A U.K. researcher confirms what many dog lovers already know -- dogs are good for your health.Apparently, dog owners are generally healthier than non-pet-owners. They have lower blood pressure and cholesterol, suffer fewer minor ailments, and stray from serious medical problems too. Dogs can prevent their owners from getting sick, help them recover more quickly when they do fall ill, and they can even warn of cancer, heart attack, epileptic seizures, and hypoglycemia, says Dr. Deborah Wells from the Canine Behaviour Centre of Queens University in Northern Ireland.
Wells, whose study is published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, says dogs buffer us from stress -- a well-known cause of illness -- and promote general well-being. Owning a dog leads to increased physical activity and increases development of social interactions -- both of which minimize stress and contribute to human health.
While Wells found those who own both dogs and cats benefit from their pets, dog owners enjoy improved health for much longer than cat owners.
In studying a cancer found in dogs, researchers were able to establish that tumor cells can become parasitic and transmitted from one dog to another by way of sex, licking, biting or sniffing cancerous areas of an affected dog.
