Pets for Older People

Be it for a long period of time care or even when the elderly are living in their own houses, studies have indicated that they hugely benefit from having a pet around the place. A pet in the form of a cat or a dog or parakeet, can provide the elderly with an unlimited amount of care and comfort. It can even be goldfish in a bowl or donkey in the yard that can help in giving the aged the companionship and purpose that is needed.
These pets can help the elderly by the simple task of just being present in their lives. Studies have indicated that having pets around one can help in decreasing the stress levels which then consequently results in one’s blood pressure reducing and also helps in increasing a person’s appetite. Pets for elderly also help in giving them the exercise they need by the simple need of having to walk one’s dog or the process of feeding the pets. Studies have also shown that having a pet around the house results in the older person requiring lesser medications and thus lesser visits to their doctors. Some of the older patients who suffer from Alzheimer disease have actually had some of their related behavioral problems get better when they had their pets around them. These patients also showed a greater tendency to want to socialize with their fellow residents. Pets tend to make their owners laugh and relax. Further studies have shown that when an aquarium was kept in some of the nursing homes, the results showed that the patients had a fall in their pulse rate and also in their muscle tension.

There are some dogs for elderly that make great companions. These dogs do not really need anything but the love and attention that they can get from their owners.  One can actually select the kind of breed that will adjust to the lifestyle of the elderly person. One can take into account the person’s home size, their lifestyle, the elderly owner’s health status and also their physical strength. The temperament of the dog and also the size of the dog all need to be taken into account when selecting the dog. Some of the main benefits of dogs for the elderly are that they chiefly help in providing companionship and joy. They also help in providing various other health benefits like lowering the person’s blood pressure, lowering their cholesterol levels, lowering the triglyceride levels and also in helping to lower the feeling of loneliness that some of the elderly do suffer from.

Pets and Children

What is the effect that pets have on kids? Although this may seem like a strange question, it isn’t something that most pet owners with children have given a thought to. If we really think about it, pet influence on kids can be great. Very often pets are brought into the family so that kids can be taught a sense of responsibility. If it is an only child, then the child gets a companion and a playmate. The pet effects on kids are such that children get a different perspective of the world. They begin to empathize more with others and are also able to understand subtle feelings.

Pets play an important role in the emotional development of children. This support is provided from a very young age. When children are in the process of getting potty-trained, for example, they sometimes meet with success and sometimes with failure. This can be a very traumatic time for them emotionally especially when they are unsuccessful at it. Pets can, at this time provide non- critical acceptance of your child and help lessen their stress.

Children also begin to understand the different signals their pets give them to understand their feelings. This helps them become more sensitive while dealing with humans. They are also able to understand and decipher body posture more easily.

Children become more conscious about their pet’s emotions and are very often curious about what their pet might be feeling. This curiosity is healthy and is extended to the world around them as well. Under parental guidance a child is able to nurture another living being.  They learn to love their pet and keep it healthy. This sensitivity and caring nature then extends to the people around them as well.

As children get older they are under a lot of stress of competing with their peers both at an academic and athletic level. Both parents and teachers have high expectations of the child which they sometimes find difficult to live up. Here the pet gives the child unconditional acceptance and a sense of self-worth.
Very often children who go through some traumatic experience are able to cope with the animal better when they have a pet to open their heart to. They feel less lonely and have a sense of belonging.

Adolescence is time of experimentation and uncertainty as far a love and companionship is concerned. A pet during this time can be a source of comfort and emotional success.