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It seems that Fido can do a lot more than retrieve a stick. You have probably heard that dogs are a man's best friend, but did you know that your dog may actually help you feel emotionally less stressed and less lonely? What about the idea that Spot can assist you as you progress through stressful life transitions? Well, according to Therapy Dogs International and Delta Society, our captivating canines can do all of that and more.

In Studies of Loneliness: Recent Research into the Effects of Companion Animals on Lonely People, Andrea Ptak discusses a recent study by Zasloff and Kidd that focused on the effects of owning pets on single adults. In the study, elderly persons were omitted as many of the earlier studies chiefly involved the elderly. Zasloff and Kidd's study, however, looked at single women who were at least 21, according to Ptak. They discovered that the single women who had pets were less likely to be lonely than those who did not own a pet. No real differences were found between canine and feline owners, which means cats combat loneliness every bit as well as dogs in their single female owners.

In another interesting study of the emotional effects of dogs on people, Karen Allen discusses research evidence about the benefits of dog ownership while experiencing a life transition or challenge. It is old news that undergoing change, even though it may be perceived as positive, is quite stressful for us humans. Some examples of changes Dr. Allen discusses are getting married, obtaining a new job or having a baby. She studied women working in helping professions, like educators and doctors, by instructing them to do math tasks in 3 different conditions: with their dog in the room, their best friend in the room, and alone. Yes, you've guessed where I'm going with this. Dr. Allen found that women performed the tests "dramatically better" when their dogs were present than in the other 2 conditions. To bolster her interpretation of the results, Dr. Allen also interviewed her participants about their dogs and found that nearly all the women described special support they get from their dogs when they (the women) were feeling particularly upset or stressed. Dr. Allen concluded that dogs help people cope with life transitions.

So, when you find yourself feeling particularly lonely or stressed, call over Rover and give him a pat.

Bibliography

Allen, K., 2005. Coping with Life Changes & Transitions: The Role of the Pet (Online). Available at Delta Society, the Human Animal Health Connection website at http://www.deltasociety.org/An imalsHealthGeneralCoping.htm . (Accessed on August 3, 2007.)

Ptak, A.L., 2005. Studies of Loneliness: Recent Research into the Effects of Companion Animals on Lonely People (Online). Available at Delta Society, the Human Animal Health Connection website at http://www.deltasociety.org/An imalsHealthGeneralLonliness2.h tm . (Accessed on August 3, 2007.)

Therapy Dogs International, Inc., 2006. A Brief History (Online). Available at http://www.tdi-dog.org/briefhi story.html . (Assessed on August 3, 2007.)

Learn more about this author, Rita Chaney.
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