The Impact of Having a Close Bond With a Dog Or Cat On Owner Health Presented by Dr. Tiffani Howell

The impact of having a close bond with a pet dog or cat on owner health.

Presented by Dr. Tiffani Howell

CEUs: 1 PPAB, 1 CCPDT, 1 KPA , 1 IAABC, & 1 PMCT 

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The media is full of reports about the benefits of pet dog and cat ownership, However, these reports do not reflect the current state of the science around the impact of pet ownership on human health. Some studies show improved health for pet owners compared to non-owners, but others show no effect, and still others show that pet owners are worse off than non-owners.

The reasons for these mixed results are unclear. It may be that the quality of the pet-owner relationship is a factor. When measuring the quality of the relationship and correlating it with health outcomes, however, the results are still confusing. In some cases, a stronger relationship with one's pet is related to worse health, especially mental health, when there is limited social support from other people. This presentation will describe the evidence base in detail and attempt to disentangle these confusing results.

At the end of this webinar, participants will know:

• The current evidence base for pet ownership and human health
• Why the evidence isn't as clear-cut as is often reported in the media
• Understand the importance of a high quality pet-owner relationship in addition to, rather than instead of, human social support networks

About Your Presenter

Tiffani is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Psychology and Public Health at La Trobe University. She has extensive experience in research on animal welfare, dog-owner relationships, and assistance dogs, including surveys, focus groups, and behavioural studies. She recently completed a four-year trial, funded by the Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs, to understand the effectiveness of assistance dogs as an adjunct to treatment for veterans with PTSD.