From Toto to Lassie and Old Yeller to Snoopy, dogs have been written about and portrayed on TV and in the movies as humans’ best friends, so there must be something to the special relationship people have with their pets.
For her scholarly project in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, Rebecca Syx and her dog Titan – a six-year-old Border Collie – sought to discover a bit more about that relationship. Well, Rebecca sought to learn more. Titan was just happy to receive lots of pets from students at the high school where Syx is a nurse.
“There have been decades of research showing people have decreased biological stress markers after interacting with animals,” Syx said. “It brings a sense of calmness, boosts their mood, and gives them a little bit of joy.”
Titan is a certified therapy dog. Both owner and dog went through the training, which included the American Kennel Club Good Citizen Training for Rebecca and eight weeks of therapy dog classes for Titan, followed by a certification test.
Syx points out that a therapy dog is different from a service animal, such as a seeing eye dog, which is trained to aid their master for a specific purpose.
“Therapy dogs must be social, confident, and comfortable around people,” said Syx, adding that Border Collies, although a highly intelligent breed, are usually too enthusiastic and active to be a good therapy dog. But Titan is a special boy.
“One of the qualities that they look for in the certification test is how well the dog and its owner work together,” said Syx. “The dog has to trust its handler that she will keep it safe.”
The idea of pet therapy for a scholarly project was not Syx’ first choice, which, she admits, was due to her own concept of what scholarly research is.
“I wanted to do something different, to build on something,” she said. “After five years as a community health nurse, I realized that this project found me.”
Syx says that she has seen pet therapy help people who are struggling with stress and anxiety “get out of their head a bit and quiet the internal dialogue” that can threaten to spiral them into a poor mental health state. She cautions that pet therapy does not address the root cause of stress and anxiety, but it can help foster a presence in the moment where personal connections can be made.
Titan was an immediate hit among the students. There is a high level of stress and anxiety in adolescents and being around a friendly dog helped to alleviate some of those stressors.
“Titan got them to look up from their phones for once,” she joked, although acknowledging there are more than a few grains of truth in that statement. “Students who never made eye contact would look up at me and tell me about their dog.”
Her research will be conducted this fall and involves both evidence-based practice and quality improvement data. Students will meet with Titan once a week for six weeks and self-report changes in their stress levels after a visit with the dog.
“Titan provides unconditional acceptance, which isn’t given a lot in teens’ lives,” Syx said. “Being around Titan brings them to focus and helps them better navigate social situations.”