How much do dogs reduce our stress?

0:28Hey there, it's Martine. Here's Maggie. There's a question audio producers always ask in sound checks. What did you have for breakfast today? I made like really fluffy pancakes, bacon, eggs. No, I'm sure he did not eat breakfast. I haven't eaten anything today. I'm Maggie Penman, and that is my colleague Kyle Melnick. Kyle and I are both reporters for The Optimist, the section here at The Post that brings you inspiring, hopeful news. Stories about things that are going right in the world. But Kyle approaches the beat from a very different angle than I do. Depending on your outlook, I'm a pessimist or a realist.

1:12I would describe myself as a cynic. Do you ever think about the irony that you work for The Optimist? Yeah, when I got hired on The Optimist, a lot of people thought it was humorous. To me, Kyle is one of those classic kind of old school news reporter types. He's really smart and funny, but super deadpan. He has a very dry sense of humor. And he's skeptical of everything. As the journalism saying goes, if your mother says she loves you, check it out. And that is basically Kyle's worldview. He doesn't take things at face value. If his mother says she loves him, he checks it out. Which makes him really good at his job.

1:55But it's also maybe sometimes a little bit isolating. Why do you think it's hard for you to trust people? I think it's been like a gradual decline like over my reporting career. At least in my experience, it's rare when I feel like someone is being really honest of me. I mean, like I understand why people are untrusting at first. I totally get it because I'm like the same way. So I am a little hypocritical with that. Recently, though, Kyle had an experience that changed his perspective. And that's why I wanted to interview him today.

2:37Today, Kyle's story about spending a day with a dog. And the science of how dogs can make us happier, healthier, and maybe even a little more open to trusting each other.

2:58This story starts with some reporting Kyle was doing about programs put on by animal shelters that let you take a dog out for a day, even if you're not ready to foster or adopt. It's good for people who don't want to own a dog, who still want to spend time with a dog. So when I heard about the program, I was like, oh, that's amazing. I have to do that because I love dogs. but I also am not ready to own a dog. I don't think. I think you are, but that's another story. Yeah, so I heard about the program and then first I reported a story about it. I talked to other people who did it. People really liked it.

3:37It's just fun for me. And it gets me active. It gets me out of the house and not zoom scrolling on my phone. It's our favorite hobby, especially since it's free and it makes us feel very good and we have a lot of fun. I reported the story and then after I reported it, I had the idea of doing it myself, but also Maggie. The idea of me doing it myself. I gently nudged in that direction, I think. Well, so part of what you found in your reporting that I thought was super interesting was that like, not only is this a lovely way to spend an afternoon, but there's actually significant mental health benefits too.

4:18Yeah, so I talked to a psychologist who said basically just spending like five minutes with a dog is good for you and the dog. It helps lower stress and anxiety, boost your mood, and it's also good for the dog. I wasn't surprised by that. I mean, anyone who has pet a dog, I think, could tell you that they feel better after petting the dog. So Kyle decided to try it. He went to an animal shelter in Northeast D.C. I went in there mid-October and they gave me a dog named Heihei, a two-year-old dog, black and white coat. And he basically, right when they brought him out from his cage, he just started licking all over my face.

5:04Right away, it was like, this is a great dog. And I was like so honored that Heihei trusted me like right from the start. Kyle told me he was really moved by this. Hey Hey was found on a street loose in Northeast Washington. So Hey didn't have a micro trip and obviously nobody went to pick him up after he got to the shelter. So unfortunately dogs can't share their whole backstories. So I don't know everything, but that's what I know. Like I know he was loose and, you know, that he went to the shelter and no one picked him up. So it made me think that, you know, he's probably had not a great backstory.

5:44Like, I guess a lot of shelter dogs, Heihei seems like he has reason not to trust people. So that made it even more meaningful when Heihei immediately put his trust into me. So Kyle and Heihei went to a nearby nature trail for a walk. At first, he seemed like a little confused. Like, he didn't know what was going on. But after about like an hour or two, he got, it seemed like he got pretty comfortable. Then about like two hours in, we walked for the Anacostia River. Like all of a sudden he got like really excited. So he like tried running into the river and he almost dragged me in. I feel like it really pulled my hamstrings like to hold myself back.

6:25And then he just like started jumping all over me, like kind of out of nowhere. And I was like a little confused, like why he was so excited all of a sudden. But then I was like, I have to just go with the flow and trust that Heihei is just trying to play. And then he bit his leash, and I was like, what is he trying to do? And I was like, oh, yeah, he wants to play tug-of-war of his leash. So we played tug-of-war for a few minutes. And then eventually I sat against a fence, and then he came over, and then he just put his head on my thigh, and he closed his eyes. Was there any part of you that was tempted to keep Heihei?

7:04Definitely. It was really hard to take him back. He was so sweet throughout the whole time. You know, in those situations, you're just like weighing the pros and cons in your mind. I should mention here, Kyle is allergic to dogs. That has not stopped me from pressuring him to adopt one. He didn't have a reaction to Heihei, but they were outside the whole time, so he worried about what would happen if he brought him home. And there was another concern weighing on him. His personality is very different from mine, right? Like, I'm not sure if I'd prefer to have, like, a dog who is really outgoing or a dog who's, like, more like me, like, more, like, introverted and, like, you have to earn their trust.

