By Amir Sarrafchi
Choice and consent are important aspects of welfare, particularly during human-animal interactions. Dogs used in therapeutic settings commonly experience human touch interactions where they lack control over the situation. The current study investigated the effect of consensual and non-consensual touch treatments on stress-related behaviours and avoidance/approach tendencies toward participants/owners in therapy dogs during human-dog interactions. A total of 18 therapy dogs (nine neutered males, nine spayed females) and 44 humans participated in the study. Each participant interacted individually with up to four therapy dogs for three min in both consensual and non-consensual treatments. During the non-consensual treatment, the dog was on a leash held by the owner and the participant was instructed to touch the dog continuously. During the consensual treatment, the dog was loose in the pen and the participant was instructed to touch only if the dog came within arm’s reach. Testing sessions were recorded for retrospective behavioural coding and analyzed using a GLMM for repeated measures.
Lip-licking (P=.5938), panting (P=.4090) and yawning (P=.8619) behaviours did not differ between treatments. Avoidance behaviours were more frequent during consensual (3.0±0.31/3min) than non-consensual (0.4±0.33/3min) sessions (P<.0001). Conversely, dogs displayed more approach behaviours during non-consensual (17.6±0.04/3min) compared to consensual sessions (14.5±0.04/3min; P<.0001). Male dogs (2.7±0.40/3min) displayed a higher frequency of avoidance than female dogs (0.5±0.39/3min; P=.0032) regardless of treatment, although there was no influence on approach behaviour toward participants (P=.3960). Treatment did not impact the frequency of owner interaction, however male dogs (2.5±0.22/3min) tended to show a higher frequency of interaction with owners compared to female dogs (1.4±0.23/3min; P=.0604). The results demonstrate more avoidance behaviour in consensual human-dog interactions particularly in male dogs and more approach behaviour in non-consensual sessions. This highlights the importance of choice/consent during human-dog interactions which should be considered by program facilitators to promote the welfare of therapy dogs.
