough to know how to care for their owners.
I agree with the previous statements saying that being an owner of a dog is good for mental and physical health. Having a dog is a really good way of feeling loved because dogs are a constant source of companionship and compassion. The phrase, "a dog is a mans best friend" is true because dogs are unconditionally loyal and loving friends and that is good for ones mental health. I also agree with previous comments saying that walking dogs is a good excuse to exercise.
I agree with the comments above. Dogs are usually super nice and friendly which can automatically put a smile on someones face. Having something to motivate you physically and mentally can make anyone feel automatically less stressed.
I think dogs improve the health of humans because they help with stress and are a calming force in a person's life. I also like the point you mentioned about the dogs improving someone's willingness to exercise and their overall fitness when they walk their dog. I think that dogs also improve a person's motivation in general. The things people need to do to take care of a dog certainly help their initiative and make them more willing to do things. Dogs are clearly a great addition to a family, and I think more research should be done on this topic so that we have more dog owners later on.
To answer, “Do people with cats live longer too?” dogs encourage owners to receive more physical exercise or walk which has health benefits, whereas most cats do not need walks, and therefore owners would not be more motivated to exercise because they don’t take their cats out to walk.
Dogs also especially improve the health of the elderly. According to a NCBI study, dogs cover an average daily distance of 1,500 meters (approximately 0.95 miles) with owners, demonstrating a healthy amount of exercise. In addition to that, dogs give the days of the elderly a certain structure or fixed times for meals and walks. Dogs provide elderly people with the feeling that they have a purpose in life because they hold a responsibility of taking care of their dog(s).
I think that having pets in general makes people happy because there's a bond that forms between owner and pet. And often that relationship grows and just being around pets most likely increases happiness and other emotions. I'm sure physically it's also healthy to have a pet because you have to put a lot of energy into playing and interacting with it.
first of all, there is a reason that "therapy dogs" are a thing, and it's because people, both young and old generally enjoy the company of dogs. Dogs give us humans a sense of superiority over them, while also giving us the notion that we must care for them, almost like they are our children. Also dogs have health benefits, like the fact that they need to be walked, gives people opportunities to go out, walk and exercise. Going back to the therapy part, dogs can also sense people's emotions fairly well, personally if I've had a bad day or gotten hurt somehow, it it like my dog just instantly knows and always comes running to comfort me. this helps people with their emotional health as well. anyway, dogs are great, and they help improve peoples emotional and physical health. this is why I believe dogs improve a person's overall quality of life.
I agree the most with Avichal's first point. A causation relationship cannot be deduced from an observational study, and other confounding variables and explanations can likely exist. For example, dog owners may just be more organized and responsible people overall, and the qualities that make then fit for being owners may also coincide with qualities that allow for more success and happiness. People who know they cannot handle the strain of a pet may just be lazier anyway, and having a pet would not fix that, it would only make the pet suffer. I think all the comments about how dogs are great de-stressers may be true, but other things could serve the same purpose, and I think being able to care well for a dog involves living with a certain stability or privilege in one's life, which may skew the data.
I agree with the comments above--I also think that having a bond with a dog could bring more happiness to a person's life. Having a dog can also reduce stress, as "playing with or petting an animal can increase levels of the stress-reducing hormone oxytocin and decrease production of the stress hormone cortisol" (animalsmart.org/species/dogs/dogs-help-reduce-stress). If someone is fit to be a dog owner and is ready to take one on, I think having a dog could be extremely beneficial. They also help teach responsibility, as a dog has to rely on its owner for most things: getting walked, fed, and given love. Having the responsibility of walking a dog every day could also help motivate someone to work out more and stay fit, as the poster stated. However, Michael brings up a good point, that only those people ready and willing to take care of a dog should adopt one, as someone who is unfit or impulsively gets a dog may not be able to take care of it, and thus hurt it.
I agree that dogs would release dopamine in the owner's brains. Also I think having a dog promotes physical exercise as you need to walk a dog and play with them. Having a bond with a dog can also increase the motivation in one to work hard as they know that they'll go home to an unconditional love. The bond between owners and dogs can help owners with stress too. The burden of caring for a dog isn't too intense and a dog will never bring you down.
I myself am a dog owner and I agree with the Swedish findings. I know that when I am sad, my dog walks up to me and snuggles with me. This almost instantly makes me feel better because he will drop anything (his bone) just to make sure that I feel better. :)
Well, dogs do bring happiness to the owner which is very healthy. The actions of a dog can make the owner's day better in a matter of seconds. I agree with Pablo about "therapy dogs" because there is well-established research on the relationship between dogs and humans similar to the Swedish findings. Dopamine does play a role.
I agree with this post's claim, except that, it hasn't worked in my personal experience. My chihuahua is very annoying and always anxious and I feel like her constant yapping and whining frequently results in be getting annoyed and angry, which I don't think is good for my health. However, I feel like if I were to have the most amazing dog, Kona, then I feel like my lifespan would increase dramatically because I would be happy every time I see her I am happy.
As a dog owner, I believe that just having another living thing in the house with you can do wonders. Having company I think is a great booster for your mental state. It just like having another friend which brings happiness to the owner. I also agree with the claim about therapy dogs. I think the fact that dogs are being used as therapeutic devices suggests that they do affect how long people live.
Dogs are great for human health. From my personal experience, I have seen that my dog is happy to see me no matter what. The only issue is in finding the right dog, yet, there is a large variety and therefore anyone can benefit from having a dog.
Happy people live longer. Dogs make people happy. There is a sense of companionship with a dog; it is a friend to the owner, instilling in them a sense of purpose and responsibility. I agree too with the idea that dogs make people move their body more, and therefore keep them healthier. Happiness and healthiness are closely connected, and what makes one happier than a puppy.
When people are dog owners, they feel a sense of responsibility for something other than themselves which is a motivation to do more. In a stressful situation, a dog can lower your blood pressure and make you feel calm again. Having a dog increases dopamine, a feel-good chemical, in the brain which explains why people recover more quickly from a stressful situation when a dog is present. Besides alleviating stress, dogs can also connect people to a community. For example, while taking your dog on a walk, it is more than likely that another person walking their dog will be around. Pets allow people to get a sense of who is around their community and that there are many like-minded individuals around them. Also, not only do pets keep people company, they can help with more serious health conditions. A dog can protect their owner from allergies such as peanuts because they can detect the allergies before the person comes in contact with it.
By owning a dog, it not only makes you happier, but also healthier. Dog's bring joy to one's life; dogs give us a sense of comfort and relieves us from stress. I know from personal experience when I come home from school and I'm greeted by a happy, jumping dog, it makes me happier just seeing them, even if I'm stressed. Dogs give us a sense of comfort when we are sad and keeps us company. By owning a dog it also motivates us to go outside more and exercise since we have to walk our dogs. There is such a strong bond between the owner and their dog. Dogs are capable of loving and caring for their owners and are a constant source of companionship. Dogs help our mental state and become our best friends. All we want to do is come home to a warm welcome from our dogs. They become a part of one's family and only make us happier and healthier.
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