Unfortunately, my hubs has a very stressful job. He also has trouble managing his stress. Rita apparently knows this, since she suddenly decided she should sit between us while we eat breakfast on the sofa in front of the news. (Sorry about the picture quality - took it with my iPad, shooting in to the light. Should know by now to always have the camera handy.)
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| Administering the proper dosage of oxytocin |
She's supposed to be over on "her" side of the sofa, on her towel. But since the hubs can use a dose of oxytocin before work, I don't mind a little dog hair. (Besides, our house is practically covered in it anyway.) You can read about dogs and oxytocin
here, but here's a key nugget: "Oxytocin, which is sometimes dubbed 'the cuddle hormone,' helps reduce
blood pressure and decreases levels of cortisol, a hormone related to
stress and anxiety." Keep that stuff coming, Rita!
You might suspect that she only chose to sit there to have access to
our breakfast of peanut butter toast and yogurt - but you'd actually be
wrong. She's totally gone off peanut butter, and if I offer her a bite or
my plate when I'm done with it, she turns her head and acts like I've put the most disgusting thing ever in front of her. As for the
yogurt, she might lick a bit off a spoon when you're done, but she does NOT
want to lick the cup. (She's so odd.)
Do you try to extract some cuddle hormone from your dog?
