I need a little more comfort, Sometimes, right? I’m in that situation right now and am especially grateful to Jim as well as Maggie and Skip. Both are very cuddly dogs and I am sometimes comforted by the feel of their fur or the rhythm of their beating hearts. Sometimes I can’t imagine coping without them and I feel strongly that they are an important part of my mental and physical health. I think many of you feel the same way.
And yet, Dr. Hal Herzog, One of our country’s experts on human-animal relationships, he writes in detail about the “pet paradox.” This is the fact that most research suggests that pets are a paradox. do not have It’s just “good for us.” In his latest article published in Psychology Today, “The mysterious relationship between pets and child development”‘ begins like this.
According to 2021 survey According to the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, 87% of pet owners experience improved mental health from having a companion animal. I certainly felt the same way about the impact pets have on my life.
Unfortunately, most high-quality studies find that pet owners do not, when taking into account socio-economic and demographic factors. I feel less depressedfew lonely, Be happier, or healthier than people who don’t have pets. This discrepancy between our personal experience and “science” regarding the benefits of owning a pet is called “.”The pet effect paradox” Perhaps it is the greatest mystery in anthropozoology, the study of the relationship between humans and animals. Two large studies suggest that this pet effect paradox also applies to pets’ positive health effects. child development. (Hal Herzog, Psychology Today 11/12/24)
In a Facebook post, Hal (completely obviously a friend and colleague) admitted that he found these results just as confusing as I did. There is no way that research does not reflect our felt experiences. It would be easy to ignore if it was just one study, but many studies with large sample sizes have come to the same conclusion.
My guesses about these results are: This is heavily influenced by my years as a companion animal behavior consultant. Think about it this way. There are “pet owners” and there are “pet owners.” Some of us love animals, some only love dogs, and some only love cats. And when I say love, I mean love. I easily fall into that category. I never wanted a doll when I was little, but I had 52 stuffed animals. (I counted every day.) I worshiped horses, drew pictures of horses on everything, chased dogs, and lay in the dirt for hours watching ants carry seeds to their nests. I looked at it. Today, I adore and deeply love our dogs, and much of my life revolves around them.
As an applied behaviorist, I’ve seen people care enough about their dogs and cats to invest time, effort, and money in counseling them. But, of course, most of those people came because their pets were causing problems in their lives, many of them serious problems. I can assure you that there are many dog owners out there who, for some reason, are not only unable to be comforted by their dogs, but who also suffer from stress and anxiety in no small part because of their dogs.
I think it’s also related, is a group of dog and cat owners whose pets do not have serious behavioral problems but are not essential to their daily lives. They say get married, buy a house, have kids, get a dog. My own Jim was like that before he met me. He and his ex-wife had two children and two dogs, and both worked full-time (worked in shifts, each coming home and going out at different times). Masu). The kids wanted a dog and swore they would take care of it, but of course they were kids. Overall, the dogs made their lives more difficult rather than better.
And then he met me Long after his children were grown. Jim is the guy who went out and read all of my books when we first dated. Because he has always wanted to meet me. It didn’t take long for Jim to grow fond of our dogs. Now I care about the dogs as much as I do.
So my guess is: When pet owners are asked if their animals provide them with comfort, they may answer exactly as expected. After all, as Hal’s article reminds us, we are constantly told that “pets are good for you.” However, lumping all “pet owners” together is problematic. (It goes without saying that they don’t differentiate between dogs, cats, and goldfish.) I’d like to see a study by sociologists that looks more closely at companion animal owners, rather than lumping us all together. I am. Because I think there is important information there. My belief, and that’s all, is that companion animals provide tremendous comfort and health benefits to some pet owners, but it’s good to know who provides them and why. is.
We would love to hear your thoughts. Jump in!
FYI, dogs in shelters need comfort too: Before we switch gears, I would like to add that we are having a BIG SALE on Giving Tuesday to encourage people to buy. love has no age limit Donate in bulk to a shelter. When I went out to shoot a video for the sale, I consoled myself when I came across the tag of a recently arrived Great Pyrenees. Dane County Humane Society. He is the sweetest fluffball of love imaginable and spending time with him and the wonderful people at the shelter was the highlight of my week. (Ask me how hard it was not being able to take him home.)
If you can see it in your heart, Visit my website on Donate Tuesday to purchase bulk copies to donate to your favorite shelter or rescue. I’ve heard that some shelters have significantly reduced dog returns and calls for action after distributing booklets to adopted dogs. (Let’s go and grumpy feline (Always on sale to give to shelters and rescue teams!)
Meanwhile back at the farm: I would like to say that everything is sweet and light here, but we all know that life does not work like that. It’s been raining heavily here, but this is definitely due to last year’s lack of winter, too much rain in the spring, and torrential downpours in early fall. Despite all the precautions we took (aside from “stay home” doesn’t help much for those of us in the countryside with sheep and dogs), both Jim and I had a few implants in our bodies. After the tick was removed, Jim developed Lyme disease. . Full on. He couldn’t stay awake, had a fever and chills, and we found him one night, sweating, achy and uninterested in food. Luckily, the doctor at the emergency room was one of the good ones and treated him. doxycycline immediately. (My previous doctor didn’t prescribe doxy when I was targeted around the bite. This is why he is my former doctor.)
Jim is much, much better, It’s amazing, but I still get tired easily. But we’re fine. We have each other and we have a dog who brings us joy and comfort every day. Maggie and Skip on a walk in the woods this morning. Watching dogs play is one of my favorite things to do.
something better Also included is a new hay feeder that Jim found online and built. The wooden ones he built billions of years ago were starting to fall apart, and these are the perfect replacement.
Another good thing It means the county has finally begun repairing a cave-in that threatened to tear down a critical fence that keeps sheep out of the road. I tried hard to convince them to let me play with the excavator, but to my surprise they wouldn’t let me, even though I offered them a bribe (aka pie).
And here’s what makes us laugh: I pulled out the spice drawer and reached inside to pull out the sesame seeds. Here’s what I found:
It’s the season when mice come into the house. In the countryside! Our enterprising friends broke into the drawer (there was still no sign of the mouse on the counter) and ate all the sesame seeds. It was a pleasure to serve you a delicious meal. Unfortunately, I-Mouse is not a good guest, so I have to go. But I take this as a reminder that a good life is all about will and strength. I hope you, too, can find what you really want and what you have the strength to chew on!
