Animals used in therapy settings provide documented mental health benefits to humans, but their own welfare needs and stress responses require careful management.
Therapy animal welfare is a genuine concern in programs that do not adequately monitor animal stress responses. Dogs that show pinned ears, lip licking, yawning, and avoidance during interactions are showing stress signals that handlers must be trained to recognize. Overworked therapy animals that cannot withdraw when stressed experience chronic anxiety. Best practices include: allowing animals to initiate or decline interactions, limiting session length and frequency, monitoring behavioral indicators of stress, and respecting individual animal personality preferences. High-quality programs enhance both human and animal wellbeing simultaneously.