Five Ways You and Your Pet Can Get Healthier and Happier Together

This article was produced with a little help from my pets. Whenever my concentration drifted or I began to feel tired, I picked up my dogs’ leads and they eagerly came along for fresh air and a small outdoor adventure. I readily acknowledge that my pets support my health, productivity and happiness – and I hope that I contribute to their happiness and health as well.

It is widely accepted that pets can promote human health and wellbeing, but those gains ought to work both ways. As sentient creatures, our pets deserve care and respect; they should not be used as a means of improving human wellbeing at the expense of their own.

With many countries, including the US and UK, now experiencing an obesity crisis among both people and pets, how can owners avoid inadvertently harming their pets’ health while depending on them for companionship and comfort?

Here are five ways in which you and your pet can become healthier and happier together.

1. Rest and relaxation

Companion animals may help to reduce stress and distress. Studies have found that having a dog physically present can lower a person’s blood pressure and heart rate while they complete a demanding task, with a greater effect than the presence of a relative or friend. Yet people who carried out stressful tasks beside a pleasant but unfamiliar animal showed no such benefits.

Pets can therefore provide their owners with comfort, reassurance and support – acting as a safe haven. Yet animals can also gain comfort from their people. Their human’s presence may soothe them, and they enjoy affection; nevertheless, excessively intense human–animal contact can cause attachment problems, leaving pets more vulnerable to aggression, fear and separation anxiety.

For certain pets, excessive handling or unsuitable stroking can cause stress and fear, potentially resulting in anxiety or aggression.

Some owners choose to sleep in the same bed as their pets. Sharing a bed with an animal may have health consequences, such as disrupted sleep, and there is also a risk of injury, disease transmission or allergies.

On the other hand, sleeping with a pet can promote good-quality sleep while offering warmth, companionship and a sense of security. As many pets appear to favour sleeping near others, this arrangement may benefit both parties.

2. Relationship building

Developing a relationship is vital to maintaining the health of both pets and their owners. A healthy human-pet relationship recognises the owner’s responsibility for the pet’s welfare and wellbeing. In contrast, troubled relationships with pets may result in trauma and aggression. Carers of dogs that are less friendly or badly behaved may experience anxiety and depression.

Pets should be trained through approaches that foster a constructive partnership between animal and human. Such methods may also give both pet and owner a more positive perspective on life. Research indicates that positive reinforcement training, rather than punishment-based techniques, is the most effective approach for animal welfare and learning skills.

The value of close human-pet bonds is often apparent among assistance and therapy animals. Therapy pets are associated with greater independence and improved self-reported wellbeing in their owners. For patients in healthcare settings, stroking and engaging with therapy pets can be helpful: animals can bring a feeling of normality, relieve boredom and help reduce depression.

3. Making two- and four-legged friends

Walking your pet may offer health advantages that go beyond physical exercise.

Pets can encourage friendships, relationships and a stronger sense of community. For example, pet owners are more likely to become acquainted with other people in their local neighbourhood.

Why might this happen? Research indicates that pets strongly contribute to "social lubrication", helping pet owners and animal enthusiasts form relationships with one another.

As a result, pet owners are less likely than people without pets to encounter loneliness and social isolation.

4. Dietary decisions

Veterinarians agree that pets’ average waistlines are increasing. This reflects the situation in the human population, where diet and exercise are also two key contributing factors.

Obesity among pet dogs – though not cats – is associated with the owner’s waistline, pointing to a causal link in lifestyle. Owners can therefore unintentionally harm their pets’ health through the same poor eating and exercise patterns that contribute to their own health problems.

Helping people make healthier food choices for their pets may also encourage healthier eating by the people themselves.

A better diet combined with regular exercise could bring the waistlines of both pets and people down to a healthy size.

5. Walking for wellness

Regular physical activity brings numerous health benefits to people and pets alike. For most dog owners, walking is a cost-effective and reasonably accessible means of improving the physical health and overall wellbeing of both themselves and their pets.

For instance, people who walk their dogs regularly have lower body masses and undertake more physical activity than those without dogs, or those who do not walk the dogs they live with. In addition, walking at least three times each week may relieve back pain and halve the likelihood of it returning.

However, regular dog walking is not possible for everyone. Reasons may include a shortage of appropriate spaces, safety concerns, or worries about their own dog’s behaviour or that of other dogs. Accessible, safe and user-friendly facilities can help promote activity for everyone. Measures include providing "poo bins" to limit dog fouling, designing neighbourhoods to enable safe walking, and restricting entry to potentially sensitive places, including children’s playgrounds.

In the end, sharing life with a companion animal should create a healthy, happy and mutually beneficial relationship. By following these five guidelines, owners and their pets should be better able to find calm and comfort in one another while sustaining a healthy weight and outlook.

Jacqueline Boyd, Senior Lecturer in Animal Science, Nottingham Trent University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.