Two common oppositions to owning a dog you may hear from skeptical friends might be, “the cold early morning walks,” and “they make a mess.” If that’s the case, read the following and refute your friends next time with the knowledge that not only are the walks good for your dog, but owning a dog in general has several significant health benefits for you as well.
1. Exercise Motivator
Exercise has health benefits for both pet and owner, an early morning walk will not only keep your dog healthy, but they will be less likely to be destructive, while you are working or just out of the house from a while.
You may not have time in your busy schedule for going to the gym, but it has been proven that dog owners actually get more exercise walking their dogs than most people who are going to a gym. Scientific reports state, owners who walk their dog an average of 1 hour per day and watch their daily diet, cut their mortality rate by 50%. While other studies have shown that dog owners have also lowered their blood pressure, cholesterol levels and they are most often healthier over all.
2. Fight Depression
People living alone can get very lonely and depressed and these people do not get out of their house very often. After becoming a dog owner, the same people are out in public walking their dog and making new friends or just stopping for a chat with stranger.
There are a several breeds of hypoallergenic dogs. Anyone who may not be able to remain in the same room with a dog without an allergy attack should consider the non-allergenic breeds. The difference between the dogs, one is non-low shedding and the other is low shedding.
The urine from low shedding dogs will not affect owners, like the urine from other breeds. While the low shedding dogs are cleaning themselves, they use less saliva; this is also beneficial to owners with allergies. When these dogs clean themselves, they do not leave a significant amount of bacteria or dead skin behind.
3. Teach Children Responsible Behavior
Dogs will also prove to be very helpful, when trying to teach children to become responsible and active. If a child has to take their dog for a daily walk and clean up after them in the yard or while walking, they are less likely to become overweight from never getting enough exercise. Children love to interact while playing games with their dogs, in a secure safe environment as well, this also aids in keeping both the children and dogs healthy and happy.
With more than a decade of experience as a practicing veterinarian, Susan Wright goes beyond providing care to family pets, she is also a writer and expert on wireless dog fences.