Beyond the Benefits of Assistance Dogs: Exploring Challenges Experienced by First-Time Handlers

The purpose of this study was to explore first time handlers’ experiences when working with an assistance dog (AD). Interviewees included seven first time AD handlers and 14 other individuals close to these handlers, including family members, carers and AD instructors. Semi-structured inte...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jennifer Gravrok, Dan Bendrups, Tiffani Howell, Pauleen Bennett
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-04-01
Series:Animals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/5/203
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spelling doaj-6f6d31a8e2e643f9bc4e742d2fe7f9322020-11-25T02:01:07ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152019-04-019520310.3390/ani9050203ani9050203Beyond the Benefits of Assistance Dogs: Exploring Challenges Experienced by First-Time HandlersJennifer Gravrok0Dan Bendrups1Tiffani Howell2Pauleen Bennett3Anthrozoology Research Group, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Edwards Rd, Flora Hill, VIC 3552, AustraliaResearch Education and Development Team, Graduate Research School, La Trobe University, Edwards Rd, Flora Hill, VIC 3552, AustraliaAnthrozoology Research Group, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Edwards Rd, Flora Hill, VIC 3552, AustraliaAnthrozoology Research Group, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Edwards Rd, Flora Hill, VIC 3552, AustraliaThe purpose of this study was to explore first time handlers’ experiences when working with an assistance dog (AD). Interviewees included seven first time AD handlers and 14 other individuals close to these handlers, including family members, carers and AD instructors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted six months and one year after each handler received their AD. Interview questions were informed by the Thriving Through Relationships theory of social support and previous interviews with the participants. Inductive content analysis corroborated previous findings regarding the benefits that ADs provide. In addition, four factors were revealed to substantially influence the challenges handlers experienced when learning to utilize their dog. These included the handlers’ medical conditions, cognitive ability and social environment, and dog-related factors. Organizations would benefit from considering these factors in their operational processes.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/5/203service dogsdisabilitythrivingassistive technology
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jennifer Gravrok
Dan Bendrups
Tiffani Howell
Pauleen Bennett
spellingShingle Jennifer Gravrok
Dan Bendrups
Tiffani Howell
Pauleen Bennett
Beyond the Benefits of Assistance Dogs: Exploring Challenges Experienced by First-Time Handlers
Animals
service dogs
disability
thriving
assistive technology
author_facet Jennifer Gravrok
Dan Bendrups
Tiffani Howell
Pauleen Bennett
author_sort Jennifer Gravrok
title Beyond the Benefits of Assistance Dogs: Exploring Challenges Experienced by First-Time Handlers
title_short Beyond the Benefits of Assistance Dogs: Exploring Challenges Experienced by First-Time Handlers
title_full Beyond the Benefits of Assistance Dogs: Exploring Challenges Experienced by First-Time Handlers
title_fullStr Beyond the Benefits of Assistance Dogs: Exploring Challenges Experienced by First-Time Handlers
title_full_unstemmed Beyond the Benefits of Assistance Dogs: Exploring Challenges Experienced by First-Time Handlers
title_sort beyond the benefits of assistance dogs: exploring challenges experienced by first-time handlers
publisher MDPI AG
series Animals
issn 2076-2615
publishDate 2019-04-01
description The purpose of this study was to explore first time handlers’ experiences when working with an assistance dog (AD). Interviewees included seven first time AD handlers and 14 other individuals close to these handlers, including family members, carers and AD instructors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted six months and one year after each handler received their AD. Interview questions were informed by the Thriving Through Relationships theory of social support and previous interviews with the participants. Inductive content analysis corroborated previous findings regarding the benefits that ADs provide. In addition, four factors were revealed to substantially influence the challenges handlers experienced when learning to utilize their dog. These included the handlers’ medical conditions, cognitive ability and social environment, and dog-related factors. Organizations would benefit from considering these factors in their operational processes.
topic service dogs
disability
thriving
assistive technology
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/5/203
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