Hair Cortisol in Service Dogs for Veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Compared to Companion Dogs (Canis Familiaris).

Service dogs are trained to assist humans. This assistance potentially exposes them to stressors To investigate if service dogs are exposed to more stressors than companion dogs we questioned whether hair cortisol levels differed between both groups. We studied this by cutting a tuft of hair from the neck of 19 companion and 11 service dogs. Cortisol levels were subsequently analyzed via immunoassay and compared via a simple linear regression model. The influence of coat color, season, sex, other dogs, pets, or mental health diagnoses in the household was also checked . Results showed that cortisol values did not differ between service and companion dogs. Furthermore, none of the additional variables had an influence on cortisol levels. This lead to the conclusion that the service dogs in this study did not have higher hair cortisol levels than companion dogs Further study should be conducted as to why no difference did occur between groups and if this difference is persistent over time given that we only studied a period of up to two months' worth of hair cortisol.

The Impact of Service Dogs on Military Veterans and (Ex) First Aid Responders With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

Due to its novelty and lack of empirical study it remains unclear if a service dog truly mitigates the burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. To cross sectionally investigate the effect of service dogs on veterans and first aid responders with PTSD, we studied subjective and physiological parameters in 65 individuals divided over four groups. These groups were: veterans and first aid responders with PTSD and a service dog (n = 20), with PTSD and a companion dog (n = 10), with PTSD without a dog (n = 12) and a group without PTSD (n = 23). We found that veterans and first aid responders with PTSD who had a service dog showed significantly less PTSD related symptoms, better sleep quality, and better wellbeing experience, than those with a companion dog. Those with a service dog additionally experienced fewer PTSD related symptoms than those without a service dog and tended to walk more than individuals without PTSD. No differences were found in cortisol levels between groups though and changes in both salivary cortisol and activity were not linked to improved welfare experience. Though the use of physiological measurement methods thus warrants more research, our study indicates that the subjective experience of wellbeing, sleep quality and PTSD related symptoms is improved by the presence of a service dog.

Do Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD Mount a Cortisol Response in Response to Training?

Only a few studies have investigated the welfare of animals participating in animal-assisted interventions (AAIs). Most of these studies focus on dogs in therapeutic settings. There are, however, also dogs-service dogs-that are employed to continuously support a single human. Because the welfare of these service dogs is important for the sustainability of their role, the aim of this study was to investigate their stress response to service dog training sessions. To do this, we took repeated salivary cortisol samples from dogs who participated in a training session (n = 19). Samples were taken just after arrival at the training ground, before training, after training, and after a period of free play. Our results showed that mean cortisol levels in all samples were relatively low (between 1.55 ± 1.10 and 2.73 ± 1.47 nmol/L) compared to similar studies. Analysis further showed that samples taken before and after participation in the training's session did not differ from one another. Mean cortisol levels in both situations were additionally lower than those upon arrival at the training site and after a period of free play. This led to the conclusion that the dogs in our study did not seem to experience training as stressful.

The Translation and Validation of the Dutch Monash Dog⁻Owner Relationship Scale (MDORS).

The Monash Dog-Owner Relationship Scale (MDORS) is a questionnaire that is used to evaluate the perceived relationship between humans and their dog. This questionnaire was originally only formulated and validated in English, which limits its use among non-English speaking individuals. Although a translation could be made, the translation of questionnaires without additional validation often impairs the reliability of that questionnaire. Therefore, the aim of this study was to validate a translation of the MDORS that is suitable for use among native Dutch speakers. To achieve this, a Dutch translation of the MDORS was made and checked for spelling/grammar mistakes, readability, feasibility, and clarity. A test-retest comparison was subsequently performed on the translation together with a calculation of Cronbach's alpha score and principal component analysis (PCA). Through the PCA, we found that the three-factor model of the original MDORS was also largely present in the Dutch translation. However, deviations were also found, as several questions did not achieve high PCA scores in their original factor. Therefore, we propose that these questions are excluded from the Dutch MDORS.

