The overwhelming science behind the benefit of dogs: Why we’re especially thankful for our dogs this Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, we reflect on all of the things for which we are thankful. We should absolutely be grateful for our immediate and extended family because they provide so much support and love. We should also be thankful for our furry friends who are part of our families because science showcases the significant and countless benefits that dogs provide to humans.

Any pet owner will tell you that dogs are way more than just pets. Dogs are loyal allies, stress relievers, comforting canine companions, emotional support animals, reliable confidants, and faithful friends.

A Harvard Medical School study found that dog owners were 31% less likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than those who don’t own dogs.

Dogs have increasingly become integral members of the modern family, transcending their traditional role as modest pets to become best buddies with their human owners. Dogs undeniably have deep emotional connections to the American family.

Dogs have an innate ability to sense and respond to human emotions on the entire spectrum. Thanks to the unique evolutionary history of dogs, our canine friends have adapted behaviors to read human body language and emotional cues.

A 2017 study from the University of Vienna found that dogs can notice emotions in humans and can distinguish between positive and negative feelings. The study claimed that dogs could have “insights into intra- and interspecies empathy.”

VCA Animal Hospitals highlighted a United Kingdom study in which dogs were shown pictures of people and other dogs along with vocalizations depicting happiness or anger.

“When the auditory cue matched the visual image, dogs spent longer examining the picture,” the outlet noted. “By combining two different sources of sensory input these researchers, like pet owners, believe that dogs actually have the cognitive ability to recognize and understand positive and negative emotional states.”

During the stressful holiday season, dogs can calm nerves.

A 2018 National Institutes of Health article points out that dogs help reduce stress.

“Interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure,” the NIH stated. “Other studies have found that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support, and boost your mood.”

Another study highlighted by the NIH found that pet owners were 36% less likely than those who don’t own pets to report loneliness.

Johns Hopkins Medicine reported, “In fact, an astonishing 84 percent of post-traumatic stress disorder patients paired with a service dog reported a significant reduction in symptoms, and 40 percent were able to decrease their medications, reported a recent survey.”

The American Heart Association stated in 2019 that dog owners who lived alone had a 33% lower risk of dying after being hospitalized for a heart attack than those without dogs. The health organization added that dog owners had a 24% less risk of dying from any cause than people who don’t own a dog.

Harvard Medical School spotlighted a 2019 study that found that dog owners were 31% less likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than those who don’t own dogs.

A study published in 2022 in the journal BMC Public Health found that dog owners on average walk 22 minutes more per day compared to people who don’t own a dog.

A 2023 study noted that pet owners among older adults had improved cognitive function.

Psychologists at Miami University and Saint Louis University discovered in a 2011 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that dogs and cats are excellent for mental health of “everyday people.”

“We observed evidence that pet owners fared better, both in terms of well-being outcomes and individual differences, than non-owners on several dimensions,” said lead researcher Allen R. McConnell, Ph.D., of Miami University in Ohio. “Specifically, pet owners had greater self-esteem, were more physically fit, tended to be less lonely, were more conscientious, were more extraverted, tended to be less fearful, and tended to be less preoccupied than non-owners.”

But it isn’t just the health benefits of dog ownership.

Yahoo Finance recently reported that workplaces that allow dogs saw a 17% increase in productivity.

So this Thanksgiving, it should be stressed that dogs give exponential benefits to humans. Science shows the countless benefits of having a dog as part of your family. We should all be thankful for our canine companions this Thanksgiving.

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