Content
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Prevents heart problems
- Improves your immune system against allergies and illnesses
- Decreases sedentary lifestyle and improves socialization
- Improves emotional state
- Help with some medical therapies
- How to pet a dog?
You may already know some or you may not, but there are many advantages of having a pet at home, more specifically, a dog. Did you know that these animals are able to reduce stress or blood pressure? Or that help us to strengthen our immune system and reduce sedentary lifestyle? In this article by PeritoAnimal we will explain all the benefits of petting a dog, which can be both physical and psychological, and while most of them may seem obvious, many people are unlikely to even realize the positive effects petting a dog can have. If you want to know the benefits of having a dog at home and petting it often, read on!
Reduces stress and anxiety
Did you know that the main benefit of petting a dog is that it helps you reduce stress and anxiety levels what's in your body? And not only you, but also your pet, since for them, having contact with you also relaxes and calms them down when they are restless.
And this is due to what? The frequency of our brain waves associated with a decrease in the stress hormone (cortisol) increases significantly after we've spent time touching a dog, so they help to calm us down and feel better. This explanation is part of the study done by psychiatrist Sandra Baker in Virginia, which showed that people, both children and adults, who interact with animals in the cage are less stressed. In some countries it is already common to find employees who bring their pets to work and they are much less stressed than in other countries where this is not done.
Therefore, petting a dog can also help people with depression or anxiety improve their mood and feel less nervous or lethargic.
Prevents heart problems
It has also been shown in several international studies, such as that of the American Heart Association, that another of the benefits of petting a dog is that it helps to reduce the heart rate and blood pressure of the people who do.
Just touching a dog or talking to him makes him more relaxed, as we mentioned in the previous point, and it also lowers the rate of your heartbeat. Therefore, it is advisable for people with heart problems to have a dog at home, as in addition to learning to be more responsible, they also remain more active because they have to walk their pet several times a day, and exercise is also recommended for people suffering from heart disease.
Improves your immune system against allergies and illnesses
Another benefit of having a dog is that they help strengthen your immune system, precisely because they are always full of bacteria and germs. How can this be? Because in a world where everything is too disinfected, thanks to industrial chemicals that allow us to thoroughly clean everything we need, we are becoming more vulnerable to getting allergies or diseases because we are not exposed to these possible germs, because on the one hand they disinfect everything, but on the other hand they don't let our defenses be strengthened by fighting them, and that's why our pets help us become more resistant and immune to these bacteria that they continually carry around our house and that we come into contact with. when we caress them.
There are even studies that show that babies who are raised in homes where there are dogs, are less likely to develop allergies or asthma throughout their lives for this reason, especially if the babies have been in contact with dogs or cats before 6 months of life.
Decreases sedentary lifestyle and improves socialization
The fact that you have to take your animal for a walk for at least 30 minutes a day, because it is completely up to you, makes even people who are less active have to get up from the couch and walk to the street, so a of the benefits of having a dog is the increased physical activity. And even better if you play a sport on your side.
Like us, many people go to the same park or place every day to walk their dogs and it is very common to always see the same faces and meet the same people. So your dog starts playing with the other dogs and you start talking to the owners. Therefore, these animals help us to being more sociable and interacting with other people that we don't know and that we would never talk to just because we come across them.
Some studies have shown that people who own dogs trust more those who have dogs and are therefore more likely to bond with each other.
Improves emotional state
It is known that people who have dogs are happier than people who don't, as petting and having contact with these animals makes them, in addition to being calmer, get affection, feel loved, release endorphins and in turn , live longer in us.
Who doesn't like to be greeted with such joy every day when their dog gets home from work? Everyone likes it.Therefore, it is recommended even for people who suffer from loneliness or depression, and it doesn't have to be just elderly people, as this helps to improve their emotional state by offering them company, a shoulder on which they can cry and unforgettable moments without asking for anything in return.
Help with some medical therapies
This other benefit of petting a dog is related to the previous point, as these animals are widely used in some medical therapies for rehabilitate patients with, for example, problems with autism, socialization or other illnesses, both physical and psychological.
This therapy is known as zootherapy, more specifically as cynotherapy and consists of treating people with sensory activities in which dogs intervene. These animals are called therapy dogs and guide dogs for the blind are also included.
How to pet a dog?
Lastly, it is important to know that there are different ways to pet a dog and that depending on how you do it, your pet will receive one stimulus or another.
If you pet your puppy in a quick and agitated way, this will make your puppy start to change and get nervous, since we are transmitting a sudden movement, like when we congratulate him when he did something well.
On the other hand, if you caress your puppy in a gentle and leisurely way, especially on the loin or chest, which is where you like it best, we will transmit a feeling of calm and tranquility. Therefore, we will be relaxing our pet at the same time as we relax, as if we were giving him a massage.
As we can see, not only do we get benefits from petting a dog, it is also a reciprocal act, so it is recommended that we dedicate ourselves to touching our pets every day so that they feel like their owners, dear ones.