Thursday, May 29, 2014

Pet Ownership: How It Benefits You & Your Family

By Garrett McMahan


For those who adore dogs and cannot imagine life without a dog, you probably already know that these canine friends benefit the lives of their human companions in many ways. Aside from just being excellent companions, studies have shown that owning a dog provides many additional benefits for humans.

Children with dogs often enjoy many important benefits. For instance, in a home with a dog, infants were less likely to acquire pet allergies than those who lived in a home that did not have a dog. Some dogs also can be a helpful companion for child with epilepsy, and seizure dogs can be trained to alert family members if a child has a seizure or to simply lie next to someone having a seizure to help prevent injury. Children also benefit from the added responsibility associated with the care of a pet. They can help with feeding, grooming, walking and playing with your dog.

Dogs often can help people who have suffered a trauma, and this includes children or adults that have lost a loved one or perhaps have simply had to deal with a difficult, depression or violent episode in their lives. Having a dog has been shown to reduce the effects of stress, trauma and depression including seasonal affective disorder. People with dogs also tend to be less lonely as they have a warm and fuzzy creature always ready for some love and attention. Pet ownership also has been linked with lower blood pressure and even petting a dog can lower someone's blood pressure. People who have been badly injured or had a heart attack or surgery have been show to recover more quickly if they have a dog.

As your vet will tell you, dogs need exercise and, in turn, this activity also will benefit your overall physical condition. Simply taking your dog on a walk every day can reduce your weight and lower your risk of many diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and even some forms of cancer. People who exercise regularly also are less prone to depression. If you are feeling lonely, visit your local park or dog park. Dog owners often chat with one another and this can be a great way to widen your social circle.

Home security is also another benefit from dog ownership, even if your dog isn't a breed such as a Rottweiler or German shepherd. While not all breeds can take down an intruder, a dog is an excellent first alert system as they sense and hear noise long before we do. Just the sound of a dog's bark can be enough to dissuade an intruder from entering a home. In addition, there are countless stories about how dogs have saved their owners life. They alert their owners about home fires, have gone to get help when their owners were stuck in a dangerous situation and even have fought off intruders or wild animals, keeping children and others safe from harm.

One key to a successful dog-owner relationship is training. Often it is lack of training that causes a dog to end up in a shelter. However, with a simple dog training program, your pet can learn all of the essential behavior skills that are needed. This includes learning how to walk properly on a leash, come whenever you call him, to cease barking on command and to sit and stay. Using a DVD system can make it easy to train at home and The Dog's Way provides you with 12 lessons that teach all of the basics. The lessons are spread among five dog training DVDs, and the system also includes reminder cards ideal for taking on a walk and a helpful workbook that follows each lesson. The sooner you start training, the sooner you will have a companion that is well-behaved and fun to have around each and every day.




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