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A new study shows that your child can play with the family dog, which can be beneficial for both of them.
Scientists have discovered that children get a burst of the beneficial hormone oxytocin after fun interactions with dogs.
Oxytocin – which is produced in the hypothalamus in the brain and released into the bloodstream – is known to reduce stress and anxiety and help people express their emotions.
The hormone was found in higher concentrations in children when they interacted with dogs, compared to when they played alone with toys and games.
Of course, as with any interaction between dogs and small people, owners should keep a close eye on what’s happening to avoid distressing incidents.
The research shows that letting children play with a dog can be beneficial by stimulating oxytocin production, also known as ‘the love hormone’ (file photo)
The new study reports the stress-reducing benefits of child-dog bonding: a rise in the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin, which is associated with positive emotions, the reduction of stress and the formation of social bonds.
The new study was led by Gitanjali E. Gnanadesikan, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona’s school of anthropology in Tucson.
“To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence for an effect of affiliative social interactions with dogs on oxytocin concentrations in children,” Gnanadesikan and colleagues say in their study. research paperpublished in the journal Psycho-neuroendocrinology.
For the study, the scientists recruited 55 children between 8 and 10 years old for experiments at the Arizona Canine Cognition Center in Tucson.
During three separate visits, the children played with their dog, with an unfamiliar dog, and alone.
Before, during and after the three play sessions, oxytocin levels were measured from saliva and urine samples in both the dogs and the children.
After analyzing the results, Gnanadesikan and colleagues found that interacting with dogs led to higher oxytocin levels in children compared to playing alone.
Before, during and after the three play sessions, oxytocin levels were measured from saliva and urine samples in both the dogs and the children.
Both known and unknown dog interactions had this oxytocin-boosting effect on children, the researchers report.
This suggests that it doesn’t matter whether kids play with their own dog or someone else’s to get the beneficial hormone boost.
As for the canines, the dogs showed an increase in oxytocin in their saliva, while the team observed the opposite pattern in unfamiliar dogs.
So the researchers think that interactions with children may also stimulate oxytocin release in dogs, but only if the child knows them.
The team admits that the interactions between children and dogs they observed in a laboratory setting are “likely to differ in important ways from those that occur in the home environment.”
“For example, it is unlikely that children or dogs felt as comfortable in the unfamiliar laboratory environment as they did at home,” they say in their paper.
The experts used 35 mixed breeds and 19 pure breeds for their study, although they did not specify exact breed types.
But dog owners should always be very aware of any breed in the presence of children in the home, especially babies and infants.
In addition, the researchers used children between 8 and 10 years old, which is a relatively narrow age range.
Younger children with less ability to care for themselves are especially vulnerable in the presence of dogs, especially without a watchful adult eye.
Blue Cross says: ‘Children and dogs should not be left alone together without adult supervision.’