What helps dogs to live happier and healthier lives? The answer may shock you…
Dogs are such amazing pets. They truly are the best and always seem to know their owners and just how to make them perfectly happy at all times.
Ever wonder how we can do just that for our pups in return? The answer as to what makes a dog live a happier and healthier life versus a more stressful and “worse-off” one may absolutely shock you.
How can we give our dogs happier and healthier lives? Read more to see why!
Recently, there’s been a lot of research on what actually makes a dog happy. As dog owners, we’re always wondering how we can improve our pup’s lives, making them happier and helping them live healthier lives as well. Here’s what a recent study done by the Dog Aging Project found:
"“The study, part of the Dog Aging Project, surveyed over 21,000 dog owners to investigate the factors influencing their canine companions’ well-being. The researchers found that a strong social support network has the greatest impact on a dog’s health, surpassing financial factors, household stability, and the age of the owner.”"
In this survey study there were 5 different factors identified that can contribute to a dog’s social environment: neighborhood stability, total household income, social time with children, animals, and their owner, as well as age. These 5 particular factors can also have quite the impact on a dog’s health, getting diagnosed with different diseases, physical mobility, and even including things such as age and weight.
Living with other animal companions, such as other dogs, contributed a ton to positively impacting a dog’s general overall health. It was children that had the negative effect on this exact issue. Here’s what the study had to say/find about the presence of children in a dog’s home:
"“We found that time with children actually had a detrimental effect on dog health…The more children or time that owners dedicate to their children likely leads to less time with their furry children.” ~ Layla Brassington, Researcher & Student"
Although a lot was found already within this study, about a thousand more dogs will go through a long-term biological collection of samples, enabling researchers to find even more connections!
This dog can smile on command and the internet is going crazy. light. More
Will you be making any changes to your home after reading different parts of this study? It’s crazy to think how much certain dog breeds, such as Golden Retrievers can love on and be totally inseparable with your new baby that you bring home, and then all of sudden it could start to have more of a negative effect on them than we even began to realize. What do you think of all of this? Let’s chat and compare notes all together down in the comments below! Woof, Woof as always!!