Cuddling a dog is good for your health, and new research from a B.C. university proves it
Cuddling a dog - tummy rubs, ear scritches and nuzzles - has now been proven to increase wellbeing.
New research from the University of British Columbia Okanagan, which evaluated the effects of dog therapy for students, shows that physical contact with canine support animals is key to increasing wellbeing.
The research, conducted through the school’s education program in co-ordination with UBCO’s dog therapy program for students, was published in the Anthrozoös journal.
The team assessed the wellbeing of 284 undergraduate students based on surveys before and after a visit with a pooch through UBCO’s Building Academic Retention Through K-9s program.
“There have been a number of studies that have found canine-assisted interventions significantly improve participants’ wellbeing, but there has been little research into what interactions provide the greatest benefits,” said lead author and UBC associate professor John-Tyler Binfet.
“We knew that spending time with therapy dogs is beneficial but we didn’t know why.”
A control group was created to account for the impact of a dog’s handler, which meant that some students met only with the handler for a support session. And while some of the participants got to touch and cuddle the pups, others were only allowed to watch the dogs.
Before the sessions, participants reported on their wellbeing. The study recorded their self-perceptions of flourishing, positive and negative affect, social connectedness, happiness, integration into the campus community, stress, homesickness and loneliness.
The results confirmed what most people who live with a dog might guess: the students who got to touch the dogs reported the most improvements.
“Participants across all conditions experienced increased wellbeing on several of the measures, with more benefit when a dog was present, (and) with the most benefit coming from physical contact with the dog,” reads a UBCO news statement about the study.
“Notably, the touch contact with a therapy dog group was the only one that saw a significant enhancement across all measures,” it continues.
The research results could provide guidance for educators, school administrators and students as schools return to in-person learning this fall.
“As students potentially return to in-person class on their college campuses this fall and seek ways to keep their stress in check, I’d encourage them to take advantage of the therapy dog visitation program offered. And once there — be sure to make time for a canine cuddle,” says Binfet.
“That’s a surefire way to reduce stress.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.