Dogs and their Positive Impact in Mental Health

Dogs and their positive effects in the overall mental well being of people has long been looked into by researchers, with studies indicating how valuable human and canine relationships can be.

Though not exactly focused on the effects of a dog-master relationship, the 1997 blockbuster hit As Good As It Gets, starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear, did touch up over how beneficial dogs can be as companions, depicting the effects a toy dog had in soothing the curmudgeon character of Melvin Udall played by Nicholson.

Bair Justice, PhD, author of Who Gets Sick: How Beliefs, Moods and Thoughts Affect Your Health, had once looked into the link between “stressful chemicals” norepinephrine, Cortisol and plaque buildup in arteries, and establishes the positive effect of dopamine and serotonin in keeping “stressful chemicals” in check.

People take drugs like heroin and cocaine to raise serotonin and dopamine, but the healthy way to do it is to pet your dog, or hug your spouse, watch sunsets, or get around something beautiful in nature,” shares Justice, who happens to be a dog owner himself.

A study which involved the blood pressures of stockbrokers – a stressful field in its own – reveals that study participants who had adopted a dog or cat had lower blood pressure readings when compared against those who didn’t.

Also, a number of research touching up on the impact of having dogs in households for people afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease note that those suffering from the condition are liable to encounter fewer anxiety attacks, which is a huge positive in itself.

Studies also note that children who had grown up with household pets tend to be more responsible and more tuned for social situations, well balanced and healthy in their societal outlooks and bearing.

Bottom line, though no in-your-face conclusive facts and figures are set in stone, the positive impact of dogs in the mental well being of persons is one upside in having man’s best friend around.

Snails

Snails are considered as pests to some, but for a select few they are kept as pets, kept in special enclosures which are meant to simulate their natural habitat environments.

The 2006 animated feature Doogal, featured a bashful snail character, a character type that isn’t often encountered in animated features. Though the movie didn’t manage to rake in accolades and awards, it remains to be one of the few recently produced animated features which a titular snail character.

Keeping snails as pets aren’t all that complicated, with their primary care considerations delving into their enclosures, their diets and their care/cleaning and maintenance.

Here’s a look at the three primary considerations when talking about pet snails.

Enclosures – any enclosure, from tanks to containers, can be used to keep snails in as long as ample ventilation and light manages to get in.

Pet snails are typically housed in tanks which are large enough to accommodate them and decorations, with plastic boxes and aquariums being commonly used as containers. Ideally, containers which are easy to clean on a regular basis should be used, and in most cases, “see through” containers like glass aquariums are utilized so that snail pet owners can see what their snails are up to.

Also, since snails are actually strong creatures which can lift things which are 10 to 50 times their own weights, a snail enclosure has to be escape proof, to make sure that snails don’t get to break out.

Feeding – as creatures, snails aren’t picky with what they eat, consuming almost any type of food there is. Mixed fruits and vegetables are their favorite, while a number of pet snail owners confess that snails also have a thing for beer, given the yeast contained in beer. Just don’t overdo things with the beer.

Vegetables like carrots and potatoes are also well received by snails.

The thing with feeding and snails is that they have to be fed with fresh foods, since leaving old food stuff in enclosures tend to encourage the build up of funguses, which causes sanitary problems.

Care/Cleaning and Maintenance – ideally, snail enclosures should be cleaned out at least once a month, to ensure that their habitats are clean and that foul odors are not abound. “Snail slime” remains to be the biggest challenge in cleaning snail enclosures, and the use of vinegar in wiping them out is known to be.

Sterilizing snail enclosures with hot water is also one known practice for enclosures which can take the heat.

Easy to keep and easy to feed, snails are quite interesting as pets, at times the ideal alternative pet for those who are allergic to cat and/or dog fur, and not all that thrilled with keeping fish in tanks.

Cats and 9 Lives

Cats having nine lives is one of the more popular references ascribed to cats, with many children getting confused with the nine lives connection.

The title of a hit comic strip cat’s movie The Nine Lives of Fritz The Cat which came out in 1974, the nine lives connection with cats is old, and pinpointing its exact origins is not all that easy.

However, the reason for the connection is defined by the cat’s natural physical ability to survive certain falls from high places or vantage points, safely landing on their feet as though it was nobody’s business. In fact, a cat has a better chance in falling from a higher place than from falling from a vantage point that isn’t as high.

In the past, a number of New York-based vets managed to collate data involving the number of kitty deaths caused or related to falls from high areas. The results note that 10% of cats falling from 2 to 6 storey buildings had died, while 5% of cats falling from 7 to 32 stories survived, though with injuries.

Physics and the cat’s ability to “umbrella” their fall’s descent is noted to be the reason why such a setup prevails. Since falling bodies accelerate by 22 miles per hour/per second, a higher distance fall allows the cat to curve up in “parachute-like stance”, which enables them to decrease the acceleration of their fall’s speed.

