Abstract:
It does not really matter what kind of pet you have, whether it is a cat or a dog, a fish or a ferret, an iguana or a horse. What’s important is developing a relationship with an animal. Having a pet often provides people with a reason for enjoying life and connecting with others. When families bring pets into their household it is likely that almost any animal they encounter can lower humans’ blood pressure, reduce anxiety and depression, and increase their social interaction. Pets also can offer comfort, and they can even provide many opportunities for children to better their social skills while also practicing caregiving. Introduction:
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT)
In America, there is a company called
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Although almost any dog can be a service animal, the most common dogs that are chosen have great health and temperament like Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and German Shepherds. Service dogs keep their owners company on all public outings, they are said to reduce social awkwardness many people exhibit in the presence of people with disabilities (5).
Overtime, service dogs as a whole increased and became an enormous assistance all over the world to help individuals achieve better mobility and most importantly independence. Therefore, service dogs are capable of providing affection, anxiety relief, encourage communication, protection and a companion for their
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Studies have shown that having a service dog in the workplace lowers stress and fosters increased communication among employees promoting a more unified workforce. Finally, allowing service dogs in the workforce would more than likely encourage owners to work longer hours, which will increase a company’s bottom line. Almost any service dog can drop a person's blood pressure, their mental function improves, and smile often shows up within the first hour of spending time.
Results:
Aging of service animals:
For people with a service dog, there are many reasons to expect or even watch for possible danger in the later years. Most assistant dogs who begin to slow down because of their senior years cannot and should not be expected to keep performing work, they will not be reliable nor dependable they will in fact endanger the owner. Lastly, it is not right to place demands on a dog that can no longer handled easily or comfortably. Below are some other signs that your service dog is aging:
Reduced interest in work
Physical
Some medical professionals do not believe that mental health patients can benefit from therapy dogs and go as far as saying it is a risk far as to say that it is a to the patient and compromise the patients ability to take care of the dog. When people who suffer with mental health issues qualify to get a therapy dog. The mental health patient is tested to see if they are capable of taking care of the dog. Those in need of assistance should use therapy dogs frequently do to the part of the benefits to using these pets to improve mental and emotional health as and physical health. Therapy dogs are beneficial to people who suffer from mental health issues by providing companionship as well as support. Some people with mental health issues have a hard time trusting others and need someone to talk to; Service dogs are important because to make they people with mental health problems feel better and help people with these disorders deal with their emotions.
It can be a companion, an aide, or both. Pet dogs are loyal and make wonderful company, and an emotional support dog creates bountiful joy, but a service dog is much more. A service dog not only serves the same role as a pet, but creates a safer environment for its owner. Without the service dog it would be much harder for the owner to get around on a daily basis indecently. However service dogs and their owners are discriminated against because people are skeptical of the dog’s legitimacy, but instead the service dogs and their owners should be respected and treated as
The US Census in 2000 has reported that, during the late 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century there has been a large increase in the number of elderly people living in the United States of America, which will likely result in an increased incidence of dementia. In recent years, dog-assisted therapy has been widely regarded as a generally accepted method of providing elderly residents with good feelings and an increase in self-maintenance behavior. The aim of this study is to examine the psychological and behavioral effects of dog-assisted therapy on elderly residents with dementia. I predict that dog-assisted therapy will help elderly people with dementia with their behavioral and emotional problems such as aggression, agitation and psychosis.
Service dogs are another form of Animal Assisted Therapy. For example, a person that is deaf can own a hearing dog. “In these circumstances, a hearing dog can offer ameliorative benefits aside from alerting the caregiver to the phone ringing. A dog, being a full-time companion, ends up being a conversational partner that responds behaviorally to the statements and moods of other people nearby” (Fine 67). The dog becomes more than just a pet, but acts as a family member that takes full-time care of you.
Many people refer to these dogs as guide dogs, but there is another way to call a dog that leads, a service dog. They are very alike in ways that they both have to watch out closely to everything that’s going on around them. A service dog are hearing dogs, they are used for the deaf. Another type of service dog is a seizure alert dog, but these dogs are very uncommon to see. And these are the types of service dogs.
Gereal P. Mallon (1994) states there are numerous reports in literature that exemplify the value of human contact with animals. Studies have indicated animals such as dogs play an important role in not only socializing, but a significantly greater role in humanizing children. Dogs in particular due to their interactive and affectionate nature have become increasingly effective in adjunct therapy settings of children and youth. Piaget (1929) revealed in his research a stage in child development that it is inherently natural for a child to attribute human characteristics to an animal. Cartoons, fairytales, and mythology designed for children often depict animals as important roles of human interaction. Children are even found to project their inner feelings onto an animal, which they perceive as loving. These animals too do not talk back or argue which provides the continuous degree of nonjudgmental interaction essential to a child’s recovery process.
" The Impact of a Resident Dog on an Institution for the Elderly: Effects on Perceptions and Social Interactions." Gerontologist. 29 (1989): 216-23.
Dogs can help children cross the street, lead the blind, alert the deaf, and they do so much more. Many of times, an adult might focus on the problem that doesn’t need requirements. An adult might focus on the problem that a child is socially disabled and by focusing on this problem, they may not even see how this child is trying to cross a busy street or might be trying to talk to someone that they shouldn’t. A service dog prevents the child from going out of sight and many of times can lead a child out of danger or avoid it in the first place.
Animal-assisted therapy is often confused with service dog; it is two completely different type of usage of animals, which usually are dogs. It is commonly misunderstood because animal-assisted therapy and service dog are working animals with individuals with disability although according to (Hart-Cohen, 2009) service dogs is when an individual with disability is in need of help in order to function in daily life such as answering the door, crossing the street and the list goes on. While animal-assisted therapy animals are trained to offer comfort companionship, and affection to those in need in different situations such as courtrooms, nursing homes, schools, hospitals, and other places (Hart-Cohen, 2009). The point of animal-assisted therapy is to be available in specific situations to offer comfort to individuals. In order to become an assisted animal, the animal must undergo training, to receive a certified to prove that the animal is qualified to be able to control his or her behavior and is able to work with an...
Dogs make great companions, can be an assistance dogs and help people with disabilities, and even protect a household. Hearing dogs can be the ears for a person that is hard of hearing, seeing dogs can be the eyes for someone who is legally blind, and service dogs can be an alert system for someone with epilepsy. Although, these dogs are put through a lot of special training for a specific need. More often than not, an assistance dog is adopted but also donated to someone who is handicap. Since a landlord is unable to refuse a house or apartment to someone with an assistance dog, and they are allowed everywhere it is less likely for them to become an inconvenience.
Dogs are very common in the world we know today. Many households have one or more. Dogs are trained to be pets. Not only trained to be pets, dogs are also trained for work. Dogs are getting used more and more in our work environment. House dogs can also be considered a working dog depending on why the dog is there. There are many jobs for dogs. Dogs make a big impact on our working and social lives.
Owning a pet can have many physical and mental health benefits. Medical studies show having a pet result's in lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels. Pets have a role in cardiovascular health from lowering blood pressure, and they encourage psychosocial stability in owners, which further reduces the risk of heart disease. In the hectic and fast-paced world we live in today, pets are actually saving our lives. Pets provide an excuse to be active, dogs live an active lifestyle, wanting to play and run around outside. By making us more active and improving our health, dogs often provide a good workout! Instead of sitting on the couch being lazy, dogs are eager to transfer their energy and enthusiasm to the owner benefiting both dog and owner in many ways. Studies show that dogs demonstrate trust and provide comfort to the sick or elderly thus helping people to live longer and to be more positive as they age. Animal owners over 75 years of age have f...
Over 71 million American households (62%) have a pet, and most people think of their pets as members of the family. Some research studies have found that people who have a pet have healthier hearts, stay home sick less often, make fewer visits to the doctor, get more exercise, and are less depressed. Pets may also have a significant impact on allergies, asthma, social support, and social interactions with other people (Casciotti) .
It was with the hope of increased self-reliance that I applied for a service dog from Canine Companions for Independence. Canine Companions (CCI) has been training dogs to assist people with disabilities other than blindness since 1975. Obeying about 70 commands, CCI service dogs retrieve dropped items, open doors, turn lights on and off, pull wheelchairs, and more.
Would you like to live a happy and productive life? Then get pets! I must admit it is hard to believe that domesticated animals can promote mental and physical health, but many studies have shown that they can. People who own pets have been known to lead longer and happier lives than those without them. As we get older, we become less active. The more inactive we become, the higher our risk of death. We therefore need something in our lives to keep us busy so we don’t die prematurely, and a pet is just the thing to do it. This is probably because of the companionship, exercise, and responsibility that they provide. On the other hand, you must find a pet that is compatible with you or with your life style. Maintaining good mental health is crucial for living a normal life.