The dog is the pet par excellence. Whatever happens or your workday, they will always be waiting for you, but in addition to this fidelity, the use of canine therapy as a therapeutic resource has become an increasingly common practice.
This type of therapy is used to help people with disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease, depression and even children with autism. Canine therapy has several physical, psychological and social benefits.
- Dogs are the most commonly used animals in animal therapies.
- They have been shown to help improve the health and well-being of patients.
- This type of therapy is based on the assistance and implementation of interventions in which the interaction between the animal and the person is introduced as a key point.
It is important to understand it as a complement to clinical therapies, not as a substitute or alternative to other conventional treatments, should be supervised and directed by health or education professionals, interdisciplinary work is needed to achieve the expected results
This type of therapy has been used with great success to treat people with different problems. These include emotional and behavioral disorders, such as ADHD, stress, anxiety, or depression; addictions or mental and neurological changes, such as Alzheimer’s disease. And also for autism spectrum disorders, venereal diseases such as AIDS or with dependents and the elderly.
Dogs used in these therapies must meet a number of specific criteria or characteristics, should be agile, active, obedient, affectionate, patient and friendly, once passed this initial filter, can be trained as canine therapists.
It is necessary to differentiate between two types of dogs, depending on the purpose of the therapy:
In people with acquired brain damage it is very useful to do therapy with dogs because they increase their motivation, as a method to accelerate their rehabilitation, interacting with these animals serves as an incentive and a way to stay active. Dog activities stimulate them mentally, which in turn allows them to improve their attention and strive to keep up.
Therapy also prevents them from feeling alone, the dog is considered the best friend of man because he accepts us unconditionally, so he is a kind of natural therapist, which serves as an antidote to combat anxiety, depression, stress or monotony.
Patients appreciate their company, especially if they love animals, they usually prefer to recover with another living being rather than with a fully mechanical exercise device.
In addition, the bond that is created between the dog and the person goes beyond mutual affection, many see it as similar to the bond that the mother has with her baby, for all these benefits, canine therapy improves the mood of patients.
Dog therapy increases patients’ physical activity, playing with them, exercising to bend or walk strengthens muscles, bones and joints, thus facilitating better development of the vestibular system (linked to balance and spatial control), increases propioception (postural balance) and muscle strength.
On the other hand, it improves motor skills and coordination, as it acts on all the patient’s senses, sight, hearing or touch. Also, through activities such as caressing, nourishing, caring for or brushing the hair, the patient gains greater control over certain movements, especially the hands and arms.
Therefore, in addition to being a powerful bridge of communication between therapist and patient, canine therapy offers learning through play, fosters social contacts and the development of leisure skills, improves multiple skills, such as empathy, respect, communication, cooperation and teamwork. .
Dog therapy can be done in a group or individually, it depends on the needs of each patient and the most appropriate way to address the person’s disability, disorder or difficulty, compared to other therapies that allow them to be performed only in a specialized center, they can also be performed at home. Personalized therapy can target people of all ages, from children to the elderly.
In addition to being one of the favorite pets of children and adults, dogs offer us real healing opportunities, using them in addition to therapies offers, as we have seen, multiple benefits at all levels, that is, increasingly integrated into therapies help and help solve problems related to change and disability.