Pets can bring out the best in you

Feb. 04--Petting your cat or dog can be incredibly beneficial when it comes to your overall health, but did you know that just talking about them can help you as well?

Dr. Rebecca Johnson studies human interactions between dogs, cats and even horses. She is the Millsap professor of gerontological nursing and public policy at the University of Missouri as well as a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, though she holds a number of other titles. Among them is the president of the International Association of Human Animal Interaction Organizations, which facilitates the research and practice of human-animal interaction.

"The benefits are numerous, from the social, to the physiological, to the physical," Johnson says of owning a pet.

She believes that the love provided by our pets is something truly special that you might not be able to get anywhere else.

"It's unconditional love," Johnson says. "That's something that everyone needs and no one has enough of."

She says that no matter who we are outside of our homes, pets always give us their unconditional love, and nurturing them gives us, their owners, a sense of purpose.

"Nurturing the pet is a very important part of the relationship. It's a reciprocal relationship, this human-animal bond," Johnson says.

Alyson Fischer, owner of Fantastic Fido's, which specializes in the boarding, day care and grooming of dogs, says that this bond is one of both love and companionship.

"There's a companionship component that is there when you come home and your dog is excited to see you and you're excited to see it," Fischer says. "That's what you are as their owner. You're providing them with all of the resources that they need: shelter, food and affection. You're bonded with that pet from the standpoint of being its caretaker and its provider."

And that relationship not only gives us a sense of purpose, it actively affects how our body reacts to our pets, Johnson says.

"When we gaze into our pet's eyes, when we pet it, when we talk to it, when we engage with our pet, we have a rush of oxytocin, which is a hormone that helps us to feel happy and relaxed and reduce the stress hormone cortisol, which does the opposite," she says.

We often associate the simple act of purring with a cat's contentment, and that, in turn, makes us content, Johnson says.

Moreover, pets can actually motivate us to adopt healthier behaviors. Dogs often require walks, which in turn gives us more exercise, and some cats respond well to activities that have to do with pouncing and other predatory behaviors, which can get their owners moving more. Even our pets' own health can provide us with an incentive to make a change.

"There's one study that demonstrated that people were more willing to quit smoking when they found out that passive smoke was injurious to their pet," Johnson says.

Then there's the social aspect -- simply talking about your pet with someone else makes the conversation flow more naturally and can make the experience less stressful.

"That's known as the social lubricant effect: You have a reason to talk to people about something or someone -- in this case your pet -- and that's interesting, different, fun, relaxing and enjoyable," Johnson says.

And for the elderly, the benefits that pets offer may be even more important.

"For older adults, pets are a reason to get up in the morning," Johnson says. "Of course, the social lubricant effect is important, so that the older people stay socially engaged with others, and the pet is a medium through which that can occur."

If you're a student, constant stress already may be a part of your daily routine, and around finals week you might see what some students dub "therapy dogs" around the college campus.

According to Johnson, there is a distinction between animal-assisted therapy and animal-assisted activities. Having dogs visit a campus to help relieve stress falls under the latter.

Animal-assisted therapy is when a companion animal works with a registered licensed health-care professional. These animals work with someone to help them fulfill health goals, such as aiding a recovering victim of a car accident to throw a ball for a dog to retrieve.

"While animal-assisted activity and therapy are not a magic bullet for all situations, there are many situations in people's health in which interacting with a companion animal can be a complimentary therapy to what they are experiencing," Johnson says.

And while Johnson says that none of this is magic, it certainly can feel like it for those are exposed to animals on a daily basis.

"Pets provide that unconditional love -- nonjudgmental unconditional love," Johnson says. "And almost no relationships that you engage in are completely, unconditionally, nonjudgmentally loving."

Daniel Cobb can be reached at daniel.cobb@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowCobb.

___

(c)2018 the St. Joseph News-Press (St. Joseph, Mo.)

Visit the St. Joseph News-Press (St. Joseph, Mo.) at www.newspressnow.com/index.html

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.