Recent scientific studies have shown that positive emotional benefits adult can bring to our aging parents. But one study reveals those benefits can reach far beyond the emotional joining Diane. This week on Parents Are Hard To Raise® is the lead author of that study gerontologist, Dr. Angela Curl.
Announcer: [00:00:37] Recent scientific studies have shown that positive emotional benefits adult can bring to our aging parents. But one study reveals those benefits can reach far beyond the emotional joining Diane. This week on Parents Are Hard To Raise®® is the lead author of that study gerontologist, Dr. Angela Curl.
Diane Berardi: [00:01:17] Welcome to Parents Are Hard To Raise®. Helping families grow older together without losing their minds. I'm elder care expert Diane Berardi.
[00:01:27] There's just something magical about the bond between humans and animals. An almost instantaneous kinship and fascination with one another. You can see it in their eyes as you watch a child and a puppy or kitten at play. Both social scientists and veterinarians have long since recognized the human animal bond as a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship, one that we now know powerfully influences the health and well-being of both animal and human. This comes as no surprise to this week's special guest. She has made a career out of studying the human animal relationship and its impact on the health and well-being of our aging parents.
[00:02:12] Dr. Angela Curl is an assistant professor at Miami University's Department of Family Science and Social Work. Her research focuses on the productive and social engagement of older adults and its intersection with health. One major focus of her research is studying the benefits of pet ownership for older adults for health and social interactions. She has published 26 articles and made 56 national and international conference presentations. And even more importantly, she has two eight-year-old shiatsu dogs. Dr. Angela Curl, welcome to Parents Are Hard To Raise®.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:02:53] Thank you.
Diane Berardi: [00:02:54] Thank you so much for being here. And perhaps the most important question of the day... Tell Us about your dogs.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:03:04] Well, they are twin dogs from the same litter and they are about 10 12 pounds. They're just the perfect size that cuddly and they still have lots of energy but they're very companionable.
Diane Berardi: [00:03:18] What are their names the names?
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:03:21] Their names are Bret and Jesse, they received their names from my sister in law, and they get along with each other. They love to be created during the day, which is a bonus for me because I work.
[00:03:33] And yes, we take different turns on who they they prefer. But since there's my husband and I and our daughter two dogs goes a long way to meeting the three people need, quite nicely.
[00:03:54] Well, we're here in snow weather so they really love the snow and it's a fun time seeing them play.
Diane Berardi: [00:04:00] Oh that's great. Yeah. We're going to be getting some snow ourselves this weekend. So, could you tell us a little about your research.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:04:11] Sure I'd love to. My research came out of this idea of, How can we help people promote health? So, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all adults get at least an hour and a half of moderate physical activity every week. So we thought maybe dogs could help, because of dog walking and the social benefits of seeing other people when you're walking et cetera. So we use a large nationally representative sample of adults over the age of 50 to look at whether owning a dog or dog walking were good for people's health.
[00:04:47] So we had 771 adults total, of which to two hundred and seventy one of them had dogs and we had a control group of five hundred who didn't have dogs. That really helps you look at whether dog ownership or dog walking has a benefit.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:05:05] So... And actually we were then separated out whether or not it was enough to just have a dog or whether you had to walk the dogs and we always compared those against the people who are non-dog owners.
Diane Berardi: [00:05:20] And we looked at a variety different health outcomes. We looked at obesity levels, activities of daily living, like being able to bathe, dress, prepare meals, et cetera. The number of doctor visits. How frequently did you get moderate activity physical activity and how much you got that vigorous physical activity, as well as a number of chronic conditions overall, like cancer, arthritis, stroke.
[00:05:48] And just to let the cat out of the bag, [laughing] so to speak, for a dog walking paper. We found that dog walking was associated with lower obesity levels.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:06:00] Fewer problems with limitations of daily living. Fewer doctor visits and more frequent moderate and vigorous exercise. And those are all really important outcomes.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:06:12] So we're really excited about that. But what we found was that there was no difference between those who had a dog but didn't walk them versus the people who were non-dog owners. So it's really important that you walk the dog to get all these health benefits.
[00:06:28] We did a show on encouraging us to get dogs for people's parents, because of the socialization and the exercise and, you know, having a routine, having a friend, you know someone to talk to.
[00:06:44] And we kind of encourage people to maybe adopt you know maybe an older dog or you know someone... Maybe not so much a puppy, I guess, who might... [laughing].
[00:07:02] But it's amazing. You know, what a dog can do for a person; for our parents.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:07:08] Right. It really depends on too much I think the owner is all in. Some people inherit dogs from other people and they like, Yeah we just... We're just taking care of this dog because we feel obligated to. And I don't think there's the same magical connection.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:07:46] ...that might be difficult for an older person to really address. Like if the pet needs to be picked up all the time, it might be hard.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:07:56] Though, just being careful with that... But there's so many different programs like fostering dogs.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:08:02] I think offers opportunity. Still, parents can be such a different age range, so older adults are this such a large range, and I think that the older one gets, one's parents get, and the more frail they might be, the more I think some of those planning for you know dog ownership and who might get take care of the dogs if it comes to that is important to do.
[00:08:38] But different people have told me that they... It gives a meaning. It does increase the socialization with other people when their dog walking or even when they're not, when they're talking with other people in the store.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:09:00] Right. They're Talking about their dog.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:09:14] There's different programs. Some shelters have programs where you can volunteer with a shelter and walk dogs, as part of being at the shelter, the dogs who are at the shelter. There's some programs where members of the community can be part of the socialization of dogs.
Diane Berardi: [00:10:31] Oh my Gosh.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:10:33] But that she was worried about her dog. And who was going to care for her dog. [laughing] [00:10:39] If you must have... Anybody can have health incidents. And If you're living alone just having somebody who can be a backup is always a useful thing.
[00:10:52] Was there anything in your research that surprised you?
Dr Angela Curl: [00:10:59] I was surprised that dog ownership by itself wasn't enough, I thought.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:11:04] I thought, you know, if somebody... Like if you're pet is relying on you to take care of them, that you would be motivated to maybe take care of yourself more in a different way.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:11:20] And that was my thought was that idea just the social cultural relationship mutual dependence and so... And that if you own a dog there's still a number of things within a household that you might force you to get up, to go get dog food and get dog water and to whatever it is.
Diane Berardi: [00:11:43] OK. Yeah.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:11:44] That maybe you'd have more activity then you would otherwise think might still well be true but they're there. That's not what the research suggests.
[00:12:00] You see now, people bringing in pets, you know, into the hospital and into nursing homes, into long term care facilities. And a lot of times they have the patients maybe walking to a room you know so I guess that helps a little. You know walking [laughing] at least they're getting up they're walking, they want to go see the dog, that type of thing.
[00:12:23] But I can see where the difference if someone just inherits a pet as opposed to somebody who really wanted a pet and really wanted to you know have this companion and to take care of the dog. You can kind of see the difference.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:12:40] Yeah. And there's a whole range of fascinating research that's going on about the different studies in nursing homes and hospitals about the benefits and under what circumstances. But yeah. It's a fascinating area about who benefits and when and how much and how can we benefit and maximize on that.
Diane Berardi: [00:13:00] That's right. And we'll be back talking to Dr. Angela Curl. But first, if you are a woman, or there's a woman in your life, there's something you absolutely need to know.
I want to tell you about my friend Katie. Katie is a nurse and she was attacked on her way home from work. She was totally taken by surprise. And although Katie is only 5 feet tall and 106 pounds she was easily able to drop her 6 foot 4, 250-pound attacker to his knees and get away unharmed.
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[00:16:40] Angela... We were talking about studies with pets in nursing homes and hospitals. Do you have any... As a gerontologist, do you have any new information on any studies, any recent studies?
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:16:56] Well I can certainly tell you you know even at Cincinnati Children's Hospital I was talking to some people in the hospital there and they have an ongoing study right now in the dental clinic. They have looking at whether or not people do better when they're have a dog versus when they don't and they have this I guess three different studies that are happening right now and it's fascinating.
[00:17:24] One of the challenges, just methodologically, is just disentangling whether or not it's the person with the dog from the dog. So there's always that issue and... But And then looking at what is the mechanism by which people benefit. So, I went to this one conference presentation and I said well maybe they think it's the actual touching of the dog that matters. Or maybe it's the gazing into the eyes of the dog.
[00:17:55] So since then I've been gazing into my dog's eyes more, just on the off chance that that's what's missing. [laughing] [00:18:03] But they're comparing the dogs that tend to spend more eye contact versus dogs with less eye contact and they're looking at the benefits and concerns for the dogs as well that human animal interactions go both ways. So working dogs do they... How much of a break do they need? In terms of a hospital setting you know. Making sure they have a place to go to the restroom and you know there's a whole variety of different considerations for that. But the people at Children's Hospital told me that it was pretty expensive for them to get trained and certified and using certified animals. So there's a process to go through if you want a really rigorous design.
Diane Berardi: [00:18:50] Yeah, you don't think about that. But yeah, obviously that's something, a concern.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:19:10] Oh, I love it! I think it's awsome! How many people take ponys in the city? I assume you're in the city.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:19:43] They are given a variety of different animals for animal assisted intervention, most commonly dogs, but they're using cats, they're using even robotics they're investigating them in certain circumstances, like in dementia.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:20:00] To see whether or not robotic animals can have the same health benefits as non robotic animals. I mean as regular animals or other interventions like reminiscence or quilting or something like that.
Diane Berardi: [00:20:15] Yeah. I mean, I've watched some dementia patients, you know, with those... I guess their mechanical cats. You know, where they purr and they they're petting them.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:20:27] Yeah.
