Therapy dogs support human well-being across varied contexts.

Therapy dog affect is influenced by context and client.

Therapy dog welfare must be a priority when offering canine-assisted interventions.

Providing opportunities for people to interact with therapy dogs is an increasingly popular way to support the well-being of a variety of clients across varied contexts. We most often see therapy dogs in hospitals or on college campuses, but they are also found in after-school programs and in police detachments, among other settings. By and large, programs that afford varied members of the public opportunities to interact with therapy dogs are considered a low-cost, low-barrier, and low-stigmatized way to support human well-being.

Coinciding with this surge in popularity of canine-assisted interventions (CAIs) is research attesting to the benefits of interacting with therapy dogs. Whereas researchers study a whole host of outcome variables to assess the impact of such interactions, we see stress as the most frequently studied outcome. Across studies, from pre-to-post visits, individuals report a significant reduction in stress after having interacted with a therapy dog and their........

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