Pet Prescription for a Better You in the New Year

Getting healthy in the New Year is a common resolution. Reducing stress, losing weight and getting physically active are usually major components of the overall plan.

While no one activity fills all these needs, inviting a pet to share your life can be a good start. Research and planning before choosing an animal companion gives the best chance for success.

Science proves that, in most cases, pets can increase not just health but quality of life. Even the illusion of a pet can do the trick.

In a study done by St. Louis University, residents at three nursing homes received visits from an actual dog or a tail-wagging robotic canine. Results showed that even 30 minutes a week with the cartoon-looking faux Fido was enough to reduce loneliness and improve relationships with others.

The robot dog study followed a similar study highlighting the benefits of “pet therapy” were a dog regularly visited nursing homes. Assessment of the reaction of residents showed the dogs’ visits raised quality of life, often reduced discomfort and created a more “homelike” environment.

Dogs are not the only pets to help people live better. In a 2009 Purdue University study, Alzheimer’s patients were calmer and ate better when large aquariums filled with brightly colored fish where in the patients’ living environment.

While these studies involved patients and senior citizens, the effect of pet interaction is undeniable. When introduced into the lives of most people, pets help raise quality of life and increase healthiness.

The vital link to achieving better health with pets is to make and take time for interactions. Otherwise, the robot will be the better choice.

Knowing your personality and preferences are as important in selecting a pet as understanding the demands and needs of a particular pet. Pets are lifetime companions and should be chosen with care.

Time and space are huge considerations. People who work away from home will have more restrictions than people who work at home. A renter may not have as many options as a homeowner and when it comes to where you live, size does matter. Big pets in small homes can be a disaster.

Visit friends with pets and to determine if you and a particular species or breed make a good match. Most shelters take great care in finding good homes for their animals and will work with you to find the right match. They can also tell you the financial impact of pet ownership.

Know how you will care for the animal if you are sick or away from home. If the animal is ill, how will you get it help and where will you take your pet?

Train yourself as well as your pet. Many problem pets actually started with problem petowners. Animals need companionship as much as people. Like their human counterparts, pet who received no attention or affection can become hostile, destructive, withdrawn or fearful.

Interaction is the secret to the health benefits of pets. Watching fish in an aquarium can help lower your blood pressure and reduce stress. Theirs is little benefit if the only time you see the fish is when you drop in food.

Petting a cat or dog, even gently stroking the feathers of a bird can also reduce stress and lower blood pressure. These benefits require time spent with the animal.

Walking a dog, playing with or training a pet can be opportunities for increasing your activity level and promoting weight loss but only if you move while doing it. Standing still while the animal does all the work accomplishes little for you and reduces the enjoyment of the pet.

The health benefits of pets are well documented to work only when the human actively partners with the animal. As in most of life’s good things, the more effort expended, the greater the reward received.

First published in the Greene County Record January 2010 and part of our Center Yourself in Greene 2010 Resolution Solution