It is a fact that caring for a dog can actually make you happier and healthier

When I was at university, as apart of my psychology major, I studied a subject called positive psychology. For my major assessment, my group did a study looking into the correlation between happiness and dog ownership. At the time, there wasn’t much information on this. But I found the topic so interesting that I have recently been looking into it again.

Obviously from personal experience, I know that my life is much more complete with a dog. But recent studies have actually shown that there are physical and mental health benefits that actually come with playing with or snuggling up to our pooches.  

 

Here are a few reasons of my favourite reasons why dogs make people happier, healthier and even thinner:

 

They provide the best companionship.  The unconditional love we get is just the best thing. They make us so happy and are always there to keep us company. When we come home, they are always happy to see us, even if we have just been out for five minutes. When we are sick or sad, they just know and will stay by our side. Studies have actually found that pet owners are less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets.  I work from home some days and having Cooper’s company is just the best. There are times when I think I would be a bit lonely and unhappy without him.

They take the focus off us and make us take care for them. Dogs require a regular feeding and exercise schedule. No matter what mood we are in; depressed, anxious, or stressed, we still always have to get out of bed to feed, exercise, and care for our pets. Caring for a living animal can help make us feel needed and wanted, and take the focus away from our problems. Owning a dog can help teach your children about responsibility, spread the chores around and make them get involved. Plus, studies have found pet owners over the age of 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets. I just love that fact!

They encourage us to exercise more. People with dogs are forced to get out of the house and go for a walk more often than people without dogs. According to the "American Journal of Preventive Medicine" the average duration of walk per week for dog owners in the study was close to 300 minutes while those without dogs only walked for 168 minutes per week. That large difference is especially beneficial for those of us who walk to lose weight!  Cooper is a high-energy dog so we try to take him for two walks a day. There are some days where I know I wouldn’t have gotten up and exercised if it wasn’t for Cooper.

They help us meet new people. Dog owners frequently stop and talk to each other on walks, in dog parks, in pet stores and in training classes. In fact, a study found that a person walking with a dog had three times as many social interactions than when they walked alone. Through Cooper I have made some amazing friends and now actually have some regular doggie play dates with some of them. We love it!

They can actually help to reduce anxiety. The companionship of a dog can offer comfort, help ease anxiety, and build self-confidence for people anxious about going out into the world.

Patting and walking your dog can provide sensory stress relief. Touch and movement are two healthy ways to quickly manage stress. Studies have found that lying with a pet can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine, which calm and relax. Even just patting your dog can lower your blood pressure, according to a study done at the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, and dog owners have been shown to have lower triglycerides and cholesterol levels as well. But this could also be from all that walking since exercise is the best way to lower cholesterol.

They are great at cheering up the sick and the elderly. Therapy dogs are used to visit old aged facilities, many hospitals and sick children. They help to calm them down, lower blood pressure and help to put a smile of their faces. We hope to one day get Cooper trained up to be a therapy dog. I am sure the smile on his face would help make others smile.

So all in all dogs really are just the best (can you tell I am slightly biased). They make us happier and healthier and just provide the best companionship.

In saying all of this, owning a dog is not for everyone. Please do your research. Do not rush the decision. They can be costly and take up a lot of your time. If you are thinking about getting a dog, please make sure you choose the right dog for you and your lifestyle.

 

Sources: 

http://www.helpguide.org/life/pets.htm 

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-owning-dog-happier-healthier-and-11460828.html?cat=53

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - Cooper turns 1 today!!!!

I cannot believe that this time last year I was at the vet with Cooper’s breeders, watching his mum, Lara, give birth to 7 beautiful pups – one of which is now such a big part of our family. Wow how time flies!

We only took Cooper home at 8 weeks of age, which means we have only actually had him for 10 months. It honestly feels like he has been apart of the family forever. Plus I think I have about 10,000 photos of him already!

I thought I should take this big milestone as an opportunity to look back on the last year and take you through a few key thoughts:

What’s been the easiest part?

·      Toilet training. It took Cooper about 2-3 days to be almost fully toilet trained. It was all about not letting him make a mistake and taking him out after each time he slept, ate and played. Plus he learnt to use the doggie door on day 2! I was a proud mum!

What’s been the hardest part?

·      He is a naturally boisterous pup and at 32kg he knows he is stronger than me!

