Stroking a familiar dog after a stressful experience may help reduce the body's physiological response to a subsequent challenge.

Researchers found that physical contact did not accelerate physiological recovery after an initial stressful task. Instead, stroking a familiar pet acts as a biological shield against upcoming challenges, Newsweek reports.

The findings come from a University of Innsbruck study published in the journal Biological Psychology.

Dr Monica Berntsen, a consultant psychologist and neuropsychologist, explained how physical contact reassures the body.

'Human brains are constantly scanning for one question: am I safe?' Dr Berntsen told Newsweek. 'Stroking a dog you know answers "yes" through the body rather than through thinking.'

She added: 'Slow, rhythmic touch, warmth and a calm, familiar animal all tell the nervous system to stand down.'

Laboratory Experiments Test Owners Under Strict Cognitive Pressure

The study examined 64 dog owners, comprising 51 women and 13 men with an average age of 34. Each volunteer brought along their own healthy pet, which had to be at least two years old.

To trigger acute stress, researchers set two demanding mental tasks monitored over video call. Volunteers faced quick-fire trivia questions, completed mental arithmetic, and then counted backwards against a flashing red dot while receiving harsh negative feedback.

Researchers ran two separate test rounds to isolate the impact of petting dogs. In one session, owners freely stroked, cuddled, or held their dogs during a five-minute break. In the other, dogs stayed on a short lead, allowing eye contact and speech but no touch.

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Brain Wave Monitoring Reveals Biological Buffer Against Pressure

Scientists used electroencephalograms (EEG) to track brain waves and electrocardiograms (ECG) to monitor heart activity. Touching a pet provided no immediate recovery boost after the first test. Heart rates and brain patterns returned to resting levels at similar speeds in both groups.

The key difference emerged when volunteers tackled the second challenge. Those who had stroked their dogs showed less suppression of alpha brain wave activity during the subsequent stress test, suggesting a weaker physiological stress response. They also had lower heart rates and higher heart rate variability, indicating a less pronounced cardiovascular stress response.

'A brain that has just been told "you're safe" starts the next stressful thing from a lower baseline,' Dr Berntsen noted. 'It has more resources in the tank, so it doesn't have to go from zero to panic as quickly.'

Pets Provide Comfort but Limitations Remain

Dr Berntsen noted that long-standing bonds between owners and their pets remain central to the calming effect.

'A strange dog is something to assess,' Dr Berntsen said. 'Your own dog has spent years teaching your brain "this one is safe", so the calming signal arrives faster and runs deeper.'

Specialists still caution against treating pet contact as a standalone medical cure.

These findings align with wider research into human-animal bonds.

In a recent scientific review, Professor Kurt Kotrschal from the University of Vienna noted that shared evolutionary wiring helps bridge the divide between species.

This biological overlap includes shared neuronal, physiological and psychological mechanisms, behavioural systems and virtually identical basic affects. Keeping pets is considered a universal human trait driven by biophilia—an innate draw to nature—and a search for social stability.

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