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Are you shy? Get a dog

LONDON: Are you shy? Can't make small talk or start a conversation? Get a dog.

Apart from being man's and woman's best friend and a loyal companion, British psychologists have found that a dog is a wonderful social ice-breaker that can help the shy and retiring meet new people.

"Dogs don't involve any feelings of social discomfort", said psychologist June McNicholas.

"We live in a culture and society that is very restrained in terms of talking to each other. Britain, in particular, but in any western culture strangers do not talk to each other easily," the psychologist at the University of Warwick told Reuters.

Dogs are a safe topic of conversation and can help spark a rapport between total strangers.

To prove just how socially helpful dogs can be McNicholas and her colleague recorded the number of social interactions of a woman doing the same daily outdoor routine with and without a dog for five days.

When the woman was accompanied by her canine friend 65 people started conversations with her compared to just three when she was without the animal.-Reuters