Assistance Dogs: Impact and Etical Considerations Jennifer Arnold Content presented at te 2017 Hill s Global Symposium in Wasington D.C., May 5-6, 2017. S ince te first guide dog was placed in 1929, te scope and number of assistance dogs as increased dramatically particularly, in recent years. In addition to assisting tose wo ave visual impairments, dogs are being used to elp wit earing and mobility difficulties, seizures, diabetes, allergies, autism, PTSD, and a number of oter medical and psyciatric conditions. A review of te impact of tese dogs will indicate tat a toroug assessment of te etical considerations surrounding teir treatment is merited and tat te implementation of best practices is a responsibility sared by us all. Te Impact of Assistance Dogs Anecdotal reports (see Table 1) indicate tat assistance dogs ave a significant impact on te pysical functionality, emotional ealt, social function, ealt, and economic status of teir uman partners. Tere is increasing empirical evidence to support tese anecdotal reports, including tat presented in a review by Natalie Sacs-Ericsson and Nancy Kay Merbitz in te August, 2002 issue of Reabilitation Psycology1. Assistance dogs also appear to provide benefits to te families and colleagues of teir uman partners. Te preliminary results of a recent study by Dr. Marguerite O Haire, Kerri Rodriguez, and Dr. Jessica Bibbo from te Center for te Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University2 indicate an overall increase in quality of life reported by te family of tose individuals wit wom service dogs ave been placed. Review of te Current Terminology Assistance Dogs is te term used to refer to any dog wo mitigates te effect(s) of a disability or medical condition. Guide Dogs assist people wo are visually impaired. Hearing or Signal Dogs assist people wo are earing impaired. Service Dogs assist people wo ave disabilities, oter tan visual or earing impairment, wic inibit teir ability to perform routine activity of daily living. Service dogs include: Mobility Assistance Dogs Seizure Response Dogs Diabetic Alert Dogs Allergen Detection Dogs Medical Alert Dogs Autism Support Dogs PTSD and oter Psyciatric Service Dogs Facility Dogs are fully trained assistance dogs wo work in ospitals, reabilitation centers, scools, courtouses, police departments, and oter places were animal assisted interventions are beneficial.
Te anecdotal and empirical evidence is clear. Assistance dogs improve te lives of teir uman partners as well as teir partners families and colleagues. Based on te functional and economic impact of assistance dogs to individuals one can reasonably conclude tat assistance dogs are of benefit to us all. TABLE 1 OVERVIEW OF COMMONLY CITED ASSISTANCE DOG BENEFITS Guide Dogs Hearing Dogs Mobility Medical Psyciatric Pysical Function Obstacle avoidance Elevation canges Object location Object retrieval Alert to sounds Report location of sounds Retrieve Open doors Flip switces Pus buttons Alert to cange in condition Retrieve Go for elp Alert to cange in condition Retrieve Go for elp Go for elp Social interactions wit oters interactions wit oters interactions wit oters interactions wit oters interactions wit oters Reduce feelings of Reduce feelings of Reduce feelings of Reduce feelings of Reduce feelings of Emotional security confidence security confidence security confidence security confidence security confidence wellbeing wellbeing wellbeing wellbeing wellbeing Decrease loneliness Decrease loneliness Decrease loneliness Decrease loneliness Decrease loneliness Medical safety Better overall ealt safety Better overall ealt safety Better overall ealt security Reduce number of problematic episodes security Reduce number of problematic episodes Financial d Reduce need for uman assistance Reduce need for uman assistance Reduce need for uman assistance Reduce need for uman assistance Reduce need for uman assistance Reduce medical costs Reduce medical costs
Etical Considerations Te etical obligations involved in educating and placing service dogs are tree-fold. 1 To ensure te safety of te public in te presence of te dog. 2To ensure te dog as te skills and caracteristics necessary to mitigate te effects of is partner s disability. 3To ensure tat te dog is and remains ealt and appy. Public Safety Certified Applied Animal Beaviorist Karen London explains Being afraid is at te root of more canine aggression tan any oter factor3. According to te AVMA, dogs bite in reaction to someting often stressful, startling, scary, or painful in nature4. Lack of socialization and abituation, lack of andler awareness of body language, and restraint/lack of control can lead to aggression in dogs and, tereby, endangering public safety. Terefore, it is vital tat socialization to people and oter animals and abituation to a variety of environments is a primary focus of educational protocols for assistance dogs. Handlers need to learn to recognize, evaluate, and appropriately respond to canine body language wile dogs need to be know tey can affect teir own circumstances in order to avoid feelings of entrapment. Efficacy of Assistance In order for dogs to effectively render