International School Parent Magazine - Spring 2022

Roz with
Rafa & Flash
“Savouring our interactions with dogs can be
such a wellbeing boost, particularly when we are
experiencing the primary and vicarious impacts of
ongoing stressors within our communities.” Dr Tom
Brunzell
adversities we face in life.
2. Bolster our resilience to navigate
successfully through these difficult times.
3. Build our capacity to grow and flourish
and make the very best of the opportunities
the world still has to offer us.
To help people better understand
what well-being is, many schools and
organisations have started applying a
much-used, evidence-based framework
called PERMAH. This stands for Positive
Emotions; Engagement; Relationships;
Meaning; Accomplishment; Health.
PERMAH helps us realise what well-being
is and how we can enhance our capacity to
feel good and function well irrespective of
our circumstances.
As wellbeing coaches and dog-lovers, we
want to share with you some of the research
demonstrating the benefits of humananimal
interactions from both recent
studies and our own experience with our
PERMAH Pups Flash, Rafa, and Miss May.
Let’s explore how our four-legged
family members and friends might have
contributed to building PERMAH for
ourselves and our families during these
unprecedented times.
We’ll also give you some ‘Pawsitive
Pointers’ that you can apply to help you
be more mindful of the contribution
interacting with your dog or other people’s
dogs can make to your family’s wellbeing.
P = Positive Emotions
The ability to experience a full range of
emotions from fear and anger to joy and
excitement is a sign of positive mental
health. Of course, no one goes around
being ‘happy’ all the time! But we do need
to be mindful of what we call the ‘negativity
bias’ and understand that because negative
emotions are stronger, we feel them more
acutely and pay more attention to them
than positive emotions. So, it’s crucial
to generate more positive emotions,
particularly in this challenging time as the
pandemic impacts. This is because the
experience of positive emotions broaden
our ability to learn, be creative and find
solutions. They also build our physical,
mental and social resources, so we are
stronger and more resilient in the face of
life’s stresses and pressures.
What emotions do you experience
when you are interacting with your dog?
Interacting with dogs can bring about
feelings of love, joy, serenity, laughter,
gratitude, pride, curiosity and even awe
when they do some truly amazing things!
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Dogs can reduce stress in students facing
deadlines and taking examinations, and they
can help calm and relax us just by observing
them in the environment, whether at home,
work or school. So they can be a comfort
during a high stakes event or in overcoming
a disappointment such as not making the
sports team or school play.
Our dogs feel positive emotions, too and
just looking (not staring) into their eyes can
relieve their stress and anxiety. Our feelings
can influence their feelings and vice versa.
As we relax, the dogs relax, and we can
attune to our dogs and co-regulate each
other. They can energise us in the morning
to get us moving or relax, calm and soothe
us in the evening before bed.
Our dogs provide many opportunities
for savouring in the present by luxuriating
in the feel of their fur. We can also savour
the past by reminiscing about their antics as
puppies and sharing stories with family and
friends. Looking forward to an upcoming
positive event with our dog is a way of
savouring the anticipation. So, our dogs can
help ramp up our positive emotions in the
here and now, reexperience the joys of the
past and look forward to good times still to
come.
Pawsitive Pointer: Dial up your senses,
especially sight, smell, hearing and touch
(taste could be tricky!) to savour positive
emotions and be present with your dog.
E = Engagement
When we are genuinely engaged, we get
into the ‘zone’ and the flow state, which is
excellent for our psychological health. We
feel energised and focused, fully involved,
wholly absorbed. We are also likely to
be using our strengths. For example, by
interacting with our dogs, we can become
immersed in pursuits such as feeding,
grooming, training and playing with them,
hiding toys, scent games, ball retrieving and
tricks. Being present with our dogs is a great
way to be in the moment, slow down and be
mindful. Rafa is very ball/play focused, and
he is a great role model, just concentrating
on one thing at a time.
Interacting with our dogs is also a great