Effect of human-dog interaction on therapy dog stress during an on-campus student stress buster event

Abstract

Human-canine interactions reduce stress in humans although less is known about the effects of therapeutic animal-assisted programs on the welfare of therapy dogs. The current study sought to measure the behavioural effects of a canine interaction program on certified therapy dogs during an on-campus student stress buster event. A total of 25 therapy dog-handler teams and 1155 students participated in events during exam periods in December and April. Each event consisted of two sessions per day with each session divided into six 15 min interaction periods with four dogs and 20 students. Sessions were videoed for retrospective analysis of stress-related behaviours. Subsequent to the university event, a 5 min control period at the dog’s home was videoed. Behavioural data were analyzed using a repeated measures general linear mixed model. Lip licking (p = 0.0171), interactions between the dogs and their owner (p = 0.0014) and ears in the back position (p = 0.0127) increased during the periods within a session compared to control. The frequency of lip licking (p = 0.0092) and ears back (p = 0.0025) were higher in the dogs during the December event compared to the April event. No effect of the length of therapy dog certification (p > 0.19) or the number of therapy sessions the dogs attended in the previous week (p > 0.09) was observed on the frequency of any behaviours. The results demonstrate subtle behavioural signs of stress in dogs during an on-campus student stress buster event highlighting the importance for handlers to recognise and mitigate the situation to improve the welfare of therapy dogs during therapeutic settings.