Pet ownership and cognitive functioning in later adulthood across pet types

As a guy who isn't particularly good looking and never smoked, many things have blown me away since adopting a dog in my early thirties a couple of years back.

Besides the obvious things such as exercising (I do forest runs)/ walking more regularly and often, a dog has had a calming and stress reducing effect on me I'd never have imagined possible.

I have ADHD and besides the impulsivity that comes with it, it was untreated until after I adopted my dog. Even prior to diagnosis, having a mammal besides you that you cannot talk to, but that is very reactive to your emotions has calmed me down significantly.

I experienced I can only interact calmly and trusting with my dog if I am, in fact, doing so being calm and trusting myself.

Also, dogs are amazing at executive functioning. They don't fret past mistakes, they try again. Seeing it physically in front of you every other day puts me in a different mental spot. Can't be depressed if I see it's possible.

And last but not least, I've never had so many positive random interactions with strangers ever in my entire adult life.

Both me approaching others when my dog is with me or being approached.

People just don't read you as a creep or threat if you present yourself as being able to interact well with a dog.

I have had fish and ants before, the mental and social effects don't ever compare.

Highly recommend adopting a dog if you're so inclined.

It's awesome.

Isn't it hard to conclude that this is causal? How do we know we're not just seeing that the set of people who elect to take on the responsibility of walking, feeding, and socializing with a dog are likely to see a slower cognitive decline? That they take on dog ownership because they're sharp and capable -- not the other way round.

Intuitively, I do believe that being forced to walk a dog every day when you might not have otherwise exercised, will come with health benefits. And it does not seem implausible for their findings to be true. But did they actually prove anything here?

This is a textbook example of how not to label and caption figures within a scientific publication.

The caption for each figure should completely describe the information being shown. In this case, they have a Time axis with numbers but no indication of what units of time are being represented, or what is meant by time '0'.

> Dog and cat ownership was associated with slower cognitive decline compared to no pet ownership; bird and fish ownership showed no such association.

Interesting. So, what is the impact on the cognitive functioning of elderly people who regularly take care of their grandchildren?

I don't see why bird ownership wasn't similar to cat.. Would mammal be important or would there be a hidden variable in being able to house a dog or cat as one sometimes needs less permissions for smaller animals in rental agreements, etc..

wanna see one which controls for variables like hobbies and social activity/participation. i don't think "living alone" or "with others" means anything significant regarding the cognitive benefit of socializing often. bunch of married people without friends free-falling at the (passive) television world or Zurg's Meta short-span videos

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