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Dog Ownership and the Elderly

for everyone actually...

By Kevin RoachePublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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Reaching our retirement years brings with them enough problems and unexpected circumstances to have consider, without the prospect of not having a faithful companion by our side who will never let us down. The old hackneyed saying 'a dog is man's best friend' is truer now than it ever was. Even though whoever your dog decides to spend their life with, isn't gender specific. It does however become more relevant the older we get. Once we have passed the age of 50, it becomes even more essential that we have a canine as par of our lives.

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Company and Comradeship

No matter your age, the friendly companionship of your loving four legged friends is really the best reason for befriending a dog. The older the age you reach, the better the reason becomes.

There are certain traits that make a dog perfectly suited to being a human companion. Similar to other humans, they quickly develop a deep-rooted attachment to people. A physical and mental bond can exist between dog and owner. They will also tend to be extremely active during the day when their owners are active, and quieter during the night similar to their owners.

Dogs have almost mystical powers of nonverbal expression whereby they express their love for their owners. Dogs are affectionately empathetic animals. Their friendship often comes across as being sincere, reliable and trustworthy. It lacks many of the guile and insincerity that can be often associated with the friendship between humans.

Our four-legged friends continually show the capacity of unconditional love that they bestow on us. The comparison can only described as being similar to a close family member. The human and canine bond demonstrates itself daily through unbounded displays of joy to greet us, to gentle licks and nudges to empathise when we are feeling under the weather. Even the subtlest of changes to our demeanor can be picked up by our dogs and acted upon accordingly. We need our dogs.

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Your Dog Will Keep You Fit and Young at Heart

Constant movement is by-product of owning a dog. The twice daily walks, at least, keep your blood pumping and joints flexing. The spring in your step provides you with enough exercise to contribute towards lower the risk of you contracting heart disease, or other related ailments.

links have been made with dog ownership and greater physical and mental for a long time now. Conclusive proof has never been provided for why this is so, it has only ever been conjecture. Everybody has always assumed having a dog will more likely than not lessen the likelihood of heart disease their owners.

It is a fact that people who own dogs do live longer. This is because dogs will automatically produce activity in their owners, thus leading to greater mobility and movement resulting in cardiovascular exercise, in turn keeping you fit. The emotional benefits of keeping an affectionate animal close are also cited as a one of the major contributing factors to why dog-lovers live longer.

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The Stress Relief Your Dog Provides

Whilst considering the many ways of combating stress we more than often turn towards practices like yoga, meditation, Reiki or some such similar technique. Getting yourself a new best friend, a dog, will provide all the stress relieving benefits that you need. Whilst a human friend can give you social support and advice that can come with some practical things to try, this article will advocate the perks of owning a four legged friend.

Tomes of research have provided us with anecdotal evidence justifying the stress relief benefits of owning a dog. Dogs do provide the support we need, stress relief, along with many other health benefits.—perhaps more than people! The following are more health benefits of pets.

Perhaps the greatest of stress relief properties is the ability of a dog to be able alter the mood of its owner. Many people who love animals can attest to the fact that it is impossible to remain in a bad mood when a pair of loving puppy eyes stare at you with innocence. There is a recent study that reports that dog owners are less likely to suffer from depression.

Remarkably, a dog has now been found to be as effective as controlled drugs for lowering blood pressure. Groups of hypertensive New York stockbrokers who bought dogs were later found to have had their blood pressure lowered and their heart rates dropped. Needless to say, the dog owning population of New York stockbrokers increased.

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Safety and Protection Benefits of Owning a Dog

There are many beneficial reasons for having a dog which don’t always include having a friendly pet to play, to fetch things you throw, or to cuddle up with at night. A well-trained dog can add an extra dimension to your protection and security. You will be able to sleep that little easier knowing your dog can guard you.

It does matter what breed of dog own, any dog will improve the safety of their owners as well as being a loyal companion and friend. Trained guard dogs can have a positive impact on you and your family’s everyday life.

One of the most arduous parts of getting a dog for your home is the training. A regular hound can run riot throughout your property, causing untold damage and mess in any room they can get into. But a protection dog will have gone through essential obedience training, meaning that they don’t only keep you safe from any potential dangers, but also know what they can and can’t do in your home. If you tell them to stop doing something, you can be sure that a protection dog will obey.

It is a truism to say that most dogs are extremely loyal to their owners. However, a protection dog will offer a higher level of loyalty that won’t be provided by any old dog. Protection dogs are expressly trained to only obey their owner’s commands and will not listen to anybody else. This will mean that they won’t accept commands or treats from other hand or allow themselves to be cajoled by anybody else. This will make an intruder’s job very difficult.

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Your Dog Provides a Reason For Your Living

Your dog doesn't mind what kind of car you drive. Your dog doesn't take any notice of the size of your house. How wealthy, or not, you are is of no importance to your dog. How smart you are, how you dress, what time you get up, whether you brush your hair - all of these don't matter to your dog. Nobody is able to make you feel as wanted, accepted and special as you are, like your dog can.

As well as the incredible amount of compassion your dog shows you on a regular basis, your dog will never judge you. Whatever you do, or whatever way you behave, is alright by them. As long as you are happy, they are happy.

The ecstatic, boundless joy your dog displays whenever they haven't seen you for while, even if only for a few hours, is heart-warming. Your dog makes your existence wholly worthwhile.

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Loyalty - A Scientific Explanation?

A scientific explanation does exist for why dogs are so loyal to their human companions/owners. Historically it is believed the domestication of feral wolves later become the modern day dog. Wolves needed to seek out food sources, quickly realizing that the human habitat was an ideal place to scavenge. Nobody is really sure why human became so accepting of these animals.

What has become clear is that there was a development towards the more accepting dog.

Slowly throughout history this particular survival technique has cemented a dog’s pliant place in the gene pool of today. Through familiarity, all the accepting wolf/dog interactions reproduced. The resulting reproductions produced more and more trustworthy, loyal dogs.

The domesticated dog is accepted by the majority as having been in existence now for about 135,000 years. It is further accepted that dogs cleverly later exploited a human need and desire to care for these animals. Time has further hurried the domestication process to the companion, relationship of today.

The loyalty a dog has for its owner is explainable. Today’s loyal dog is said to see you and/or your family as their pack. Loyalty in a pack is of paramount importance. This would explain why dogs will often put their own lives in danger to protect their owners. A dog’s pack instinct require it of him/her.

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Conclusion

We all know it can be a source of great enjoyment owning and caring for your dog. Ownership, however, comes with great responsibility. A dog will on average for about twelve years. Some live even longer. You must consider carefully which factors will affect how you will be able to look after your dog.

Make a list and carefully take into account things like; veterinary costs, insurance, exercise, food and time needed to ensure your dog enjoys life to the extent you do. If you feel you are able to suitably provide for the welfare of your dog, get yourself a dog.

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About the Creator

Kevin Roache

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