The influence of service dogs on recipients, families, and caregivers

Though literature on the influence and efficacy of service dogs as a complementary and integrative health intervention option for a variety of needs (e.g., medical, mobility, psychiatric) continues to emerge, a focus on how service dogs are integrated into the everyday lives of their handlers remains understudied. This dissertation offers new insights to this previously understudied area by first comparing the expectations versus lived experiences of veteran service dog handlers with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and then focusing in on the influence of service dogs beyond the handler, looking at the influence of service dogs on spouses, family members and caregivers. Using a rigorous multi-modal approach, both qualitative and quantitative insights emerge regarding the integration of a service dog for the handler and their families. Findings suggest that understanding the similarities and differences between expectations and experiences may help to inform practitioners and interested recipients about the service dog intervention and help to set realistic expectations about the integration process. Additionally, in populations of psychiatric assistance dogs for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and in populations of mobility and medical alert assistance dogs, findings suggest that the benefits and challenges of the intervention reach beyond the service dog recipient and handler, extending to affect the wellbeing of their families and caregivers. Researchers and practitioners should work together to develop programs that integrate these findings to provide family-focused educational interventions where both positive and negative experiences are shared alongside strategies to overcome the challenges associated with integrating a service dog into a home prior to pairing. Providing this opportunity enables setting realistic expectations for this complementary and integrative intervention option which in turn may affect its efficacy and success throughout and beyond the integration process.