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You are here: Home / Motherhood / Why You Should Spend More Time With Your Dog

Why You Should Spend More Time With Your Dog

January 28, 2020 By Kari Leave a Comment

Improve your mental and physical well-being with a little pet prescription! In the second of our Take Care Tuesday series, here are a few reasons why you should spend more time with your dog. 

We all could use a few more hours in the day, right? Another four hours would be perfect for me! With kids, activities, work, etc., it’s tough to make it all work. Not to mention finding time to exercise, nurture friendships, let alone squeeze in some travel time. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I devote a good chunk of my time every week to schedule everything for our family. I find the more time I invest initially, the more I gain in the long run. A big portion of that is scheduling time with our dogs.

We’re pretty lucky, because with me working from home, I’m with our pups Moses (Boxer) and Monroe (Black Lab) pretty much all day long. They sleep in their beds beside me while I write (like right now!), which is the best office environment ever. Still, I mark time in the calendar every day just for them. They even each have their own colour code in my Google calendar (because I’m a total nerd). It’s not because we’re absent-minded dog owners who need to be reminded to walk them, but having that place held just for them in the calendar is a commitment that can’t be rescheduled. I find it’s easy to say yes to so many other things and overbook ourselves if the fundamental pieces that make our family unit tick aren’t slotted in.Why You Should Spend More Time With Your Dog

If it were up to me I would be with our pups every second of the day. Here are a few reasons to bank some serious quality time with your fur babies!

#1: To Lighten Up

If I’m twisted up like a pretzel about something, there’s nothing a cuddle with Mo and Roe can’t fix. After our little man (the human, Wyatt) goes to bed, I like to sit with the dogs on the couch and decompress. Ten mins of snuggles and pats while staring at their adorable faces calms me and helps me gain perspective. If you’re not into meditation, try this! Pets are mood enhancers, according to WebMD:

Your body actually goes through physical changes in that time that make a difference in your mood. The level of cortisol, a stress hormone, lowers. And serotonin, a feel-good chemical your body makes, rises.

#2: To Get Exercise

Life is super busy, and workouts often get cut from the schedule. Getting out with the dogs for a walk is double duty – exercise for them and you! I find walks a great time to soul search, too.

#3: To Feel Loved

It’s a scientific fact that every time we simply look into our dog’s eyes, our oxytocin (known as “love hormone”) levels increase…and so do theirs!

From TheBark.com:

Because dogs affect us and our oxytocin levels much the same as human babies do, the bond we have with our dogs can feel like the bond between mothers and children. The mechanism behind the connection is the same.

(Read the full TheBark.com article on the chemistry between people and dogs here).

#4: Forces You To Be Social

Taking our pups for walks or to the dog park often means interacting with other people. This is a great way for someone who needs or craves a little social interaction to get it. Most of the time, it’s conversations about our dogs, which (as we know) dog owners LOVE to talk about.

#4: Helps With Anxiety and Depression

This from my good friend, Amy Antony, who is a Registered Provisional Psychologist and a big believer in the mental health benefits of animals.

Spending more time with your dog is proven to reduce anxiety, lift your spirits, and encourages communication and socialization. Not only that, putting more hours in with your pup lowers feelings of isolation and creates motivation for those in recovery. One of the best things you can do for your mental health is to go on daily walks with your dog.

Read the first in our Take Care Tuesday series, How To Use Your Period As A Productivity Tool.

 

Don’t forget to Pin this to your I Love Dogs and Animal Lover’s boards. You can follow me on Pinterest here! 

 

Other Posts You’ll Like:

Bison + Bacon Birthday Cake For Dogs

Stay Calm + Leash Train Your Puppy

Animal Intuition 

xx

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Filed Under: Motherhood, Self-Care

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kariskelton

Lifestylist + Blogger: KariSkelton.com
Mom to Wyatt, Moses🐾 + Monroe🐾
Babe on the way! (06/22)
❤ @ryanjespersen
motherhood | style | recipes 👇

Kari Skelton | Motherhood
when you feel like you've hit your max bump but th when you feel like you've hit your max bump but there's still nine weeks to go. 😳

It's truly amazing what our bodies can do. 💛

#31weeks #sunsoutbumpsout #beachball
Life update. ❤ I’ll be keeping this piece of Life update. ❤

I’ll be keeping this piece of art forever. Wyatt painted this for me back in January, when I was isolated with Covid. I taped it up on the wall beside the bed during my stay in our guest room. If you zoom in, you’ll see me in the front with the big baby belly. (Wyatt calls me ‘big belly’ these days!)

Rainbows represent promise, hope, and new beginnings. 

It's been a rough past few weeks for our family, hence my absence online. Thank you so much for your messages of love, concern, and support. They mean so much to us. I know I share a lot with you on here, but I’m not going to get into details this time. Just know we're doing alright. Junebug is great (and kicking and rolling around non-stop!), Wyatt is awesome per usual, and Ryan and I are rock solid.

I had to take a break from work. My main focus has always been (and will
always be) protecting the peace, health, and well-being of our family unit. 

Social media can be a beautiful place where connection and inspiration happens. Unfortunately, it can also foster hurtful and harmful attacks. I’ve learned so much over these past few weeks, and have deeply reflected on my presence and future plans online. I’ll share more soon, but for now, I just wanted to check in, say a sincere thanks, and let you know we’re all good. ❤️
The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll be honest - the first trimester wasn’t great. There were moments of joy (like this one) but it was filled with anxiety, scary moments, and a few hurdles. 

🤰I’m playing catchup on some pregnancy blog posts but I wanted to make sure this was up, especially for those who have been following our journey. 

