How Dogs Can Help With Anxiety, Stress and Depression

For many pet parents, their furry companions are their ultimate source of happiness. It isn’t uncommon for dog-owners to go on and on about the joy their pups bring into their lives. While anecdotal evidence suggests that dogs can improve your mood, scientific research backs up these claims further by proving the vast amount of positives they provide to our mental health.

5 Ways Dogs Help Our Mental Health

Here are 5 benefits a dog can provide a patient who is experiencing mental health symptoms.

1. Dogs Can Provide Emotional Support

Most dog-owners perceive the act of bonding with their pets as unconditional and thus wholly reliable. People who experience symptoms of depression, stress, anxiety, and loneliness may have a hard time opening up to others, but dogs provide endless emotional support. Dogs won’t judge or criticize you, regardless of how you’re feeling or reacting.

 

What’s more, stroking your dog’s fur, listening to their breath, and feeling their body temperature provides emotional relief and stimuli, which is hard to receive as you’re battling a mental illness.

 

While any dog can help with anxiety, stress, and depression, emotional support animals (ESA’s) can provide support and companionship to a more extended degree. Whereas your dog may be denied entry on a plane or living accommodations, ESAs receive special privileges and can accompany you throughout your daily life. For more information on ESAs, visit CertaPet.com.

2. Dogs Can Reduce Loneliness and Stress

Petting your dog provides more than just emotional support; it also plays a role in stress management. Oxytocin, the hormone that regulates stress levels, is produced through repetitive motion because it induces a sense of calm.

 

This hormone is also integral in fighting physical pain, which may arise from frequent or prolonged bouts of depression, stress, or anxiety.

 

If you lower your stress level, you’ll eventually promote growth and healing in your body. Calmness can also stimulate positive social interactions, expanding your circle of friends.

3. Dogs Can Help Build a Routine

Everyone needs a stable daily routine for the benefit of their mental health, but it’s incredibly difficult to start building one when you feel so awful. However, your dog can help you rebuild a routine.

 

Since your dog relies on you to be fed, walked, and played with, they will notify you if you aren’t fulfilling their needs. Once you start fulfilling theirs, you can start fulfilling your own.

 

Introducing a dog into your life can quicken your recovery and help you keep track of a daily schedule. Still, you need to make sure you’re prepared for this responsibility beforehand.

4. Dogs Can Encourage Movement and Exercise

People who suffer from anxiety, stress, and depression are told to stay active by exercising. Having a dog increases the likelihood that you’ll take them out for walks, playtime, and dog parks.

 

Depression can quickly sap your energy and make you feel lethargic, but your pup will always want to stay engaged with you by encouraging movement, play, and exercise.

 

With prolonged exercise and exposure to society, depressed, stressed, and anxious individuals will start to recover faster, and in turn, will want to leave their house more frequently.

5. Dogs Will Grow Your Social Circle

As humans, we need social support from our friends, family, and spouse. Unfortunately, mental illness can make us feel cut-off from the world and reclusive, which causes us to interact with new people less and less.

 

When you adopt a dog, you become a social magnet. After your first walk around the block, you’ll quickly see how popular you and your dog are with others.

 

New social interactions can enhance your sense of well-being and belonging. Plus, you can practice speaking to different people, which could help you develop new social connections.

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15 Reasons Getting A Dog Is Better Than Getting A Boyfriend

Think you want a boyfriend? Well, maybe you do. But have you ever considered that you what you really want is a dog?

Hear me out: boyfriends can be great. They’re nice to sometimes have around. Sometimes you might even love them. But they can be problematic. They don’t always do the stuff we want them to do or pay attention to us like we hoped they would.

Dogs don’t always do what we want, either, but there’s no denying that they love us like nothing else in the whole world. They’re about as near to perfect as creatures can get. They always try their hardest to please us, and their only real drawback is that they don’t stick around as long as we want them to, which would be forever. A dog such as a cavapoos would be your true loyal partner.

So if you’re actively pursuing getting a boyfriend, stop and think about it for a few minutes. Do you want a guy around, or do you just need the awesome love of a dog? If you visit Dogbreedo.com they have listed some of the most popular dog breeds you can consider. From Retrievers to German Shepards you can find your perfect and budget-friendly dog which we are sure will be a better option than having a boyfriend!  Check out these 15 pervasive reasons that dogs, on the whole, are way better than boyfriends.

