AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF ANIMAL SHELTER VOLUNTEERING AND DOG TRAINING PROGRAMS ON COLLEGE STUDENTS 

Research Abstract:

Dog-training programs (DTPs) are designed to teach basic obedience skills to dogs, but can also have significant positive effects for the handlers.  Over the past 20 years, DTPs have become a common offering in many settings and have been linked to positive impacts for subjects such as reduced psychological distress, improved well-being, and increased self-efficacy. It has also been linked to positive well-being for dog participants. However, there have not been any published studies examining the effect of DTPs on undergraduate students who are particularly vulnerable to psychiatric disorders such as anxiety or depression. We believe DTPs could be an innovative and inclusive approach to helping students. For the past three years, we have hosted a DTP on Eckerd’s campus for students and their pet dogs where participants demonstrated positive outcomes related to self-efficacy and stress. In an effort to make our DTP more inclusive to students who aren’t dog owners and to foster a relationship with local animal shelters, we had student participants volunteer at the Humane Society of Pinellas (HSP) where they were involved in animal care and training tasks for the dogs there. Several psychological measures were collected from the students via surveys, including measures of perceived stress and feelings of self-efficacy. We hypothesized that the psychological well-being of the students will increase after their volunteering experience. This study contributes to psychological literature and the study of human-animal relationships by examining the benefits of being involved in training and caring for animals.