Your pets feel your stress
Bottom Line: You love your pets. They love you. You feel sad and they feel sad too. This story probably won’t come as the biggest surprise for those reasons but it’s still really compelling. Swedish researchers studied 58 people and their pets (focusing on sheepdogs and collies). Using hair samples from the dogs, they found that when their owners were stressed, the dogs became stressed. When their owners were happy, their pets were happy.
The stress hormone cortisol rises when you’re stressed and sad and as it turns out it does in your pets too. What’s more is that if you enter a state of depression – your pet(s) may too. It’s one more reason to try to be the happiest version of yourself every day. If not for yourself, do it for your pooch!