Human Animal Interaction
Better together: how caring for pets helps us care for ourselves
A new study from the Waltham Petcare Science Institute has found that pets not only help their owners make space for rest and relaxation – the routines created together can also enhance the emotional benefits for both pets and people.
At a time where levels of stress and anxiety continue to rise around the world.1-3 this research, supported by Mars x Calm, delves into the unique wellness benefits that can come from caring for a companion animal.
Uncovering the feel-good power of pets
Growing evidence suggests that pets may have a stress-buffering effect on their owners. This means they may help protect against the negative physical and psychological impacts of stressful life events.
But a clear causal link showing how pets create this effect has not yet been established.
Through 31 interviews with pet owners around the world, we set out to explore how pets might support rest and relaxation in everyday life. Published this month in International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, these insights are the latest from the landmark Pets and Wellbeing Study (PAWS) program, which investigates the impacts of cats and dogs on human mental health and wellbeing.
Breaking down barriers to rest and relaxation
In a busy world, self-care doesn’t always take priority. People often feel guilty for prioritising their own needs or feel there simply isn’t enough time.
But for pet owners we spoke to, caring for their pet helped them justify – and elevate the importance of – taking breaks or doing leisure activities.
Pets prompted different activities which are experienced as breaks, but the caregiving purpose made them feel like legitimate, non-negotiable parts of the day.
And specific times of day are utilised in more restful or relaxing ways due to pet care commitments. One interviewee described their dog as their “big switch”, helping them close their laptop and go for an evening walk instead of continuing to work.
What starts as a caregiving responsibility can become a wellbeing routine, with small moments of movement and reset built into each day.
Time with pets is time well spent
Pets don’t just help their owners make time for themselves – they help turn that time into quality time.
Many owners said everyday activities felt better when shared with their pets, such as watching TV with their pet curled up beside them. Others described how their own enjoyment was enhanced by seeing their pet’s pleasure – for example, feeling uplifted by a dog’s excitement when exploring off-lead.
Self-care goes beyond the self
Our findings reaffirm what many pet owners intuitively feel: that relationships with pets are special, and significant to everyday wellness.
Where people struggle to care for themselves, caring for a pet can provide purpose and motivation.
By showing that self-care can be social and more-than-human, these findings open new avenues to explore the role of humans and pets in shared networks of care.
We’re advancing human-animal interaction (HAI) research
Our findings add further depth to our understanding of how pet ownership can support wellbeing through recognising that the real benefit comes from day-to-day routines and interactions with the pets we love.
Vanessa Ashall, Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) Technical Leader and co-author on the paper said: “By using qualitative methods to explore participants’ own meaning-making about the specific practices through which companion animals shape their everyday experiences of health and wellbeing, this analysis has provided rich insights into how people and companion animals make every day routines and moments for rest and relaxation together.”
References:
- World Health Organization, Anxiety Disorders, 2023
- IPSOS, Ipsos Health Service Report 2024: Mental Health seen as the biggest Health issue, 2024
- World Health Organization, Over a billion people living with mental health conditions - services require urgent scale-up, 2025
