In highly biased dog news today...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Early-life exposure to dogs may lessen risk of developing schizophrenia
Findings do not link similar contact with cats to either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
Date: December 18, 2019
Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
Summary: Ever since humans domesticated the dog, the faithful, obedient and protective animal has provided its owner with companionship and emotional well-being. Now, a study suggests that being around 'man's best friend' from an early age may have a health benefit as well -- lessening the chance of developing schizophrenia as an adult.

[Phaedrus]

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Dogs can't do that.

[Dom]

Well, I have no signs of schizophrenia and my nanny was a German Shepherd. I believe!  

                                                            

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Well, I have no signs of schizophrenia and my nanny was a German Shepherd. I believe!  

                                                            

Second opinions solicited for this case.

[adey67]

I doubt dogs prevent schizophrenia but I know for fact they help improve people's mental health as I'm one of those whose benefited and a family friend living in communal housing whose dog recently died and was told by the housing association she couldn't have another has actually been prescribed with one by her doctor and there wasn't a damn thing those dog hating bastards could do about it.

[Phaedrus]

The best we can do in the nursing home to simulate having a dog is a stuffed animal.

We do the same with baby dolls for the residents who are so lost down the path of dementia that they are fixated on their babies.

[Dom]

The best we can do in the nursing home to simulate having a dog is a stuffed animal.

We do the same with baby dolls for the residents who are so lost down the path of dementia that they are fixated on their babies.

You should contact the local animal shelter and ask if they can visit with friendly dogs. It's good for the old folks, and it's good for the dogs. Win-win.

[Phaedrus]

You should contact the local animal shelter and ask if they can visit with friendly dogs. It's good for the old folks, and it's good for the dogs. Win-win.

Well, I work the overnight shift, so it's not really my concern.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The best we can do in the nursing home to simulate having a dog is a stuffed animal.

We do the same with baby dolls for the residents who are so lost down the path of dementia that they are fixated on their babies.

You should contact the local animal shelter and ask if they can visit with friendly dogs. It's good for the old folks, and it's good for the dogs. Win-win.

Therapy dogs for the win.

[Minimalist]

There is a reason why they have Therapy Dogs and not Therapy Cats.

[Dancefortwo]

They do have some therapy cats.  



Opps, meant to add to my post.  Near where we live is a guide dog organization and they train them in the old town area of the city we live in.  I see them all the time training the dogs.  Everyone knows not to bother the trainers and their dogs.  It's really neat to see but I'm always a little sad for the dog.  I kinda think the dog would rather be chasing squirrels.

[Chas]

Well, I have no signs of schizophrenia and my nanny was a German Shepherd. I believe!  

                                                            

Hmmm, anecdogal evidence.

[skyking]

The best we can do in the nursing home to simulate having a dog is a stuffed animal.

We do the same with baby dolls for the residents who are so lost down the path of dementia that they are fixated on their babies.

I do tech work at a Skilled Nursing Facility, and when they had volunteer staff I would bring Rocky along and basically hand him over. He was a wiz at therapy, an untrained natural. One lady with dementia just loved him, would approach him every chance she could. One day, she just turned off and wanted nothing to do with him or me. It was her pattern of the disease.
Rocky saw her in the day room, went over jumped up turned around and sat his butt right against her belly and looked over his shoulder and gave her a Jack Russell grin. She had been closed off for days. She just burst out with a big laugh, her face lit up even if only for a while. He never jumped up uninvited but for that one time. Little bugger knew his business

[brewerb]

Hmmmm............... can we think of any other reasons why schizophrenic households may not have dogs as pets? 

From the study: "There are several plausible explanations for our finding of a decreased hazard of schizophrenia in individuals exposed to household pet dogs in early life. One possible explanation is that both dog exposure in early life and risk of schizophrenia are associated with demographic factors not measured in our analyses or included in our statistical models. For example, previous studies have shown that having a family pet dog varies by socioeconomic status and a number of geographic factors.[18, 19] Thus, while we partially controlled for socioeconomic status by the measurement of parental education and general location of birth, it is possible that more detailed information regarding these factors would identify covariates which could partially or completely explain the measured associations. Additional sociodemographic factors which can affect pet selection include birth order, family size, contact with farm animals, exposure to feral cats and other animals, and pre-existing allergic or other disorders, data which were not available in our study. We also did not have data relating to the type or breed of dog, which can also vary by geographic and socioeconomic factors."

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl...ne.0225320

[Dancefortwo]

Schizophrenia generally has a genetic element to it.  Most schizophrenics have some family history of the brain disease.  Not all do but many do.  I don't know how a dog is going to rearrange human genetics for those who have the inherited form of the disease.

[Minimalist]

Trumpolini doesn't like dogs and he's nuts.

Just saying......

[Dānu]

Schizophrenia generally has a genetic element to it.  Most schizophrenics have some family history of the brain disease.  Not all do but many do.  I don't know how a dog is going to rearrange human genetics for those who have the inherited form of the disease.