👉 Head on over to KariSkelton.com for ‘Pregnancy Q&A: The First Trimester’ where I get into all of it. Link is in my bio.

❔️Please ask any questions. That’s the whole reason why I share about this. I believe sharing our experiences and personal stories helps all of us feel less alone and often validates what we’re going through. 

(If you can believe it, I took a video of the exact moment I found out but it disappeared from my files. Poof! Gone.💨 Of all the videos to lose…. 🙈 But very happy to have this photo).

#pregnancystories #motherhoodrising #motherhoodunites #Canadianblogger #Canadianmom
Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_q Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_quay! Thanks to all of you for entering! ❤

➡️ Giveaway! To celebrate @fresonbros first birthday tomorrow (Saturday, March 5), we’re giving away a $250 Freson Bros. GC! 🥳

You’re invited to pop down to the party between 11-5 to celebrate with us! 🎉There’s birthday torte, a whole bunch of perks, specialty tastings, and additional in-store giveaways, including a beautiful Camp Chef XT Wood Pellet Grill! 🙆‍♀️

To enter our $250 GC Giveaway:

👉 Make sure you follow me @kariskelton and @fresonbros.

👉 Like this post.

👉 tag some friends who would love this!

✨️ Bonus entry: Head to KariSkelton.com and leave a comment on my ‘Freson Bros. Turns One’ blog post (make sure to add your IG handle in that comment so we know who you are). 

*This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only and is in no way endorsed or supported by Instagram. The winner must be able to pick up the $250 gift card prize at Freson Bros. Edmonton 5139 Mullen Rd. Contest closes Friday, March 4 at 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced on this post before 9 a.m MST Saturday, March 5. 

🚨*PLEASE watch out for impersonation accounts that unfortunately sometimes pop up during giveaways. I will only reach out to you via DM from my account (@kariskelton) to confirm your win and then we’ll coordinate details via email only.
Load More… Follow on Instagram

kariskelton

Lifestylist + Blogger: KariSkelton.com
Mom to Wyatt, Moses🐾 + Monroe🐾
Babe on the way! (06/22)
❤ @ryanjespersen
motherhood | style | recipes 👇

Kari Skelton | Motherhood
when you feel like you've hit your max bump but th when you feel like you've hit your max bump but there's still nine weeks to go. 😳

It's truly amazing what our bodies can do. 💛

#31weeks #sunsoutbumpsout #beachball
Life update. ❤ I’ll be keeping this piece of Life update. ❤

I’ll be keeping this piece of art forever. Wyatt painted this for me back in January, when I was isolated with Covid. I taped it up on the wall beside the bed during my stay in our guest room. If you zoom in, you’ll see me in the front with the big baby belly. (Wyatt calls me ‘big belly’ these days!)

Rainbows represent promise, hope, and new beginnings. 

It's been a rough past few weeks for our family, hence my absence online. Thank you so much for your messages of love, concern, and support. They mean so much to us. I know I share a lot with you on here, but I’m not going to get into details this time. Just know we're doing alright. Junebug is great (and kicking and rolling around non-stop!), Wyatt is awesome per usual, and Ryan and I are rock solid.

I had to take a break from work. My main focus has always been (and will
always be) protecting the peace, health, and well-being of our family unit. 

Social media can be a beautiful place where connection and inspiration happens. Unfortunately, it can also foster hurtful and harmful attacks. I’ve learned so much over these past few weeks, and have deeply reflected on my presence and future plans online. I’ll share more soon, but for now, I just wanted to check in, say a sincere thanks, and let you know we’re all good. ❤️
The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll be honest - the first trimester wasn’t great. There were moments of joy (like this one) but it was filled with anxiety, scary moments, and a few hurdles. 

🤰I’m playing catchup on some pregnancy blog posts but I wanted to make sure this was up, especially for those who have been following our journey. 

👉 Head on over to KariSkelton.com for ‘Pregnancy Q&A: The First Trimester’ where I get into all of it. Link is in my bio.

❔️Please ask any questions. That’s the whole reason why I share about this. I believe sharing our experiences and personal stories helps all of us feel less alone and often validates what we’re going through. 

(If you can believe it, I took a video of the exact moment I found out but it disappeared from my files. Poof! Gone.💨 Of all the videos to lose…. 🙈 But very happy to have this photo).

#pregnancystories #motherhoodrising #motherhoodunites #Canadianblogger #Canadianmom
Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_q Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_quay! Thanks to all of you for entering! ❤

➡️ Giveaway! To celebrate @fresonbros first birthday tomorrow (Saturday, March 5), we’re giving away a $250 Freson Bros. GC! 🥳

You’re invited to pop down to the party between 11-5 to celebrate with us! 🎉There’s birthday torte, a whole bunch of perks, specialty tastings, and additional in-store giveaways, including a beautiful Camp Chef XT Wood Pellet Grill! 🙆‍♀️

To enter our $250 GC Giveaway:

👉 Make sure you follow me @kariskelton and @fresonbros.

👉 Like this post.

👉 tag some friends who would love this!

✨️ Bonus entry: Head to KariSkelton.com and leave a comment on my ‘Freson Bros. Turns One’ blog post (make sure to add your IG handle in that comment so we know who you are). 

*This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only and is in no way endorsed or supported by Instagram. The winner must be able to pick up the $250 gift card prize at Freson Bros. Edmonton 5139 Mullen Rd. Contest closes Friday, March 4 at 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced on this post before 9 a.m MST Saturday, March 5. 

🚨*PLEASE watch out for impersonation accounts that unfortunately sometimes pop up during giveaways. I will only reach out to you via DM from my account (@kariskelton) to confirm your win and then we’ll coordinate details via email only.
Load More… Follow on Instagram

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