Lynette A. Hart

The Role of Pet Dogs in Casual Conversations of Elderly Adults

Casual conversations were recorded as elderly persons routinely walked their dogs through a familiar mobile home park in the United States. Control observations included walks without dogs by owners and non-owners of dogs. All owners talked to and about their dogs. Transcribed conversations indicated that dogs were a primary focus of conversation. A majority of sentences to dogs were imperatives; the owners were instructing the dogs. Dog owners frequently included dogs names or nicknames in their sentences when they spoke to the dogs and made reference to the dogs wishes or needs. Speaking to dogs was also associated with frequent repetition of sentences. Passersby talked to the owners about their dogs whether or not the dogs were present. When dog owners spoke with other people, their conversations often concerned activities that were occurring in the present, whereas conversations of non-owners focused on stories about past events. Dog owners reported taking twice as many daily walks as non-owners. Dog owners also reported significantly less dissatisfaction with their social, physical and emotional states.

Methods, Standards, Guidelines, and Considerations in Selecting Animals for Animal-Assisted Therapy: Part A: Understanding Animal Behavior, Species, and Temperament as Applied to Interactions with Specific Populations

Publisher Summary This chapter takes a look at the concepts of animal-assisted activities and therapy (AAA/T) and venues where they are useful, and then deals with selecting appropriate animals. It suggests broadening the concept and practice of AAA/T to include situations where full-time companionship is provided, rather than offering only periodic visits. When preparing to offer AAA/T, many of the principles are the same as those used when selecting companion animals for normal home environments. The decision to offer someone special activities or therapy through companionship with animals is based on the presumption that an animal can provide something that the person needs or that would enhance the persons life in a significant way, or that the animal can add essential motivation to carry out assigned treatments or activities. Careful planning is required to provide adequate support and assistance to individuals seeking therapeutic full-time contact with a companion animal. One issue that frequently arises, concerns the acceptance of companion animals in the persons housing. A more basic challenge is that someone who has compromised psychological or physical health is likely to need a specially tailored program of assistance to assume responsibility for an animal. Some of these systems have been developed by agencies placing guide or service dogs, but comparable instruction and tutorial support are not currently available for the general population.

How mammals stay healthy in nature: the evolution of behaviours to avoid parasites and pathogens

Mammals live and thrive in environments presenting ongoing threats from parasites in the form of biting flies, ticks and intestinal worms and from pathogens as wound contaminants and agents of infectious disease. Several strategies have evolved that enable animals to deal with parasites and pathogens, including eliminating away from the sleeping–resting areas, use of an array of grooming techniques, use of saliva in licking, and consuming medicinal plant-based compounds. These strategies all are species-specific and reflect the particular environment that the animal inhabits. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours’.

Sickness Behavior in Animals: Implications for Health and Wellness

Sickness behavior represents a centrally organized suite of behaviors – depression, inactivity, anorexia, sleepiness, and reduction of grooming – that evolved in animals living in nature to conserve body resources for the high energetic costs of fever in fighting infections. The domestic scene reveals that sickness behaviors can be an early marker of infections such as mastitis in cows. Aspects of sickness behavior are markers of stressful situations such as separating a young animal from its mother. In husbandry of animals that are pets, farm animals or in zoos, markers of sickness behavior are indications of infection, or stress and impaired welfare.