Dogs……they are adorable, show unconditional love, are friendly, good at reading our emotions and so much more.

So……. YES, there is place for dog therapy in any form especially in aged care. Emerging research suggests dogs may have the ability to boost health and general well-being, especially with the elderly.

The age-old saying of “A dog is a man’s best friend” has found its true application in recent times. Whether it’s a calming pat, some floppy ears to listen, a friendly paw to shake, these certified four-legged creatures are known to spread joy and bring back lost smiles to patients, residents, family and staff.

Pet therapy can be offered in private nursing homes, a residential aged care setting, retirement living, at hospices or even at home. Dogs are not the only animals used in the therapy other’s may include domesticated pets and farm animals.

Outside of aged care, therapy dogs are also commonly used in schools, courtrooms, and airports to assist people suffering from anxiety, depression, and other psychological ailments.

The goals of a pet therapy program can include:

• improving motor skills and joint movement
• reducing anxiety because of its calming effects
• improving assisted or independent movement
• increasing self-esteem
• increasing verbal communication
• developing social skills
• increasing willingness to join in activities
• improving interactions with others
• motivating willingness to exercise

In order to keep our therapy dogs safe and able to continue playing an important role in patients’ lives, we need to protect them from any potential harm or disturbance that they might encounter along the way.

Here, we look at the ‘what if’ scenarios associated with bringing therapy dogs into nursing homes, hospitals and clinics:

The first thing to be aware of is that the wide variety of patients that our canines come across can act in different and sometimes unpredictable ways. While the vast majority of patients have only love, care, and respect to show, there are inevitably those patients whose behaviour is erratic, confused and potentially harmful to therapy dogs. As such, the first part of this guide looks at how you can mitigate unpredictable and harmful behaviour from patients by being prepared for those ‘what if’ scenarios.

Sometimes our canine friends get slightly more physical than we bargained for. You’ll be aware of what constitutes friendly snuggles and what goes beyond to make the animal feel uncomfortable. Patients have been known to:

• Tug on the dog’s collar too hard
• Grab a dog painfully by the ears
• Pull the tail of the dog
• Stoke or pet the dog a little too over-enthusiastically

In these situations, dogs need protection. Without alarming the patient or the therapy dog, gently assert that the patient should be handling their new canine friend a little more gently.

If the patient seems unable to treat the dog with respect and care, you may have to remove the dog from the patient’s side.

On the other hand, some circumstances can arise in which the therapy dog acts in an unpredictable and less-than-calm manner. Despite being very well trained and capable of reacting gently to a number of different stimuli, sometimes our canine friends can become a little difficult to deal with – and you need to be at hand to calm them down, taking command of the situation before it escalates. They are, after all, dogs.  They are emotional beings and can have a bad day, or get overexcited, as humans do sometimes.

So……. dog therapy, aged care, loving creatures and well-being all go hand in hand!

“Therapy dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole”