Sandra Mccune

University of Lincoln · School of Life Sciences and School of Psychology

Many countries are experiencing a paradigm shift regarding the roles of companion animals in society as well as within urban areas, housing, and homes. Globally, there exists growing social recognition of the potential value of companion animals as important members of families, households, and communities. Indeed, relationships between humans and...

This leaflet is intended to help all types of landlords and their agents get the most out of deciding to make their property pet friendly. Based on extensive information and our new research, it explains the benefits, the practicalities, the potential pitfalls (and how to avoid them) and how you can make it work for everyone.

During two retreats in 2017 and 2020, a group of international scientists convened to explore the Human-Animal Bond. The meetings, hosted by the Wallis Annenberg PetSpace Leadership Institute, took a broad view of the human-dog relationship and how interactions between the two may benefit us medically, psychologically or through their service as wo...

Dogs act as companions who provide us with emotional and physical support. Their shorter lifespans compel us to learn about the challenges and gifts of caring for older individuals. Our companion dogs can be exemplars of healthy or unhealthy aging, and sentinels of environmental factors that might increase or decrease our own healthy lifespan. In r...

This is the e-book version of the Special Topic published in the Frontiers journals as, 'Human-Animal Interaction Research: A decade of progress'. The overview paper describes briefly the 10-year Public–Private Partnership (PPP) between the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human...

Ten years ago, while reviewing the extant research literature on Human-Animal Interaction(HAI), a single question came to mind: “Why don’t we know more about this topic?” (Griffinet al., 2011). A decade later the answer appears to have been, in part, a lack of infrastructureto organize and support stand-alone workshops and symposia at scientific co...

The chapter outlines a brief history of developments in Human-Animal Interaction/Animal -Assisted Intervention research, recent accelerated progress in the last 10 years and potential directions for future research

In 2016, the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) developed a research focus on the benefits and potential risks associated with pets among older adults. With the goal of developing a roadmap for human–animal interaction (HAI) research in older people residing in both the community and institutions, GSA convened a workshop of international exper...

An overview of the role pets might play in healthy active human ageing.

Highlights • Pet ownership is significantly associated with higher levels of social capital. • Social capital was associated with pet ownership in the U.S. and Australia. • Results are not confined to dog owners nor dog walkers. • Pets are an under-recognized conduit for building social capital.

With growing interest in the value of animal companionship to human health, and increasing business awareness of promoting work-based health innovations and improving employees’ feelings of support, there has been a rise in interest about allowing dogs in the workplace (e.g., “Take your dog to work day” initiative; Pet Sitters International, 2015)....

Despite the lack of a strong evidence base, Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) are becoming increasingly popular as a therapeutic tool for special populations with a variety of psychological and physical conditions. This paper introduces a special series of articles which address the proposed theories and processes underpinning potential effects...

Studies of the effects of animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) face a number of theoretical and practical challenges. Proposed theoretical processes for the effects of AAIs include those that address primarily the animal’s ability to facilitate human–human social engagement, those that emphasize animals’ apparent capacity to trigger social attachme...

Background: Health benefits of dog walking are established in adults: dog owners are on average more physically active, and those walking their dogs regularly have lower weight status than those who do not. However, there has been little research on children. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the association between dog ownership or dog wa...

Background We examined the relationship between dog walking and physical activity within and between four US cities and Australia and investigated if dog walking is associated with higher perceived safety in US and Australian cities. Methods Dog owners (n = 1113) in the Pet Connections Study completed a cross-sectional survey. Data were collected a...

Ground-breaking book brings together the scientific fields of social neuroscience and human-animal interaction for the first time WALTHAM experts and international collaborators have edited and authored an important new book that applies research in neurobiology and genetics to understanding human-animal interaction; published this week by the Ame...

Our relationships with animals, as anyone with a beloved dog or cat knows, can be among the most significant in our lives. But why are we so attached to our pets? What kind of health, developmental, and psychological impacts do animals have on us? And what practical benefits — for animals and humans alike — can be gained from a deeper understanding...

There is widespread acceptance of animal assisted therapy among the public, researchers, and clinicians. In this commentary, I argue that despite hundreds of published studies, there is actually limited evidence for the efficacy of the incorporation of animals in the treatment of medical and mental disorders. As others have pointed out, AAT studies...

This chapter explores the research around canine enrichment, providing ideas for successful and effective enrichment programs in shelters and outlining methods for the evaluation of such programs. As research specifically examining the effects of enrichment in shelters is a relatively recent development, a sizeable proportion of what is known about...

Background: In older adults with cognitive impairment (CI), decreased functional status and increased behavioral symptoms require relocation from assisted living (AL) to nursing homes. Studies support positive effects of pets on health/function. Purpose: Evaluate the effectiveness of the Pet AL (PAL) intervention to support physical, behavioral,...

While companion animals have been previously identified as a direct source of companionship and support to their owners, their role as a catalyst for friendship formation or social support networks among humans has received little attention. This study investigated the indirect role of pets as facilitators for three dimensions of social relatedness...

