D.to pet therapy with horsesin the first hospital with riding stables, which rehabilitates and scoalso the Long Covid (the San Giovanni Battista, Magliana, Rome).
To the one with dogs, donkeys and rabbits, employed for activities with disabled children fromThe Magenta Hoof Tribe Association. Or in the RSA, in psychiatric communities and in kindergartens, as it does Aiuca since the 90s.
But you can also do “pet therapy” with alpacas on the farm Plans of the Marina of Tarquinia. And even with pigeons, employed for the support of inmates and autistics by the bird educator Tristan Plot (photographed in book A Sensitive education by Francesca ToddAnd).
Animals have been used for decades in many, very different situations: to the point that pet therapy is recognized as an official cure since Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of 28 February 2003.
Pet therapy, the benefits
Relationship with a pet can increase self-esteem, especially children. And the gratification of taking care of another living being.
It can stimulate the language and understanding of new words and actions (for example, in the case of dyslexics). It is supportive in the process of socializationhelping to compare and interact.
Still, it can lower anxiety and stimulate the mind. And also help rehabilitate the body. Brushing the animal, throwing a ball at a dog or making more complex movements are activities used for physical training, for example for the elderly and disabled. It stimulates sensory activities in case of low vision and deafness.
It has a calming effect: it decreases heart rate and blood pressure.
IAA, AAA or TAA, the various forms of Pet Therapy
We speak in general of IAA (Animal assisted intervention) or, more specifically. Of AAA (Animal Assisted Activities = activities assisted by animals), of a playful-recreational and socialization type. And of AAE (Education assisted by animals), with the aim of supporting the growth potential and also the social integration of people in difficulty. Or, more properly, of TAA (Animal Assisted Therapy = Animal Assisted Therapies), that is, alongside traditional medical therapy with an intervention with the presence of animals.
From nurtured to nurturing, what a thrill!
In the case of pet therapy with patients, it is very important that the activities take place in non-medical contextsin which the person, after a long time spent in the role of cared for, can take care in turn.
A brief history of Pet Therapy
The first “pet therapy”, understood as the documented use of the human-animal relationship with therapeutic purposes, took place in Great Britain. In 1792, in England at York Retreat Hospital, child psychologist William Tuke he treated his little patients by involving small animals such as rabbits and chickens in the therapeutic relationship.
Another noteworthy experience, in 1867, was that of the Betel Hospital, in Germany, where the animals were involved in the recovery treatment for epileptic patients (with internal farm).
On the theoretical front, the researches of Boris Levinson, child neuropsychiatrist, who, around the 1960s, he was the first to use the term pet therapy or pet facilitated therapy. “A pet is able to offer boundless love and unconditional approvalHe explained.
The most suitable dogs for Pet Therapy
If, as mentioned, there are many animals used in pet therapy, it is true that the easiest and most homely type is the one with the dog: in particular the breeds of dogs most used for Pet Therapy are those with a docile nature, collaborative, affectionate and sociable. And that is, in particular, Labrador, Golden Retriever and Shih tzu. But mestizos can also be used safely.
Why are Labradors, Golden Retrievers and Shih tzu more docile?
It seems that at the origin of this particular docility there is a genetic mutation: according to recent studies, the pearls most similar and attached to man, able to correctly interpret his signals, with a propensity to look at him more often, would be those with a particular variation on the MC2R gene for the melanocortin 2 receptor.
The wildest (such as the Akita and the Siberian Husky) belonging to the breeds most genetically close to the wolf, are devoid of the mutation in question.. And they pass less time watching humansthe.
It goes without saying: to do pet therapy you need ad hoc preparation and a consolidated relationship with the pet therapy operator. Dog involvement in some contexts can be very challenging as well stressful even for the animal which, in the interventions, turns into a sort of blotting paper for emotions.
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