US Study questions if pets make owners healthier

Eric Frei · 4th August 2011, 09:08 AM

Pets making owners healthier questioned | News.com.au

Quote:

August 04, 2011
PET owners have long been encouraged to think that they are happier, healthier and live longer than people without pets, but a new US study claims they might be barking up the wrong tree.

Howard Herzog, a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University, says studies conducted in the past to determine whether having a pet improves health and longevity have "produced a mishmash of conflicting results".

"While pets are undoubtedly good for some people, there is presently insufficient evidence to support the contention that pet owners are healthier or happier or that they live longer" than people without pets, Prof Herzog wrote in the August issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science.

"While some researchers have reported that positive effects accrue from interacting with animals, others have found that the health and happiness of pet owners is no better, and in some cases worse, than that of non-pet owners."

Prof Herzog cites several studies purportedly showing the benefits of having a pet, including one from 1980 which showed that heart attack victims who had a pet were around four times more likely than petless victims to survive for a year after the crisis, but said more gloomy studies had been ignored.

"While the media abounds with stories extolling the health benefits of pets, studies in which pet ownership has been found to have no impact or even negative effects on human physical or mental health rarely make headlines," he said.

One study conducted last year found that pet owners were more likely than non-owners of pets to die or suffer another heart attack within a year of suffering a first crisis. That survey got no media coverage, Prof Herzog says.

He cited another study which found no difference in blood pressure between older pet-owners and the petless. In fact, the pet owners in that study exercised less than the non-owners and were more likely to be overweight.

Moreover, he said pets - which can be found in two-thirds of US households - bring with them a "cornucopia" of health problems that can be transmitted to humans such as giardia, salmonella poisoning, skin mites and worms.

Other large-scale studies conducted in the United States, Australia, Sweden and Finland also appeared to show few benefits to physical or psychological health from pet ownership, according to Prof Herzog.

The professor, a pet owner himself, stressed he was not condemning pet ownership or the use of therapy animals for children with autism or people with psychological disorders, but wanted to see more scientific research done.

Until that research is completed, "the existence of a pet effect on human health and happiness remains a hypothesis in need of confirmation rather than an established fact", he says.

Brent Ferris · 4th August 2011, 01:11 PM

It seems to me, that the crucial part of pet ownership and the happiness of the owner and the pet has been ignored, or not thought of. And that is whether the owner wants the pet, and makes that pet a highly desired family member that cannot be dismissed merely because the animal is a pet.

I have seen may people walk a dog for 5 min, and when the pee or pooh is done, take the animal back inside. The walk is primarily for the animal, your benefit is a bonus. And a minimum of a one hour walk in the morning, and evening, with at least 2-3 10-15 min walks thru the day is necessary for the pets' health, for exercise, a good life, and bonding with the owner(s). This is mostly for dogs - not too many cats walk on a leash. After all, for many people the dog(s) replaces the kid(s), and caring people try to spend as much time with their kids as possible, so the same should hold true for pets.

If the owner doesn't want the pet - gotten as a gift or hand-me-down, there can be no positive health benefit.. Most of the studies I have seen -- whether talking about pets, or peoples' health, never concern themselves with how the participants feel. It is prob considered too difficult to quantify, and is not consistently reproducible..

4th August 2011, 01:11 PM	#2
Brent Ferris Veteran Heritage Status Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,557	Re: US Study questions if pets make owners healthier It seems to me, that the crucial part of pet ownership and the happiness of the owner and the pet has been ignored, or not thought of. And that is whether the owner wants the pet, and makes that pet a highly desired family member that cannot be dismissed merely because the animal is a pet. I have seen may people walk a dog for 5 min, and when the pee or pooh is done, take the animal back inside. The walk is primarily for the animal, your benefit is a bonus. And a minimum of a one hour walk in the morning, and evening, with at least 2-3 10-15 min walks thru the day is necessary for the pets' health, for exercise, a good life, and bonding with the owner(s). This is mostly for dogs - not too many cats walk on a leash. After all, for many people the dog(s) replaces the kid(s), and caring people try to spend as much time with their kids as possible, so the same should hold true for pets. If the owner doesn't want the pet - gotten as a gift or hand-me-down, there can be no positive health benefit.. Most of the studies I have seen -- whether talking about pets, or peoples' health, never concern themselves with how the participants feel. It is prob considered too difficult to quantify, and is not consistently reproducible.. __________________ My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports Consulting Forester If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too ! We do great jobs, even in small yards. Free Estimates Oakville to Oshawa - North to Bradford (Will travel further if cost of travelling covered) Email -- treeshaveneeds@3web.com Cell 416-460-5704

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