Can A Dog Improve Your Health?

[Edwin]

I saw this article on Yahoo News a few days ago, and it intrigued me, so I decided to see if I could find it again. I'm not even sure I found the same one, but I found one like it.

When I was growing up dogs for us were simply work animals. I petted them and played with them, but the reason we had them was to assist my Dad and the horse cutting cows. A good dog and a good horse will know what the cow is going to do before the human will, and if that dog is well trained it will keep a cow from getting away while the horse rider is driving it. That is especially true with cutting cows, where the guy on the horse will want one cow driven a certain direction and the next cow driven a different direction according to what the guy on the horse wants.

I didn't realize until I was an adult that dogs actually love their owners/masters. Over the years we have had about four dogs that we got really attached with. Usually we had one dog at a time, and for years we didn't have any dogs. But, presently we have two dogs, and they both love us and we love them. Anyway here is their article about how a dog or cat can help your health:

5 Ways Pets Can Improve Your Health
Can a "pet" prescription lower your blood pressure? Owning a pet can ward off depression, lower blood pressure, and boost immunity. It may even improve your social life.
By Jeanie Lerche Davis
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD
A pet is certainly a great friend. After a difficult day, pet owners quite literally feel the love.
In fact, for nearly 25 years, research has shown that living with pets provides certain health benefits. Pets help lower blood pressure and lessen anxiety. They boost our immunity. They can even help you get dates.
Allergy Fighters
"The old thinking was that if your family had a pet, the children were more likely to become allergic to the pet. And if you came from an allergy-prone family, pets should be avoided," says researcher James E. Gern, MD, a pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
However, a growing number of studies have suggested that kids growing up in a home with "furred animals" -- whether it's a pet cat or dog, or on a farm and exposed to large animals -- will have less risk of allergies and asthma, he tells WebMD.
In one study, Gern analyzed the blood of babies immediately after birth and one year later. He was looking for evidence of an allergic reaction, immunity changes, and for reactions to bacteria in the environment.
If a dog lived in the home, infants were less likely to show evidence of pet allergies -- 19% vs. 33%. They also were less likely to have eczema, a common allergy skin condition that causes red patches and itching. In addition, they had higher levels of some immune system chemicals -- a sign of stronger immune system activation.
"Dogs are dirty animals, and this suggests that babies who have greater exposure to dirt and allergens have a stronger immune system," Gern says.
Date Magnets
Dogs are great for making love connections. Forget Internet matchmaking -- a dog is a natural conversation starter.
This especially helps ease people out of social isolation or shyness, Nadine Kaslow, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University in Atlanta, tells WebMD.
"People ask about breed, they watch the dog's tricks," Kaslow says. "Sometimes the conversation stays at the 'dog level,' sometimes it becomes a real social interchange."
Dogs for the Aged
"Studies have shown that Alzheimer's patients have fewer anxious outbursts if there is an animal in the home," says Lynette Hart, PhD, associate professor at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
"Their caregivers also feel less burdened when there is a pet, particularly if it is a cat, which generally requires less care than a dog," says Hart.
Walking a dog or just caring for a pet -- for elderly people who are able -- can provide exercise and companionship. One insurance company, Midland Life Insurance Company of Columbus, Ohio, asks clients over age 75 if they have a pet as part of their medical screening -- which often helps tip the scales in their favor.
Good for Mind and Soul
Pet owners with AIDS are far less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets. "The benefit is especially pronounced when people are strongly attached to their pets," says researcher Judith Siegel, PhD.
In one study, stockbrokers with high blood pressure who adopted a cat or dog had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than did people without pets.
People in stress mode get into a "state of dis-ease," in which harmful chemicals like cortisol and norepinephrine can negatively affect the immune system, says Blair Justice, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health and author of Who Gets Sick: How Beliefs, Moods, and Thoughts Affect Your Health.
Studies show a link between these chemicals and plaque buildup in arteries, the red flag for heart disease, says Justice.
Like any enjoyable activity, playing with a dog can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine -- nerve transmitters that are known to have pleasurable and calming properties, he tells WebMD.
"People take drugs like heroin and cocaine to raise serotonin and dopamine, but the healthy way to do it is to pet your dog, or hug your spouse, watch sunsets, or get around something beautiful in nature," says Justice, who recently hiked the Colorado Rockies with his wife and two dogs.
Good for the Heart
Heart attack patients who have pets survive longer than those without, according to several studies. Male pet owners have less sign of heart disease -- lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels -- than non-owners, researchers say.

[angel]

i have a friend that trains dogs, she has a dog that i know she really love the dog a very much, i remember one day her super cute dog was dead because the dog is getting sick of pest or parasite in his body. almost a month that she recover for her dog died. i think some of people they treat the dog as there part of their family. that was i learned from my friend.

