How Canine Therapy Can Help Us Heal

Man’s best friend is one of the oldest animal companions for humans. Years ago, hunter-gatherers domesticated dogs to help with searches for food, retrieving game, and as society progressed they became our pets. Largely, dogs are not needed in the capacity that they were thousands of years ago, and are firmly entrenched in our family structure. Beyond this role dogs play in our lives, much research shows that canine therapy is immensely powerful in helping young men recover from addictive behaviors and mental health issues they may be facing.

Trust, Loyalty, and Responsibility

Many of us who are going through struggles deal with some form of issue with distrust, abandonment, abuse, or other forms of neglect. What canine therapy seeks to do at a base level, is give an individual the opportunity to build trust and understand loyalty through a dog. When walking through life these issues manifest in young men as addictive behaviors, mental health problems, or other forms of negative coping mechanisms. By reexamining trust and loyalty by way of a canine companion, there is hope that one can transfer these lessons into our human relations as well. Human-canine interaction often leads to the development of trust in our families and friends once again, realizing that we can rely on things other than our own self-will to carry us through the hard times. By itself, a dog may not be able to cure addiction or mental health, but when brought about in a pragmatic, planned fashion, we see prodigious results. 

The trust that can be built between a dog and its owner through simple social interaction and play builds an incredible amount of confidence in oneself. Learned behaviors like distrust, fear of abandonment, addictive behaviors, all slowly slip away as one builds their relationship with their animal. However, another aspect of caring for another living being is the level of responsibility it builds. A dog needs to be cleaned, fed and cared for, much like a small child. If a dog owner fails to do these things the quality of life for the animal will surely decline. In learning to care for something other than oneself, one learns how to take care of themselves as well. Waking up early to take care of the dog, feeding it, exercising it, playing with it. These are all things that those who are struggling have trouble doing. Self-care, eating healthily, exercising, and enjoying the fruits of life are often neglected. By learning to provide these things for a dog, one learns to do them for oneself.

The Brain of a Human: How a Dog Can Help

The human brain is a complex organism. Receptors and chemicals control the way we process information, affecting the way we feel. In addition to building trust and loyalty with those in the midst of a hard time in their life, the use of canine companions has profound effects on the brains of humans. Just playing with, stroking, or simply watching dogs has been shown to lower the level of cortisol and increases the production of serotonin, which are the chemicals responsible for stress and happiness in our brains. One study also found that dog owners have lower blood pressure and heart rates than non-dog owners, while studies have shown that children with hypertension had lower blood pressure while petting their dog. These things considered, it has been well proven that dogs have profound effects on the human brain, and as such are valuable in the realm of therapy for their ability to change the chemistry in our minds. When used effectively they can be the nexus for great mental shifts in those who effectively utilize an animal companion in their treatment.

Intuitively Aware of Their Surroundings

If you have ever owned a dog, have you ever noticed that when you have a bad day or are struggling, that our pet is oftentimes acutely aware of our feelings? Empirical evidence suggests that many times, our dogs are right there to pull us out of what could be a tragic life-altering ordeal. Their acute senses of smell are what allow them to do this as they are able to sense changes in the chemical composition in our bodies. Service dogs are used for a variety of things, from sensing changes in blood sugar levels in diabetics to providing emotional support to those who have suffered from traumatic events. Dogs are some of the most versatile animals and canine therapy allows for these remarkable animals to utilize their unique talents.

As an example, an individual on the brink of relapse, struggling with their problems, sees their canine companion as a life vest of sorts. Dogs are unconditionally loving and supportive of us, loyal to their core. After learning to care and love for them, those who have used canine therapy to aid their recovery find that the pets are then able to sense when they are not in a correct state of mind. This is the idea behind canine therapy, that those of us who are going through hard times can seek solace in the most loyal, caring, lovable creatures on God’s earth.

At Capstone Treatment Center, we see the value of canine therapy. Our loved ones can benefit greatly from a program focused on rebuilding trust and support in themselves and their families. If you or a loved one are struggling, and think that canine therapy can help, call 855-956-2234 and find out what Capstone can do for you.