Studying Health and Welfare of PTSD-Therapy Dogs

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) impacts nearly one third of military veterans who have experienced combat. Current medicines and mental health therapies have limited effectiveness, and many people are not cured by existing treatments. Service dogs for PTSD have become more common, and current research on their effectiveness is promising. However, no one has studied how the service dogs are impacted by their service. To fill this knowledge gap and determine if and how pairing the dogs with veterans diagnosed with PTSD affects their health and well-being, researchers will examine service dogs’ genes, physiology and behaviors over time. They also aim to pinpoint biomarkers for tracking service dog health and help identify the genetic makeup associated with dogs that are most suited to support veterans with PTSD. The findings will guide the ethical use of psychiatric service dogs and provide more tools to track their health and welfare. This research is part of a larger study that will follow veterans with PTSD before and after receiving a service dog.