Pet therapy

The use of some animal species to improve the quality of the convalescence of a sick person or more simply to enrich the daily life of a disabled person  or an elderly person stems from the observation of the effects deriving from the interaction between sick people and the presence of an animal . In many cases, in fact, the proximity of a dog or another animal has a positive effect that is added to that of some drugs or other conventional therapies.

This is what pet therapy is about. The term pet therapy was coined by the child psychiatrist  Boris Levinson  who, in 1953, during a session with an autistic child, noticed that the presence of his dog improves in the child the desire to interact with the therapist , but also the desire to play with the ‘animal. Levinson demonstrates that an animal’s affection produces an increase in self -esteem and positively affects his patients’ need for love . 

Today, pet therapy is practiced thanks to the help of different animal species . The ranking of animals used in pet therapy sees at the top the dog, man’s best friend, and to follow we will have cats, hamsters and rabbits, horses, birds (in particular parrots), aquarium fish and dolphins. To close the ranking, a series of farm animals such as donkeys, goats and cows. But why the dog in pet therapy?

Pet therapy and dogs

By definition, the dog is man’s best friend : it is the animal that interacts most with the human being and that better than any other establishes an intense and lasting bond with man. The dog breeds used in pet therapy are different, including mestizos. After all, it is a matter of the heart . In fact, there is no criterion for discrimination of race, but there are indicators of attention towards the nature of the subject, which should not be underestimated. The basis of the therapeutic use of the dog is its instinctual capacity not to implement any psychological defensive mechanism (such as denial or falsification). The dog does not interpret and does not falsify. 

Dogs are able to read the body language of the subject, such as facial expression and physical attitudes, and to perceive, through hormonal secretions, the different emotional states of man. Anxiety, suffering, depression , worry, nostalgia and sadness. To these states, the dog responds with physical contact, with play, with cuddles, with warmth and closeness. Dogs love to play, making it easier for the patient to rediscover liveliness and the related beneficial sensations, as well as the dimension of sociability. How do pet therapy and dogs come into contact?

The requirements of the dog / therapist

A dog included in a pet therapy program must meet the eligibility requirements, which include veterinary , disposition and behavioral parameters. 

The first of these aspects is attributable to the well-being of the animal itself and to the prevention of zoonoses , that is, of those diseases that the dog could transmit to the patient. Before each dog can be used in a pet therapy program, they must undergo a number of veterinary examinations , which are periodically repeated. 

The nature or temperament of the dog consists in the ability of the animal to react quickly to external stimuli: based on these abilities, lively, alert, normal and “dull” dogs are usually identified. are usually identified . Pet therapy does not include apathetic dogs that do not react to stimuli and interaction with humans, as it does not include in the lists of “animal helpers” dogs that are too exuberant, cause of another class of problems with the sick, especially with Senior citizens. The nature of the dog must however always be put in relation with that of the human being with whom he goes to bond.

The last parameter, that of behavior , is seen in relation to the dog handler. Pet therapy dogs have a master / instructor who controls and governs the animal through instructions. A dog’s reactions will therefore be predictable by the handler. The dog accepts the handler as a guide and reference point for interacting with the patient, making himself available and obedient. This aspect is important for the safety of both users and the dog itself .