Dogs Are Helping People Deal With Stress More Than Expected

If you’ve ever found your shoulders unknotted simply by petting your dog after a long day, you’re definitely not alone. But now science at the University of Denver is showing just how powerful that furry comfort can be.

A new study led by the University of Denver’s Institute for Human‑Animal Connection (IHAC) has uncovered something pretty remarkable: pet dogs don’t just reduce stress, they actually help regulate it in a more nuanced, biological way than researchers expected.

Researchers recruited 44 dog‑owning participants and randomly assigned them to two groups. One group brought their dog to a mildly stressful lab test, and the other group faced it alone. The test involved giving a job‑interview style speech and doing mental math under pressure.

During the study, researchers measured heart rate, salivary cortisol, and alpha‑amylase (a stress enzyme), and had participants rate their anxiety. What they found was pretty fascinating! 

Although both groups saw increases in stress, those with their dogs present had significantly lower spikes in heart rate and cortisol. Heart rate rose about 14.6% with dogs present vs. 26.7% without. And cortisol responses were more than 50% lower when a dog was by your side.

What surprised researchers is that salivary alpha‑amylase actually only rose in the dog group, by 97.6%, suggesting not just suppression of stress, but a healthy, balanced response. Participants in the dog‑present group sometimes ended with cortisol levels even lower after recovery than when they first arrived. A sign of faster stress recovery.

According to IHAC communicators, “dogs may be able to support a balanced, intermediate stress response. Instead of just reducing the stress response, a dog can actually help to maintain regular stress levels”.

Although participants didn’t report significantly less anxiety in self‑ratings (that metric was about the same whether the dog was present or not), the physiological signs tell a different story. It turns out our heart, our hormones, and even specific enzymes respond better when our dogs are with us, even if our minds think otherwise.

This study breaks ground by measuring several biological systems at once, something previous research lacked. IHAC hopes to expand this work, exploring whether dogs might help with chronic stress, anxiety disorders, or recovery from trauma. In fact, upcoming work from DU researchers will look at service dogs with veterans dealing with PTSD, mapping long‑term hormone changes and even protein biomarkers over months of pairing.

The goal is ambitious yet relatable: uncovering how dogs, our partners, confidants, and fluffy overlords shape our bodies’ stress responses, not just our minds.

So what’s the practical takeaway?

Even on hectic days, carve out a few minutes to connect with your dog. Sit on the couch together, take a short walk, or let them curl up beside you while you breathe deeply. It’s not just sweet, it might actually cut your cortisol and keep your heart rate steadier.

And if someone ever downplays your pup’s value beyond fetch games or cuteness? Share the facts. Dogs are scientifically shown to be better at regulating stress than parents, partners, or close friends in some respects, and just as helpful on our toughest days.

So next time someone says your dog is just a pet, smile knowingly. You're not only living with a furry companion, you might be living with your best therapist yet.

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