We’ve known for a long time that a dog is man’s best friend. We just didn’t know how good a friend. Owning a dog can:
Ward off depression
Make you less stressed
Promote exercise
One study in China even found that dog owners took fewer sick days off from work and had to go to the doctor less often. How does owning a dog provide those remarkable health benefits? Well, a dog provides companionship, love, a need for exercise, energy, laughter (yours), and interaction with the world and with other people. Scientists have even found that the simple act of petting a dog lowers stress levels. Finally, a dog is also just pure fun. Doesn't that sound like the kind of relationship we all want?
Dogs can be valuable helpers in certain circumstances. Dr. Stephanie LaFarge, Senior Director, ASPCA Counseling Services, and one of the nation’s foremost authorities on all aspects of the human-animal bond, spoke about balance dogs. A balance dog is what its name implies. It can help balance you if you’re feeling a little unsteady. A good balance dog can do even more than that. In can help you get out of bed in the morning, pick up dropped items from the floor, open doors with a special device, and turn on and off lights. A balance dog is normally a larger dog, such as a Great Dane, Golden Retriever or Lab.
Dr. Lafarge strongly believes that any balance dog should be trained: “One reason is that when that dog is formally declared a service dog, it can go with you anywhere—on the bus, in the subway, on airplanes. You don’t want to abuse that privilege.” She says that training needn’t be expensive or complicated.
Next step: Finding the right dog for you. Choosing a breed can be bewildering, but there are ways to help make it simple. For our money, one of the best methods is to go to the “Dog Breed Selector” page of Animal Planet’s website: http://animal.discovery.com/breedselector/dogselectorindex.do.
It’s simple, easy to follow, and doesn’t overwhelm you with too many questions. They ask you to pick breed size, energy level, exercise requirements, affection level and so on. You should be thinking of what size your living space is, how much exercise you’re able to give the dog, and, if you have children, how well the breed gets along with them, etc.
Of course, all dogs are individuals, so behavior can vary even among breeds. Then put it all in the mix and—poof!—you’ve got a selection of dog breeds that fits your criteria. Dr. LaFarge says that you needn’t shell out big bucks for a pure breed—especially a puppy: “With a puppy you don’t really know how good a match you two will be until it’s grown.” She recommends going to an animal shelter and looking at adult dogs. “There, you can actually interact with the dog and see how appropriate the match will be.”
Speaking of shelters, you’re now ready to go to www.petfinder.com, a national database of dogs up for adoption, the greater part of them in shelters. You can search for a dog by age, size, gender—even ZIP code. Just like Internet dating, a range of faces will pop up, and each dog will have information about its history, and how to contact the particular shelter where it’s located.
Dr. LaFarge says that you needn’t be wary of a dog’s large size: “It’s not so much the size of the dog as it is the ability to exercise it. A dog’s behavior inside the house is directly due to how much exercise it gets.” The point is, it’s really how much exercise you can give your dog that should determine your choice, rather than its size. Of course, if you live in a small townhouse, you probably won’t want to get an Irish Wolfhound. She sums up the benefits of owning a dog this way: “The wonderful quality of dogs is their non-judgementalness. If we’re not ourselves one day, why, they’re not going to walk away.”
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