Does Dog Ownership Improve Mental Health?

MobilityDog SD Team: Vito and Carlos (Courtesy: MobilityDog.org)

We love our dogs, and many believe their companionship helps keep us calm, healthy, and blessed. Research supports these beliefs, at least when it comes to physical well-being. Researchers have established owning a dog contributes to a:

• 24 percent reduction in “all-cause mortality” at all ages. (A term that refers to death from any cause. In statistics, all-cause mortality is usually a measure of the total number of deaths from any cause in a specific group over a specific period.)

• 31 percent reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease.
  

  But what about our mental health? Does having canine companionship help alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression? The answer seems to be “yes and no,” with complicated underlying factors.

Roles of Dog Owners

We live in a complex world, and many of us play multiple roles in our lives. For example: employee (or manager or executive), family member, caregiver, and, of course, dog guardian.

• On the one hand, playing manifold roles can enrich our lives and give us abundant potential sources of fulfillment and purpose.

• On the other hand, balancing disparate demands can bring stress-inducing challenges.

  The role of a dog owner can thus prove both rewarding and stressful. Whether it falls on the positive or negative side of the ledger depends on the number of other roles an individual must play, the demands those roles bring, and the degree to which having a dog serves as a source of pleasure and satisfaction or just another drain on an individual’s finite energy.

Older Woman Sitting Next to a Poodle (Courtesy: MobilityDog.org)

Physical Activity

Dogs need to be walked, and dog walking can be a valuable source of exercise for canines and humans alike. For some, walking the pooch is a welcome source of moderate exertion and a chance to experience the outdoors and sometimes socialize with others. Moreover, physical activity can, in turn, contribute to feelings of accomplishment and well-being. We know, however, that too few people exercise enough, and many dog owners do not place a high priority on exercising their pets. For them, taking the dog out is a chore to be avoided, and many dog owners do indeed avoid the task. Ultimately, the mental health effects of dog-walking are undoubtedly positive but are muted and difficult to quantify.

Dog Ownership and Family Relations

Partnership in a relationship with another human is one of many roles we play and probably the most common. Often, a dog is part of the family mix. But who benefits most from having a dog in the group, married/committed partners or single individuals? Research suggests that people who are single, separated, divorced, or widowed people glean greater emotional benefits from dog ownership than their married/committed counterparts. Perhaps they spend more time focused on their pets or forge closer relationships without human companionship.

What About Gender?

It seems that men often value their dogs for the tasks they perform, formally (for example, the jobs done by retrievers, pointers, and guard dogs) or informally (as running companions, for instance). Women, in contrast, appear to place greater value on their emotional relationships with their pooches. On the one hand, this seems a too-simple explanation for why dog ownership reduces depression more in women than in men. On the other hand, it may just be true that women simply love their dogs for what they are rather than what they can do.

Where Does this Leave Us?

Dog ownership can positively affect mental well-being, but that effect may not be equally strong for everyone. If you have time and energy to focus on your dog, especially to exercise her, and you’re female and single, you can expect dog ownership to increase your well-being and reduce the risk of depression. And even if your life is complicated, you don’t have time to exercise yourself or your pet, and you’re a married man, owning a dog may still do you good. Maybe having a pooch can remind you to simplify other parts of your life and get outdoors for some exercise. That can only improve your and your dog's physical and mental health.

For a general discussion of the factors associated with dog ownership and depression, see Cline, K.M.C., “Psychological Effects of Dog Ownership: Role Strain, Role Enhancement, and Depression,” The Journal of Social Psychology, 2010, 150(2), VSOC150(02).book(VSOC_A_437031.fm) (csus.edu)