Latest news with #dogstress
Fox News
25-05-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Dog owners who ruminate about work stress may pass anxiety to their pooch: study
If your job has you feeling tense, your dog might be feeling it too. A new study published in Scientific Reports finds that stress from work can affect your dog at home. The research, led by Tanya Mitropoulos and Allison Andrukonis, shows that when dog owners dwell on work problems after hours, a habit known as "work-related rumination," their pets show more signs of stress. Researchers surveyed 85 working dog owners. They measured job stress and how often people kept thinking about work during their free time. Then they asked how stressed owners thought their dogs were and also tracked actual behaviors linked to canine stress, like whining, pacing or restlessness. The study found that owners with higher job stress had dogs who showed more stress-related behaviors. That link stayed strong even when the researchers accounted for other stress in the home. Interestingly, owners didn't always realize their dogs were stressed. It was a pup's behavior that told the story. The big factor driving the connection? Rumination. Owners who mentally took work home were more likely to have stressed-out dogs. Thinking about work off the clock seemed to spread stress from humans to pets. This idea is known as "crossover," when one person's stress spills over to others in a home. Previous research has shown this happens between spouses, and now there's evidence it can happen between people and their pets too. Dogs are especially sensitive to their owners' moods. Scientists call this "emotional contagion," the idea that dogs can pick up on human feelings through tone of voice, body language and other subtle cues. When an owner is distracted or irritable from work stress, the dog notices. Over time, this can affect the dog's well-being. The study also suggests another explanation. When people are focused on work problems, they may become less patient, more distant or less consistent with routines like walks and feeding. That kind of change in care can also increase stress in dogs. The authors point out that Americans overwhelmingly see their pets as part of the family. That makes it even more important to understand how our behavior affects them. In the study's words, "employed dog owners might benefit from avoiding work-related ruminations when at home to protect the well-being of man's best friend." Putting work aside when you walk through the door doesn't just help your own health. It helps your dog, too.
Telegraph
24-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Work stress upsets dogs
Dogs are stressed out by their owners' work-related anxiety, a study has shown. Scientists asked 85 dog owners to fill in a survey on their stress levels at work and their pets' behaviour. The owners were asked questions about their professional life including 'are you irritated by work issues' and how much they agree or disagree with the statement 'very few stressful things happen to me at work'. They were also asked to report how often their dog exhibited 11 different behaviours, some of which are linked to stress, such as panting, having their tail between their legs, whining and leaning into people. The researchers found a direct correlation between owners with more stressful jobs and their pet's stress levels. 'Our results do suggest that a person with a more stressful job is more likely to pass that stress on to their dog at home,' study author Dr Tanya Mitropoulos, of Radford University, told The Telegraph. Around a quarter of those studied were healthcare workers and a third were high-level managers - both positions that the study found were particularly stressful. Dr Mitropoulos found that of all the things that can stress a dog out, 13 per cent can be blamed on an owner's job. 'If you have two dog owners, the dog owner with higher stress has a 64 per cent chance of owning the dog that is more stressed,' she added. The scientists found that one of the most problematic aspects of owner behaviour, which the dogs picked up on the most was taking the mental burden of a job home. 'Ruminating about work problems, meaning going over negative thoughts about work when you're at home, facilitated the transfer of job stress to the dog,' Dr Mitropoulos said. 'So cutting off work-related thoughts when you're at home should help prevent transferring your job stress to your dog.' She advised checking work emails as little as possible and not working when at home, as well as making sure work and home were distinctly separated - both mentally and physically - for people who work from home. 'If possible, try to keep your workspace in a designated and remote area of the home so you're not seeing reminders of work while you're supposed to be relaxing,' she said. 'Practising mindfulness has been shown to reduce rumination, and there are now apps that guide people through mindfulness exercises, which you can do at the end of your workday.' She said that the best way to relax for both owners and dogs is to play together at home after work. 'Playing with your dog is a great way to pull your thoughts away from work,' Dr Mitropoulos said. 'Plus, if your dog is stressed due to not receiving enough attention because you're busy mulling over work issues, playing with your pet is a great way to give him the attention he needs while also pulling your mind away from work.'
