Interesting research idea! As a dog lover, I never thought about how people might not benefit from therapy dogs. I’ve actually met a few people who are abosultely terrified of dogs, often due to past physical harm caused by a dog. Also, it is a lot of work having a dog and it can be very stressful (and expensive) when the dog gets sick. I would love to learn about the outcome of this study.
I find this to be an intriguing topic. Personally, I have close friends and family that have therapy dogs – some officially, some unofficially. I also have a good friend that trains assistance dogs for PADS.
I am quite certain that, like most things, there is likely to be significant cross-cultural variation. Some thoughts that came to mind upon reading your poster:
1. Is there a selection bias here? As all participants are referred by a councilor/therapist, is it possible that only those more “dog loving” participants would choose to take part in the study? Is this a possible limitation – possibly biasing any findings (making therapy dogs seem better than they might actually be)?
2. What made you choose to not formally measure anxiety? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this approach? It seems like this exploratory kind of research could have its perks in terms of generating theories and being simpler, but perhaps more vigorous experiments would be needed to draw more formal conclusions?
3. Just thinking what variables might be helpful to control for… Previous life exposure to pets and dogs is certainly one aspect. Age, ethnicity, previous dog ownership, and indoor floor space (e.g. apartment vs house) might be some helpful control variables for future research as well.
Overall, though, nice research question. And your poster is very visually appealing!
December 5, 2023 at 8:59 am
Hi Harley,
Interesting research idea! As a dog lover, I never thought about how people might not benefit from therapy dogs. I’ve actually met a few people who are abosultely terrified of dogs, often due to past physical harm caused by a dog. Also, it is a lot of work having a dog and it can be very stressful (and expensive) when the dog gets sick. I would love to learn about the outcome of this study.
-Lauren Robertson
December 5, 2023 at 3:55 pm
I find this to be an intriguing topic. Personally, I have close friends and family that have therapy dogs – some officially, some unofficially. I also have a good friend that trains assistance dogs for PADS.
I am quite certain that, like most things, there is likely to be significant cross-cultural variation. Some thoughts that came to mind upon reading your poster:
1. Is there a selection bias here? As all participants are referred by a councilor/therapist, is it possible that only those more “dog loving” participants would choose to take part in the study? Is this a possible limitation – possibly biasing any findings (making therapy dogs seem better than they might actually be)?
2. What made you choose to not formally measure anxiety? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this approach? It seems like this exploratory kind of research could have its perks in terms of generating theories and being simpler, but perhaps more vigorous experiments would be needed to draw more formal conclusions?
3. Just thinking what variables might be helpful to control for… Previous life exposure to pets and dogs is certainly one aspect. Age, ethnicity, previous dog ownership, and indoor floor space (e.g. apartment vs house) might be some helpful control variables for future research as well.
Overall, though, nice research question. And your poster is very visually appealing!
– Shona Meagan McAuley