Megan R. LaFollette
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PTSD Service Dog Research

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Military personnel are at risk for developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This disorder can be difficult to treat, however specially trained psychiatric service dogs are an emerging complementary therapy. At the Organization for Human-Animal Interaction Research lab at Purdue University we investigate the efficacy of these therapy dogs and the roles of service dogs in veterans lives.

I have assisted in the development and preparation of several studies that evaluate the psychosocial outcomes of PTSD service dogs for veterans with PTSD. I also co-led a project investigating the expectations and experiences of individuals with PTSD service dogs. 

What we our key findings?
  • Military veterans reported using all types of training methods
  • PTSD severity was not associated with dog behavior, temperament, or veteran-service dog closeness
  • More frequent reported use of positive reinforcement or bond-based training methods (reward-based methods) were associated with more positive outcomes.
    • ​Higher closeness to the service dog
    • Higher perceived attachment behaviors with the dog
    • Increased dog playfulness
  • More frequent reported us of positive punishment (correction-based methods) were associated with more negative outcomes.
    • ​Less closeness to the service dog
    • More fear
    • Less eye contact
    • Less trainability

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  • Home
  • Teaching
    • Human-Animal Interaction Careers
    • Student Work
  • Research
    • Publications
    • Rat >
      • How to Tickle a Rat
    • Compassion Fatigue
    • Canine
    • Equine
    • Feline
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Contact Me