5 Amazing Reasons to Pet (or Own) a Pet

In a bad mood? Try petting a dog for a few minutes. It doesn’t matter if it’s yours or someone else’s. What’s important is that you like animals and that Fido’s friendly.

It’s no secret to the millions of pet owners out there that interacting with an animal has feel-good benefits, but it goes beyond that: Petting perks run the gamut from physical to psychological and emotional.

Here's what research says about the connection between pets and brain health.

1. Pets can positively impact your mental health.

Among the 2,200 adults who responded to a March 2023 online poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association — a mix of dog owners, cat owners and even a segment of non-pet owners — a strong majority (86 percent) said animals have a mostly positive impact on their mental health.

The top three benefits, cited by almost 7 out of 10 poll respondents, are that pets help reduce stress and anxiety, provide unconditional love and support and offer companionship.

The reason playing fetch with Fido is so satisfying? A growing body of research suggests that interacting with pets increases levels of the feel-good hormone oxytocin. The main findings of a 2022 review, published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology, were that interactions with dogs, specifically, both increased oxytocin and decreased levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.

2. Pets help you stay social.

Dogs are wonderful social partners. A 2017 report by AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health — an independent collaborative of scientists, health professionals, scholars and policy experts — confirms the social virtues of pet interactions, describing dogs as icebreakers that serve as a conversation trigger between strangers.

As a result, dog walkers are more likely to experience social contact and conversation with other people than those without pets. This is particularly important for individuals over age 50 who may be empty nesters or might have lost a partner, says veterinarian ​​​​​​Kate Hodgson, in the department of continuing professional development, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Toronto.

Don’t own a pet? You can still reap the social benefits by offering to walk a neighbor’s dog. Or consider earning a little spending money by listing your dog-walking services on an app like Wag! or a site such as Care.com.

3. Pets encourage healthy habits (and may help you break a bad one).

Speaking of dog-walking, another benefit of pet ownership is increased physical activity. In fact, dog owners spent close to 300 minutes each week walking with their dog, about 200 more minutes of walking than people without dogs, according to a study published in 2019 in Scientific Reports. 

The study, which involved almost 700 mainly middle-age or older adult participants from the same community in the United Kingdom (a third of which owned dogs), suggests that dog owners are about four times more likely than others to meet today’s physical activity guidelines (which is 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

Both dog owners and non-dog owners completed questionnaires about how much and in what ways they moved each week. And based on a subset of participants who wore activity monitors, dog owners got more weekly steps. An added plus: They spent more time than other people jogging, cycling and going to the gym.

Owning a pet may also help you part with some bad habits. Hodgson, who’s both a vet and a researcher, has found that people are more motivated to stop smoking when they have pets at home. “Once people know about the negative effects of second-hand smoke on pets, they’ll often quit to protect the pet,” she says.

4. Pets are good for your heart — and mind.

Having pets may reduce the risk of death from any cause, particularly from cardiovascular causes, says a review reported in 2022 in Current Hypertension Reports. Pet owners have lower blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, all of which can lower their heart attack and stroke risk down the road.

And what’s good for the heart is also good for the brain, according to numerous studies. Several other studies have looked specifically at the effects of pet ownership and pet therapy on older adults’ cognitive and emotional well-being. In what has come to be known in research circles as “dognition” — the effect of pet ownership on cognition in older adults — scientists have found that dog owners over age 65 performed significantly better than people without pets on cognitive tasks.

In a study of nearly 8,000 adults 50+ reported in 2023 in JAMA Network Open, having a pet was associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline — specifically verbal cognition, verbal memory and verbal fluency — among people living alone. 

An even larger study from Japan found similar results. Additionally, dog owners who were social or exercised regularly experienced an extra 20 percent decrease in dementia risk.

5. Pets help increase happiness and reduce anxiety.

Spending time with a pet dog can increase happiness and reduce anxiety, a 2023 study in the journal Emotion finds. Seventy-three participants aged 25-77 who spent time with their dogs after undergoing a stressful task experienced better moods and reduced anxiety compared with two control groups.

While many animal studies are small and more research is needed, there’s no doubt that running your fingers through fur can have a calming effect. In fact, Hodgson has used animals to teach mindfulness techniques. “We found with animals, the warmth and softness of fur, and a cat’s purr, really help you stay focused and remain in the moment,” she says.