I have been reading an edition of Scientific American these past few days as summer ends and people return to school and work. In one of their articles written by Daisy Yuhas, the author writes about different studies which have been done which point to the calming and healing power of dogs in terms of stress, self esteem and connection. In one such study of 92 people completed in the 1980’s, biologist Erika Friedmann of the University of Pennsylvania reported that dog owners were likely to be alive a year after a heart attack than were people who did not have a dog – “possibly because the animals afforded some sort of stress relief.”
In another study, Linda Handlin of the University of Skovde in Sweden and her colleagues measured the levels of the “love hormone”, oxytocin, and the stress hormone, cortisol, in ten owners of Labrador retrievers and “correlated the results with the self reported data about the owners’ relationships with their dogs. Owners who had higher oxytocin levels and lower cortisol levels when interacting with their dogs tended to have closer bonds with their pets.” And those who frequently kissed their dogs had even higher oxytocin levels.
Finally, in another study in which 47 socially challenged 7-11 year old boys had to take a math test in the presence of unfamiliar adults and present a story to those same adults, those who were allowed to be accompanied by a dog were shown to have lower cortisol levels and the least stress than those who were being watched over only by the adults. Andrea Beetz, who supervised the study, says. “Some things are much easier with dogs. They are easier to forgive, don’t talk back, and there’s less inhibition when it comes to physical contact.”
I am convinced that dogs are amazing animals whose potential, in many ways, remains untapped. They are powerful creatures – and they help so many of us. Here’s to a great year for kids and dogs and Nellie’s Schoolhouse!
