Dr Deborah Wells, a psychologist and senior lecturer at the Centre for Canine Behaviour Research at Queen's University Belfast in the UK, has found that dog owners are less likely to suffer from low blood pressure and high cholesterol, less likely to suffer from physical discomfort and less likely to develop serious medical conditions。Wells' research also shows that owning a cat does not improve health compared to owning a dog。

The study's simple conclusion is that dogs could act as a human-like "early warning mechanism" to help prevent serious diseases such as cancer and epilepsy。