As part of my ongoing research I am investigating the benefits and disadvantages of canine human inter-relationships. Specifically I am reviewing the short period of between an hour and three weeks in duration, in an outside environment whereby the dogs are working alongside the person.
Humans and dogs have been companions since the human civilization began. Dog is considered as most faithful animal by people. It is also extremely loving, watchman and caretaker of the family and the house. It has been observed that children brought up in company of of the dog show better overall development, emotional quotient and are generally more happy. The dog is also a great companion for the aged, neglected and chronically ill. Phylo-genetically speaking, the dog genome is quite similar to that of humans and clinico-pathologically most clinical chemistry and hematological values in dogs and people are greatly similar. The dogs share the the environment and food and even several diseases with people, therefore they can be used as ready made or natural animal models in biomedical research and preclinical drug testing. Some of the diseases, particularly canine skin diseases are zoonotic to man.
Hello, I was present at the Canine Science Forum and I heard a great talk about the physical and mental benefits for humans of walking dogs. Her name was Carri Westgarth and this is her web address:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/infection-and-global-health/staff/carri-westgarth/