Abstract
Introduction: Emerging reports claim that medical alert dogs (MADs) are alerting to health conditions other than those for which they were trained or first began alerting, and to people other than the person for whom they were trained or first began alerting. The aim of this study was to document this phenomenon empirically and examine whether any variables were associated with dogs alerting to multiple conditions, multiple people, or both.
Methodology: MAD owners completed an online survey containing sociodemographic questions about the person to whom the dog alerted, demographic and training questions about the alerting dog, and questions about the conditions to which, and people to whom, the dog alerted. Fisher’s exact tests were used to determine whether there were any significant relationships between the demographic variables and whether or not the dog alerted to multiple conditions, multiple people, or both.
Main results/findings: In a sample of MAD owners (N=61), 84% reported that their dog alerted to multiple conditions, 54% reported that their dog alerted to multiple people, and 46% reported that their dog alerted to multiple conditions and multiple people. Analyses revealed that for dogs without formal training for medical alert, there was a marginally significant relationship between the amount of time the primary person had been with their dog before and whether or not the dog alerted to multiple conditions (p = .004, two-sided Fisher’s Exact Test).
Principal conclusions and implications for the field: MAD owners commonly report that their dogs alert to multiple conditions and multiple people. This is the first study to empirically document this phenomenon and the findings highlight the need for further studies to investigate the mechanisms by which dogs may be able to detect multiple conditions and/or multiple individuals’ conditions. Factors that may contribute our findings will be discussed.
Methodology: MAD owners completed an online survey containing sociodemographic questions about the person to whom the dog alerted, demographic and training questions about the alerting dog, and questions about the conditions to which, and people to whom, the dog alerted. Fisher’s exact tests were used to determine whether there were any significant relationships between the demographic variables and whether or not the dog alerted to multiple conditions, multiple people, or both.
Main results/findings: In a sample of MAD owners (N=61), 84% reported that their dog alerted to multiple conditions, 54% reported that their dog alerted to multiple people, and 46% reported that their dog alerted to multiple conditions and multiple people. Analyses revealed that for dogs without formal training for medical alert, there was a marginally significant relationship between the amount of time the primary person had been with their dog before and whether or not the dog alerted to multiple conditions (p = .004, two-sided Fisher’s Exact Test).
Principal conclusions and implications for the field: MAD owners commonly report that their dogs alert to multiple conditions and multiple people. This is the first study to empirically document this phenomenon and the findings highlight the need for further studies to investigate the mechanisms by which dogs may be able to detect multiple conditions and/or multiple individuals’ conditions. Factors that may contribute our findings will be discussed.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 22 Jun 2021 |
Event | 30th conference of the International Society for Anthrozoology 2021: the changing nature of human-animal relationships - Duration: 22 Jun 2021 → 24 Jun 2021 |
Conference
Conference | 30th conference of the International Society for Anthrozoology 2021: the changing nature of human-animal relationships |
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Period | 22/06/2021 → 24/06/2021 |
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Investigating the bio-detection dog: Cognition, behaviour and applications to human stress
Wilson, C. (Author), Wells, D. (Supervisor), Shorter, G. (Supervisor) & Reeve, C. (Supervisor), Jul 2023Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy