The Joy of Dogs

Being almost cocooned and incarcerated over the Christmas period - because of lung infection - it gave me ample time to reflect on the positive benefits of dogs.  Before Christmas I was looking forward to house and dog sitting for some friends in Oxford, while they spent a month visiting relatives back in America.  I enjoy doing this as I get to take care of their lovely old Beagle (Wookiee) and can visit friends without having to worry about getting back to my place 5 miles outside Oxford.   Accompanying me was my very own – very lively – Jack Russell (Jake).  If you’re an animal lover the unconditional love and affection dogs give you is a real fillip to the everyday grind and even more so on black cloud days or when you’re felling ill.  I’m often reminded of the ‘far side’ cartoon where Vikings are pictured carrying a captured woman back to their  boat after they have been raping, plundering and murdering people on the shore, while in the foreground  is a dog on the boat, happierly wagging his tail overjoyed to see  his master returning to the ship.

A quick search on the net shows the amazing array of benefits humans can gain from dogs.  Simply petting a dog will lower your heart rate and your blood pressure, while just having a with dog with you in itself will make you more approachable, giving people a reason to stop and talk.  Walking with a dog you’ll lose more weight than walking on you own or with another person.  The superiority of dogs over humans doesn’t stop with the physical benefits.  While we all know the power of talking about your problems with a good friend who’s also a good listener, recent research shows that spending time with a pet may be even better! When conducting a task that’s stressful, people actually experience less stress when their pets are with them than when a supportive friend or even their spouse is present!  (This may be partially due to the fact that pets don’t judge us: they just love us.)  Needless to say dogs can make great TEACHERS as well.  A study reported that children with reading problems who took part in a program where they read books aloud to dogs significantly increased their reading abilities and gain self-confidence and self-esteem.   Of course owning a pet isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.  They involve additional work and responsibility - which can bring its own stresses.  How the queen manages to clear up the mess of her 17 corgis I’ll never know, two dogs are bad enough.  Then running after my dog recently when it had got into a field of sheep was pretty hairy; half expecting to hear the bang of the farmer’s gun at any moment.  However when you’re just lying on the settee wheezing and sneezing all day they can offer love, companionship, hours of comfortable silences and are excellent cuddlers and snugglers.  All I need to do now is train them to write my blog.