Vet For Your Senior American Bulldog

By Author: Ricardo Limbardo
Total Articles: 1131
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The Benefits of Dog Companionship for Senior Citizens

Due to the well-known health benefits of having a dog, most senior citizens are exposed to dog companionship, especially at nursing homes. Exposure to dog companionship is actually now called Animal Assisted Therapy, and is now being used in more parts of the world. The presence of dogs can add the energetic and active atmosphere that most senior nursing homes don't have anymore. They also transfer the same aura to the senior citizens themselves. A dog can also ease a senior's loneliness by providing companionship, and this can change the condition of a senior for the better. Dogs can also create social interaction, especially in nursing homes, where the dogs can be a topic of common interest and conversation among the senior citizens in the home. In addition, most seniors do not want to interact with other people that much anymore, even if they still crave for some sort of interaction with someone other than themselves to ease the loneliness. At the same time, they also need someone to talk to at times. The presence of dogs, then, answers both problems. The seniors ...
... can also talk to dogs, and to shift their attention to the animals to be distracted from whatever pain or discomfort they may be feeling.

How Dogs Heal Medical Ailments in Older People

Dogs help senior citizens heal. With all their tricks, and all their energy, they give senior citizens reasons to smile and laugh. This can greatly improve their mental and emotional condition, taking their attention away from their old age. But aside from the psychological and emotional benefits, dogs can also heal ailments that are common among older people. Having a dog near can help an older person be relieved of stress, which causes a lot of disorders. Also, studies have shown that dog companionship can greatly reduce the risk of high blood pressure in senior citizens. The cholesterol levels of older people lowers when they spend more time with dogs. Dogs are just like dog doctors to the seniors.

Which Dogs Can Help?

Pairing up a senior citizen and a dog is not just as easy as counting off. Some dogs are trained to be therapy dogs, which means that they probably can handle any type of senior. However, in most cases, just as a dog owner chooses dogs that fit their lifestyles and personalities, a therapy dog should also be right for the older person it will be assigned to. However, not all dogs need to be trained to become therapy dogs and help older people out. Some dog owners also volunteer to take their dogs to visit the nursing homes to help the older people. As a dog owner, if you are interested in taking your dog to a nursing home, evaluate its behavior and temperament towards other people. If your dog is very friendly and comforting, then he might be a good dog to bring to the nursing home and spread some cheer among the seniors. Just make sure that your dog is one that is used to socializing with people. If you get there and your dog turns out to be uninterested at all, the seniors may end up feeling worse than before you came. If your dog seems social enough for visiting, you can even teach some special tricks for it to amuse the seniors with.

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