Apart from the cat’s ability to safely land on their feet, a cat getting out of tight spots is also attributed to be the reason for the nine lives adage.

Though the average cat’s lifespan can reach as high as 14 years, with certain records of cats living up to 20+ years, the nine lives of cats can’t be taken literally, but is an attribution that is worthy to be bequeathed to cats, all in all.

Dogs and the Supernatural

Dogs have long been linked with the supernatural, a status which comes from the dog’s acute senses of hearing, smell and taste.

The 1982 classic family sci-fi feature, E.T., directed by Steven Spielberg and starring a younger Drew Barrymore, managed to highlight the dog’s inherent awareness of the strange and alien (literally, in the case of E.T.).

The 2009 “Tails of the Afterlife” book, written by Peggy Schmidt, compiles a number of unexplainable situations where a dog or pets are interacting with someone or something that is not visible.

One of the book’s tales tell of how Del Johnsen, who died leaving behind six cats and seven dogs, allegedly “visits” her pets on a regular basis, with witnesses noting that the pets would, at one point in time, gather around in a circle in one spot, displaying indicators of affection, with cats pleasantly purring and dogs wriggling in excitement and enjoyment.

Even Schmidt, in one entry, confesses that her dog often reacts to venues which are rumored to be haunted.

Though acute senses are oftentimes ascribed to be the cause of a dog’s “misinterpreted” reactions, biologist Rupert Sheldrake, in his book “Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home and Other Unexplained Powers of Animals: An Investigation”, explores the dynamics of dogs and other pets for a period of five years, and concludes that "there is a strong connection between humans and animals that lies beyond present-day scientific understanding."

What say you? Think dogs really do have the senses that links them to the afterlife? Or are they just born with too sensitive senses, with humans simply misinterpreting their reactions?

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Rough Collie

Lassie is one of the most famous dogs in Hollywood. This lovable dog is the creation of Eric Knight back in 1940s, first mentioned in the novel Lassie comes home. MGM then turned the novel into a movie, staring a Rough Collie named Pal. Pal appeared as lassie in 6 other films featuring the Lassie story line. The Lassie series basically revolved around the adventures the dog  and her owners faced.  Rudd Weatherwax, Pal’s trainer and owner, obtained the Lassie trademark and name from MGM. He appeared alongside Pal, as "Lassie", during events like fairs and rodeos across America during the1950s.

The Lassie television series debuted in 1954 and over 19 years, Pal and his descendants appeared and played the loveable dog character. Besides the television series and movies, Lassie has also appeared in toys, radio shows, juvenile novels, animated series, and even comic books. To this day, Pal’s descendants continue playing Lassie’s character in movies and television.

Rough Collies are wonderful dogs. They are known for their ability to heard sheep, work in farms and protect the territory. These natural sheepdogs have long rough coats that come in many different colors. Despite being long, their fur is easy to take care of, with a bath 3 to 4 times a month enough to keep it clean. They also have a long snout and sharp looking eyes.

As you probably guessed, these dogs are incredibly easy to train, with some owners reporting success after just 2 repetitions of a trick! They are also intelligent, patient and protective, making them great family dogs. Rough Collies are generally healthy and resilient dogs. However, they do have a few genetic illnesses that could develop when they are older. A common illness that strikes these dogs is CEA or Collie Eye Anomaly, an improper eye development which usually ends in blindness.

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Bees

Bees and their link with honey were the essential plot elements of the 2008 animated feature, Bee Movie, the first feature length movie which involved Jerry Seinfeld since the finale of the hit NBC sitcom, Seinfeld.

Telling the story of how a bee managed to sue human beings because of their consumption of honey, Bee Movie had been met with conflicting reviews upon its release, with some critics loathing it as others were just so-so and okay with it.

But critical acclaim and Hollywood box office hit ratings aside, Bee Movie did well in telling the essential roles bees have in the natural balance and ecologic cycle of nature, providing an in depth look at how much impact their making of honey has with the order of things.

Bees kept as “pets”

Many beekeepers don’t really consider bees as “pets”, not in the sense over how one would keep a dog or a cat as a pet.

For one, it is practically impossible to keep one bee as a pet, given that bees are instinctively social insects. This means that if you intend to keep bees, you will have to setup a space where a colony can thrive, with worker bees, a queen bee and everything else a colony requires.

The nice thing about keeping a colony of bees is that you don’t have to “feed” them since they can find and make their own food. In fact, you could even have a share of the honey which bees make, just make sure that you leave enough for the colony to survive.

There’s also the thing about bees and their stings, and it pays to have some working knowledge over the aggression levels of bees, especially when talking about keeping a colony. Keeping bees may appear to be easy, but their upkeep can be challenging, especially when they are kept in urban areas.

All in all, though bees are fascinating creatures to keep as “pets”, they’re not exactly as easy as having a cat or dog around in the house.

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