Abstract
This chapter presents and explains a new, innovative and very efficient dog training concept called the Human-canine Synergy (HCS). This concept is characterized by two new innovations related to that synergy: first by a holistic approach and second by a multi-dimensional approach in expressing the affiliation of humans and canines. The human–canine synergy concept is relatively simple in explaining and presenting it, but differs fundamentally from past and mainly present beliefs and practices in the way humans deal with dogs. More specifically, its contribution is that the way humans are utilizing dogs is not uniform, but is differentiated according to the objectives of the affiliation. As a result, there are three main dog categories: (a) the Empathy/Therapeutic Dogs, which are dogs helping persons with empathy or therapeutic needs; (b) the Assisting/Working Dogs, which carry out specific actions in aiding or assisting humans to perform specific tasks; and (c) the Facilitating/Inspiring Dogs, which facilitate or inspire humans. Among the last category the most useful are the classroom dogs, which help in teaching and learning almost all educational subjects.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Altschuler EL (1999) Pet-facilitated therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder. Ann Clin Psychiatry 11(1):29–30
Barker S, Barker TR (1988) The human-canine bond: closer than family ties. J Health Couns 10(1):46–56
Becker F, French L (2004) Making the links: child abuse, animal cruelty and domestic violence. Child Abuse Rev 13(6):395–414
Beetz A (2013) Socio-emotional correlates of a school-dog-teacher team in the classroom. Front Psychol 4:886–493
Birbil C et al (2015) Dogs in learning: transforming education. Int J Elem Educ 4(2):16–24
Borrego J et al (2014) Animal-assisted Interventions: review of current status and future challenges. Int J Psychol Psychol Ther 14(1):85–101
Brelsford LV, Mints K, Gee RN, Pfeffer K (2017) Animal-assisted interventions in the classroom: a systematic review. Int J Environ Res Public Health 14(7):669–702
Brodie JS, Biley CF (1999) An exploration of the potential benefits of pet-facilitated therapy. J Clin Nurs 8(4):329–337
Bustad KL (1981) Animals, aging, and the aged. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN
Endenburg N, Van Lith HA (2010) The influence of animals on the development of children. Vet J 190(2):208–214
Fine HA (2008) Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: theoretical foundations and guidelines. New York, IG Global
Frantz L et al (2020) Animal domestication in the era of ancient genomics. Nat Rev Genet 21(8):449–460. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-020-0225-0
Gee NR, Sherlock TR, Bennett EA, Harris SL (2009) Pre-schooler’s adherence to instructions as a function of presence of a dog and motor skills task. Anthrozoös 22(3):267–276
Gee NR, Church MT, Altobelli CL (2010) Pre-schoolers make fewer errors on an object categorization task in the presence of a dog. Anthrozoös 23(3):223–230
Gee NR, Crist EN, Carr DN (2012) Preschool children require fewer instructional prompts to perform a memory task in the presence of a dog. Anthrozoös 23(2):173–184
Gee NR, Fine A, Mc Cardle P (2017) How animals help students learn: research and practice for educators and mental health professionals. Routledge, USA, New York
Gialamas S, Pelonis P (2009) Morphosis leadership: being visionaries in a changing world. Academic Leadership Online 7(2). Available: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/alj/vol7/Iss2/10/ (Access Date 2 March 2023)
Hergovich A, Monshi B, Semmler G, Zieglmayer V (2002) The effects of the presence of a dog in the classroom. Anthrozoös 15(1):37–50
Hosey G, Mel FV (2014) Human-animal interactions, relationships and bonds: a review and analysis of the literature. Int J Comp Psychol 27(1):117–142
Kaufmann EM, Susan M, Brooks SM (1999) Animal abuse and development: recent research, programmatic and therapeutic issues and challenges for the future. In: Fine HA (ed) Handbook on animal-assisted therapy: theoretical foundations and guidelines. Elsevier, New York, NY
Koutsopoulos K (2016). From ground to cloud. In: Koutsopoulos et al. (eds) Educational Design and Cloud Computing in Modern Classroom Settings. IG Global Publication, Pennsylvania
Koutsopoulos T, Koutsopoulos CK (2018a) A holistic approach to human-canine synergy in education. Psychol Behav Sci Int J 9(2):1–11
Koutsopoulos T, Koutsopoulos CK (2018b) Dogs in learning: an implementation of human-canine synergy in education. Psychol Behav Sci Int J 25(2):1–12. https://doi.org/10.19060/PBSIJ.2018.09.555759
Koutsopoulos T, Koutsopoulos CK (2019) Paradigm shifts in human-canine synergy and training. Psychol Behav Sci Int J 13(5):1–11. https://doi.org/10.19080/PBSIJ.2019.13.555872
Koutsopoulos CK, Gialamas S, Koutsopoulos T (2016) A true manifestation of gMp: dogs in learning. In: Avgerinoy M, Gialamas S (eds) Revolutionizing K-12 blended learning through the i2 flex classroom model. IGI Global, Hershey, PA
Levinson MB (1972) Pets and human development. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, MI
Levinson MB (1979) Pet-oriented child psychotherapy. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI
Mc Cardle P (2010) Animals in our lives. Human-animal interaction. In: Griffin J, Esposito L, Freund L (eds) Family, community and therapeutic settings. Pacific Grove, Brooks Cole, CA
O Haire ME, Mc Kenzie SJ, Mc Cune S, Slaughter V (2013) Effects of animal-assisted activities with guinea pigs in the primary school classroom. J Anthrozoös 26(3):3–8
Serpell J (1991) Beneficial effects if pet ownership on some aspects of human health and behaviour. J R Soc Med 84(12):717–720
Stefanini MC, Martino A, Bacci B, Tani F (2016) The effect of animal-assisted therapy on emotional and behavioural symptoms in children and adolescents hospitalized for acute mental disorders. Eur J Integr Med 8(2):81–88
Tissen I, Hergovich A, Spiel C (2007) School-based social training with and without dogs: evaluation of their effectiveness. J Anthrozoös 20:365–373
Walsh F (2009a) Human-animal bonds I: the role of pets in family systems and family therapy. Fam Process 48(4):462–480
Walsh F (2009b) Human-animal bonds II: the role of pets in family systems and family therapy. Fam Process 48(4):481–499
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Koutsopoulos, T. (2024). The Concept of Human–Canine Synergy. In: A New Approach to Dogs and Dog Training. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54001-1_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54001-1_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-54000-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-54001-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)