Contact with animals is good for the elderly and for people with dementia. A group of scientists from, among others, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, will soon be visiting care homes to investigate why the four-legged creatures and the elderly go so well together.
Behavioural scientists from the Department of Animal Health and Bioscience will use their experience from studies of farm animals to investigate how being in the company of a dog affects the elderly and people with dementia. Photo: Janne Hansen
Ethologist Karen Thodberg from the Department of Animal Health and Bioscience at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University, will soon be spending many hours in the company of elderly residents in various care homes in the town of Vejle. And she will be bringing dogs as guests.
Scratching the dog behind its ear, patting its silky coat, or having a quiet one-on-one conversation with the pooch – these are some of the things that give pleasure to most dog owners. Experience shows that the company of our four-legged friends also has a positive effect on the elderly and people with dementia. A group of scientists have initiated a study to investigate the underlying reason for the positive effect. This is where Karen Thodberg, with her many years of experience in farm animal behaviour research, comes into the picture.
- With our experience in ethology studies we are able to quantify animal behaviour. We can use the same methods in this new study to provide scientific documentation of how spending time in the company of pets can affect residents in care homes, says Karen Thodberg.
The new project, which is part of a larger project regarding dog visitors, and which is supported by the foundation Trygfonden, will focus particularly on the interaction between the dog and the care home resident. Karen Thodberg will also compare the dog effect with the effect of interaction with a robot seal and a regular teddy bear, respectively. Once data have been gathered the behavioural scientist will have an idea of how each individual person in the study has reacted towards and with the dog, the robot seal or the teddy bear.
- We expect to prove which effect dog visitors have on the welfare of the elderly and people with dementia. Our supposition is that dog visitors have a greater effect on the welfare of the elderly than the two non-living alternatives. We hope to be able find proof and the reason for this, says Karen Thodberg.
Scientists from the Centre for Psychiatric Research will be able to compare the behavior during the visits with data that describes how the elderly were before, during and after being in the company of the four-legged visitors.
The three-year project will be carried out at 15 selected care homes in collaboration with Head of centre, professor, DrMedSc Poul Videbech from the Centre for Psychiatric Research, Aarhus University Hospital.
