From my perspective and experience as a pet owner, dogs, birds etc, over many years that interacting with pets reduces people’s stress (definitely mine anyway), provided the pet is behaving properly. If not then this can lead to tension, annoyed neighbors and sleepless nights. As expense is then required for training, behavior lessons and the hope that it all works out.

Regardless we still love our pets. As good interactions do have quite a profound effect, causing changes within the way we physically feel . Those are actual changes going on in the body, that is the good feeling received when stroking a friendly dog for example. So that’s the upside, there is however a downside, for pets, real pets that actually live with people, cause stress, expense and family arguments, especially if the time-frame for the pet settling within a new environment takes an extended period. And if you take society as a whole, then these two factors kind of balance out.

For every paper that says that pets make you live longer or that they make people healthier, many other reports suggest that no effect or actually negative effects are found. So I lean towards the positive, that pet-keeping as a habit, is positive. Studies may indicate there is probably no major effect on health in either direction. If the dog gets people out and about and likes energetic exercise, then there are probably health benefits. But they’re not just going to come as part of the package.

Regardless I love my pets and they make me happy, and in the end that is all that counts.

#pets #dogs #cats #birds