Cross-disciplinary method development for assessing dog welfare in canine-assisted pedagogical work: a pilot study

Area of Science:

• Animal Welfare Science
• Canine Behavior Studies
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Limited research exists on the welfare of social service dogs in educational settings.
• Existing studies often exhibit positive bias, lacking critical evaluation of welfare benefits.
• There is a need for robust methodologies to assess canine welfare in pedagogical contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a combination of data collection methods for studying the welfare of dogs in school-based pedagogical work.
• To provide a critical approach to understanding the effects of canine-assisted interventions on dog welfare.
• To inform best practices for the ethical integration of service dogs in schools.

Main Methods:

• Applied a mixed-methods approach combining Ethogram, Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA), ethnographic observations, and interviews.
• Observed 5 pedagogues and 8 dogs across 16 canine-assisted sessions in 5 schools.
• Conducted semi-structured interviews with all participating pedagogues.

Main Results:

• A combination of Ethogram or QBA with ethnographic data provides crucial contextual information on canine behavior.
• Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) paired with ethnography appears particularly effective.
• Synchronous data documentation is recommended over simultaneous recording for enhanced analysis.

Conclusions:

• Combining QBA with ethnographic observation is a valuable method for critical welfare assessment of social service dogs in schools.
• Methodological choices should align with specific study designs, prioritizing contextual understanding.
• Critical scrutiny of established practices concerning social service dogs is essential to mitigate anthropocentric bias and power imbalances in welfare research.