The Importance of Evaluating Positive Welfare Characteristics and Temperament in Working Therapy Dogs.

ABSTRACT: To date, investigations of the welfare of therapy dogs have focused largely on examining physiological and behavioral measures that could indicate if the animal is experiencing stress or distress. However, this approach does not fully address the definition of welfare which is often described as existing on a continuum from negative (or stressful) to positive. With therapy dogs, it would be worth addressing if they experience positive emotional affect while working since the quality and efficacy of animal-assisted interventions for the human recipient is likely to be influenced by the animal's emotional state during the interaction. The purpose of this review is to articulate how objective measurements of the HPA axis and measurements of behavioral observations and standardized ques

SUBMITTER: Miller SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9014261 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature