Dogs make us happier
…owning a dog promotes the flow of oxytocin, a hormone that decreases our heart rate and fosters feelings of well-being and relaxation.
~ Dr. Lauren Powell, Wall Street Journal, January 9-10, 2021
The Wall Street Journal Weekend edition is outstanding and surely among top editions of any newspaper in the country. The paper’s strength is ordinarily focused on big topics like national and international business, finance, economics and politics. But in Weekend, it lets its hair down a bit with features on books, culture, design, fashion, food, wine, cars and sports.
The Review section is a favorite and often takes me several days before finishing. In the Mind & Matter column last weekend, Susan Pinker wrote about her experiences of being a new dog owner. She received a four-month-old puppy last summer as a birthday gift. Leary at first, she is now “besotted” with Otis, which led her, as a psychologist and author, to study dog ownership.
Pinker sites a 2019 study led by Dr. Lauren Powell that explored “whether getting a dog improved the owner’s activity level, cardiovascular health and psychological state.”
The psychological impact was the most amazing discovery for Dr. Powell. Besides the oxytocin flow, dogs ‘“encourage their owners to get out in nature, maintain a sense of routine, and stay in touch with their neighbors.’”
Perhaps all this is preaching to the choir. Just as Jerry and I have known for decades—and as our clients also know—dogs give us profound, immeasurable, never-ending “feelings of well-being.” But sometimes, it’s nice to have it recognized and corroborated.