Just as it’s important for humans to have social connections, the same holds true for dogs. A new study from the Dog Aging Project found that dogs with more social connections – other dogs in the home or even other pets, like a cat -- were healthier than dogs who had no social interactions with other animals. In fact, the research showed that having other canine companions had the greatest influence on the health of the dog -- 5 times the effect of household income, household stability, or the age of the owner.
“This does show that, like many social animals—including humans -- having more social companions can be really important for the dog’s health,” said study author Bri McCoy, a graduate student at Arizona State University.