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Pets

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Having A Pet

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Having A Pet
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A team of experts at a University in Australia is working hard to understand whether owning childhood pets enhances the happiness and health of people well into adulthood.

The relation between enhanced physical and mental wellbeing and pets has been analyzed in previous research.

A report clarified that pets do provide some sort of mental health benefits through intense and strict emotional connection.

Pros And Cons Of Owning A Pet

Owning a pet reduces the chance of social isolation, self-worrying tendency, lack of purpose, and a lack of identity.

The physical endurance also improves to a great extent because they would encourage owners to work more time outdoors.

Canine owners are more regular to exercise, regardless of the weather outside.

The health merits of owning a pet are wonderful, one study found that the country’s national savings as a consequence of owning a pet touched $11.7 billion USD in healthcare costs.

The pet parents were at least 0.6 times more likely to meet a doctor than non-pet owners.

Researchers claim that animals are, in fact, effective companions and playmates to children that offer a sense of purpose.

The empathy we show on pets can also improve our empathy.

In Australia, the percentage of households owning a pet has touched 62 percent. The main purpose of studying the relationship between a pet and a child is that comprehensive governmental health policy.

In the future, “walkable” communities would allow pet-owners to move socially more and more with pet owners and forge strong bonds.

Health Benefits Of Pet-Human Interaction

The benefits of interacting with a pet include –

  • Lowers level of cortisol
  • Reduces blood pressure
  • Improve social interaction
  • Boost your mood
  • Enhance feelings of support
  • Serve as the main source of support and comfort
  • Kids who handled real animals showed improved social skills
  • Experts agree that animals offer unconditional acceptance

Pets also offer new responsibilities. Learning how to feed and handle a pet is also part of having of pet. Health experts and scientists will further love to explore the amazing health effects of owning a pet.

How Pets Improve Our Lives?

Many aged Americans own pets and consider them their part of the family. Pets offer moral support and companionship and have a life-changing impact on a person’s well-being and health.

In a survey conducted in 2018, an agency asked adults in the age group of 50 to 80 about their pets. The survey also focused on challenges, benefits, and reasons for not having or having pets.

Pet owners, according to reports, claimed that their dogs or cats help them love life(85%+), make them understand life(84%), reduce anxiety(75%), provide a new purpose(73%), and help them manage a daily routine(60%).

Surveyed people also said that their pets make them connect with others (60%), help them stay fit(60%), give them the much-needed strength (60%), and help them to manage pain(30%).

Among people who suffered from physical and poor health, more than 70% claim pets help them deal with emotional or physical symptoms.

Around 45% of those having poor or bad health claimed that their dogs or cats help them manage pain better.

Pets And Older Adults

Almost more than 50% of older adults owned a pet. Among these pet owners, the survey provided the percentage of animals owned by them.

Around 16% owned small animals including hamster, fish, or bird. In the report, it was established that 48% owned cats. The majority of them in the survey(68%) owned dogs.

While 20% of respondents cared for their own pet, the remaining vast majority of 80% hired others for help.

Interestingly, more than 50% of pet owners informed that their pets love sleeping in their bed.

Why People Avoid Pets? Keeping Pets Is Wrong

More than 50% of people surveyed cited relationship issues as their number one reason for not owning a pet.

Around one in five claimed that the major factor was that these pets always needed a home.

Some of the popular reasons for not owning a pet include –

  • No interest or lack of interest in pets – 19%
  • Fear of allergies – 16%
  • Not having enough time to handle the pets – 20%
  • To avoid a sense of restriction – 40%
  • Cost of managing a pet – 22%

Pet Ownership And Its Own Challenges

Some pet owners reported challenges while most of them reported positive experiences.

Around 50% of pet owners reported that pets actually make it hard to enjoy some free time away from home. At least 18% indicated that cost is a major cause of concern.

15% claimed that they find it hard to concentrate on their health and around 6% claimed that their pets caused them injuries.

The Results

These study results prove that pets often offer a range of benefits for senior adults, including boosting their physical and emotional health.

The majority of pet lovers claim that their pets help them connect to other people, reduce stress or anxiety, offer companionship, and help deal with pain and emotional problems.

Pets help them have a clear purpose in their life and feel loved.

While many respondents claimed that their pets contribute and help them gain good health, but 15% of pet owners in poor health state their pet’s health take priority.

The Bottomline

Pets are definitely not for all. Not everyone can afford a pet, and the cost of owning a pet is also a determining factor.

For senior citizens who love the companionship of pets but find it hard to own one, visiting a local animal shelter is the best option.

Talk to your local vet and they can give you the right solution.

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