Healing Dogs: Dog Therapy

The use of animals for therapeutic purposes is a growing activity. Different researches and studies constantly certify the benefits that these creatures offer to improve people’s physical, mental and emotional health. Possibly because of the close relationship with man, dogs are usually ideal for this purpose. We’ll tell you more about the benefits of canine therapy.

dogs heal us

Through canine therapy – or with other animals – it seeks to improve both physical and psychological, cognitive and social aspects of patients. Dogs then become a communication bridge between the therapist and people.

How is this achieved? It is known that furry ones offer us love unconditionally and do not judge or discriminate against us, as our counterparts usually do.

This point becomes crucial for people who feel vulnerable due to some physical, mental or emotional condition. Dogs don’t pay attention to these details, which can cause discomfort or rejection in other human beings, and make patients feel safe when they come in contact with them.

This is how dogs, always under the supervision of a professional, help in the recovery process of treated individuals.

What does dog therapy consist of?

Treatment can be developed in different contexts and be done both in groups and individually. What is certain is that when the patient interacts with an animal, he forgets, even temporarily, the situation that afflicts him. This generates a positive change in your routine.

The benefits of this therapy are demonstrated in cases as diverse as, for example, people with:

• Alzheimer’s;
• Autism;
• Terminal, mental or coronary illnesses;
• cerebral palsy;
• Behavior disorders.

And, although the positive effects seem to be more visible in children and the elderly, excellent results were also obtained with victims of violence and with inmates, who find in canine therapy a form of social reintegration.

Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy

Among the advantages that people obtain through animal-assisted therapy, we can highlight:

• Progress in motor skills and balance;
• Increased verbal interactions between members of a group;
• Increased ability to concentrate and pay attention;
• Greater self-esteem;
• Vocabulary expansion;
• Reduced levels of anxiety and the feeling of loneliness;
• Improved memory.

Dogs help vulnerable teenagers in Catalonia

A concrete example of the good results of dog therapy is that of the many teenagers who live in sheltered homes in Catalonia.

“If something goes wrong, they make us forget about it” , says one of the young people about the dogs that participate in the program with the purpose of transforming themselves into catalysts -and even mirrors- of their fears, anxieties, concerns and complaints.

There, there are stories as terrible as those of the immigrant who lost his family during the crossing from Africa to Europe or the young man who lost his legs after a terrible accident.

Therefore, the participation of the furry ones becomes essential to help revert these painful situations that many young people go through.

Dogs do us good, let’s do the same to them

Since the fate of man and dog crossed paths, dogs have not stopped doing us good, whether it is a pet or a rescue animal, passing through an infinity of eteceteras.

However, our attitude towards them cannot be measured with the same parameters, because we often respond to them with different types of violence: abandonment, exploitation, blows…

But even so, they stay with us, faithful to us, so we should often learn from their example and try to be better people in the process.