A study published in the journal Biological Psychology by a team of scientists from the University of Innsbruck in Austria showed that physical contact with a dog helps weaken the body's physiological response to subsequent stress, although it does not speed recovery after tension already experienced. The work, dated 26 October 2026, clarifies the mechanism by which interaction with a pet affects stress.
The experiment involved 64 adult dog owners — 51 woman and 13 men, with an average age of 34,1 years. All the dogs were healthy and older than two years. Participants were subjected to standard stress tasks: answering questions under time pressure and performing complex mental arithmetic under observation and with negative feedback. Responses were recorded using electrocardiography (ECG) and electroencephalography (EEG).
The first series of tests was followed by a five-minute recovery pause. One group was allowed to freely stroke and interact with a dog, the other was not. Then everyone underwent a second round of stress tasks. Physiological indicators confirmed the expected stress: increased heart rate, reduced heart rate variability, decreased alpha-wave activity and increased beta waves in the brain.
The results did not reveal accelerated recovery after the first stress in those who stroked the dog. However, during the second test, this group showed noticeably lower physiological signs of stress. At the same time, the participants' subjective assessments of their own tension did not always match the instrument readings.
Thus, brief physical contact with a dog apparently reduces the body's readiness for a new stressor, even if it does not help one "let go" of the previous one faster. The study emphasizes the role of specifically tactile interaction among other forms of communication with a pet.
For dog owners, this means that a few minutes of stroking before an important meeting or a difficult day can genuinely soften the body's reaction, although the person themselves will not always notice the difference right away.
