What if you could significantly improve your physical and mental health by taking a simple step thats easy, rewarding, and fun? Dr. Milena Penkowa says you can do that and more by owning a dog and yet people continue to invest time and money in costly treatments before even considering a furry friend. Dogs can stave off diseases and certain cancers, erase pain, and ease anxiety, depression, allergies, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders. Over the long term, they can also reduce the burden of dementia, epilepsy, stroke, Parkinsons disease, schizophrenia and autism. This guidebook explains the scientifically proven benefits of dogs, and youll learn how dogs: change the human brain so it reacts and thinks differently; improve the immune system to make you more resilient than dog deprived individuals; boost and invigorate the human spirit and secure happiness; promote a life of longevity and healthiness. Stop looking for fancy remedies to physical and mental problems, and start looking for a dog wagging its tail. Tap into a natural method to survive and thrive by learning about the fascinating connections between Dogs & Human Health.

Exactly how do animals affect their companion humans′ quality of life? The 7th International Conference on Animals, Health, and Quality of Life set out to explore this question. A major result of this quest was Companion Animals in Human Health, a careful selection of jurored and invited papers from that conference. The articles address human animal interaction (HAI) according to the elements that define quality of life: physical, mental/emotional, and social health; functional health; and general well-being. Beginning with an overview of human animal interaction from historical and value perspectives, the authors develop a conceptual framework for HAI research and quality of life measurement. They then go on to explore the psychosocial and physiological impact of HAI. The concluding sections address the role of companion animals in human development and the training and welfare of animals in therapeutic programs. As a state-of-the-science document, Companion Animals in Human Health is must reading for all health and social science professionals caring for clients who already have companion animals or for clients who might benefit from such interaction and thus will be of interest to those in the fields of clinical psychology, cognition, developmental psychology, family studies, gerontology, nursing, patient care, psychology, public health, and sociology.

This book presents the latest information on canine parasites with zoonotic potential, to help avoid human infections. Compiled by international specialists, it covers protozoa, ectoparasites and helminth species of clinical importance in dogs, as well as the state of the art in diagnosis, preventive measures and potentially necessary treatment schemes. Dogs are commonly kept in families around the world and can predispose their human companions to disease. Updating and deepening insights from other specialist literature, the book is intended for practitioners and scientists alike. It also offers practical guidance for veterinary and human physicians and highlights unexplored research areas, making it a valuable resource for students and educated non-experts with an interest in parasitology, infectiology and zoonotic pet diseases.

Zoonotic diseases constitute a public health problem throughout the world. Addressing a little studied area of veterinary and medical science, this book covers the viruses, bacteria and protozoan and helminth parasites that are transmitted between man and dogs, discussing population management, control disease agents and human-dog relationships. Fully updated throughout, this new edition also includes two new chapters on benefits of the human-dog relationship and non-infectious disease issues with dogs. It is a valuable resource for researchers and students of veterinary and human medicine, microbiology, parasitology and public health.

What if you could significantly improve your physical and mental health by taking a simple step that's easy, rewarding, and fun? Dr. Milena Penkowa says you can do that and more by owning a dog - and yet people continue to invest time and money in costly treatments before even considering a furry friend. Dogs can stave off diseases and certain cancers, erase pain, and ease anxiety, depression, allergies, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders. Over the long term, they can also reduce the burden of dementia, epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and autism. This guidebook explains the scientifically proven benefits of dogs, and you'll learn how dogs: - change the human brain so it reacts and thinks differently; - improve the immune system to make you more resilient than dog deprived individuals; - boost and invigorate the human spirit and secure happiness; - promote a life of longevity and healthiness. Stop looking for fancy remedies to physical and mental problems, and start looking for a dog wagging its tail. Tap into a natural method to survive and thrive by learning about the fascinating connections between Dogs & Human Health.

Obesity is at epidemic levels worldwide. In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that by 2018 the cost of treating weight-related illnesses will double to almost $350 billion a year. A 2010 report by the U.S. Surgeon General estimates that two-thirds of American adults and almost one in three children are now overweight or obese. Similar statistics emphasize the staggering problem in other industrialized countries. This volume originated in a special 2009 symposium funded in part by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) and sponsorship from Mars-Waltham© on how human-animal interaction may help fight obesity across the lifespan. It provides systematic presentation of the scientific evidence for this powerful expression of the benefits of the human-animal bond. The volume will be especially valuable as a sourcebook of evidence-based studies for public health professionals treating overweight humans and veterinarians treating obese dogs.

Why do people who have dogs live happier, longer, and more fulfulling lives? Sociologists and veterinarians have spent years investigating the positive effects that dogs have on people's health and happiness yet their findings are inaccessible to ordinary people, hidden in obscure journals to be shared with other experts. Now the international bestselling author of the 100 Simple Secrets series has collected the most current and significant data from more than a thousand of the best scientific studies on the profound relationship between humans and our canine companions. These findings have been boiled down to the one hundred essential ways dogs positively impact our lives. Each fact is accompanied by a inspiring true story. If you love your dog, and science tells us that you do, this book will inspire and entertain. Communicate Better: It sounds odd to say a creature that communicates with barking and body language can have such a profound effect on human communication. But by providing a common point of reference and concern, dogs help us to feel a connection to other humans. That connection makes us feel more comfortable communicating with each other. When meeting a new person, the presence of a dog reduces the time before people feel comfortable while talking with each other by 45 percent. Live Longer: There is perhaps no better gift that dogs offer us humans than this simple fact. People who care for a dog live longer, healthier lives than those who do not. On average, people who cared for dogs during their lives lived 3 years longer than people who never had a dog. No Monkey Business: Primates are genetically more similar to humans than any other creature. But try to tell a chimpanzee something and you will be hard pressed to get your message across. Dogs are uniquely attuned to the messages we send. Dogs study humans and have evolved to build social skills that help them to function around us. Dogs are 52 percent more likely to follow human cues such as pointing toward a source of food than are primates. Around the Block: Good habits are often misunderstood as difficult or unpleasant chores. But there is tremendous value in the simple act of taking a walk. Walking not only burns calories, it also decreases stress. Having a dog means regularly talking walks – it's something you do for your dog but in truth your dog is doing for you. Dog owners walk 79 percent farther in an average week than non–dog owners.