The Joy of Growing Up with Dogs

As pet parents, we experience the joy of canine companionship every day. It’s hard to imagine life without the love and loyalty of our happy tail waggers. If you have children, you’ve probably noticed the extra-special relationship your youngster has with the family pooch — a bond that will likely grow even stronger over the years.

Here are a few benefits of growing up with dogs and having them as a member of your family:

• Dogs help kids learn nurturing skills and develop a caring attitude toward others.
• Evidence suggests that pets may help the development of non-verbal communication.
• Studies indicate that children with pets have better social skills and higher self-esteem.
• Research shows that family members interact more after bringing a dog into the household.
• Dogs have daily therapeutic benefits in a family setting by helping children (and adults) with stress relief and unconditional love.
• Compared to people without pets, pet parents have a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and fewer minor illnesses and complaints.
• Dogs inspire people to get up off the couch and be more active, helping to make two-legged family members healthier and better exercised.
• Dogs can provide happiness and comfort that knows no bounds. A quick search on YouTube reveals countless videos of dogs cuddling babies to soothe them, kids laughing endlessly at their dog’s pranks and family occasions in which the dog draws generations of people together. After watching those videos and thinking about everything that your dog means to you and your children, who could even begin to imagine life without a pooch?