Pet therapy dogs de-stress students

By Mary Beth Coniglio

On

September

10

, eight teams of PAWS of CNY volunteers attended the Fall De-Stress Event at the State University of New York at Oswego. Volunteers and their certified therapy dogs interacted with about 200 students in the shade of a big tree in front of Onondaga Hall.

It was a very hot day but many students still came out to pet the dogs and ask some questions. PAWS of CNY volunteers who attended the event included:

Christy Nappi and her Pomeranian Terrier Mix Charlie
Diane Rogers and Mary Berger with their Shi Tzu Sammy
Sue Vaughn and her Black Labrador Bert
Martha Sturtz and her Golden Retriever Flyer
Wendy Davenport and her Golden Doodle Fiona
Holly Besaw and her cat Hector
Linda Wood and Jocelyn Forcione with their Golden Retriever Casey
Joy Hawksby and her Golden Retriever Hali

Everyone had a great time and the students had a chance to relax and de-stress with the dogs!

Universities provide academic stress management programs and workshops to help students transition into college and manage the pressure of higher education. When finals season comes around, lots of campuses welcome therapy dogs to libraries and dorms for a brief reprieve from studying.

Now, a new study published this week in the journal AERA Open found these very good doggos provide students with stress relief benefits that can last up to six weeks. Compared to traditional stress management methods, students with high stress levels could think and plan more clearly after spending time with a therapy dog, reports Ed Cara for Gizmodo.

In recent years, therapy pets have gained popularity for their ability to provide comfort and support to those in hospitals and nursing homes. Various studies have shown that cuddling or interacting with a pet can decrease cortisol levels, a stress-related hormone, and reduce feelings of loneliness.

Study author Patricia Pendry, who studies human animal interaction at the Washington State University, previously showed in a 2019 study that petting a therapy animal for at least ten minutes could relieve stress in the short term. Pendry’s study of 200 undergradute students compared cortisol levels in saliva samples from students assigned to watch the dogs versus those assigned to pet or play with them. Sure enough, the undergraduates who pet the animals saw their cortisol levels drop in the short term.

As a follow-up to the 2019 study, Pendry and her team designed a three-year-long study that tested a total of 309 volunteer college students on their executive function or cognitive skills like organizing, planning, concentrating, and memorizing. Before the experiment took place, each volunteer was screened on their stress levels and took a test measuring their executive function. A third of the total number of undergraduates were considered at high risk for stress based on their recent academic performances or reported mental health history, Gizmodo reports.

Each volunteer was placed in one of three experimental groups consisting of either stress management workshops, petting therapy dogs, or both, reports Stephen Luntz for IFLS. (Trained handlers are always present in interactions with therapy animals.)

The stress management workshop consisted of four weekly, hour-long sessions focused on stress prevention methods, like meditation and exercise. The therapy dog group pet and played with pooches while talking about their stressors or learning about stress relief techniques, Gizmodo reports. The volunteers participating in both experimental groups interacted with the dogs and attended stress relief workshops.

The researchers found no differences in planning and organizing between students who had low-stress levels. But individuals prone to high stress levels in the therapy dog group did see promising results. Compared to other experimental groups, highly stressed undergrads who interacted with dogs experienced improved executive functioning skills that lasted up to six weeks after the program ended, Gizmodo reports.

“The results were very strong,” Pendry said in a statement. “We saw that students who were most at risk ended up having most improvements in executive functioning in the human-animal interaction condition. These results remained when we followed up six weeks later.”

Stress-relief programs that integrate therapy pets can help students relax as they talk and think about their stressors without overwhelming themselves and may be more effective at providing relief than academic approaches to stress management, Gizmodo reports.

“Interestingly though, our findings suggest that these types of educational workshops are less effective for students that are struggling. It seems that students may experience these programs as another lecture, which is exactly what causes the students to feel stressed,” Pendry said in a statement.

The researchers hope that their findings can be used to show that animal-assisted therapy can comfort and offer a variety of benefits to anyone struggling with stress and anxiety, reports IFLS.

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Staff Writer

Akron Beacon Journal

If Tuesday’s Stress-Free Zone day at the Kent State University library was the norm, the event’s effort to reduce student stress during finals week with the use of therapy dogs was a success.

You could barely see the dogs for the crowd of students gathered around them. The animals ranged from small dogs like a playful Havanese who loved sitting in laps, to a huge Newfoundland dog, which is similar in size to a St. Bernard, lying quite still as students petted his silky black, bear-like fur.

The Stress-Free Zone events — held Monday and Tuesday on the first floor of the university library — are offered as a study break for the students. This is the 12th year for therapy dogs on campus.

Students were sitting on the floor with the dogs, petting them and rubbing their bellies as the pets just sat or rolled on their sides or backs, taking it all in.

“The dogs are, like, ‘I don’t know you but I love you,’?” said Kathleen Adamle, founder of Dogs on Campus. “It’s magic. The dog doesn’t have to talk; there is all this interaction and everybody’s happy.”

Adamle, a KSU professor who had 40 years of clinical experience before joining the College of Nursing for the past 16 years, had 13 dogs at the event Monday and Tuesday, and not all the same dogs each time. There are 26 certified dog handlers on her team.

Her pet, 5-year-old golden retriever Bridget, wore a tad of pink on her Dogs on Campus scarf because she is also a cancer survivor.

“Look at the survivor in her,” Adamle said as Bridget tried to follow a trail of spilled popcorn before settling in the lap of a student.

Michael Loeffler, 18, of Parma, said it was the second day in a row that he came to be with the therapy dogs.

“This is great. I came just to see and pet the dogs. I don’t have a dog at home, but I love dogs. It helps me relax. It’s truly an experience to be around animals.”

The dogs also visit a dorm a month on campus and Loeffler said he goes to those therapy visits as well. He knows which dorm they will be visiting because the organization has a Twitter account.

Emily Richardson, 18, of Pittsburgh, said she also goes to the dorm to visit the pet therapy dogs. She has a dog at home and misses her when she’s away at school. She said her dog is part of her family.

“I came to the library just because you get to pet the dogs; that’s the best part of this,” she said as she petted Luke, a chocolate Doberman. “It’s a stress relief. It helps me and I really just like dogs.”

Adamle said 8 million American families have a pet.

Snacks including freshly popped popcorn, chips, beverages and candy bars were also available for students at the two-day event. There were also Star Wars posters to give away.

One student shied away from the therapy dogs and said he wasn’t a fan of any dogs.

“I’m afraid of dogs, so I don’t think I’m going to get too close to them,” said Pavan Veerla, 23, of India, a graduate student in digital science. “I appreciate the snacks, but I want to stay on this side of the room.”

He was outnumbered, though. There were hundreds of students stopping by to pet the dogs.

“I’ve not been to this event before, but I love it,” said Ashley Casterline, 19, of Massillon. “I’ve never been around so many different dogs. It’s the first time I’ve ever pet a Doberman.”

As the students made a fuss over the dogs and the event, Adamle, who organizes it on the main campus as well as on the regional campuses, said the dogs easily give and accept love.

“It’s not genius, it’s common sense,” she said. “It’s a good thing.”

Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or [email protected].