Our Furry Friends
This morning as I was drinking my coffee and preparing for the day, I noticed my sweet little dogs all curled up in their beds totally oblivious to anything beyond this moment. I have to say, I envied them. For them, there is no crisis … no worries. All they know is that in this moment everything is fine. Awhile back I wrote a blog about how our pets can serve as role models for our mindfulness practice. If you would like to take a look at this, click on this link.
Thinking about my furry babies this morning prompted me to take a look at the latest research on pets. We all know that animals have been used for decades as comfort and assistance dogs. And most of the research to-date has focused on the physical benefits of pet ownership. Because of this, a 2016 study, by Campbell et al., caught my eye. It is among the few studies that explored the psychological benefits of people walking their dogs. The findings from this study indicated that participants explained that dog-walking generated feelings of relaxation, calmness, and stress relief. Here are two quotes from the participants that seem to best explain the findings:
Participant 1: “I think I find it quite mentally relaxing when I’m walking the dogs. I enjoy watching what they’re doing. It’s similar to if you take very young children for a walk and just let them explore. Well it has something of the same effect. It’s just quite mentally relaxing sitting there watching some other being thoroughly enjoying the world. It sounds really silly but that’s the best way I can think of explaining it, so for me probably more of a mental relaxation than physical exercise.”
Participant 2: “I view it as more of a mental than physical health benefit and I think that the ability to be outdoors when most of the rest of what I do all day is indoors and behind a desk. And I suppose I didn’t really think of it in those terms but to be out of doors and just enjoy the fresh air, and the smell, and the sound, and that is ah, again it’s a calming, grounding sort of experience that I guess I hadn’t even considered that’s what it was.”
I’m sure that many of the dog owners reading this already know how beneficial it is to have a pet. They are members of our family and close friends. The purpose of sharing this research was to reinforce what you might already know: walking your dog is good for your emotional well-being, not just physical well-being. And for those of you who do not have a pet, maybe you will consider adopting or fostering an animal during this period of time. I know the shelters where I live are asking for people to foster animals and have taken steps to make it safe to do so.
P. S. I have to wake my dogs up to go for a walk. They seem a little annoyed. And I told them, “hey, you owe me.”
References
Campbell, K., Smith, C. M., Tumilty, S., Cameron, C., & Treharne, G. J. (2016). How does dog-walking influence perceptions of health and wellbeing in healthy adults? A qualitative dog-walk-along study. Anthrozoös, 29(2), 181-192.