·      He still slightly pulls on the lead, but the improvement has been amazing, it is now mainly when passing other high-energy dogs or when he enters new environments that he still pulls.

·      The recall. Again he is great at this in quiet environments but bring other dogs into the picture and it’s a bit tricky but we are working on this every day.

Favourite thing about Coop

·      The unconditional love we get from him every day. He makes us so happy and is just the best company.

·      He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body!! The worst thing he would do is lick you to death.

·      He loves to play fetch - something I always wished my old dog would do.

·      He is very content being left alone to play with a toy or take a nap.

·      He gets stopped on the street all the time because he is just so good looking.

Most frustrating thing he does?

·      He is the only dog who always manages to find that one little puddle of mud wherever we are.

·      Choosing to be disobedient when wanting to play with other dogs. I love that he loves dogs so much but it can get frustrating at times!

What’s been the most rewarding?

·      Seeing him grow and mature.

·      Seeing the improvement through our commitment to training. He has been to puppy school, basic obedience and is half way through intermediate obedience training.

·      Seeing his huge smile when we let him off the lead in the park.

What’s been my greatest learning?

·      There is no one correct way of doing things – you need to find what works for you and your dog.

·      Be patient and persistent. Golden Retrievers do not come pre-trained. They take time, patience and persistence and they mature a lot older than others dogs. We have put a lot of time and effort into training Cooper and we will continue to do this everyday.

What makes Cooper, Cooper?

·      He is an independent sole who doesn’t really need cuddles and human affection.

·      He loves putting things in his mouth.

·      He smiles a lot.

·      He loves playing with other dogs more than anything.

·      He is obsessed with water and will jump into a swimming pool at any opportunity. And if he doesn’t have a swimming pool – a big enough water bowl will do.

The past 10 months have been filled with big sloppy puppy kisses, endless walks, malting hair, muddy paws, drooling, digging, pulling, doggy play dates and heaps of cooper snuggles (my favourite). It’s been exciting and challenging, rewarding and love filled – and it’s only his first birthday!

HAPPY 1^ST BIRTHDAY MR COOPER HENDRIX RITTERMAN!!!

Post Holiday Blues...

Do you have post Easter Holiday blues?....

Cooper certainly does!

Whilst Jase and I were holidaying with my family over the Easter Break in the Gold Coast, Cooper was having a holiday of his own. For the first time since we’ve had Coop, we left him for more than one night. We took him to stay with Jacqui, Steve and their one-year-old golden retriever, JJ. I met Jacqui through our breeders and she is just like me – obsessed with dogs! So I knew Cooper would be in good hands.

When I dropped Cooper at Jacqui and Steve’s place, I felt like a mother dropping my child off to his first day at school – Cooper wasn’t interested in saying goodbye, he was too preoccupied with his new best friend JJ!! I have to admit, I felt a bit sad but at the same time I knew he was going to have the best time. And I was right!

Jacqui and her family took all the dogs (JJ, Cooper and her parent’s Golden – Busta) to their family holiday house down the coast of Victoria to spend their Easter break by the beach.

Jacqui and Steve kept Jase and I up to date the whole time. She sent us photos and text messages everyday.

Busta is quite a bit older than Cooper and JJ so he wasn’t as interested in playing as roughly as those two. By the sounds of it, Cooper and JJ were go go go most of the time. Jacqui mentioned there were a couple of times where Busta put Cooper in his place and told him off. She warned me that Coop got a few little battle wounds from his encounters with Busta. I actually think it is a good thing because as I mentioned in my previous post Cooper sometimes gets over excited with other dogs. There is nothing better then a dog learning from its pack. Cooper knew pretty fast that he was at the bottom of this pack and he didn't try it again with Busta. Being a part of the pack was a really good thing for Coop – according to Jacqui, he was also more trustworthy off lead because he just followed JJ and Busta.

It was late at night when Jase and I picked Cooper up from Jacqui and Steve’s house but Cooper and JJ were still wrestling around. 

When we got home, it was seriously as though Cooper was depressed. He was not very excited to us at all!

The next morning, once the exhaustion wore off, we got our big Cooper cuddles and kisses and we couldn’t be happier to have him home!

Thanks Jacqui, Steve and JJ for giving Cooper such an awesome holiday!!

We are so lucky that we have found people like Jacqui and Steve to look after Cooper when we go away. It sure beats sending him to a kennel. Do you have someone like Jacqui and Steve to look after your dog when you go on holidays?