Hey, fellow pet lovers!
I wanted to write a post that talks about the benefits of having a dog, so many of us share our lives and homes with one or more canine companion that I thought it would be a good idea to write a post for all you non-doggie owners out there, that are wondering what are the benefits of having a dog?
There are so many positives to having a pooch in your life and personally, I couldn’t live without my girls! I have always loved and had dogs in my life that not having them would be too odd.
Let’s jump straight in and learn 10 benefits of having a dog in your life!
10 Benefits of having a Canine Companion
There are so many benefits to having a dog in your life, from the unconditional love you will receive to the added health benefits, let’s learn why having a pet pooch really has a positive effect.
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You will receive unconditional love.
One of the nicest things about having a dog in your life is that when you come home you are instantly greeted with unconditional love. Whether I have been out for an hour or the whole day it doesn’t matter, my girls are always so excited to see me!! This is really great if you’re not having the best day, as you come home and are instantly greeted with so much love and happiness that you forget about any daily troubles and just enjoy life for a moment.
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You will do more exercise.
If you’re a lazy person or just hate doing exercise then having a dog will force you to do way more of it. I remember back to when we first got Nia and how far I could chuck the ball at the park, it was such a short distance but almost four years on and I can definitely say I’ve improved. Even when we are not at the park having fun I find myself running around the flat chasing after Lily with her ball or toys as she loves it so much.
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You will spend a lot more time outdoors.
One of the best parts of the day is going on a lovely walk with my girls, we have a nice little park just a few minutes away from where we live and a peaceful graveyard to walk around on warm days. Sometimes I take both Nia and Lily out if my partner is at work or some days we switch and go on separate walks with one of the girls.
If I just have Lily I will head to the park and chuck the ball depending on the weather and then have a nice little walk around the graveyard while listening to a philosophy audiobook or maybe a podcast. It is so lovely to take some time out of your day, we have so much going on in our lives that we rarely take enough time out of our day to reset.
By having a dog you have to take some time out of your day to take them out on walks, which means spending more time outdoors and this really has a positive impact on your overall productivity and happiness throughout the day.
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You’re less likely to be stressed when working.
I work from home so always have my girls around me which I really love and also think it helps me to be less stressed. By having Nia and Lily around me at all times I am more likely to take breaks, re-energize and also just relax for a few minutes. A preliminary study of the effect of the presence at work of employees’ dogs on stress and organizational perceptions, showed that having our pooch around us when working is actually beneficial.
This study split participants into three groups the (Dog Group) employees who brought their dogs to work, the (No Dog) group, employees who did not bring their dogs to work and lastly, the (No Pet) group, employees without pets. A pre‐post between‐group design with repeated measures was used to compare differences between these three group types on physiological and perceived stress, perceptions of job satisfaction, organizational affective commitment, and perceived organizational support.
The findings were great and showed that having your dog with you when you work actually does decrease your stress levels. Over the course of the day stress actually decreased for the (Dog Group) when their pets were present and increased for the (No Pet) and (No Dog) groups. The (No Dog) group had much higher levels of stress towards the end of the day. As well as monitoring the (Dog group) when their dogs were present it was also found that when they were absent there was a difference in their stress pattern. On days where their pets were absent the (Dog Groups) stress pattern followed the (No Dog) group and increased towards the end of the day.
Emeraldinsight.com. (2013). Preliminary investigation of employee’s dog presence on stress and organizational perceptions. [online] Available at: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/17538351211215366?journalCode=ijwhm [Accessed 12 Jul. 2018].
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You will be more sociable.
One thing that is lovely about having a dog is the small interactions between pet owners, I am definitely a bit of an introvert but each week I bump into various pet owners and end up getting into little conversations about Lily, Nia or their pooch. It is a great part of my day and chatting with fellow pet lovers is always lovely.
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You will smile a lot more.
Having a pet gives you a lot more to smile about, whether they are running around like a crazy dog, doing something silly or just fast asleep and look adorable, they will make you smile. This may seem like such a small benefit but in reality, it can have such a positive impact on your overall happiness and productivity levels throughout the day.
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You’re less likely to be depressed.
Depression is something we could all go through in our life and many people are having to deal with depression each and every day. Having a pet dog in your life could help reduce your chances of becoming depressed. There are so many aspects to having a dog that could help people who suffer from depression, having a dog to care for and a sense of responsibility helps depressed people do things they otherwise wouldn’t feel like doing.
When you’re depressed even the most basics things can be a struggle such as going outside, socialising with people or even eating. By having a pet a depressed person has no choice but to leave the house to take their pooch out on a walk, which will most likely result in them bumping into people and socialising. All of this will have a positive effect on reducing your chances of becoming depressed and also helping people who are already suffering from depression.
However, it is not always a good idea for a depressed person to just go and get a dog spontaneously because they think it will help their depression, having a dog is a serious responsibility that requires a lot of time, commitment, and financial stability. If your suffering from depression and are not in the right place to get a dog then go and spend some time with one of your friends or family members dog as this will still benefit you massively.
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You will get the best morning cuddles ever!!
I briefly mention this in my posts on What it’s like to have a Border Terrier? and What it’s like to have a Staffordshire Bull Terrier? but for me, it is one of the best things about having dogs. I will wake up when my alarm goes off and then Lily or Nia depending on which one I had that night will come over for their morning cuddles. This is, in my opinion, one of the nicest ways to start the morning, definitely not the most efficient as it probably add-on an extra half an hour in bed but it is totally worth it as I start the day in a happy positive mood.
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If you have children they will have a furry friend to grow up alongside.
I grew up with pets and have always had a dog at every stage of my life, we got my first ever dog Simba when I was just 6 weeks old and he spent 16 years by my side. Then we got a rescue Staffy called Frank, I know a terrible name but he was such a lovely dog.
When I moved out and in with my partner he had Freya and when we tragically lost her in 2014 we started hunting for a puppy and got Nia in January 2015, then we got Lily the following January. My point is that growing up with a dog is amazing, it makes your childhood so much better and gives you a furry friend to play with. Simba was such an amazing first dog and I hope that if I and my partner have children, Nia and Lily will be here to play with them and watch them grow up.
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You have companionship and are less likely to feel lonely.
A lot of people these days are lonely, there is a very large proportion of the older generation who live alone and rarely see anyone which results in them feeling very lonely and isolated. Having a pet helps with this as you are far less likely to feel alone since you have your dog around you for most of the day. Like I mentioned above you will also be way more sociable as you have to take your pet out on walks which will most likely mean you will bump into fellow pet owners and start having a conversation.
There are honestly so many benefits to having a dog in your life that this list could go on and on. I do plan on doing more posts that talk about the many other benefits of having a pooch, so stick around for them.
Thanks for reading this post and I hoped you all liked learning about the many benefits of having a dog in your life, there are a few drawbacks that I will talk about in a separate post in the next few weeks but they do not outweigh the benefits at all. Having a dog is one of the most rewarding and amazing experiences you can have in life and I’m so grateful to have two amazing girls to take care of.
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