Puppy power: Parents see quality of life improvements in children with impaired walking thanks to mobility assistance dogs
Parents of children with variable levels of walking impairment perceive significant quality of life improvements in their children after six months of living with a mobility assistance dog, according to the first qualitative assessment of its type that provides important evidence in an area of growing therapeutic interest.
Specifically, the parents of 10 children aged 6-12 with neurological and/or physical impairments in their walking perceived improvements in most of the childrens’ physical activity levels, as well as in their social engagement and family life.
The findings are reported in the journal Physical Therapy Reviews.
The six-month study was led by researchers from Trinity College Dublin, who were interested in the qualitative impacts of this novel therapy where children lived with specially trained mobility assistance dogs, provided by the national charity Dogs for Disabled.
Regarding physical activity, parents said their children walked for longer periods, had improved quality of walking, and had greater endurance. In addition, all parents said their children had increased steadiness and balance and most said they were able to negotiate difference surfaces better, such as walking on a beach.
Socially, parents felt the dogs facilitated interactions with other children and the public. They helped their children engage with others, with the dogs providing a topic of conversation.
In family life, parents noted the dogs had brought a positive energy and happiness to their homes, and families walked more together. And while all families reported extra work in the responsibility of caring for the dogs they felt the overall benefits outweighed any challenges and they were happy to take these on.
First author of the research, Dr Heather Kennedy, Trinity’s School of Engineering, said: “Children with physical impairments often participate in significantly lower levels of habitual physical activity than their peers – below recommended guidelines – which state that therapies to improve function, participation and quality of life in children with additional needs should be fun, involve family, encourage fitness, improve function and develop future goals.”
Michelle Spirtos, Head of Discipline of Occupational Therapy at Trinity, and senior author, added: “This research provides cause for optimism that mobility assistance dogs can improve the quality of life for children with walking impairments, as well as their families, in a number of different ways. Longer-term studies involving more participants will be helpful for us to learn more, but the early signs are very encouraging.”
Ciaran Simms, Professor in Trinity’s School of Engineering, is the principal investigator of the research. He said: “Related research from this group recently showed that physical improvements were greater in children whose walking impairments were less severe than those with more pronounced mobility issues, so this new research underlining parents’ perceived improvement in quality of life for all the children in our cohort is particularly noteworthy.”
“In addition to the perceived improvements in physical activity, social engagement and family life, some of the parents noted the dogs helped to motivate their children to be more active, while all of them said their children had greater confidence and self-belief, as well as linking the dogs to reducing anxiety.”
Jennifer Dowler, CEO and Founder of Irish Dogs for Disabled, said: “It is a profound privilege for Dogs for the Disabled to embark on this first-of-its-kind research, a milestone made possible through the unwavering support of Trinity College Dublin, the CRC – Central Remedial Clinic – and the generosity of our valued funders. Their commitment empowers us to push the boundaries of knowledge, ensuring pioneering ideas flourish with lasting impacts for our children.”
Journal
Physical Therapy Reviews
DOI
Benchmark study tracks trends in dog behavior
Virginia Tech
image:
A new study that seeks to understand the link between dog behavior and health compiles four years of owner-reported data from over 47,000 dogs.
view moreCredit: Photo courtesy of Courtney Sexton.
A new Virginia Tech study published in PLOS One establishes a crucial baseline for understanding dog behavior on a large scale.
The research, led by Courtney Sexton, a postdoctoral associate in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, and her colleague Yuhuan Li from the University of Washington, utilized four years of owner-reported data from over 47,000 dogs in the Dog Aging Project, a large-scale initiative involving over 40 institutions.
"Most importantly, with these data, we're excited to now have a starting point from which we can continue to follow changes in the behaviors of tens of thousands of dogs as they age, which will ultimately help us understand how behavior and health are linked," Sexton said.
This study's power lies in its sheer size.
Sexton said, "When you have a data set this big, you really do have power in numbers. While we can't understand all the factors, when we find statistical significance, there is likely something there worth thinking about in its real-world context."
The original motivation: Find out how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the well-being of our canine companions. The researchers analyzed four years of owner-reported data from 2020-23, specifically examining trends in fear, attention/excitability, aggression, and trainability.
It turns out, dogs are adaptable.
"We saw that certain factors, such as a dog's life stage, sex, and size had some influence on their behavior," said Sexton. "Interestingly, we found that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic time period, there were not substantial changes in dogs' overall behavioral profiles from year to year despite what we might have expected given the changes in environment and routines that many were experiencing at that time."
The study did, however, reveal one small but notable exception: trainability. Dogs enrolled in the study after 2020 had lower average trainability scores. This was in contrast to dogs already enrolled in 2020 as adults that likely benefited from pre-pandemic training experience.
While the data doesn't offer a definitive cause, researchers speculate that the pandemic's unique circumstances — such as more dogs being adopted from shelters or owners being more stressed and less able to dedicate time to training — could be contributing factors.
“What was interesting was that the difference in reported trainability between the first year and the last year was the smallest of any in the averages,” said Sexton. “It’s a small statistical significance but could show that dogs, or their owners, are bouncing back.”
Future work will explore how factors such as a dog's location or their health status might influence behavior over time. The goal is to better prepare dogs and their owners for whatever life throws at them, whether it's a pandemic or just the challenges of everyday life.
Journal
PLOS One
Article Title
An analysis of behavioral characteristics and enrollment year variability in 47,444 dogs entering the Dog Aging Project from 2020 to 2023
Article Publication Date
10-Sep-2025
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