[crisipicada]

I dont think so if dog improve our health. I know that it makes me cough and more irritable to it. So I really dont like dogs anyway. I rather stay home with flowers and plants. That is my hobby. Cleaning the house is also I love to do.

[lyrehc]

For me i have an asthma so i think dogs are bad for me they are good at guarding our house... i love to have a dog but my health doesn't want it....

[angel]

i have some research about health of the dog is good for your health!

Reasons Why Dogs Are Good for Your Health

1.) Dogs boost your immune system

Many people find that when they first get a dog they get much fewer colds. The main reason for this is that dogs (and puppies) bring dirt into the house on their paws. The dirt contains tiny bacteria that gives our immune systems something to work on. Like muscles, the immune system needs to work to build its strength.

Living in too clean an environment can lessen the immune system. It’s one of the suggested scientific reasons for an increase in allergies over the past few decades.

When a dog brings dirt into the house on it’s paws the human immune systems go to work, building up its muscles like we’ve gone to the ‘immune system gym’. As this happens, the immune system becomes more robust and resilient, and we’re more protected from colds and other illnesses and diseases.

2) The give us plenty of exercise

I walk about 20 miles a week with Oscar. I’ve lost about 8 pounds in weight since he came into our lives. Last weekend I ran the ‘Perth Kilt Run’, which is a 5k run in Perth (Scotland) and you have to wear a kilt. I ran a rather respectable 24 minutes and 39 seconds, which I think is good considering I hadn’t done any running training and a kilt gets quite heavy after about 4k .

I’m certain that walking all those miles with Oscar was excellent training for me.

3) They’re good for the heart

Research shows that interacting with dogs elevates levels of the hormone, oxytocin. As well as it’s role in childbirth and breast feeding (oxytocin is involved in the ‘letting down’ response of breast milk), oxytocin is a powerful ‘cardioprotective’ hormone (it protects the heart and cardiovascular system). Research shows that it lowers blood pressure and significantly reduces levels of free radicals and inflammation, two families of chemicals involved in cardiovascular disease.

Couple this with a stronger immune system and more exercise, it’s why research also shows that the chances of a second heart attack, for men who had one previously, is 400% lower for men who have a dog compared with men who don’t.

4) They’re good for mental health

We’re a social species. Humans need social contact. It’s built into our genome and is why we’re healthier and live longer when we connect with each other. Social network research shows that we’re healthier the more connected we are.

Part of this reason is, of course, oxytocin. Dogs are great company and we bond strongly with them. It’s not at all uncommon for people to talk to their dogs. I know! I talk to Oscar and tell him what I’m up to.

Human and animal contact also helps counter stress and is protective towards depression, so having a dog is also good for our mental health. Of course, we can also say the same for cats (in case you’re a cat owner reading this and are wondering).

So overall, I think it’s nice to reflect on how dogs are so good for our health and to feel deep gratitude for their presence in our lives. I feel immensely grateful for Oscar’s presence. He has changed my life for the better on so many levels.

[cheryz]

Here's an article about: Owning A Dog Is Good For Your Health

A UK study reveals that owning a dog is good for your health. And having a pet dog improves your physical and mental wellbeing more than having a cat.

This is the conclusion of a study by a senior lecturer, Dr Deborah Wells, from the Canine Behaviour Centre of Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Dr Wells has published her study in the British Journal of Health Psychology.

The study is a review of research papers that have explored the connection between domestic dog ownership and human wellbeing. In her research Dr Wells found papers that suggest domestic dog ownership can prevent people from getting ill, recover more quickly when they do fall ill, and give warning of early signs of cancer, seizures and hypoglycaemia.

She also explored the research into dogs and human psychological health, including the therapeutic role that dogs play in aiding the disabled and also in hospitals, prisons and residential homes.

An Israeli research paper said it was likely that animal companions helped people with schizophrenia feel motivated and calmer. And another UK study suggested that the companionship of a dog helped children with chronic illnesses endure painful treatments.

Some of the evidence was found to be weak, but in other areas Dr Wells found strong evidence to suggest that dog owners have lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and are less likely to have minor and serious health problems.

In one paper dated 1985, Dr Wells found that dog owners had an 8.6 higher one year survival rate after a heart attack compared to people who did not have a dog.

Dr Wells suggests there could be a number of reasons for the health benefits of dog ownership. There is the more obvious direct effect of increased physical activity, but then there are also indirect effects such as that brought by increased social contact and the possibility that the human-dog bond provides a psychological buffer against stress.

Comparing cat and dog ownership, Dr Wells found evidence that people who take cats and dogs from rescue centres reported reductions in minor health problems such as headaches, dizzy spells and colds as soon as one month after taking their new companion home. However, it was only those people who had taken dogs, as opposed to cats, that still had the improved health conditions up to ten months later.