Are you feeling stressed and anxious? Hug your dog. It will surely provide you with a relieving experience. Petting and hugging your pet can reduce your worries and make you feel calm. Our dogs have so much to offer us, such as love, companionship, entertainment, and affection. In general, this can reduce your stress without you even realizing it. You’ll end up feeling lighter and relaxed.
Stress and anxiety
Everyone is prone to experience these two conditions at some point in life. Aside from that, the level of severity can even affect the quality of an individual’s life. Stress is a person’s response to an external cause. A chronic version of it is still treatable and manageable.
On the other hand, being anxious is the result of reacting towards an internal cause. Anxiety is persistently feeling apprehended over a situation that is not even threatening. Moreover, it can persist even if the concern already passed and can escalate into an anxiety disorder.
In general, there are so many ways to manage and relieve these two conditions. It includes physical activities, breathing exercises, adequate sleep, and many more. However, in this article, let’s check how our pets can help us address these conditions. Will it be beneficial to hug your dog? Why don’t we figure it out together? Let’s go! Arf!
Hug your dog
Our pets belong to our extended family. They give us so much joy and laughter inside our homes. But, do you know that they can do more than that? When you hug your dog, it can take your worries away.
Out of a stressful and tiring day, the love and affection from your dog can relieve you from it. However, there are a few things that you should remember before you can hug your dog. Dogs also experience mood swings. So knowing the following will help you determine whether you should embrace your dog or not.
Things to remember
Consider the following before getting into the idea of hugging dogs.
- Initially, don’t even think of hugging an unfamiliar dog. Being a stranger to a dog may cause them a surprise when you embrace them. In effect, the dog might bite you in the end. Some dog breeds do not prefer hugging.
- Hugging a dog when there’s a lot ongoing in their environment is not advisable. In this case, your dog might not be at ease to receive a hug.
- Even though it is an enjoyable scenario to watch a dog and a child interacting, it is still unsafe to keep out your watch from them. Children don’t know how they should appropriately interact with a dog. For this reason, it would be best to keep them under your monitor.
- Additionally, dogs don’t love surprises. It would be best not to approach them from behind.
- Paying attention to your dog’s body language is also essential. Be attentive if your dog is enjoying the interaction or not. A dog’s body language is its way of communicating with you. Recognizing and understanding canine body language will help you decide whether to approach them or not.
Always remember that not every dog is a fan of hugging scenarios. But you don’t have to be sad about it. You only have to respect that it’s your dog’s nature. In this case, you might need to show your love and affection for them using other ways.
Please have a look at this quick video to help you understand your dogs better.
Benefits when you hug your dog
Here are some of the positive returns when you are hugging a dog.
- When you hug your pets, it helps both of you to release the natural “feel good” hormone. This hormone is what we call oxytocin. Oxytocin helps reduce stress, lowers heart rates and cortisol levels, and eventually promotes contentment.
- Additionally, we all know that hugging is one of the ways to show our love for them. But then again, don’t forget the reminders we mentioned above.
- An embrace with your fur baby can help minimize your body’s tension and can even decrease pain.
- Furthermore, a hug can make your dog feel a sense of security and empowerment.
On the other hand, you have to keep in mind that not all dogs are fond of hugging, regardless of the benefits it can provide. In this case, try learning and doing something else that can make your dogs happier. There are other ways to show your appreciation for their love and loyalty.
Other ways to show your care
These are a few ways to prove how much you care for your pets other than hugging.
- Petting them: It would be best to find the sweet spot of your pets, then give them all the pets they want.
- Play with them: Schedule your bonding time with your dog. Spend at least 10 to 20 minutes, once or twice a day, playing with them.
- Daily walks: Taking your dog to a walk will be beneficial for both of you. Make it a habit. Furthermore, it also serves as your bonding time with your dog.
Teach them a trick: There are several tricks that you can teach your dog. Start from the basic, and you’ll be surprised by the things your dog can do.- Give them something to do: Challenge your dog when providing their treats. Allow them to use their brains to get their delicious treat for the day.
- Provide high-quality treats: Considering their health, providing them with exceptional and delicious treats can make them feel your love for them.
- Don’t hesitate to tell them how you feel: They may not understand what we say, but they can tell it by how we say it. Praising your dogs as well will make them think better of themselves.
Bottom line
Overall, it’s okay to hug your dog as long as you know your limitations. Aside from that, we have to know and understand our pets. There are boundaries that we should not cross. In the end, we should still be mindful of how our dogs feel and pay respect.
