The Health Benefits of Having A Dog By: Marni Gutman 6 th Hour

They Can Detect Cancer Dogs have been known to sniff out skin, bladder, lung, breast, ovarian and colon cancer. Dogs sniffing out cancerous growths go back at least two decades. A trained eight-year-old black Labrador named Panda correctly detected colorectal cancer in 33 out of 37 samples of people's breath and stool that scientists had collected. According to a 1989 case study, a patient said that her dog would always sniff at a mole on her leg, and even tried to bite it off. Because of this, she had her mole checked out and found it to be a malignant melanoma.

They Keep You Active Dogs are more likely to beg for a walk or to play than any other house pets. According to a 2010 study, kids with dogs did significantly more physical activity than kids without a dog. Dog owners walk an average of 300 minutes per week, while non-dog owners walk an average of 168 minutes per week. Dogs require frequent physical activity.

They Can Tell When You Have Low Blood Sugar More than one-third of dogs living with diabetic people display behavioral changes when their owners blood sugar drops. Dogs can detect their owners blood sugar dropping before the owner even realizes it themselves. There is a very big possibility they can be trained to detect blood sugar dropping. In two case studies, dogs not only detected their owners falling glucose levels, they even nudged their owners into eating.

They Can Reduce Your Risk of Eczema Children are significantly less likely to develop eczema if they are around dogs at infancy. According to a study that followed 636 kids, the rate of eczema was lower among kids who lived with a family dog. Even for kids that are sensitive to dog allergens, having a dog did not increase their risk of developing eczema.

They Can Help You During Seizures Dogs are trained to recognize the behavior and body language changes of their owners during seizure events. Dogs provide important support and companionship for patients with epilepsy. Some think dogs can detect a seizure before it happens allowing their owner to take medication to prevent it.

They Steer You Away From Foods That You're Allergic To Dogs can detect the trace presence of peanuts in a room, such as a cookie left on the table or a candy bar hidden in a lunch bag. Dogs can be trained to sniff out allergens that are harmful to their owner. Having a dog that can sniff out what their owner is allergic to, gives their owner a piece of mind when they go out.

They Help You Rehabilitate From Illnesses There are many pet visitation programs at hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Therapy dogs encourage mobility, interpersonal contact and socialization among patients. Dog owners are better at dealing with stressful events, and that helps them avoid anxiety-related illnesses. Dog owners are significantly less likely to die within one year of a heart attack than those who did not own dogs.

The Health Benefits Of Having A Dog- Huffington Post Cuddle With Your Dog Talk To Your Neighbors Play With Your Dog Walk Your Dog Tune In To Your Dog

7 Ways Dogs Can Help Your Health- abc News Dogs and Cardiovascular Health Dogs and Anxiety Dogs and Loneliness Dogs and Rehabilitation Dogs and Activity Dogs and Doctors risk-ways-dogs-health/story?id= http://abcnews.go.com/Health/dogs-cut-common-cold- risk-ways-dogs-health/story?id=

Works Cited Albin, Stephanie. "7 Ways Dogs Can Help Your Health." ABC News 19 June Print. Gross, Jessica. "The Health Benefits of Having A Dog." Huffington Post 21 Apr Print. Tse, Iris. "7 Surpising Health Benefits of Dog Ownership." MyHealthNewsDaily, 30 Nov Web. 18 May 2014.