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  1. Canine Assisted Wellbeing Group (CAWG)

    Organizations | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    The Canine Assisted Wellbeing Group (CAWG) was founded in 2013 by Vickie Plumer, an animal assisted therapist with a background in equine and dog training.   CAWG works with a team of like-minded, experienced consultants who all have a passion and desire to improve the lives of young...

  2. Incidence and impact of dog attacks on guide dogs in the UK: an update

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Data on dog attacks on Guide Dogs' stock were reviewed to investigate the characteristics of the attacks. An average of 11.2 attacks occurred each month. Nearly all of the attacks occurred in public areas, 68.4 per cent of victim dogs were qualified guide dogs and 55.5 per cent of victim...

  3. Using the incidence and impact of health conditions in guide dogs to investigate healthy ageing in working dogs

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    This study aimed to use retirement data from working guide dogs to investigate healthy ageing in dogs and the demographic factors that influence ageing. Using a dataset of 7686 dogs spanning 20 years, dogs withdrawn for health reasons before they reached retirement were identified. Cases of...

  4. A new metric for quantifying the relative impact of risk factors on loss of working life illustrated in a population of working dogs

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    In a resource-limited world, organisations attempting to reduce the impact of health or behaviour issues need to choose carefully how to allocate resources for the highest overall impact. However, such choices may not always be obvious. Which has the biggest impact? A large change to a small...

  5. Test-retest reliability and predictive validity of a juvenile guide dog behavior test

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    The ability to measure stable and consistent behavioral traits in dogs would facilitate selection and assessment of working dogs, such as guide dogs. Ideally, these measures should predict suitability for the working role from a young age. This study assessed test-retest reliability of a juvenile...

  6. An exploratory case study of the impact of psychiatric service dogs on problematic substance use among PTSD-diagnosed veterans

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and co-occurring problematic substance use is a health concern among Canadian military veterans. There are complex pathways to their problematic use of substances, including high-risk use of licit and illicit substances both pre and post PTSD...

  7. An owner-independent investigation of Diabetes Alert Dog performance

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Objective: To quantify Diabetes Alert Dog (DAD) performance by using owner-independent measures. Research Design and Methods: Eight owners of accredited DADs used a FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System (FGMS). Concurrent Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage was collected for...

  8. Aspects of juvenile and adolescent environment predict aggression and fear in 12-month-old guide dogs

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Maturational changes in behavior, and the possible influence of the puppy-raising environment on behavioral development, were investigated in a total sample of 978 prospective guide dogs belonging to four different breeds/crosses. All dogs belonged to the same guide dog organization, and had...

  9. Dogs Supporting Human Health and Well-Being: A Biopsychosocial Approach

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Humans have long realized that dogs can be helpful, in a number of ways, to achieving important goals. This is evident from our earliest interactions involving the shared goal of avoiding predators and acquiring food, to our more recent inclusion of dogs in a variety of contexts including...

  10. The semiotic canine: scent processing dogs as research assistants in biomedical and environmental research

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    The use of dogs in biomedical diagnosis, detection and alert as well as for the search and monitoring of species-at-risk is an emerging field of research. Standard practices are converging towards models that are not necessarily consistent with the well established field of (animal)...

  11. Protein expression and genetic variability of canine Can f 1 in golden and Labrador retriever service dogs

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Background: Valued for trainability in diverse tasks, dogs are the primary service animal used to assist individuals with disabilities. Despite their utility, many people in need of service dogs are sensitive to the primary dog allergen, Can f 1, encoded by the Lipocalin 1 gene (LCN1). Several...

  12. "Don't bring me a dog...I'll just keep it": understanding unplanned dog acquisitions amongst a sample of dog owners attending canine health and welfare community events in the United Kingdom

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Understanding the factors that result in people becoming dog owners is key to developing messaging around responsible acquisition and providing appropriate support for prospective owners to ensure a strong dog-owner bond and optimise dog welfare. This qualitative study investigated factors that...

  13. The experience of teleworking with dogs and cats in the United States during COVID-19

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    In Spring of 2020, the novel coronavirus (SAR-CoV-2) prompted an unprecedented number of individuals across the United States to begin working from home. Prior research has identified both positive and negative impacts of teleworking on employee well-being, and this study built on that research...

  14. Cortisol levels of shelter dogs in animal assisted interventions in a prison: an exploratory study

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Previous studies regarding the Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) have mainly focused on the beneficial effects of human-animal interactions on human health; whereas the impact of such activities on the welfare of the animals involved has received limited attention. So far, few studies have...

  15. Evaluation of the fitbark activity monitor for measuring physical activity in dogs

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Accelerometers track changes in physical activity which can indicate health and welfare concerns in dogs. The FitBark 2 (FitBark) is an accelerometer for use with dogs; however, no studies have externally validated this tool. The objective of this study was to evaluate FitBark criterion...

  16. Comparing behavioural characteristics of Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs, German shepherds and Labrador retrievers in Italy and the Czech Republic

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

  17. Les activités à orientation thérapeutique associant l'animal, pour une meilleure qualité de vie à l'hôpital

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Il est usuel de dire ou de publier que les Activités Associant l'Animal - AAA - à but thérapeutique à l'hôpital sont pionnières. Cette affirmation devient fausse. En effet, nous disposons aujourd'hui en France d'une histoire, de bases...

  18. A Randomized Cross-Over Trial Comparing the Effect of Intramuscular Versus Intranasal Naloxone Reversal of Intravenous Fentanyl on Odor Detection in Working Dogs

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Fentanyl is a potent opioid used clinically as a pain medication and anesthetic but has recently seen a sharp rise as an illicit street drug. The potency of fentanyl means mucous membrane exposure to a small amount of the drug can expose first responders, including working canines, to...

  19. Keeping that Doggie in the (Car) Window Safe: Recommendations for Driving with Canine Companions

    Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    Part I of this article uses the empirical research of experts (animal behaviorists, ethologists, and cynologists) to explain reasons canine companions and their humans love riding together. It also highlights the potential risks when dogs distract drivers. Acknowledging that only a few studies...

  20. The effect of the presence and familiarity of a dog on people's performance of a stressful task

    Posters | Contributor(s): Diane Lefebvre, Claire Diederich, Madeleine Delcourt, Jean-Marie Giffroy

    The purpose of the current study was to test whether the familiarity of a dog affects a person’s stress and task performance on a stressful task. Pets can improve people’s health mentally, physically, and socially. Dogs can lower people’s stress. This stress-reduction effect...