Therapy Dogs in Educational Settings: Guidelines and Recommendations for Implementation

Grové, Christine; Henderson, Linda; Lee, Felicia; Wardlaw, Phoebe

doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.655104

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…While potential solutions to common concerns were mentioned by study participants, schools should consider evaluative research and approaches that have been beneficial in other communities. For example, schools may consider using hypoallergenic dogs, develop proper disinfecting and handwashing protocols, and allow observations [ 35 ]. These considerations can ultimately help educators and administrators develop appropriate policies for the implementation of AAIs in school settings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring School Staff Perceptions Relating to Animals and Their Involvement in Interventions to Support Mental Health

Leos

Cuccaro

Herbold

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Given the growing awareness of the health benefits of human–animal interactions, the use of animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) in educational settings has increased over the years. While many school districts are now considering or utilizing AAIs, the literature investigating AAI-related perceptions among school stakeholders is limited with previous studies focusing on evaluating specific programs. To address this gap, a qualitative exploratory study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with school staff in the San Antonio, TX community. A total of 11 interviews were completed with staff serving preschool and elementary school age children. Data collected from interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings demonstrated that participating staff had some knowledge of the potential benefits of human–animal interactions and perceived the involvement of animals in interventions to be beneficial to children’s emotions and social-emotional skills. While perceptions of AAIs were generally positive, concerns around children’s safety and well-being were expressed as potential barriers in the adoption of AAIs in schools. These findings are preliminary and provide a segue to future research that can help expand our understanding of how school staff perceive AAIs, their impact on children’s mental health, their compatibility with school values, and their advantage relative to other interventions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring School Staff Perceptions Relating to Animals and Their Involvement in Interventions to Support Mental Health

Leos

Cuccaro

Herbold

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…Due to their ease of training and availability, dogs are the most commonly used animals ( Glenk & Foltin, 2021 ). Animal-assisted education has become more and more common in numerous nations, particularly in Australia and the United States ( Gee, Griffin & McCardle, 2017 ; Grové et al, 2021 ), which has given rise to studies investigating the impact of “the presence of a dog in the classroom” ( Gee, Fine & Schuck, 2015 ; Brelsford et al, 2017 ). Animal-assisted education can take the form of dogs actually assisting during children education, for example when a child has the opportunity to read to a dog ( Hall, Gee & Mills, 2016 ; Lenihan et al, 2016 ; Noble & Holt, 2018 ; Henderson et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: How Children and Dogs Interact With Each Othermentioning

confidence: 99%

Are children and dogs best friends? A scoping review to explore the positive and negative effects of child-dog interactions

Giraudet

McElligott

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Personal wellbeing is greatly influenced by our childhood and adolescence, and the relationships formed during those phases of our development. The human-dog bond represents a significant relationship that started thousands of years ago. There is a higher prevalence of dog ownership around the world, especially in households including children. This has resulted in a growing number of researchers studying our interactions with dogs and an expanding evidence base from the exploration of child-dog interactions. We review the potential effects of child-dog interactions on the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of both species. A search of the SCOPUS database identified documents published between January 1980 and April 2022. Filtering for key inclusion criteria, duplicate removals, and inspecting the references of these documents for additional sources, we reviewed a total of 393 documents, 88% of which were scientific articles. We were able to define the numerous ways in which children and dogs interact, be it neutral (e.g., sharing a common area), positive (e.g., petting), or negative (e.g., biting). Then, we found evidence for an association between childhood interaction with dogs and an array of benefits such as increased physical activities, a reduction of stress, and the development of empathy. Nonetheless, several detrimental outcomes have also been identified for both humans and dogs. Children are the most at-risk population regarding dog bites and dog-borne zoonoses, which may lead to injuries/illness, a subsequent fear of dogs, or even death. Moreover, pet bereavement is generally inevitable when living with a canine companion and should not be trivialized. With a canine focus, children sometimes take part in caretaking behaviors toward them, such as feeding or going for walks. These represent opportunities for dogs to relieve themselves outside, but also to exercise and socialize. By contrast, a lack of physical activity can lead to the onset of obesity in both dogs and children. Dogs may present greater levels of stress when in the presence of children. Finally, the welfare of assistance, therapy, and free-roaming dogs who may interact with children remains underexplored. Overall, it appears that the benefits of child-dog interactions outweigh the risks for children but not for dogs; determination of the effects on both species, positive as well as negative, still requires further development. We call for longitudinal studies and cross-cultural research in the future to better understand the impact of child-dog interactions. Our review is important for people in and outside of the scientific community, to pediatricians, veterinarians, and current or future dog owners seeking to extend their knowledge, and to inform future research of scientists studying dogs and human-animal interactions.

