Dog-ownership and paediatric neurodevelopmental disorders; 'pawsitive' impact: a systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Owning a dog has been associated with improved well-being and this study focused on dog ownership in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), especially in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods

This systematic review utilised Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) and three databases, EMBASE, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library, to assess dog ownership and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Paper screening and data extraction were performed in duplicate using Covidence. The five domains of neurodevelopment that were reviewed included cognitive, social and emotional, speech and language, fine motor and gross motor developmental outcomes.

Results

There were 451 papers reviewed and 16 were included in the final ana

SUBMITTER: Conaill TO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12920082 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature