A Healthier You with a Dog’s Magic Touch

A Healthier You with a Dog’s Magic Touch kicks off the start of a series focusing on the health benefits provided by “man’s best friend.” From the unconditional love they shower on their owners, to their use by the military to save countless lives, for therapy, in personal service, to detect cancer, as companions, or to provide protection detail, dogs provide that magic touch.

Man’s Best Friend

Studies confirm the fact that dogs are “man’s best friend.” Compared to other animals, research shows that dogs intimately have a greater understanding of specific areas of human nature. (2)

There are many studies that show positive interactions between dogs and people can provide mutual benefits to both. Interactions such as talking, petting, playing and other pleasurable interactions create an increase in neurochemicals associated with positive feelings and bonding — oxytocin, dopamine, and β-endorphin (beta-endorphin). In essence, interacting with a dog, especially one you know, can have comparable psychophysiological markers similar to those of emotionally attached individuals who spend time together. (1)

Those Puppy Dog Eyes

Those puppy dog eyes just make your heart melt. But is that all? Studies also show that oxytocin, one of the neurochemicals noted above, promotes maternal bonding, altruism, and trust among people. In these studies, oxytocin levels in the mother and infant increased as they gazed into each others eyes. This has been referred to as the “feedback loop.” Researchers believe this loop is responsible for creating the bond between the infant and mother at a time when the baby is incapable of alternate forms of expression. (2)

In a 2015 study from Azabu University in Sagamihara, Japan,(3) animal behaviorists set out to determine whether a mechanism similar to the “feedback loop” might be the factor behind the affectionate relationship between owners and their dogs. Researchers analyzed urine samples and found the following:

• When owners and dogs gazed at each other a lot, both owners and dogs experienced a significant rise in oxytocin — owners had a 300% rise while dogs had a 130% rise.
• Owners and dogs who did not make this type of eye contact had no increase in oxytocin levels.

Enjoy those puppy dog eyes…. They provide health benefits for both you and your pooch! Do you have a story to share about your special “best friend?”

(C) 2016 Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer

References:

(1) Hecht, J (2015, April 15). “Is the Gaze from Those Big Puppy Eyes the Look of Your Doggie’s Love?” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-gaze-from-those-big-puppy-eyes-the-look-of-your-doggie-s-love/

(2) McNamee, D. (2015, April 17). “‘Puppy dog eyes’ explained by science.” Medical News Today. Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/292567.php.

(3) Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds, Takefumi Kikusui, et al., Science, doi: 10.1126/science.1261022, published online 16 April 2015.