Dog directed speech is good
“Good dogie”, “my poochie”, “who’s a good boy?”... all these ‘dog baby talks’ or DDS (Dog Directed Speech) make the man’s best friend very happy, says a new research. Hence, you see the frenzied tail wagging. This same study also found out that while puppies attended more to a script read with DDS compared to adult dogs, it doesn’t mean adult dogs don’t respond to it; they are just a bit less enthusiastic about DDR than puppies.
Keep a dog, laugh away A study published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, by psychologists at St Louis University and Miami University, revealed that having pets is a huge psychological benefit for their caretakers or us, humans. This research specifically found out that pet parents had great emotional returns – being jovial, stress-free. People with pets also find it easier to get over feelings of exclusion.
Your cat mimics you A study published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior says that it’s not just dogs which imitate human behaviour – cats do the same. The research further states it’s mostly indoor cats that display this behaviour while stray cats mostly imitate behaviour of other — older mostly — feral cats around them. However, since cats are independent creatures, how the cat owner behaves at home is what decides how the pet cat will mostly behave. Basically, your cat mimics you.
Having pets boosts immunity James E Gern, MD, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that having a pet at home reduces chances of kids developing allergies later in life – contrary to the popular belief that kids develop allergies if there are pets at home. The study compared sample results of newborn babies — with pets at home — with the same participants a year later, which showed less probabilities of allergies, as compared to kids who didn’t have pets at home.
Enhance social skills in kids with autism A study says that youngsters with ASD (also known as autism spectrum disorder) talk and laugh more, complained and cried less and were more social with peers when guinea pigs were present. A multitude of ASD animal-assisted therapy programmes have sprung up in recent years all over the world, featuring everything from dogs and dolphins to alpacas, horses and even chickens.
Are you a proud pet parent? Have a cute cat story to share? Maybe your guinea pig is giving you trouble? Whatever is your creature companion, we are here to listen to you. Mention your full name and your city, and send your photos, queries and stories to
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