Behavior Coding of Adolescent and Therapy Dog Interactions During a Social Stress Task
Youth mental health interventions incorporating trained therapy animals are increasingly popular, but more research is needed to understand the specific interactive behaviors between participants and therapy dogs. Understanding the role of these interactive behaviors is important for supporting both...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/11/12/644 |
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| author | Seana Dowling-Guyer Katie Dabney Elizabeth A. R. Robertson Megan K. Mueller |
| author_facet | Seana Dowling-Guyer Katie Dabney Elizabeth A. R. Robertson Megan K. Mueller |
| author_sort | Seana Dowling-Guyer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Youth mental health interventions incorporating trained therapy animals are increasingly popular, but more research is needed to understand the specific interactive behaviors between participants and therapy dogs. Understanding the role of these interactive behaviors is important for supporting both intervention efficacy and animal welfare and well-being. The goal of this study was to develop ethograms to assess interactive behaviors (including both affiliative and stress-related behaviors) of participants and therapy dogs during a social stress task, explore the relationship between human and dog behaviors, and assess how these behaviors may vary between experimental conditions with varying levels of physical contact with the therapy dog. Using video data from a previous experimental study (<i>n</i> = 50 human–therapy dog interactions, <i>n</i> = 25 control group), we successfully developed behavioral ethograms that could be used with a high degree of interrater reliability. Results indicated differences between experimental conditions in dog and human behaviors based on whether participants were interacting with a live or a stuffed dog, and whether they were allowed to touch the dog. These findings suggest that physically interacting with a live dog may be an important feature of these interventions, with participants demonstrating increased positive behaviors such as laughing and smiling in these conditions. Dog behaviors also varied based on whether they were in the touching/petting condition of the study which could indicate reactions to the session and has potential welfare implications for the dogs. Future research should focus on identifying specific patterns of interactive behaviors between dogs and humans that predict anxiolytic outcomes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a9215bb17e5b4f5d8b2349c108ec9c11 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2306-7381 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-a9215bb17e5b4f5d8b2349c108ec9c112024-12-27T14:58:39ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812024-12-01111264410.3390/vetsci11120644Behavior Coding of Adolescent and Therapy Dog Interactions During a Social Stress TaskSeana Dowling-Guyer0Katie Dabney1Elizabeth A. R. Robertson2Megan K. Mueller3Center for Animals and Public Policy, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, 200 Westboro Rd., North Grafton, MA 01536, USACenter for Animals and Public Policy, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, 200 Westboro Rd., North Grafton, MA 01536, USACenter for Animals and Public Policy, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, 200 Westboro Rd., North Grafton, MA 01536, USACenter for Animals and Public Policy, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, 200 Westboro Rd., North Grafton, MA 01536, USAYouth mental health interventions incorporating trained therapy animals are increasingly popular, but more research is needed to understand the specific interactive behaviors between participants and therapy dogs. Understanding the role of these interactive behaviors is important for supporting both intervention efficacy and animal welfare and well-being. The goal of this study was to develop ethograms to assess interactive behaviors (including both affiliative and stress-related behaviors) of participants and therapy dogs during a social stress task, explore the relationship between human and dog behaviors, and assess how these behaviors may vary between experimental conditions with varying levels of physical contact with the therapy dog. Using video data from a previous experimental study (<i>n</i> = 50 human–therapy dog interactions, <i>n</i> = 25 control group), we successfully developed behavioral ethograms that could be used with a high degree of interrater reliability. Results indicated differences between experimental conditions in dog and human behaviors based on whether participants were interacting with a live or a stuffed dog, and whether they were allowed to touch the dog. These findings suggest that physically interacting with a live dog may be an important feature of these interventions, with participants demonstrating increased positive behaviors such as laughing and smiling in these conditions. Dog behaviors also varied based on whether they were in the touching/petting condition of the study which could indicate reactions to the session and has potential welfare implications for the dogs. Future research should focus on identifying specific patterns of interactive behaviors between dogs and humans that predict anxiolytic outcomes.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/11/12/644animal-assisted interventionsdog behaviorhuman behavioranxietystress |
| spellingShingle | Seana Dowling-Guyer Katie Dabney Elizabeth A. R. Robertson Megan K. Mueller Behavior Coding of Adolescent and Therapy Dog Interactions During a Social Stress Task Veterinary Sciences animal-assisted interventions dog behavior human behavior anxiety stress |
| title | Behavior Coding of Adolescent and Therapy Dog Interactions During a Social Stress Task |
| title_full | Behavior Coding of Adolescent and Therapy Dog Interactions During a Social Stress Task |
| title_fullStr | Behavior Coding of Adolescent and Therapy Dog Interactions During a Social Stress Task |
| title_full_unstemmed | Behavior Coding of Adolescent and Therapy Dog Interactions During a Social Stress Task |
| title_short | Behavior Coding of Adolescent and Therapy Dog Interactions During a Social Stress Task |
| title_sort | behavior coding of adolescent and therapy dog interactions during a social stress task |
| topic | animal-assisted interventions dog behavior human behavior anxiety stress |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/11/12/644 |
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