How dogs help our health

We all know they bring us joy, but it turns out there’s a lot more our furry friends can do for our wellbeing

THEY MAY HELP US LIVE LONGER

New research in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality And Outcomes has found that having a dog lowers the risk of death from any cause among the general public by 24 per cent, and a 33 per cent lower risk of death among heart attack survivors who live alone.

“I don’t think this is what many people think about when adopting a dog,” says Dr Haider Warraich, director of the heart failure program at Boston Veterans Affairs Hospital.

“They think they’re doing it for the animal, not for their own health. But these studies suggest adopting a dog may be as much of a service to your own health as the dog’s.”

He says a lot more research is needed before he’ll recommend patients adopt a dog to lower their risk of death.

THEY IMPROVE YOUR SOCIAL LIFE

Looking to meet new people? Your pup can help with that. A British study found 40 per cent of dog owners make friends more easily because four out of five of them speak to other dog owners while out walking. “Dog owners tend to be a little more outgoing,” says Kay Joubert, director of Companion Animal Services at US animal advocacy organisation PAWS. “When you start to engage them about their companion animal, people tend to open up and really blossom.”

THEY HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT

Having a dog means taking it on walks, which means there’s potential for weight loss – for the owner that is! For example, a 2010 US study found that people who walked a dog five times a week lost on average 6.5kg over the course of a year.