Pets Provide Stress Relief
for Their Owners 

Do you realize how pets provide stress relief for you?  Sharing your home, these four-footed friends are companions like no other.  Who else shows such unconditional love and is so eager to see you every time you walk in the front door? We currently share our home with a Great Dane and a Basset Hound.  They have taught us a lot about how to live well and get along with others.  You will find images gracing our website pages  of pets we have now and of pets that have lived with us in the past. 

Pets provide stress relief in many ways.  As an animal lover, I am certain you find it impossible to stay in a bad mood when you look into the soft eyes of your dog or have your soft furry cat rub up against your leg.   They always seem to help me with handling stress and agree with me while listening quite assuredly, with no judgment attached!! They help us with stress reduction techniques. 

Each pet has a unique personality that seems to encourage the best in people.  Some pets may be clown-like; some may be shy; some may be in charge of any situation; some may be laid-back.  It doesn't matter.  There is a lot we can learn from pets. 

Ways that pets provide stress relief.

1. Pets offer positive emotional support.  They listen well and are always non-judgmental.  Who is better at keeping secrets, silently offering comfort, offering reassuring snuggles or providing much needed comic relief? Lonely?  A pet can be the perfect companion.  Read the advice from Beretta, who is a trained Therapy Dog. 
2. Pets are great exercise buddies.  Try walking your dog to enjoy the exercise with your four-footed companion.  While you are out, you may meet other walkers in your neighborhood and make some new friends.  Beretta, our fawn Great Dane, can be a challenge sometimes but he is becoming more patient as he walks with me.  He is much more willing to walk than Chip was, who quickly found a place to rest along the way.
3. Research indicates that pets help in reducing blood pressure.  Being around these animals helps us remain calmer and helps reduce our spikes in blood pressure triggered by stress.  A recent university study compared a group of professionals who lived with a pet to a group of professionals who did not live with a pet.  The group with the pets were found to have lower heart rates and blood pressure than the group with no pets.

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