The Use of Dogs in Medical and Veterinary Training: Understanding and Approaching Student Uneasiness

Abstract

Although the educational use of dogs, both live and cadaverous, has declined in recent years in medical and veterinary schools, the practice still continues. The use of live dogs in U.S. medical education has dropped sharply during the last two decades. At present, the majority of such schools (68%) do not use any live animals in pharmacology, physiology, or surgery courses (Hansen & Boss, 2002). The use of dogs in veterinary schools has not declined as precipitously; only two schools offer a dog laboratory-free curriculum. Research documents or suggests substantial uneasiness among medical and veterinary students when using dogs who either are already dead or are killed as part of their training and education. It is important to explore why this distress occurs and how students cope with it. Armed with this background, several recommendations can be made regarding the future use of dogs in these settings and how medical and veterinary schools can best approach this problem.