Monday, March 28, 2016

Dogs and Allergies and Anxiety and. . . .

Allergies and. . . . 
We all know that having animals when growing up decreases the probability of having allergies (particularly if you live on a farm), but did you know that animals may also help prevent childhood anxiety?

Anxiety and. . . . 
According to a recent issue of Real Simple magazine, here is yet another reason dogs are man’s best friend, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC): in a study* of those boys and girls living with a dog, only 12% showed signs of anxiety. In the group that did not have a pooch, 21% did.

Good News. . .
Dog owners already know the joys of a four-legged family member, but the researchers noted that having a pup around the house actually lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol, a hormone that dog trainers are only too familiar with if they work with reactive dogs, hyper dogs, shelter dogs, aggressive dogs, or sensitive dogs.

For Smokers
In addition** 28% of people who smoke said that knowing cigarette smoke was harmful to a pet’s health made them more motivated to quit!

Three Cheers
Let’s hear it for our canine companions!

"Hip hip hurray! Hip hip hurray! Hip hip hurray!"

*The CDC followed more than 600 boys and girls from 4-10 years old for 18 months beginning in 2012

**from a survey by the Henry Ford Health Systems

Caveat: Don't confuse correlation with causation though.

1 comment:

  1. I can certainly vouch for dogs decreasing anxiety in children. I was raised by a mentally ill parent whose violent rages alternated with being entirely unavailable.

    I don't think I would have made it through childhood intact without my dog to rely on.

    ReplyDelete