1. Dogs are always happy to see you.

2. Dogs don’t complain.

3. Dogs never lie.

4. A dog never comes home from a bad day at work looking to fight with you over some nonsense.

5. A dog will never cheat on you by secretly having another owner.

6. Dogs will never say anything mean to you and they always think those jeans look great on you.

7. A dog will never get drunk and embarrass you.

8. Conversely, a dog is not embarrassed by you when you are embarrassingly drunk.

9. Some dogs—not all, but some very, very good dogs—will happily wear whatever adorable sweater you choose to put them in. Boyfriends, not so much.

10. Dogs never cancel on you.

11. Dogs are wonderful listeners.

12. Dogs always appreciate your cooking.

13. Dogs don’t judge you for laying around in your pajamas all day. In fact, they’re usually more than happy to join you.

14. The worst thing a boyfriend can do is betray you. The worst thing a dog can do is maybe get into the trash. Really puts it into perspective.

15. Dogs look at you like you’re the most important person in the world, because to them, you are.

95-Pound Dog Bravely Turns On Owner As He Sexually Assaults His Assistant

Dogs are loyal and reliable pets to have, especially in times of crises. Our dogs can sense danger and, they often times know when to protect their owners and loved ones. However, when their owner is in the wrong, they can notice this, too. Recently, Bored Panda shared the story of a woman who was sexually assaulted by her boss, and how his dog came to her rescue.

The woman in question worked for a man as his personal assistant and often times, took care of his dog. She found out about the job from her dad, who was a colleague of the man in question.

“I learned about this job through my father as he occasionally works for this man, and he adores my dad’s work and persona. My boss is an older gentleman and has recently become single which leaves him in need of help either around the house, driving him, or walking his dog. I first met my boss in May of this year when I tagged along with my dad to renovate his kitchen. On my off days from my other job at the time, I would help my dad with his work despite being a girl.”

Obviously, after she gave the dog so much love and affection, they developed a bond.

When there’s a dog in the room, I give all my attention to the good boy or girl. The main duty in my job description was to take care of this man’s dog: walk her, feed her, play with her. I bonded with her when we first met and we reconnected around 2 weeks ago. She’s very sweet and always wants affection which I provide.

The woman shared that when she started working for him, things were normal. She had barely been working for him for a week when things got really inappropriate.

The first two days were normal because I still did not see any red flags and things were going great. Now my boss is a man who always gives hugs to ANYONE he greets. Male, female, child. So I didn’t think anything weird of it until I started to feel his hand brushing against my thighs, my hips, my lower back… Then it got to the point where he wouldn’t let me go from a hug and hold me in place and despite my protest, he combated it with, ‘don’t worry, I know you enjoy it.’ He had liked to make comments on my body and say how he enjoyed viewing me. I usually tried to laugh it off and walk away because I’m not a confronting person and am scared to hurt other’s feelings.

One day, the man took things way too far.

I was sitting on the sofa tying my shoes with the dog laying by my feet and I became surprised when I suddenly felt hands pulling on my hips. I moved forward and told him no. He came around the sofa and started walking straight towards me saying how he’s going to ‘tickle’ me.

She called on the help of the man’s dog.

I panicked and called the dog’s name along with, ‘help me’ or ‘protect me’ to distract him for a little longer before he touched me again. To my surprise, she got up and stood guard growling & barking at him. He was surprised but also laughing and told me to make her stand down and reward her by saying ‘good girl.’ My boss then walked away and didn’t touch me for the rest of the time I was there.

She shared that the dog is around 95 pounds and big, especially can be intimidating when angry. She was, however, surprised that the dog would disobey their owner.

I’m not an expert on dog behavior and I don’t understand why a dog would disobey its master over someone it barely knows. But from what I have gathered, dogs have a tendency to protect those in distress so she probably detected something was wrong and that I was panicking. Some people could say that she may ‘feel his wrath’ after disobeying him, but he really loves his dog and I don’t see any signs of an abused animal. She’s just as healthy and bright as I met her.