Erratum: The study of service dogs for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: a scoping literature review.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2018.1503523.].

The study of service dogs for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: a scoping literature review.

The therapeutic application of human-animal interaction has gained interest recently. One form this interest takes is the use of service dogs as complementary treatment for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Many reports on the positive effect of PTSD Service Dogs (PSDs) on veterans exist, though most are indirect, anecdotal, or based on self-perceived welfare by veterans. They therefore only give a partial insight into PSD effect. To gain a more complete understanding of whether PSDs can be considered an effective complementary treatment for PTSD, a scoping literature review was performed on available studies of PSDs. The key search words were 'dog', 'canine', 'veteran', and 'PTSD'. This yielded 126 articles, of which 19 matched the inclusion criteria (six empirical studies). Recurrent themes in included articles were identified for discussion of methodology and/or results. It was found that results from most included studies were either applicable to human-animal interaction in general or other types of service animals. They therefore did not represent PSDs specifically. Studies which did discuss PSDs specifically only studied welfare experience in veterans, but used different methodologies. This lead us to conclude there is currently no undisputed empirical evidence that PSDs are an effective complementary treatment for veterans with PTSD other than reports on positive welfare experience. Additionally, the lack of development standardization and knowledge regarding welfare of PSDs creates risks for both human and animal welfare. It is therefore recommended that a study on the effect of PSDs be expanded to include evaluation methods besides self-perceived welfare of assisted humans. Future studies could include evaluations regarding human stress response and functioning, ideally conducted according to validated scientific methodologies using objective measurement techniques to identify the added value and mechanisms of using PSDs to assist treatment of PTSD in humans.

La aplicación terapéutica de la interacción humano-animal ha ganado interés en los últimos años. Una forma que toma este interés es el uso de perros de servicio como tratamiento complementario para veteranos con Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático (TEPT). Existen muchos reportes del efecto positivo de los Perros de Servicio en TEPT (PSDs, en su sigla en inglés) en los veteranos, aunque la mayoría son indirectos, anecdóticos o basados en la autopercepción de bienestar de los veteranos. Por lo tanto, sólo entregan una visión parcial sobre el efecto de los PSD. Para obtener una comprensión más completa sobre si los PSDs pueden ser considerados un tratamiento complementario efectivo para el TEPT, se realizó una revisión exploratoria de la literatura de los estudios disponibles de PSDs. Las palabras clave de búsqueda fueron 'perro', 'canino' 'veterano' y 'TEPT', lo que arrojó 126 artículos, de los cuales 19 cumplieron los criterios de inclusión (6 estudios empíricos). Los temas recurrentes en los artículos incluidos fueron identificados para discusión de la metodología y/o resultados. Se encontró que los resultados de la mayoría de los estudios incluídos eran aplicables a la interacción humano-animal en general o en otro tipo de animales de servicio. Por lo tanto, no representaban a los PSDs específicamente. Los estudios que discutían acerca de PSDs en forma específica solo estudiaron la experiencia de bienestar en los veteranos, aunque usaron diferentes metodologías entre ellos. Esto lleva a concluir que actualmente no hay evidencia empírica indiscutible de que los PSDs sean un tratamiento complementario efectivo para los veteranos con TEPT más allá de los reportes de una experiencia positiva de bienestar. Adicionalmente, la falta de estandarización del desarrollo y conocimiento acerca del bienestar de los PSDs genera riesgos para el bienestar de ambos, humano y animal. Por lo tanto es recomendable que el estudio del efecto de los PSDs sea ampliado para incluir métodos de evaluación mas allá del bienestar auto-percibido de los humanos asistidos. Estudios futuros podrían incluir evaluaciones en relación a la respuesta al estrés y funcionamiento humanos, idealmente conducidos de acuerdo a metodologías científicas validadas usando técnicas de medición objetivas para identificar el valor agregado, y mecanismos, del uso de PSDs para asistir el tratamiento del TEPT en humanos.