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“…Due to their ease of training and availability, dogs are the most commonly used animals (Glenk & Foltin, 2021). Animal-assisted education has become more and more common in numerous nations, particularly in Australia and the United States (Gee, Griffin & McCardle, 2017b;Grové et al, 2021), which has given rise to studies investigating the impact of "the presence of a dog in the classroom" (Gee, Fine & Schuck, 2015;Brelsford et al, 2017). Animal-assisted education can take the form of dogs actually assisting during children education, for example when a child has the opportunity to read to a dog (Hall, Gee & Mills, 2016;Lenihan et al, 2016;Noble & Holt, 2018;Henderson et al, 2020).…”

Section: How Children and Dogs Interact With Each Othermentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Children and Dogs Best Friends? A Scoping Review to Explore the Positive and Negative Effects of Child-Dog Interactions

Giraudet¹,

Liu²,

McElligott³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Our wellbeing is greatly influenced by our childhood and adolescence, and the relationships that we form during those phases of our development. The human-dog bond started thousands of years ago. The higher prevalence of dog ownership around the world, especially in households including children along with the growing number of people studying dogs most likely explain the growing literature focusing on child-dog interactions. We review the potential effects of child-dog interactions on the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of both species. A scoping search of the SCOPUS database found several hundred documents meeting selection criteria. It allowed us to define the numerous ways in which children and dogs can interact, be it neutral (e.g., sharing a common area), positive (e.g., petting), or negative (e.g., biting). Then, we found evidence for an association between interacting with dogs during childhood and an array of health and mental benefits like stress relief and the development of empathy. Walking a dog and playing with one are perfect physical activity opportunities. Additionally, interacting with a dog can help lower stress and may have a role in the development of empathy. Nonetheless, a number of detrimental outcomes have also been identified in both humans and dogs. Children are the most at-risk population regarding dog bites and dog-borne zoonoses, which may lead to a subsequent fear of dogs or even death. Moreover, pet bereavement is generally inevitable when living with a canine companion and should not be trivialized. In terms of dogs, children sometimes take part in caretaking behaviors toward them which include going on walks. They are opportunities for dogs to relieve themselves outside, but also to exercise and socialize. In contrast, a lack of physical activity can lead to the onset of obesity. Dogs may present greater levels of stress when in the presence of children. Finally, the welfare of assistance, therapy, and free-roaming dogs remains underexplored. Overall, the study of the effects, positive as well as negative, on both species still requires further development. We call for more longitudinal studies and hope for cross-cultural research in the future in order to better understand the impact child-dog interactions might have.

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Therapy Dogs in Educational Settings: Guidelines and Recommendations for Implementation

Cited by 16 publications

References 49 publications

Exploring School Staff Perceptions Relating to Animals and Their Involvement in Interventions to Support Mental Health

Exploring School Staff Perceptions Relating to Animals and Their Involvement in Interventions to Support Mental Health

Are children and dogs best friends? A scoping review to explore the positive and negative effects of child-dog interactions

Are Children and Dogs Best Friends? A Scoping Review to Explore the Positive and Negative Effects of Child-Dog Interactions

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