Dogs! Where would humankind be without the presence of their canine best friends? The friendship started ever since humans started domesticating canines to hunt and keep us company some 40000 years ago. Slowly, these four-legged creatures grew dear to us and we grew dear to them. They have been a subject of a lot of scientific studies on how they affect our mood and overall life.
Imagine your Aussie doodle just running to you as soon as you get home from a tiring work day. The medium brown eyes full of love and respect gazing at you. The wet nose nuzzling in your hands and the excited wagging of the tail denoting actual adoration. Didn’t the thought just put a smile on your face? Studies show that petting and playing with your dog releases a number of good feeling hormones like serotonin, oxytocin and dopamine. Canines improve stress relief and relaxation along with comfort and companionship. It is notable how dogs have an effect in almost all walks of human life. Dogs can impact emotional and cognitive intelligence in children along with them learning to share with a companion early on in life. Growing up with dogs can decrease the risk of allergies, asthma and have some immune-boosting effects too. Dogs have the ability to decrease the risk of depression and anxiety among teenagers and adults alike. Depression and anxiety due to loneliness is one of the leading issues with mental health in the world and dog owners are one-third less likely to suffer with them. As dogs live in the present and do not care about the past or future of their owners, it enables the human to be more mindful and grateful for his/her life.
It is proven that dog owners live a longer life than people who don’t own dogs because of the increased happiness levels and lower blood pressure levels. The exercise that a person gets due to playing and walking the dogs is also one of the reasons that they tend to live long. Especially people with hunting breeds like retrievers and terriers, the physical activity levels are much more.
One of the major reasons why dogs have so much effect on the emotions of people is that they fulfil the basic human need of touch. Similar to stress balls etc., playing and stroking a dog makes you feel happier because you feel less lonely. Even hardened criminals have shown long-term differences after interacting with dogs over a period of time.