Older adults are at high risk for physical illness and emotional disorders, particularly those of lower socioeconomic status. Pet ownership has the potential to reduce the impact of these problems by providing companionship, reducing social isolation, and enhancing physical activity and well-being. Despite these potential benefits, older adults fac...

The positive effects of pets on children are multifaceted and an active area of scientific inquiry. Recent findings range from promoting healthy lifestyles to enhancing performance on cognitive tasks in children.

Sociality motivation, the need to feel socially connected with others, has been proposed as an important determinant of individual variation in anthropomorphic thinking. Specifically, it has been suggested that people who are socially isolated or disconnected will tend to infer more human-like mental states in animals and other nonhuman agents (com...

• There has been unprecedented development of research into human- animal interaction (HAI) in recent years, and this has produced rapid growth in our knowledge and understanding of the benefits that accrue from pet ownership. • Recent evidence and developments in the field of HAI have improved our understanding of the role that pets play in cardio...

http://www.nc3rs.org.uk/our-resources/housing-and-husbandry/housing-and-husbandry-cats

How wolves were first domesticated is unknown. One hypothesis suggests that wolves underwent a process of self-domestication by tolerating human presence and taking advantage of scavenging possibilities. The puppy-like physical and behavioural traits seen in dogs are thought to have evolved later, as a byproduct of selection against aggression. Usi...

As the population ages the number of older adults living with hypertension (HTN) is rising dramatically. Uncontrolled HTN increases cardiovascular and renal mortality. Ambulatory (A) blood pressure (BP) is a better predictor of HTN-related morbidity and mortality than office BP. Lower BP is the most important therapeutic goal in treating HTN. Any r...

Domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) are among the most common companion animals. This is particularly true in cultures with an Islamic background, where dogs are less acceptable as companion animals than in Western societies (Chapter 8). In Austria, for example, a human population of 8 million owns more than 2 million cats, in contrast to just a...

Objective: The objective of this study was to implement and evaluate a classroom-based Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA) program on social functioning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Design: This was a multisite, control-to-intervention design study. Settings/location: The study was conducted in 41 classrooms in 15 schools in B...

Owning a pet dog could potentially improve child health through encouraging participation in physical activity, through dog walking. However, evidence to support this is limited and conflicting. In particular, little is known about children's participation in dog walking and factors that may be associated with this. The objective of this study was...

This study investigated the effects of a classroom-based animal-assisted activities (AAA) program with guinea pigs on the social functioning of primary school children. We hypothesized that participants in the experimental condition (n = 64), compared with a waitlist control group (n = 64), would demonstrate improvements in social functioning follo...

Background Little is known about ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic differences in childhood ownership and attitudes to pets. The objective of this study was to describe the factors associated with living with different pet types, as well as factors that may influence the intensity of relationship or ‘attachment’ that children have to their pet. Da...

Objective: To examine whether dog ownership is associated with lower risk of childhood obesity. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 7,759 children at age 7 years in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) in the UK. In addition, longitudinal analyses were conducted between age 7 and 9 years. BMI at age 7 and 9 years was calcul...

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is an observational study of 14,273 UK pregnant singleton mothers in 1990/1991. We examined outcomes of self report of strenuous activity (hours per week) at 18 and 32 weeks of gestation, hours spent in leisure-time physical activities and types, and pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI); o...

Abstract— Research on human–animal interaction (HAI) is a relatively new field of inquiry for developmental scientists seeking to understand the potential role pets play in children’s health and well-being. It has been documented that pets offer a source of emotional support to children. However, most studies focusing on how animals affect children...

In developed nations, approximately half of household environments contain pets. Studies of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) have proposed that there are health benefits and risks associated with pet ownership. However, accurately demonstrating and understanding these relationships first requires a better knowledge of factors associated with ownershi...

Biological overviewSources of supplyManagement and breedingLaboratory proceduresCommon welfare problemsReferences

Background: Obesity rates in older adults are linked with the national problem of limited physical activity (PA), resulting in chronic illness. Obesity-related illness and functional loss require innovative interventions. Older adult dog walkers maintained physical functioning over a 3 year period (Thorpe 2006). Dog walking may improve long-term PA...

A spatial learning task was used to examine cognitive function in 36 cats (1.0–15.1 years of age), with a control for motor function. No significant age-related decline in cognitive function was found. Initial selection of 75 cats showed no significant age differences between young (0–3 years), adult (3.1–8 years), senior (8.1–12 years) and geriatr...

EXPANDED ABSTRACT KEY WORDS: cognition branched-chain amino acids dog canine agility A previous study has shown that human athletes given branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) in the form of a drink before and during exercise performed better on complex cognitive tests following exercise (1). The athletes were given a mixture of BCAA (40% valine, 35% l...

A developmental study in domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) examined the interaction of their early socialisation and the friendliness of their father and its consequences on their later friendliness to people. Kittens were either handled between 2 and 12 weeks of age (socialised) or received no handling (unsocialised) during this period. These...

A developmental study in domestic cats (Felis siloestris catus) examined the interaction of their early socialisation and the friendliness of their father and its consequences on their later friendliness to people. Kittens were either handled between 2 and 12 weeks of age (socialised) or received no handling (unsocialised) during this period. These...