Having your dog nearby will not automatically make you feel better.

Many guardians believe that a dog’s presence alone is enough to improve mood. After all, we hear constantly that dogs reduce stress and make people feel better. The problem is that research has shown mixed results for years. In some studies, the effect is clearly there. In others, it is barely visible — or not visible at all.

A recent study led by Catherine Amiot at the University of Quebec in Montreal offers a simple but important explanation: the key is not whether the dog is physically present, but whether we are actually paying attention to them.

Attention Matters More Than Presence

In the study, researchers compared two groups of dog guardians.

The first group was asked to spend five minutes fully focused on their dog — watching them, touching them, playing with them, and responding to their signals.

In the control group, the dog was in the same room, but the guardian was busy with other things and largely ignored them.

The result was striking. In the attentive group, positive emotions, joy, and satisfaction were more than twice as high.

So simply being in the same room is not enough. A dog in the background does not bring the same psychological benefit as an active, engaged interaction.

What seems to matter is not passive proximity, but real contact. And even five minutes of full attention may be enough to make a noticeable difference.

This is not about meditation or anything elaborate. It is something much simpler: being fully present, turning toward the dog, and actually noticing them.

If you want to get the full psychological benefit of living with a dog, start there. Put the phone down. Close the laptop. Sit beside them. Really pay attention.

Simple, free — and, according to the research, surprisingly effective.

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Amiot CE, Quervel-Chaumette M, Gagné C, Bastian B. (2025). An experimental study focusing on mindfulness to capture how our contacts with dogs can promote human well-being. Scientific Reports, 15, 23202.

Herzog, H. (2011). The impact of pets on human health and psychological well-being: Fact, fiction, or hypothesis?. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 236–239.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2006). Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness. New York: Hyperion, 2006.