service, tey must ave te knowledge, skills, and willingness to do so. Te ability to retain knowledge and master skills is widely accepted to be closely tied to feelings of security and wellbeing. Willingness to perform tasks is also influenced by a dog s wellbeing in addition to is desire to avoid negative consequences and reap benefits. Appropriate education in te presence of effective motivation is terefore a necessary part of placing a capable assistance dog. Well Being of Dogs Te well being of assistance dogs is critical for multiple reasons. Dogs need to be ealty in order to function well. In addition, tey need to feel safe and confident in order to learn, retain, and utilize te skills needed to elp teir uman partners. From an etical standpoint, dogs tat are asked to work for te betterment of man deserve te very best we ave to give. Etical considerations tus igligt te importance of security, confidence, and well being in assistance dogs. Wat We ve Seen at Canine Assistants Canine Assistants is a service dog scool, founded in 1991, tat as placed over 2,000 dogs wit cildren and adults wo ave pysical disabilities, type I diabetes, epilepsy, or oter particular needs. Wen we first began, our training and andling metodology was I-said-sit obedience. Over te course of time, we sifted to a positive reinforcement-based metodology. Wile te people felt muc appier wit te positive reinforcement approac, te dogs actually sowed signs of increased anxiety. Tis lead us to conduct a toroug review of te available information regarding canine cognition and beavior publised in peer-reviewed journals since 2001 in an effort to determine ow best to elp our dogs feel secure. Our review led us to believe tat social learning based on a secure attacment between dog and person made more sense tan training our dogs to perform beaviors wen cued or commanded to do so. As we sifted to a more social, less directives-based approac, we ad some dogs wo were used to being given cues or commands and oter wo were not. Tis gave us a unique opportunity to assess te impact of directives on te stress level of tirtyeigt of our Golden mixes ranging in age from 12-22 monts. Toug we believed we d see some positive correlation between te need to obey te directives of an unfamiliar person and stress beaviors, we were stunned to see ow dramatic tat correlation actually was (see Cart 1). In tis case, given te absence of any oter variable sared only by te dogs wo did not stay wen so commanded, we feel tat correlation does provide evidence of causation. Given our small sample size and te potential impact of suc a finding, furter researc is needed and ongoing. Te pilosopy we ve developed in response to our researc is called te Bond-Based Approac and te educational metodology we now utilize is known as Bond-Based Coice Teacing. Since adopting tis pilosopy and metodology, our dogs sow a greater initial bond wit teir partners, far less anxiety, and increased success in teir working lives. We know; owever, ours is not te only way. Tere are oter metods of educating and andling assistance dogs tat will result in confident, successful dogs. But we do believe strongly tat in order to place and maintain assistance dogs in an etical manner, a focus on teir security and well being is imperative.
CHART 1 SCATTER PATTERN 16 Number of common stress beaviors noted in te 10-minute period following stay command. 12 8 4 0 0 8 15 23 30 Lengt of time in seconds dog remained in place wen directed to stay by an unfamiliar person. COMMON STRESS BEHAVIORS RECORDED: Squinting/furrowing brow Burying ead Licking lips or nose Yawning Panting Saking off/drooling/freezing Sniffing/trembling Slicking back ears Unusual canges in tail carriage Cewing/scratcing at self Spinning/circling Digging/escape beaviors Backing away from andler Slicking back ears Unusual canges in tail carriage Cewing/scratcing at self Spinning/circling Digging/escape beaviors Sweaty/moist paw prints on floor Goosing, soving or poking andler Leaning into or iding beind andler Oter attention-seeking beaviors
Conclusion Assistance dogs are increasing in scope and numbers. Anecdotal and empirical evidence indicate tat tese dogs are of value to teir individual partners, families, and society as a wole. Assistance dogs wit teir legal access to public venues can also pose a danger to public safety. Wen te benefits and risks of assistance dogs are sared by us all ten so too are te responsibilities. Assistance dogs, like all domestic dogs, are made vulnerable by teir dependence on te people. Ensuring teir vulnerabilities are equally matced by our benevolence is an obligation sared by us all. References 1. Hilary M. Audrestc, M.Sc. a, 1, Cantelle T. et al. Recognizing te value of assistance dogs in society. Disability Healt J. 2015; 8(4):469-474. 2. Oaire, M, Rodriguez, K, Bibbo J., Connections Beyond te Leas, NAVC Conf Proc 2017. 3. Most Dangerous Kinds of Dogs. Te Bark; available at ttp://tebark.com/content/ most-dangerous-kinds-dogs. Accessed February 23, 2017. 4. Wy Dogs Bite. American Veterinary Medical Association; available at ttps:// www.avma.org/public/pages/wy-dodogs-bite.aspx. Accessed February 23, 2017