|
"Observations on Assistance Dog Training
and Use"
Authors of original article: Raymond
Coppinger, Loma Coppinger, and Ellen Skillings
Originally published in Journal of Applied Animal Welfare
Science
Volume 1, Number 2, 1998*
The most common relation we have with dogs is as companion
animals -- as individuals who most people, when asked, count as
members of their family. However, an estimated 10,000 dogs in
the United States are working dogs who assist people with tasks
they could not perform by themselves. Trained service dogs guide
people who have sensory disabilities, alerting them to aspects
of the environment, retrieving objects, pulling wheelchairs,
opening doors, and the like. While some take the position that
such use of animals is inherently exploitative, others argue
that animals enter into such arrangements willingly and form a
working relation with the needy person.
The authors, Coppinger, Coppinger, and Skillings, examined some
of the common tasks that service dogs perform to determine the
amount of physical stress they require. Specifically, they
measured the physical force required to pull a wheelchair and to
open a door. Regarding the wheelchair they found that the task
required undue exertion by the dog. In fact, depending on how
far, fast, and long and over what surface the chair is being
pulled, this task requires more effort than the exertion of a
sled dog, a use of dogs that has come under considerable
criticism by animal advocates for the burden it imposes.
The authors also find that the harness used and the effort
required by the person in the chair are problematic. Depending
on the height of the door handle relative to the height of the
dog, opening a door is also difficult and creates considerable
discomfort.
In addition to being physically unpleasant and uncomfortable,
these tasks are not ones that dogs are intrinsically motivated
to perform. Dogs have to be continually verbally commanded and
rewarded to perform these actions. In many of the authors=
observations of them, people did not instruct their assistance
dogs properly. While the dogs were highly trained, the people
using them were novices.
To assure and enhanced the welfare of service dogs, they advise
proper training of prospective handlers, a modification of
equipment and tasks based on a better understanding of their
physical complexities of the tasks, and a clearer appreciation
of their instinctive behavior.
*Available from Psychologists for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals, P.O. Box 1297, Washington Grove,
MD 20880-1297; 301-963-4751.
To order Journal
of Applied Animal Welfare Science or Society & Animals,
go to our secure online
ordering page
You can Search the
online issues of Society & Animals, as well as the entire
Society & Animals Forum (formerly PSYETA)
website,
for topics and keywords of your interest:
|
