Can Pets Actually Help Us Have Happier Marriages?
Here are a few benefits a pet can bring to your marriage…
A More Satisfying Relationship: A study carried out at the University of Buffalo revealed that couples who own cats or dogs have stronger, healthier, closer and more satisfying relationships than those without pets. There seems to be something about pets that encourage us to forge better relationships with other people.
More Cuddle Time: Who would have thought that cuddling with your pet can actually help your marriage? But it seems that when you cuddle your pet, your body produces oxytocin (the ‘cuddle hormone’), which creates feelings of love and being loved, and that can then carry over to how you feel about your spouse. Cuddling a pet or a spouse also helps lower blood pressure and thus makes for a less stressed out, happier home altogether! So don’t forget to cuddle your pet often!
Pets Teach Us Lessons In Teamwork: Bringing up a pet, feeding it, exercising and training it requires everyone at home to coordinate and share the responsibilities. This lesson in teamwork, communication and sharing responsibilities goes a long way in ensuring a smoother relationship with your spouse, navigating tough challenges in your marriage and even being unselfish in a relationship.
A Great Incentive To Stay In Shape: Most pets require outdoor exercise. Dogs need to be walked, played with and trained. This forces pet parents to be more active! If both you and your spouse walk the dog together, it helps you both burn some calories and spend some quality time together. Studies indicate that couples who regularly walk their dogs are healthier and more active than those without dogs. Exercise is good for pets and for you, so get off the couch, put on your walking shoes and take your dog for a walk!
Pets Bring Out The Best In You: Spending time with pets, taking care of them, grooming them, playing with them is good for your heart and mind in a general way – it tends to bring out the best in people. When we display kindness towards our pets, it extends to how we treat our spouses as well. Pets are good teaching models – they show us how to treat the people we love.
Pets Make Us Laugh And Smile: A happy and playful pet can cause you to smile and laugh more, which in turn can cause feelings of happiness and satisfaction within your marriage.
Pets Help You Prepare For A Baby: Canine experts often say that bringing up a pet is akin to bringing up a baby! Like children, dogs need plenty of patience, love, time and effort to grow into responsible, well-mannered adults. When you bring up a puppy, it can help you prepare for the responsibility of parenthood.
Keep In Mind… After reading the feature above, please do not just run out and get yourself a dog. A dog is a commitment that all family members should jointly agree on. If you and your spouse aren’t both sold on the idea of pet ownership, it’s going to create more problems than benefits.
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