Virtual Pet Week on Capitol Hill Celebrates Pets during Pandemic

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and IDEXX today hosted a virtual lecture highlighting a HABRI-funded research project investigating the benefits of engaging in a dog training program for young people aged 10-17. This lecture is a part of the IDEXX Human-Animal Bond Lecture Series, which explores impactful scientific research on the health benefits of the human-animal bond and the importance of veterinary medicine in strengthening human-animal bonds. The lecture, titled “The Impact of a Dog Training Program on the Physical Activity, Quality of Life, and Social Wellbeing of Adolescents”, featured a discussion led by Oregon State University professors Dr. Megan MacDonald, Ph.D, and Dr. Monique Udell, Ph.D, on their study examining a Do as I Do (“DAID”) dog training program, which emphasizes an active partnership between dog and owner by demonstrating a particular behavior for the dog to repeat. The study aims to assess whether youth who undergo the DAID dog training program will experience an improved child-dog bond, increased mutual physical activity as well as higher feelings of responsibility, quality of life and social wellbeing. Partial findings indicate that dogs show great potential to learn when trained by adolescents. “HABRI was proud to host Dr. MacDonald and Dr. Udell as they shared details about their research which addresses the potential of the human-animal bond to support adolescent wellbeing, a group at high risk for physical inactivity, anxiety and depression,” said HABRI President Steven Feldman. “HABRI is grateful to IDEXX for sponsoring this lecture, helping connect veterinarians with the health benefits of the human-animal bond for the entire family.” Veterinary professionals who viewed this session live will be eligible to receive RACE-approved Continuing Education (CE) credit through the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB). The lecture will remain available on-demand at http://www.habri.org/HAB-Lectures....

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced today a new research project to determine the effects of an equine-assisted therapy (EAT) program on the lives of older adults diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The study, How does 8 weeks of equine-assisted therapy affect older adults diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease?, led by researchers from the Texas Woman’s University School of Health Promotion and Kinesiology, will compare bradykinesia severity and functional outcomes before and after 8 weeks of EAT in adults with PD, and characterize the resulting human-animal interaction “While research studies examining the physiological benefits of horseback riding have been conducted before, there is a lack of published research regarding the physical adaptations of EAT in adults with PD,” said the study’s Principal Investigator, B. Rhett Rigby, PhD, Texas Woman’s University. “We hope that the results of this study will further the efficacy of EAT as a novel treatment modality for this population, and lead to a more widespread acceptance by healthcare practitioners.” Thirty men diagnosed with PD, aged 40 to 80 years, will be recruited and randomly assigned into two groups. Fifteen participants will complete eight weeks of EAT, and fifteen participants will complete a similar protocol on a horseback riding simulator. The EAT intervention will contain 17 total sessions across a period of eight weeks, and a licensed physical therapist will oversee and conduct all EAT sessions. A similar protocol will be in place for the simulated riding session. Preliminary data in the form of two pilot studies suggest that an improvement in postural sway and balance is present after both EAT and simulated riding in older adults with balance deficits. The study will seek to determine if these adaptions will lead to improvements with other hallmark features of PD pathophysiology, including bradykinesia, posture, balance, and gait. Researchers expect that individuals...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced funding for a new research project that will examine how different human-equine interactions affect physiological indicators of self-regulation in autistic youth. The grant was awarded to a team of researchers led by Dr. B. Caitlin Peters, Director of Research at the Temple Grandin Equine Center at Colorado State University, and Dr. Robin Gabriels, Professor at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus. Autistic youth can experience impaired self-regulation, defined as the ability to monitor, evaluate, and modify one’s emotions and behavior. There are over a dozen distinct equine-assisted services (EASs), including a variety of therapy and educational programs integrating horses to improve health and wellbeing for autistic youth. One specific intervention, therapeutic horseback riding (THR), has been demonstrated to improve social abilities and self-regulation in autistic youth. However, there is a knowledge gap about the differential effects of mounted compared to unmounted human-equine interactions on autistic youth. The objective of the proposed study is to quantify the immediate effects of mounted and unmounted human-equine interactions on physiological and behavioral indicators of self-regulation in autistic youth. “Previously, autistic youth who have been unwilling or unable to ride a horse have been excluded from equine-assisted services studies,” said Dr. B. Caitlin Peters, the Principal Investigator of this study. “This new research aims to inform the development of a completely unmounted intervention protocol, which would enable more autistic youth to access equine-assisted services and benefit from these interventions.” This study will be the first study to randomly assign autistic youth to mounted vs unmounted human-equine interactions. Twenty-four autistic youth between the ages of 6 and 16 will be randomized to undergo three interventions including horseback...