Diane Berardi: [00:20:27] You can see them in their petting them. And you can watch them calm down and you look at their face and you could see they come alive.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:20:43] As everything and... But they have some really high-end pets that are robotic and they are particularly suited for perhaps people with cognitive impairments who might not have the capacity to remember to feed the animals or take them you know clean the litter box or whatever, might not be really able to take care of an animal or not be in a housing situation that allows them, but they still have this pseudo connection with another being.
Diane Berardi: [00:21:19] So... The health benefits are the walking.
[00:21:22] Now, did you find in this study that people with dogs, they would walk them more and longer?
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:21:29] We didn't find that. We found that they would... We found that what mattered was that they had a good relationship with their dogs. We had this pet bonding scale. Of course, the people who primarily the people are dog owners said that they were highly bonded with their pet, because you know they're not, they hated dog ownership, perhaps it would get rid of their dog. So that kinda makes sense. [laughing] But they said it's personal connection with them. And what we found which is fascinating we thought to people with dogs would walk faster, longer, whatever. But we didn't find that they would walk faster, because you know, when you're walking a dog, sometimes a dog is stopping to sniff.
[00:22:24] So there is some of those elements that really surprised us as well. You had asked about things that surprise us. And that was certainly one of them was that they didn't walk faster. But they did walk on average more regularly.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:22:48] Because the dog needs to be walked. So I think that that's something that's really encouraging and if people don't have a dog then finding another means of encouraging that kind of activity like maybe being in a mall walking group or something like that where there's a safe environment and a social environment might be an alternative for people who who aren't able to have a dog or whatever for whatever reason some people have allergies or some people are afraid of dogs.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:23:39] Oh, I know. Right?
[00:23:41] There's dog people and there's everybody else. [laughing] [00:23:44] Right. Exactly.
[00:23:46] I know when I with my last Shepherd. I brought him everywhere. I was like, I can't come unless I can bring him. [laughing] I mean it was just that way.
[00:24:19] So, are there any considerations that we should take into account if we're thinking of getting a dog for ourselves or for our parent?
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:24:31] Well I think it's really important to make sure there's a good match. So like allergy levels, whether or not a dog breed. If you I have known different dogs that were one that was a tiny little dog and the dog owner tripped over the dog and hurt the dog. I mean not that.. So that's one bad example.
[00:24:57] Another person I know had this dog and it was way too big for them and it just dragged them down the street. And so, being careful that there's a good match between the dog of course I'm a shitzu fan, so I think there's a perfect dog, but that's just my bias opinion. [laughuing].
[00:25:15] But making sure that the dog likes walking. I knew somebody who said I love this dog. I want to have a dog. I need to have a dog. And then the dog ended up being really hyper and a challenge for her to take care of it. So she went from saying, I will die if I don't have a dog, to... This dog will be the death of me.
[00:25:38] But it was getting her going out walking every day, multiple times a day, so she might still have the health benefit. But it ended up being a bit stressful for her.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:25:48] Because it was a puppy and it was such high maintenance.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:25:52] So you know just being careful. I then I think it really does pay to have some kind of succession plan if anything happens.
[00:26:03] Who will take care of my pet? I know my grandmother made my mom promise that she would make sure her dog was taking care of when anything happened to her. And so that's what we did. We didn't end up adopting her ourselves. We found this wonderful family that desperately wanted a puppy was a relatively young puppy and just had such a wonderful time and we still see them. And so it's kind of like the gift that keeps giving.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:26:33] My grandmother was happy till the day she died.
Diane Berardi: [00:26:36] Oh that's wonderful.
Diane Berardi: [00:26:56] Oh my gosh.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:26:56] ...what are you thinking?
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:26:58] You know... And so I thought that was so tragic when you know people are living to 100.
Dr Angela Curl: [00:27:06] Sometimes. Not always, but sometimes and you know that's a 40... 38 year period of time that somebody might have had to enjoy multiple dogs. We don't say, Don't buy a new car.
Diane Berardi: [00:27:20] Exactly. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I never heard of that. That's awful.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:27:24] I know. Yeah. It was my friend's parent that was refused to purchase it.
Diane Berardi: [00:27:32] That's awful for the person and the dog.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:27:37] There's so many dogs that are waiting to be adopted through shelters, through a variety of other locations and you know it's a wonderful thing to be able to share and benefit both the dog and the person.
Diane Berardi: [00:27:53] Right. You're absolutely right. I encourage people to you know go to a shelter and see. You know because you're helping a dog and it's something beneficial for both of you.
Dr. Angela Curl: [00:28:06] Yep. The mutual bond.
Diane Berardi: [00:28:08] Yes exactly. Angela thank you so much for being here for being a guest on Parents Are Hard To Raise®. We loved hearing what you had to say.
[00:28:19] Thank you, Diane, so much. I really appreciate the invitation.
[00:28:21] I hope you got something out of this episode... Episode 95. I know I did.
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[00:28:56] Thank you so much for listening. Till next time... May you forget everything you don't want to remember and remember everything you don't want to forget.
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