I was in my Stat 200 class and there was this darn cute dog sitting next to me, and I could not pay attention. All I could focus on was this dog. That got me thinking, How good are dogs at
Gotten from http://news.emory.edu/slideshows/dog_therapy_school_of_law/dog-therapy-slideshow-004.jpg
reducing stress? What Kind of Programs are set up to use dogs for anti-stress measures? Could there be a better animal?
I started my quest with a simple google search. At Harvard University, there is a dog that is a “Registered therapy dog”. No joke whenever you need to relieve some stress or tension, you schedule a meeting with the adorable Shih-Tzu and vent out your frustrations. A study done by the National Institute of Health showed positive trends in the health, social, and psychological benefits of owning and caring for an animal. Having grown up in a house with dogs and cats, I concur that I always felt better and much more relaxed with an animal around me. In Boston, there is a group called Caring Canines who go around to nursing homes and hospitals with their furry friends to spread cheer. Looking at the page, you just can’t help but see how happy and excited these people are in companion with animals. I mean, who doesn’t love dogs?
I happen to know some people who don’t like dogs. They’re more cat people. Now, we all know cats, those shady devils that sneak around and hate people. But there are some cats that love people and will sit up on your lap and purr to their heart’s content. In the UK, a Telegraph article said that “Owning a cat can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by more than a third”. The thought process was, that by owning a cat, your stress levels are lower, and that leads to healthier heart health. Not only do cats increase heart health, but Owning a cat (or any animal) can also help reduce depression. Having something to care for, keep you company, can always be productive in life.
I am curious though, having only had the experience of a purring cat or a snoring dog on my stomach; what other animals could be effective stress relievers. I think, that if you have the perfect animal, a Cat is the best stress reliever. Do you agree with me? What other animals would you love to be able to keep in the dorms in an effort to reduce stress and depression?
I am a huge dog lover and I wish Penn State had our own registered therapy dog! I have always believed that dogs help to reduce the stress of people and I found that your blog analysis confirmed my belief.I know a lot of universities have dogs come on campus during finals week to help reduce the stress of students. Also, hospitals have dogs visit patients throughout their treatments.
Most four legged animals reduce stress (cats, dogs, horses, etc). However, to my surprise when I researched this topic, I found that looking at fish can also reduce stress! Fish are allowed in dorms, so that might be helpful!
I have always been a lover of dogs ever since I was a baby. I wholeheartedly believe that they have the power of reducing stress.
Studies actually show that pets offer an unconditional love that can be very helpful to people with depression, and that they can help reduce tension and improve mood.
I know from first hand experience that whenever I had a stressful day back at home (whether it be from the stress from school or sports) as cliche as this seems my dogs were always there for me to make me happy.
You are correct in saying not everyone may be dog lovers, but I feel like this theory can also apply to any kind of cuddly animal. For example, dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas… All of these furry animals have the capability to take your mind off of whatever you are worrying about and just let you relax while playing with them.
I think Penn State should follow Harvards footsteps in creating the whole rent-a-dog type thing!
I have always been a lover of dogs ever since I was a baby. I wholeheartedly believe that they have the power of reducing stress.
Studies actually show that pets offer an unconditional love that can be very helpful to people with depression, and that they can help reduce tension and improve mood.
I know from first hand experience that whenever I had a stressful day back at home (whether it be from the stress from school or sports) as cliche as this seems my dogs were always there for me to make me happy.
You are correct in saying not everyone may be dog lovers, but I feel like this theory can also apply to any kind of cuddly animal. For example, dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas… All of these furry animals have the capability to take your mind off of whatever you are worrying about and just let you relax while playing with them.
I think Penn State should follow Harvards footsteps in creating the whole rent-a-dog type thing!
Even though I have never had a pet growing up, I most definitely believe having a dog can be a stress relief. They’re called a man’s best friend for a reason. They’re always there for you and a dog may only be in your life for part of the time but you’re their whole life. I don’t know anyone that could look at a puppies face and not smile.
Something that should happen at all colleges, is during finals week, a group of stress relieving dogs should be brought in for students to play with and bond with to help with the stress of finals. I found in this article that at Harvard Medical School and Yale Law School, they are able to check out therapy dogs in the libraries just like you would a book. I think this is a really cool idea but I’m not sure how well it would work at other universities.
I quite agree with you that cats and dogs do play important roles in helping us relax, and as you’re curious about what other animals could be effective stress relievers, actually I think any animals that owners keep them as pets can all reduce stress and depression. Let’s analyze this problem. People keep pets because they love these animals, they enjoy pets’ companion and they feel happy. As long as it’s the animal a person loves, it can always helps he or she reduce stress or depression. So maybe it depends more on the pet’s owner’s choice of the animal type.
However, if we do want to compare among the different categories of animals’ effectiveness as stress relievers when they serve as pets, we can conduct an experiment. Randomly choose a crowd(as large as it meets the standard of large enough sample) that have different kinds of animals as pets.(however for each category of animal, there should be several people tracked to get a common result of this kind of pet.) Run a measurement of stress test on them at the same time after a same period of time(control as much the other variables as possible) and see which animal help drop down the owners’ stress best.
P.S. actually pets can not only serve as stress relievers, they can also help us improve health: “According to Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities, researchers at Baker Medical Research Institute in 1992 found that pet owners experienced lower systolic blood pressure than people who did not own a pet. ” (source here) So, good for pet keepers!
Dogs are the best, and I have always learned that it is in fact true that they reduce stress. I also heard that people that have dogs tend to live longer than people who don’t. I was always curious if that was true. I think it is interesting how you mentioned that dogs go to nursing homes because i think that adds to the theory that they allow people to live longer.