Feeling stressed from work? Well, your furry friend might be feeling it too! A recent study published in Scientific Reports discovered that the stress you bring home from the office can affect your dog’s well-being. The research, spearheaded by Tanya Mitropoulos and Allison Andrukonis, revealed that when dog owners can’t stop thinking about work after hours (a fancy term known as “work-related rumination”), their pets exhibit more signs of stress.
To delve deeper into this connection between work stress and canine anxiety, the researchers surveyed 85 working dog owners. They assessed the levels of job stress and how frequently individuals found themselves mulling over work problems during their free time. Additionally, they inquired about the perceived stress levels of the owners’ dogs and observed behaviors associated with canine stress, such as whining, pacing, or restlessness. Surprisingly, many owners were unaware of their dogs’ stress levels, relying on their pets’ behaviors to paint a clearer picture.
The study results indicated a strong correlation between high job stress in owners and increased stress-related behaviors in their dogs, even after factoring in other stressors within the household. The key factor driving this connection appeared to be rumination, with owners who brought work thoughts home more likely to have anxious dogs. This phenomenon, known as “crossover,” highlights how stress can easily spill over from humans to their furry companions. Previous research has shown similar patterns of stress transfer between spouses, and now it seems that our pets are not immune to these effects.
