La Trobe

Application of an Adapted Behaviour Change Wheel to Assistance Dog Puppy Raising: A Proposed Raiser-Centred Support Program

Download (830.61 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-01-18, 00:08 authored by Jimmy MaiJimmy Mai, Tiffani HowellTiffani Howell, Pree BentonPree Benton, Pauleen BennettPauleen Bennett
Puppy raising (PR) programs recruit volunteer community members (raisers) to raise assistance dog (AD) candidates from puppyhood until the dogs are ready for advanced training. Once qualified, ADs assist human handlers with a disability to live more independently. Unfortunately, about 50% of all puppies do not meet the behavioural standards required for further training after completing a PR program. This increases costs and lengthens the time taken for a handler to obtain an AD. Research has identified several factors that influence raisers’ experiences. It has also shown that raisers’ socialisation and training practices affect perceived puppy behaviour. Drawing on the argument that puppy raiser practices are central to improving overall puppy raising program outcomes, this paper interprets recent findings within the framework provided by the behaviour change wheel—an established behaviour change framework—to suggest a coordinated approach to supporting puppy raisers. The recommendations will allow future research to employ more objective measures and more rigorous experimental designs as the field attempts to corroborate existing findings and develop evidence-based models of practice.

Funding

This work was supported by a La Trobe University Full Fee Research Scholarship and a LaTrobe University Postgraduate Research Scholarship.

History

Publication Date

2023-01-16

Journal

Animals

Volume

13

Issue

2

Pagination

14p.

Publisher

MDPI

Rights Statement

© 2023 by the authors.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This article is an open access article distributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).