How To Beat Stress Through Your Goldendoodle

Stress can kill you. But a Goldendoodle can help.

When we think of stress, we think of root causes. Then we also think of how to relieve the stress, as quickly as possible. There’s an old saying “you can always trust a person who has dog hair on them.” I never really knew what that meant. Does this mean that people who are dog owners seem to be more trustworthy? A little bit nicer? Somewhat of a better person?

For many years, researchers have been studying stress and what one can do to relieve such stress. Of course, there are many ways to relieve stress. Research has clearly shown that people who own pets of any type are less stressed than people who are now pet owners. Studies regarding stress indicate, perhaps greater wellness among pet owners. I think this is an idea worth considering, especially when it comes to owning a Goldendoodle.

long-coated tan dog
Image credit: Jack Cohen

Study of Stress With A Pet

A recent study examined the cardiovascular reactivity when one is exposed to psychological stress. The study conducted used 240 married couples for their research. Of the 240 couples, half owned a pet of some kind. The researchers exposed the people to various stressful situations (mental arithmetic problems) in a variety of social support conditions: alone, with their pet or with their friend. For those who did not own a pet, their friend present. Other situations included being with their spouse, with their spouse and their pet or friend. What the studies concluded was that people who had pets seemed to have a much lower rise in heart rate under the produced conditions and that these pet owners seemed to handle different stress factors much better than those who did not own a pet of any kind.

Evidence shows that pets indeed have a healing power! The power of loving a pet of any kind seems to have been an anecdotal for years. It is a well known fact that hospitals, retirement centers as well as all other type of caring facilities for humans have used dogs and cats to help promote wellness among those who reside in such facilities and also where there seems to be alot of stress. Goldendoodles (also known as Groodles) have recently been introduced to this sort of “pet therapy” especially in facilities where children are involved. Because Goldendoodles can be very gentle, laid back dogs who enjoy being around people as well as enjoy as much attention as they can get, this lovely hybrid seems to be the perfect medicine to help relieve stress for many.

dog playing on snow near fence
Image credit: Brooke Cagle

People Love Goldendoodles

A person can do their own experiment by observing how the people around them relate to their dog or cat. It has been my own observation that Goldendoodles never fail to draw a crowd. Especially children. Levels of happiness seem to increase when people are able to pet a friendly dog and children definitely become excited when a Goldendoodle wants to play with them or give them a friendly lick on the hand.

Certainly the Goldendoodle can help increase the amount of friends you have because it has been our experience that those who own our Goldendoodles, seem to meet new people nearly every day just by talking about their Goldendoodle when taking them out for walks, to the beach, to the lake, or out to their neighborhood park. Increased friends can help make one happier if the person lived with fewer friends prior to buying their Goldendoodle. Our experience has also taught us that people who enjoy talking about their Goldendoodle, even with strangers, seem to be a happier person.

Goldendoodle Jobs

A Goldendoodle can hold many jobs while living with their human friends. They can remind you to take frequent breaks if you are a workaholic who is on the move, non-stop. They can remind you to get off of your computer if you have been on it for hours! They can remind you to think of other things rather than your problems or personal issues and they can remind you to go outside and get some fresh air and to see the “light” in new and improved ways.

Goldendoodles can remind one that they need to care for something other than themselves because a Goldendoodle loves and needs to be brushed quite frequently. Studies have shown, over the years, that a dog is a huge stress reliever!

A Goldendoodle owner can even do some observations of their own. Using your friends as the unknowing participants for their “experiment”: Just check out the faces of those who enter your home. Watch how people around you seem to have a softer glow to their face when your Goldendoodle meets and greets them. It’s as if just seeing your Goldendoodle makes them less stressed.

shallow focus photography of puppy lying on bed
Image credit: Jay Wennington

While out and about on a walk with your Goldendoodle, you will also discover that even a person who is usually not interested in petting or speaking to the usual canine or cat when outdoors, seem to stop to pet or speak to your Goldendoodle. People seem to want to close the distance between them and your doodle! It is an amazing transformation to watch non-pet owners turn into a person who wants to suddenly know everything about your Goldendoodle.

Coming Home To A Goldendoodle

Many Goldendoodle owners who work outside the home and have a stressful day, have said that they feel more relaxed when coming home and having their Goldendoodle run up to greet them. After a bad day at work, the smiling face of any doodle can inturn, bring a smile to a face of a hard working person. After greeting and kissing the returning Goldendoodle owner, the doodle makes it quite hard to stay stressed from a difficult day on the job.

When interacting with your Goldendoodle, you will find that you feel more content and you are able to NOT think so much of your stressful day. So my conclusion is that indeed, A Goldendoodle can help you beat stress every single day. It is safe to say that a Goldendoodle can help lower levels of stress that we find creeping into our lives on a daily basis. If you already own a Goldendoodle, you will more than likely agree with my conclusion.

Try and do your own experiment with friends, coworkers or even strangers. Ask them about their own pets and watch how they radiate good feelings when mentioning a story about their dog or cat. Even those who have lost a pet can recall fond memories of the days they shared and of the love they felt for their deceased pet. Most people enjoy talking about the pet they own and care for even if their pet has recently been ill or in need of special care or treatment.

Dee Gerrish
Dee Gerrish

Dee is a syndicated writer who writes about dogs and pets. She has cared for several Goldendoodles and has studied their behavior over a number of years.