There are many health benefits of dogs and of owning a dog.  Our furry friends improve our communication skills, they keep us fit and in shape, and they even build social skills that help them function around us. Not to mention, they’re cute and can quickly get us smiling!

Your pet and health are related in many other ways as well.

Consider your stress level.  When you’re around your pet, do you notice that you feel less anxious and less worried? That’s because pets can provide excellent social support, stress relief and other health benefits—perhaps more than people!

Here are some health benefits to owning a pet, and some ways they can relieve your stress:

• Man’s Best Friend Can Put You In A Better Mood— Research supports the mood-enhancing benefits of pets. A recent study found that men with AIDS were less likely to suffer from depression if they owned a pet.
• Pets Can Control Your Blood Pressure— In a study of a group of New York stockbrokers with high blood pressure, those in the study who got dogs or cats were found to have lower blood pressure and heart rates than those who didn’t get pets.
• Pets Have Been Shown To Reduce Stress More Than Your Friends That Are Good Listeners— Recent research shows that spending time with your pet can reduce stress even more than talking it out with a good friend. According to one study, when conducting a task that’s stressful, people actually experienced less stress when their pets were with them than when a supportive friend or even their spouse was present.

Dogs also have perks like their ability to prevent loneliness, and their encouragement to get us out and exercising, which can both lead to less stressful lives.  Visit this site for more dog health information and information about how your dog can improve your life!

Why do dog owners live happier, longer, and more fulfulling lives?

Sociologists and veterinarians have spent years investigating the positive effects that dogs have on people’s health and happiness, and their findings are now published in a book of science and testimonials, “100 Simple Secrets Why Dogs Make Us Happy—The Science Behind What Dog Owners Already Know”  by David Niven, PhD, bestselling author of the 100 Simple Secrets series.

This book describes, in detail, the health benefits of dogs, and it explains the correlation between your pet and health.

Here are some examples of the health benefits dogs give us every day:

• Dogs improve our communication skills. By providing a common point of reference and concern, dogs help us to feel a connection to other humans. That connection makes us feel more comfortable communicating with each other. According to Dr. Niven’s findings, when meeting a new person, the presence of a dog reduces the time before people feel comfortable while talking with each other by 45 percent.
• People who care for a dog live longer, healthier lives than those who do not care for a dog. On average, people who cared for dogs during their lives lived 3 years longer than people who never had a dog.
• Dogs get us. According to the book, dogs are uniquely attuned to the messages that humans send. Dogs study humans and have evolved to build social skills that help them to function around us.
• Dogs take us for walks. Having a dog means regularly talking walks—it’s something you do for your dog but in truth your dog is doing for you. Dog owners walk 79 percent farther in an average week than non–dog owners according to studies conducted by Dr. Nivens.
• Spoil your dog—in a good way. Feed your dog treats, like dogdration, and other healthy snacks, like homemade treats.