Science of Therapy Dogs

This post was originally published on the SEL Blog for Temple University on December 9, 2013.

If you’ve been at Paley Library this week, you may have noticed we have some visiting therapy dogs. The dogs are with Therapy Dogs International and are here to help you relax before and after your final exams.

If you like dogs, you already think this is a great idea, right? But spending time with dogs or other therapy animals has been shown in numerous studies to have physical and mental health benefits for participating humans. A review article by David Marcus summarizes the findings of some of these studies:

• Animal-assisted therapy with dogs reduces cardiovascular stress markers (Allen et al. 2001; Allen et al. 2002)
• Participants of other studies were shown to have reduced levels of stress hormones such as epinephrine and norepinephrine (Obendaal and Meintjes 2003; Barker et al. 2005)
• Blood pressure was also shown to be reduced in participants (Obendaal and Meintjes 2003)
• Oxytocin (the “trust hormone”) levels of participants went up (Obendaal and Meintjes 2003;  Miller et al. 2009; Handlin et al. 2011)
• Dementia patients who received visits from therapy dogs over 3 months showed a 57% decrease in levels of salivary chromogranin A – a protein released when the nervous system is stressed (Kanamori et al. 2001)
• One study reviewed by Marcus indicated that even people who weren’t “dog people” benefited from animal-assisted therapy (Lefebvre et al. 2008)

The study by Odendall and Meintjes also tested the stress levels of the dogs providing therapy for humans. They showed that the therapy dogs benefit from increases in hormones like endorphin, oxytocin, and dopamine. However, while the experience is a positive social experience for the dogs, it is not a stress reliever for them – it’s a job. While it’s not the most taxing of professions, “sitting or standing quietly, maintaining a high level of obedience and calm instead of engaging in play, and accepting handling from strangers require work and effort by the therapy dog.” (Marcus 2013.) The dogs need breaks now and then while on the job, but they’re happy to have you spend time with them.

You can read more about these studies in the links above or in the following review articles. If you missed the dogs today, you can still relax with others tomorrow and Wednesday!

Further reading:

• Cirulli F, Borgi M, Berry A, Francia N, Alleva E. 2011. Animal-assisted interventions as innovative tools for mental health. Annali dell’Istituto superiore di sanità [Internet]. [cited 2013 Dec 9]; 47(4): 341-348. Available from: http://www.iss.it/publ/anna/2011/4/474341.pdf
• Handlin L, Hydbring-Sandberg E, Nilsson A, et al. 2011. Short-term interaction between dogs and their owners—effects on oxytocin, cortisol, insulin and heart rate—an exploratory study. Anthrozoös. 24:301–16. DOI: 10.2752/175303711X13045914865385. Request via ILLiad.
• Shubert, J. 2012. Dogs and human health/mental health: From the pleasure of their company to the benefits of their assistance. U.S. Army Med Dep J. [Internet]. [cited 2013 Dec 9]; 21-29. Available through Temple University Libraries.

Photo credit: “Playful Mood” by Takashi Hososhima via Flickr  http://www.flickr.com/photos/htakashi/10635512194/