Social Health Benefits Of Pet Ownership

Dogs have long been considered man’s best friend for their unconditional love, loyalty, and companionship with humans. According to the 2017-2018 APPA National Pet Owners Survey, there has been a consistent increase in pet ownership over the last couple of decades such that 68%, or 84.6 million, U.S. households own a pet; 48% of which own dogs. Current research suggests that owning a companion animal may provide social, behavioral, and physical benefits. For this proposal, we will explore the major findings over the last several decades with an emphasis on the physiological effects and physical health benefits of owning a canine companion.

Social Health Benefits of Pet Ownership Several studies assessed the impact of owning a friendly dog

In a public scenario where a handicapped individual would likely be ignored, owning a service dog promoted more positive social attention such as smiles and conversation. A similar study found comparable effects on that of disabled children who might otherwise be socially ostracized or overlooked, and need social stimulation for normal development and health (Mader, Hart, & Bergin, 1989). However, due to widespread breed bias with canines, it seems to matter what breed a person chooses as their companion, seeing as not all breeds will elicit the same amount of positive acknowledgment from strangers. Wells (2004) assessed the reactions of 1800 pedestrians to a female experimenter when she was in the presence of a plant, teddy bear, an adult Rottweiler, a Labrador Retriever puppy, an adult Labrador Retriever, or alone as the

Banks and Banks (2002, 2005) designed two studies to investigate whether Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) with a dog could objectively improve loneliness for elderly residents in long-term care facilities. In the first study, volunteers were randomly assigned to receive AAT once per week, AAT three times per week, or no AAT as the control group. Results showed there was a significant decrease in loneliness scores on the UCLA Loneliness Scale between the groups that received AAT and those who did not. However, there was no significant difference between groups that received AAT once per week and three times per week. To further document findings of loneliness reduction, a second study was conducted in which elderly volunteers were randomly assigned to receive AAT as individuals or in group settings of 2-4 residents. Individual AAT was used as a measure of human-animal interaction, and group AAT was used as a measure of the combination of animal-human interaction and socialization with other humans. Pre-test and post-test loneliness scores were significantly different for the group that received AAT as individuals, but not for those that received AAT in the group condition. In both studies, seniors that volunteered had a strong history of owning previous pets and