Service Dog Training by Service Members/Veterans: Reflections on the Need for Empirical Evidence

Authors

  • Norman B. Epstein University of Maryland
  • Rick Yount Warrior Canine Program
  • Cindy C. Wilson Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)
  • F. Ellen Netting Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Jeffrey Quinlan Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)

Keywords:

human-animal interaction, PTSD, program evaluation, interdisciplinary team, human-animal bond.

Abstract

Five members of an interdisciplinary team reflect on the development of a service dog training evaluation designed for service members/veterans with PTSD.  We describe the process of working together as a team to learn the principles of dog training and the practicalities of designing a human-animal intervention in order to generate empirical evidence of the human-animal bond.

Author Biographies

Norman B. Epstein, University of Maryland

Professor and Director, Couple and Familiy Therapy Program, Department of Family Services, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

 

Rick Yount, Warrior Canine Program

Executive Director of the Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) in Brookeville, MD

Cindy C. Wilson, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)

Professor & Family Development Director, Department of Family Medicine, USUHS, Bethesda, MD

F. Ellen Netting, Virginia Commonwealth University

Professor Emerita in Social Work and the former Samuel S. Wurtzel EndowedChair at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Richmond, VA

Jeffrey Quinlan, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)

Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD

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Published

2015-11-24

How to Cite

Epstein, N. B., Yount, R., Wilson, C. C., Netting, F. E., & Quinlan, J. (2015). Service Dog Training by Service Members/Veterans: Reflections on the Need for Empirical Evidence. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 20(2), 8–16. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/210