Man’s best friend. Doge. Fido. Air Bud.
Unlike cats, dogs may not have nine lives. But they do have many monikers. Including canine, which is a bit ironic. And a number of scientific studies suggest dogs may actually be wonderful for your health.
While seizures themselves typically end on their own without causing serious damage, they can cause people to fall over and bruise, burn themselves, or break their bones. Also: If people with epilepsy aren’t turned on their sides during an episode, they can inhale their own vomit and possibly die.
That’s where seizure assistance dogs come into play. Properly trained pooches bark when their owners have a seizure. Joel Wilcox, 14, says his adorable Papillon gave him the “independence and confidence to just go to school or attempt activities,” without having to live in fear of seizures.
Researchers from Michigan State University found that nearly half of dog-owners exercised 30 minutes a day, five days or more a week. Do the math, and that comes out to an average of 150 hours of exercise a week — exactly what the
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An online poll conducted by the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit found that about one in three smokers said the health of a pet would motivate them to try to quit smoking. So go ahead and get your smoker friend a dog for Christmas. Or dress up like a dog, then kindly ask them to quit.
According to a study published in the Australian Social Monitor, dog owners made 15 percent fewer visits to the doctor than those who didn’t have a four-legged friend at home. Giving you all the extra time you need to teach your dog how to play basketball.
In one cross-campus study, college students who were dealing with depression were invited to spend a couple hours with a therapy dog. They could pet, play fetch, and even take selfies. The results: A 60 percent decrease in self-reported anxiety and loneliness symptoms.
Dogs have made headlines over the years for saving their owners from imminent death. In July 2014, a 2-year-old pit bull saved a deaf boy from a house fire. The pooch licked the sleeping kid’s face, and the two made it out alive. It’s sort of like Free Willy, if the killer whale was a deaf boy, and the inner city kid was a pit bull. On second thought, it’s nothing like that movie. But it sure is a feel good story.
Everyone knows dogs are great at smelling soggy tennis balls and used socks. Less known: Some canines can actually smell out cancer.
A study in the journal Gut found that a specially trained Labrador retriever could accurately detect cancer when smelling breath and stool samples. Are dogs set to replace doctors? Not quiet yet. But given cancer kills over 500,000 Americans a year – according to the
Poodles, labs, and other dogs have been trained to detect minute traces of peanuts. Which is great news for anyone who suffers from severe peanut allergies. But it’s bad news for anyone who’s on a budget, as the cost of owning, training and maintaining a peanut detection dog can cost thousands.
In 1975, Chinese officials ordered residents to evacuate the city of Haicheng after they witnessed dogs (and other animals) acting anxiously. A few hours later, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake leveled most of the town.
Did the dogs accurately predict the disaster? Well, maybe. While the United States Geological Survey (USGS) admits some dogs can probably feel the earth shake seconds before humans, that’s not quite early enough to save lives. That said, if your dog starts going nuts tomorrow morning, you might want to step out from under the chandelier.
Quick: Think of the healthiest person you know. Then ask yourself: Do they own a dog? One study found that college students who petted dogs had significantly improved immune systems. Want to avoid mononucleosis in college? Don’t: kiss every person you meet while drunk. Do: pet more dogs.