4 Ways Your Dooloop Dog Helps You Keep Calm and Carry On

These days we’re all juggling a lot. It’s a welcome change when you find a fix for one of life’s unpleasant daily chores, one that interferes with an otherwise positive experience, a.k.a. handling dog poop on your walk. A dooloop is a physical solution for that sh*t we carry around. No one looks (or feels!) better when holding onto bags of waste. The dooloop is unique in how it quickly and easily takes care of the dog poop conundrum, freeing your hands until you’re home.

Since we’ve now solved this “business” problem, what about all that other worrisome stuff you carry around in your face-paced life?

Your dog is the very best co-pilot through everyday pitfalls. Here are 4 ways your dog helps you live a more lighthearted life.

1. If your mind and body are weighed down by stress, your dog is the perfect furry dose of medicine.

More and more studies show that having a pet is a boost for your heart health. Dog parents have lower blood pressure--likely due to the calming effect of the presence of a pet and the increased exercise from regular daily walks. Stressed out? Your heart rate and blood pressure may go up less and return to normal more quickly if you have a dog as a companion.

We all need a break during a stressful day, but sometimes our break choices—grabbing a snack from a vending machine or scrolling through social media--aren’t the best for our health. Walking your dog gives you a needed break from a difficult day or online news overload. It also helps you rack up those daily steps, and just a five-minute walk actually increases your alertness.  Playing with your dog also increases levels of neurotransmitters called serotonin and dopamine that help you become more calm and relaxed. So get outside and play!

Social distancing has made us all a bit lonelier for company, but you have an advantage over dogless folks. Dogs help reduce feelings of loneliness as we all wrestle with the effects of the pandemic.

2. There’s no better clutter-reduction guru than your dog. 

An uncluttered living space is a great first step to inner calm, and your dog can help with that. The joyous, playful and curious nature of dogs sometimes results in – well – some unintended breakage. That may be an odd thing to tout as a benefit, but sharing your home with a happy-dancing dog does teach you to become a little less attached to material things. Dog lovers learn to weigh the durability and necessity of new purchases and keep cherished items safely displayed on a wall or high shelf.

With dogs, sh*t happens. So does pee and the occasional upset tummy. Easy-care floor coverings and upholstery cause the least stress, and no one knows that better than a dog mom or dog dad. And because anything that’s tossed on the floor is fair game as a dog blankie or a chew toy, dog parents are the best at hanging up clothes, purses and backpacks, helping to keep the home less cluttered.

3. Having your dog at your side may encourage people to be nicer and can even help reduce family stress.

Double-down on walking your dog! Pet owners are 60% more likely to get to know people in their neighborhood, and right now connecting with others is especially important to your well-being. Dog walking checks all the boxes for social-distancing: outdoors and six feet apart is perfect for a friendly sidewalk chat. People may even be nicer to you! One study found that people on the street tend to be more helpful to a person who is accompanied by a dog. 

Kids are having a tough time with all this social distancing since they are separated from school and neighborhood friends. Pets help with a child’s emotional and social development and are especially important now that kids have fewer chances for play with friends outside of their family. Your dog can be your child’s friend, confidant, and playmate. Having a dog to play with and talk to helps children learn to be part of a relationship. And a 2016 study reports that children who were close to their dogs were also more attached to their parents and reported less conflict with friends.

Dogs can be the glue that helps hold a family together.

4. Is your workday way too “blah?” Bring your dog!

A dog makes the workspace more joyful by reminding you to laugh, take breaks, and enjoy some brief distractions. What better – and more healthful - way to replace the traditional cigarette break and get a breather from workplace craziness than by pausing now and then for a walk?

More and more employers are learning that pets are a real benefit in the workplace. Not only do they give a reason for people to smile, they create positive interactions with coworkers as they stop to interact with your dog, and increase communication – all great for improved productivity! If your employer doesn’t allow pets in the workplace every day, ask if you can celebrate Take Your Dog to Work Day to introduce the idea. And of course, one of the few benefits of COVID-19 is that more of us have the option to work from home, even if just a few days a week. We now understand the benefits of taking a few moments away from the computer screen to relax and walk with our dogs.

Dogs and humans have been best friends for over 16,000 years, and researchers even wonder if we may have worked side by side for up to twice that long. After all that time, it’s no surprise that you and your dog have evolved into perfect partners when it comes to making life less stressful.

To free your hands of the really simple crap in life, use your dooloop. But when you need to tackle the larger, more important things, remember that the love and joyful enthusiasm of your dog can help you put all the other everyday rubbish and worry in its place.