I'm not up on my schizophrenia knowledge, but I suspect that like many such things, the genetics only predispose you to the disease and that environmental factors still play a role.

[Dancefortwo]

Schizophrenia generally has a genetic element to it.  Most schizophrenics have some family history of the brain disease.  Not all do but many do.  I don't know how a dog is going to rearrange human genetics for those who have the inherited form of the disease.

I'm not up on my schizophrenia knowledge, but I suspect that like many such things, the genetics only predispose you to the disease and that environmental factors still play a role.

Well, schizophrenia is one of the few brain diseases one can clearly see in a brain scan.   

[Paleophyte]

Early-life exposure to dogs may lessen risk of developing schizophrenia
Findings do not link similar contact with cats to either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
Date: December 18, 2019
Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
Summary: Ever since humans domesticated the dog, the faithful, obedient and protective animal has provided its owner with companionship and emotional well-being. Now, a study suggests that being around 'man's best friend' from an early age may have a health benefit as well -- lessening the chance of developing schizophrenia as an adult.

I've known too many crazy sons of bitches to believe that.

[brewerb]

Schizophrenia generally has a genetic element to it.  Most schizophrenics have some family history of the brain disease.  Not all do but many do.  I don't know how a dog is going to rearrange human genetics for those who have the inherited form of the disease.

I'm not up on my schizophrenia knowledge, but I suspect that like many such things, the genetics only predispose you to the disease and that environmental factors still play a role.

Environmental factors (not owning a dog is not one of them): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article..._sec1title

Migration is not one that I would have suspected.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Early-life exposure to dogs may lessen risk of developing schizophrenia
Findings do not link similar contact with cats to either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
Date: December 18, 2019
Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
Summary: Ever since humans domesticated the dog, the faithful, obedient and protective animal has provided its owner with companionship and emotional well-being. Now, a study suggests that being around 'man's best friend' from an early age may have a health benefit as well -- lessening the chance of developing schizophrenia as an adult.

I've known too many crazy sons of bitches to believe that.

I resemble that remark!

[Paleophyte]

Schizophrenia generally has a genetic element to it.  Most schizophrenics have some family history of the brain disease.  Not all do but many do.  I don't know how a dog is going to rearrange human genetics for those who have the inherited form of the disease.

I'm not up on my schizophrenia knowledge, but I suspect that like many such things, the genetics only predispose you to the disease and that environmental factors still play a role.

Well, schizophrenia is one of the few brain diseases one can clearly see in a brain scan.   

It is, though many psychological disorders are much more apparent with a functional MRI.

As your study shows though there's pretty clearly environmental factors at play. If it was solely genetic then those twins should have nearly identical brains. One of the key triggers appears to be hormonal. Men typically begin exhibiting symptoms during puberty, whereas women more commonly start during pregnancy.

[Dancefortwo]

I'm not up on my schizophrenia knowledge, but I suspect that like many such things, the genetics only predispose you to the disease and that environmental factors still play a role.

Well, schizophrenia is one of the few brain diseases one can clearly see in a brain scan.   

It is, though many psychological disorders are much more apparent with a functional MRI.

As your study shows though there's pretty clearly environmental factors at play. If it was solely genetic then those twins should have nearly identical brains. One of the key triggers appears to be hormonal. Men typically begin exhibiting symptoms during puberty, whereas women more commonly start during pregnancy.

My trandgender daughter was diagnosed as having schizophrenia and put on medication.   We were stunned.  After a year of her taking the medication something just didn't seem right.  My husband and I went to a better qualified phychaitrist who had 40 years of experience with schizophrenics and transgender people.  She ask us if anyone, anyone at all in our families had schizophrenia.  Neither one of us had any relative or past family history of schizophrenia.  She said in the 40 years of practice she'd almost always found that there was a genetic propensity toward this disease.  It's usually somewhere back in  family history, but a families almost always kept quiet about the stigma of mental illness. They still do. 

What my transgender daughter had was psychotic depression which can mask itself as schizophrenia and it's frequently misdiagnosed in transgender people or anyone who is suffering from very deep depression. People with psychotic depression  become so depressed that they begin to hallucinate. With the re-dignosis  she worked her way though all the depression and she's been off all medication for 5 years. She happy and content with life.  She just started a new IT job making loads of money.  

But her first diagnosis of schizophrenia really sent me into a tailspin.  I emailed a Harvard scientist who was I corresponded with for a while.  I spent hours every day studying this disease, so much so that I almost went into a deep depression myself.   

There is also a type of schizophrenia that has been seen in premature babies or babies born with other brain diseases. The brain is not quite formed.  I'm not sure of the exact medical term for it.  This may have been what the twin with the schizophrenic brain had.  It's a horrible mental illness.  My heart goes out to any family who has a relative with schizophrenia.  I weep for them.

[adey67]

Trumpolini doesn't like dogs and he's nuts.

Just saying......

I trust no person who doesn't like dogs sorry just sayin