Benefits of Pet Ownership
Pets often become our best friends, one of the family and who we look forward to getting home to after a long, hard day. They offer us love, comfort, loyalty and fun, but as well as companionship, they are great for our health and well being! They provide us with a fun and easy way to keep fit and healthy, as well as helping us to maintain a positive state of mind and zest for life.
Pedigree™® Fit Families offers advice and tips on how to exercise with your pet and increase your activity level in a fun and safe way.
The joy that pets bring can have a positive effect on health, whilst also helping to reduce stress and anxiety and even prevent depression. The funny things our pets do also keeps us smiling. Smiling and laughing elevates your mood, makes you feel good and can even provide you with a workout! Laughing helps to contract your abdominal muscles and leaves you feeling more relaxed.
Pets also increase our emotional intelligence and influence human development - pet owners often find that they make fewer trips to the doctors, as our canine friends help us to build up resistance to infection and bolster our immune system.
Dogs in particular are very sociable animals and can aid the social element of our lives – great friendships can be forged during trips to the park. Dogs also encourage us to be more physically active. As a responsible dog owner it is important to give your dog the exercise he requires and as a result they provide us with the motivation to exercise too. Dog owners often take more exercise than non-dog owners, which can lead to a healthier lifestyle and even weight loss in some cases.
Benefits of exercise for dogs
Dogs love keeping active and spending time outdoors with their owners and get much the same benefit from exercise as humans. Regular exercise will help to keep your dog fit and healthy and can provide you with some quality fun time with your dog. Exercise is also good for their minds too - dogs are intelligent animals that can get bored and suffer if they don’t have mental stimulation so it is really important to help keep your dog’s mind healthy, as well as their bodies.