The Benefits of Having a Dog

By Unknown Author



 “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” -Roger Caras

Dogs are one of the best pets a pet owner could ever ask for. Dogs keep you company and cheer you up when you are having a bad day. Dogs make an amazing addition to your family and improve your health, too! Dogs have numerous impacts on their owners’ health such as stress relief, lowered heart rate and blood pressure, shortened illness recovery time and emotional support. Dogs have proven, on multiple occasions, how beneficial they are for their owner’s health. 

 Having a dog has many health benefits for its owners. One of the main health impacts of having a dog is stress relief. People who own a dog have lowered risk of getting cardiovascular disease and experience less stress.  National Geographic states, “Simply petting a dog can decrease levels of stress hormones, regulate breathing, and lower blood pressure.”  Dogs have been scientifically proven to help people relax. Simply having a dog in the room with you lowers your blood pressure when you are under stress. Dogs are the best stress reliever you can ask for. 


Another one of the health benefits of having a dog is that they help decrease the heart rate and blood pressure of their owners. A study was done to identify the heart rate and blood pressure of dog owners during certain tasks.  The study was completed and they recorded the heart rate and blood pressure of dog owners and those who did not have a dog. The participants were asked to perform a timed math worksheet. The people who owned a dog had a lower heart rate and blood pressure compared to those who didn’t have a dog. The dog owners had a smaller chance of a spike in their heart rate or blood pressure. Dog owners made fewer mistakes on the math assessment when their pet was in the room with them. Even when the dogs are in the room with their owners, they performed better on their assessment. This shows the large impact that a dog has on its owner. 


THERAPY DOGS:
Dogs have the amazing ability to help. Dogs can be therapy animals. They can be trained as seeing eye dogs or trained to identify seizures. Dogs are used to make people feel better after traumatic events or natural disasters. After a school shooting in an elementary school, a little girl was traumatized and hadn’t spoken to anyone since the shooting. Therapy dogs were brought in for the victims of the shooting. The girl spent time with the dog and then spoke to her mom for the first time since the shooting. This dog truly affected this girl's life. It brought her the support she needed after experiencing such a traumatic event. 


EMOTIONAL SUPPORT DOGS:
Some dogs can be emotional support animals for their owners. Emotional support dogs can help people with mental and emotional conditions. Their dogs can calm them and bring them the help they need in a moment of distress. They can help their owners through difficult times. 

Dogs have a tremendous impact on their owners. Dogs truly change their owners’ lives in numerous ways. Dogs are a great companion. Dogs will be there for you, and they will always love you unconditionally. Dogs truly are a man’s best friend. 

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Comments

  1. Doggos! I love this! Keep it up! I love your ending sentence! "Dogs truly are a man's best friend!" It gave me goosebumps! :)

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