How spending time with dogs can improve your mood (June 2024)

Dogs are the best anti-depressants! Did you know that dog-owners are much less likely to become depressed than people living without pets? In countless studies on this, it has been proved that dog-owners have significantly lower depression scores, are less likely to feel loneliness, anxiety and other mental health troubles. Isn’t this amazing, when you start thinking about it? If your mental health can be improved, not through medication, but simply by having a dog living with you. 

I definitely feel this too as a dogsitter. My mood is so good when I spend time with dogs. Like last week when I was minding two tiny Pomeranians named Winnie and Ned who looked so funny when they ran around or just lay chilling in their pram too lazy to walk. Or when scratching my leg like crazy to get up and receive a hug. Or like the week before that, when I was grooming Manya who truly loved to be washed and brushed so much that she did not want to ever leave again. 

All of these situations can only boost your mental health, make you laugh, and even give you more energy. Dogs make you laugh when they jump around, when they do all sorts of funny things, when they are naughty, when they follow you everywhere and when they play with each other. Even just seeing how happy they are when you take them out for a walk will instantly put you in a good mood. And did you know that dogs can feel when their owner is sad? They have the sensory capacity to feel emotional changes in humans. We should never forget that they understand much more than what we imagine. This is why they will desperately try to comfort you when you are sad; they see this as an important task they must complete. 

The high-season for dogsitting has started now. As always, all dog-owners need me in the same weeks. As from this year, I am now also able to offer dog-grooming in the comfort of the dog’s own home. This solution stresses the dog much less than if he/she had to go to a salon. I am looking forward to my program this summer which will bring me to Denmark, Belgium and Holland. Meeting old furry friends and new ones, who will all make me laugh. Like I read somewhere the other day “Money can buy you a lot of things – but it doesn’t wiggle its tail every time you come in the door!”. This is why being a dogsitter is the best job in the world – it puts a smile on your face every day!