pet dogs •

Match made in heaven – child and furry companion. Thank your dog for keeping your child anxiety-free, as a new study published by researchers with the Bassett Medical Center praises the dog-child connection.

Thank your dog for keeping your child anxiety-free, as a new study published by researchers with the Bassett Medical Center praises the dog-child connection.

If we believe children are out of the reach of anxiety and stress, we’re wrong. Environmental and social factors alike contribute to elevated risks of anxiety with children too. Being an an anxious child opens the door for a cohort of developmental problems throughout adult life. Yet, the new study offers an easy way out for children: pet dogs.

Pet dogs are lovely companions, their loyalty and devotion earning them the popular title of ‘man’s best friend’. The furry companions might be just that. Perfectly attuned to your emotional states and cues, pet dogs create a lasting bond which is crucial for children in reducing anxiety levels.

The researchers of the Bassett Medical Center studied the anxiety levels of 643 children in the age group of four to ten. 58 percent of the children involved in the study had a pet dog.

After monitoring the children for anxiety and stress levels and other factors were accounted for, the researchers concluded that you should thank your dog for keeping your child anxiety-free. Overall, 21 percent of the children who did not own a pet dog were found to have elevated anxiety levels. At the other end of the spectrum, only 12 percent of the children who owned a furry companion had higher anxiety levels.

How do pet dogs contribute to lessening anxiety levels? Simply by being present and engaging children in a lasting bond of friendship and responsibility. Children are happy when they play with their furry companions. As such, more oxytocin is being pushed. In return, cortisol levels drop significantly and stress and anxiety levels follow.

Pet dogs are the stars of animal-assisted therapy too. The reason behind what makes pet dogs the most fit in this case is the same as with reducing children’s anxiety levels. A pet dog responds to emotional cues of the owner or owners immediately. Attachment also underpins the release of more oxytocin.

And if keeping your child anxiety-free doesn’t suffice as an argument for getting a pet dog (provided of course, none of the members of the family are allergic), know that previous research has also highlighted that children owning a pet dog are less likely to become obese.

Thus, in addition to learning responsibility, a child will also play, run and walk with their furry companion, cutting sitting time.

Photo Credits: Flickr

According to a recent study, pet dogs may shield kids against asthma, and so do farm animals. But the animals have a protective role if kids are exposed to them within their first 12 months.

During their research, study investigators sifted through data on 377,000 pre-schoolers and more than 270,000 school-age kids. The team was looking for a link between childhood exposure to pets and farm animals and later health benefits.

The team found that children who had dogs in their first year were less likely to develop asthma by the age of six than kids that had no pet dogs. The risk of asthma was reduced by 13 percent in the first group, researchers said.

Tove Fall, lead author of the study and researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden, noted that the newly found link is meaningful enough to conclude that children with family dogs have a lower risk of asthma by the age of six.

But the protective role of farm animals was even higher.

Researchers reported that kids who interacted with farm animals during their first 12 months had a 31 percent to 52 percent lower risk of developing asthma later on than their peers who were not exposed to the animals.

The study was published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
Study authors said that they had data on asthma diagnoses from their nation’s patient register. They also looked at the drugs doctors prescribed to these children.

Additionally, they were able to learn whether kids’ parents were registered dog owners when children were born or whether the latter had interactions with farm animals in the first year of life.

Nevertheless, study authors said that they do not know yet why pet dogs and farm animals may reduce asthma risk. The team suspects that it may have something to do with either exposure to dirt and dust or a prolonged time spent outdoors and more physical activity.

One of the researchers admitted that having a newborn and a baby it is nearly impossible to keep everything squeaky clean.

“[…] and maybe this is a good thing for your baby’s future health,”

the researcher added.

But the most popular theory among researchers is the high exposure to bacteria because kids with pets usually breathe in more bacteria coming from their pets than children with no household animals.

Past studies weren’t able to reach a consensus on dogs and asthma risk in small children. For instance, a 2001 study found that pets boosted asthma risk in children, while a 2012 research paper revealed that early exposure to dogs and other pets lowered that risk.
Image Source: Wikimedia

Thank Your Dog for Keeping Your Child Anxiety-Free

Pet Dogs May Shield Kids against Asthma, Study Suggests

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