March 21, 2012
Posted in Pet Health

Pets have long been found to be therapeutic to their owners as they are always there to listen and have long been called "man's best friend." Although pets have garnered this role for some time, recent studies have shown that pets may actually provide people with more health benefits than originally thought.

A recent study conducted by the Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine in Cambridge recruited 71 adults who recently got a pet for the first time. They were followed along with 26 adults who did not get a pet for approximately 10 months. Over the course of the trial, researchers conducted wellness surveys at the six and 10 month points. The questionnaires asked participants about certain health problems including headaches, digestive problems, poor sleep habits, colds, nervousness and dizziness.

From the data, scientists found that the participants who got a pet for the first time had significant improvements in the health problems they reported having at the beginning of the study. The number of people who had issues such as nervousness or poor sleep dropped by half after just one month of pet ownership. Participants also admitted to being more physically active – on average people before pets walked twice a week, while after adding a dog, this went up to nine walks per week. Those in the control group did not have any changes to their health or the amount of time they spent working out.

Other recent research has also shown that pets can help to reduce owners' heart rates and blood pressure as well as stress levels.

Because your pet does so much for you, it is important that you take equally good care of it to ensure it lives a long and healthy life. Part of keeping a dog in good shape is taking care of its joints as many dogs tend to suffer from arthritis with age. Starting your pooch on a daily supplement like Dasuquin with glucosamine for dogs can help keep cartilage strong around its joints, while making sure it maintains a healthy weight  by feeding it the right amount of pet food can ward off conditions like diabetes. Taking the dog for daily walks or playing with it for at least an hour each day may also work to keep it in tip-top shape with age.

Another important aspect of keeping a dog safe is making sure it stays on its monthly flea, tick and heartworm preventative pet drugs. These monthly applications like Pet Armor or Revolution work to prevent infestations of these annoying and sometimes harmful critters. 

Related posts:

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2. Senior dogs make great pets
3. Keeping your pooch healthy is good for you
4. Physical therapy for pets – a do or don’t?
5. Is aspirin safe for pets?