7:44I don't know. I relate more to dogs who, like, are a little more hesitant at first and then, like, really love you, like, after they get to know you. And also, Heihei really enjoyed people and other dogs. So I was like, I don't know if Heihei's going to be happy, like, sitting alone the whole day while I'm at work. But I also kind of knew Heihei would get adopted. I was not very concerned that someone else wouldn't want him. I could see someone just having the best time with Heihei in their house and Heihei having the best time with them. So sweet. Do you know if he's been adopted yet? Yeah, so actually I checked my email after the story came out and the shelter emailed me saying that Heihei had been adopted.

8:25So it happened pretty fast, and I was happy to see that. So even though Kyle didn't end up with a dog at the end of this, he feels like the experience did improve his mental health. And it changed his outlook. It changed my outlook a lot. And I think even to this day has changed my outlook a lot. I'm not very trusting. Like, I don't trust a lot of people. I don't think people have good intentions for the most part. But the fact that Heihei was just so trusting, despite whatever his backstory is made me think differently about it and I've thought about this a lot since I took him out like if Heihei could trust us then like why can't I since I took out Heihei I've been thinking more that you know people are just doing their best and trying to be good so I should give him more of a chance yeah so he's really left like a lasting impact on me which I was not expecting that's so nice honestly I kind of relate to Heihei I feel like since I met you, I'm just like, be my friend Kyle.

9:26And you're like, I don't know. And I'm like, no, really, let's hang out. And you're like, okay, fine. Like, yeah, I think that I think you're probably right. Like, I think that's probably how most of my relationships go where people are trying to learn more about me and get into my circle in my world. And I'm like, kind of hesitant at first. And this has taught me that maybe I shouldn't be because I mean, it's been two weeks now since I saw Heihei and it still has made a difference. Like he's still in my mind, the lessons he's taught me. So I hope that that continues. I hope I continue to think about him for a while to be more trusting.

10:04Yeah. And if you ever feel like the lessons of Heihei are starting to fade, you can always go take out another dog. That's true. That was my colleague and hard-won friend, reporter Kyle Melnick. After the break, we'll hear from a psychologist who studies the bond between people and dogs. She explains why spending even a small amount of time with a dog is so darn good for us. We'll be right back.

10:49Right now, you can get a premium subscription to The Post for$6 every four weeks. Just$6 unlocks trusted reporting to share with other people in your life. After your first six months, it'll cost$19 every four weeks. You can cancel anytime. Head over to WashingtonPost.com slash subscribe and get premium access to The Washington Post today. That's WashingtonPost.com slash subscribe. I wanted to understand better what Kyle had experienced. So I called back a researcher that he had spoken to for his original story. Hi, my name is Dr. Carrie Rodriguez. I am an assistant professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at University of Arizona, where I lead a research group that's entirely focused on understanding our bond and relationships with companion animals, such as cats and dogs.

11:38That is the best job I've ever heard of. I hit the jackpot. I really have married my love of animals and research together. So tell me about some of the research you've done, just a few examples of some of the studies. Yeah, so we do a lot of research really quantifying the effect that animals have on our well-being. So from our pets to the therapy dogs that we interact with in hospitals or libraries to the service dogs that are trained for tasks that help disabilities, our research really focuses on quantifying the mental health and social health and physiological health benefits that interacting with animals has.

12:15So I spent a lot of time measuring things like cortisol and blood pressure and stress to really put numbers behind the stories. So putting strong science behind the way that interacting with a dog makes us feel good. And tell me, like, what is the effect on cortisol, blood pressure, stress levels, heart rate? Like, what is the effect of hanging out with a dog? Yeah, what we find is that whether or not you know the dog, even a dog that you don't know, we have pretty immediate stress benefits. So just by sitting down with a dog and petting them and having that little five minute relaxation break is really good for calming ourselves down.

12:59It's a form of mindfulness, just being in the moment, focusing on the dog. And what we know is that the dog really provides what we call, you know, unconditional love. They are just so excited to see you and get pet by you. And even that interaction with the therapy dog can lead to decreases in blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol and improved mood that can actually last for several hours beyond the interaction. It's even stronger when it's our own pet that we have a relationship with, where we know that positively interacting with our own dogs actually can lead to improvements in the hormone oxytocin, which is famously called the love hormone.

13:44It's really important in forming trust and bonds. And what we find is that when we gaze into the eyes of our pet dogs, not only does their oxytocin go up, but ours does too. So we know that that relationship with our own pets is really important, but that you can also get benefits from an animal that you don't know. So really, it's a special interaction. So I want to tell you about Kyle's experience. I don't know if you read his follow-up story, but he ended up actually taking a dog out himself. He describes himself as an introvert and a little bit of a cynic. I think it's the reporter in him.

14:20He's skeptical until he reports it out. And so he has trouble trusting people. And he was saying that after spending time with this really sweet, trusting dog, he feels himself giving people the benefit of the doubt more. Yeah, that's great. Yeah, I think we have a lot to learn from shelter dogs. They're, you know, so loving so easily, even so some of them have experienced trauma in the past. And yeah, I think we have a lot to learn from the kindness and love of dogs.

14:53Maybe the recipe for a good life really is that simple. We should all be more like dogs. I'm Maggie Penman. I'm a reporter for The Optimist. If you want to hear more stories like this one on the weekend, please send me an email. You can reach the whole team at podcasts at washpost.com or just me at maggie.penman at washpost.com. Today's episode was reported and produced by me and Kyle Melnick with help from Ted Muldoon, who also makes the show. It was edited by Alison Klein. If you want even more optimistic content, check out our newsletter. I'll put a link in our show notes where you can subscribe.

15:32Thank you for listening and have a great rest of your weekend.

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