April 01, 2022

Animal Assisted Intervention Topic Block

by Dr. Sandra Foltin + Dr. Lisa Glenk | Animal Assisted Intervention

Whoever deals with the topic of animal-assisted intervention in the broadest sense (i.e. also animal-assisted therapy & pedagogy as well as coaching) sees very quickly that there are huge differences between the training courses offered.

Some offer a weekend seminar or even online training, while others offer a year and a half to two years of training for the human-dog team. Even a quick look through the social median is enough to see (still) dogs in costumes, surrounded by children, highly stressed and completely helpless in many pictures.

This is not, cannot be, and should not be animal-assisted intervention by today’s standards.

The IAHAIO (https://iahaio.org/) – the international umbrella organization based in the USA – has published its White Paper (White Paper) several years ago, which addresses many problem areas and presents them once again in its position statements and declarations. In terms of content, it is about an animal-assisted intervention at eye level in which the dog (or any other domesticated animal) participates with consent and voluntarily and can thus also refuse or withdraw from the intervention. Many organizations advertise that they work according to these standards – but how do these standards actually present themselves in practice? What is an interaction at eye level, with equality, where the dog (and other animals) are no longer seen and treated as tools? From when and how can a dog give its consent at all? I discuss this with the absolute luminary in this field Dr. Lisa Glenk! Listen in – we are curious about your reactions and opinions!

Background

The IAHAIO (https://iahaio.org/) – the international umbrella organization based in the USA – has published its White Paper (White Paper) several years ago, which addresses many problem areas in animal-assisted intervention and presents them once again in its positions, statements and declarations. In terms of content, it is about an animal-assisted intervention at eye level in which the dog (or any other domesticated animal) participates with consent and voluntarily and can thus also refuse or withdraw from the intervention. Many organizations advertise that they work according to these standards – but how do these standards actually present themselves in practice? What is an interaction at eye level, with equality, where the dog (and other animals) are no longer seen and treated as tools? From when and how can a dog give its consent at all? I discuss this with the absolute luminary in this field Dr. Lisa Glenk! Listen in – we are curious about your reactions and opinions!

Discussion partner

Dr Lisa Maria Glenk

Dr. Lisa Maria Glenk studied biology and veterinary medicine with a focus on developmental biology and behavioral endocrinology. In 2012, she received her PhD from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna on the topic of animal-assisted interventions and was a visiting scientist at Charles University in Prague and a project partner of the Virtual Reality Laboratory of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Vienna. In addition, she is heavily involved in science education (e.g. Hands-on Science, school lectures, Children’s University, press relations) and is co-founder of the project “Dog Safety Training for Children and Young People”. She joined the comparative medicine team at Messerli Research Institute in 2013 as a research associate at the interfaces of psychophysiology, stress, immunomodulation and animal welfare. Dr. Lisa Maria Glenk is a board member of the Austrian Society for Biofeedback and Psychophysiology, stress and emotion expert in the Staniek Profiling Task Force and supports the “Quality Network School Companion Dogs” in the scientific advisory board.

Interviewer

Dr. Sandra Foltin holds a PhD in biology with a focus on canine behavior and has conducted research on canine exploratory behavior and human-dog bonding behavior. She has been involved in animal and wildlife conservation for many years and as part of that, she also offers her advanced training in canine animal-assisted intervention of the human-dog team at www.tta-nrw.de. This is an IAHAIO member and operates according to the association’s specifications. She started animal-assisted work herself as part of her undergraduate studies in psychology in the U.S., and it has been a subject close to her heart ever since. Her other areas of focus that she writes and lectures about are the genetics & health of our four-legged friends and stress and learning behaviors. She is a member of the Institute for Zoology & Evolutionary Biology of the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena; board member of the European Society for Animal Assisted Therapy ESAAT and founding member and scientific advisory board of the Qualitätsnetzwerk Schulbegleithunde e.V.; as well as 1. chairwoman of the non-profit association animal-advocate e.V. www.animal-advocate.de. Mrs. Foltin currently lives with her four-legged friends in the Ruhr area.