Unfortunately, the woman in question has not been able to quit the job. She revealed she lives paycheck to paycheck and has nothing lined up yet.  She also needs the benefits. But, people online have some advice for her.

17 Things You’ll Only Understand If You’re A Dogless Dog Lover

Many of us, from birth, are dog people. From the moment we can say the word “puppy,” we are chasing down every four-legged furry friend we see, no matter where we are. But, not all of us are fortunate enough to have a dog.
Continue reading 17 Things You’ll Only Understand If You’re A Dogless Dog Lover

35 Quotes That Help Explain Dog Lovers

Dogs have been a part of my life, for all of my life. I love dogs. They are seriously the most amazing creatures on this planet. They love you, unconditionally. They are always happy to see you, whether it’s been 5 minutes or 5 days. They don’t know how to stay mad at you when they love you. That’s why my dog and I are a package deal, and anyone who knows me, knows that. My boyfriend knows that if he wants a future with me, that includes my dog. Fortunately for me, he’s the same with his dog. Not everyone gets that, but for dog lovers, they understand. Here are 35 quotes that capture what it is to love a dog.

1. “When an eighty-five pound mammal licks your tears away, then tries to sit in your lap, it’s hard to feel sad.”
-Kristan Higgans

2. “If I could be half the person my dog is, I’d be twice the human I am.”- Charles Yu

3. “Happiness is a warm puppy” – Charles M. Schulz

4. “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”- Josh Billings

5. “Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole.”- Rodger A. Caras

6. “It’s just the most amazing thing to love a dog, isn’t it? It makes our relationships with people seem as boring as a bowl of oatmeal”- Josh Grogan

7. “Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing for the mind and heart as deep mediation, and almost as good for the soul as prayer.”- Dean Koontz

8. “Dog do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.”- Orhan Pamuk

9. “The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.” – Samuel Butler

10. “After years of having a dog, you know him. You know the meaning of his snuffs and grunts and barks. Every twitch of his ear is a question or statement, every wag of the tail is an exclamation.”-unknown

11. “I’ve seen a look in dogs’ eyes, a quickly vanishing look of contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts.” – John Steinbeck

12. “Once I had remarked on the affection quite often found between cat and dog, my friend replied, ‘Yes. But I bet no dog would ever confess it to the other dogs’.”- C.S. Lewis

13. “I have found when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source.” – Doris Day

14. “Some people will never understand how much I love my dog, but that’s okay. My dog knows.”-unknown

15. “God couldn’t be physically with us so he gave us dogs.. and notice dog spelled backwards is God and they both love unconditionally.”

16. “Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail.” – Kinky Friedman

17. “The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.” -Charles de Gaulle

18. “The average dog has one request to humankind. Love me”.- Helen Exley

19. “Nobody can fully understand love unless the are owned by a dog.”- unknown

20. “Show a dog an ounce of love and he’ll be your friend for life” .-Stuart and Linda Macfarlane

21. “Dogs, once they love, they love steadily, unchangingly, till their last breath.” – Elizabeth Von Arnim

22. “The only creatures who are evolved enough to show pure love are dogs and infants.” -Johnny Depp

23. “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”- Anatole France

24. “Not every person knows how to love a dog, but every dog knows how to love a person.”- unknown

25. “No one on earth will love you more, be more patient with your moods, or keep your secrets better than your dog.”- unknown

26. “What a beautiful world it would be if people had hearts like dogs.”-unknown

27. Dog has given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for table scraps. This is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. -Roger Caras

28. “Everyone thinks they have the best dog. And none of them are wrong.” – W.R. Purche

29. “Sometimes your don’t need words to feel better, you just need the nearness of your dog.” -Natalie Lloyd

30. “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.” Andy Rooney

31. “The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s”- Mark Twain

31. “Folks will know how large your soul is by the way you treat a dog.”- Charles F. Duran

32. “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them and filling an emptiness we didn’t even know we had.”
-unknown

33. “Dogs’ lives are to short. Their only fault really.” – Agnes Sligh Turnbull

34. “Dogs don’t feel sorry for themselves. They adapt, carry on, and teach us to live in the moment.”
– Caesar Millan

35. “Men have come and gone, and being in love is great, but nothing will ever compare to the love I have shared with my dogs.” – Lisa Prosen

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