Living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can mean living in a state of uncertainty, emotional instability, confusion, being unable to remember or communicate in daily life. Some describe Alzheimer disease as a temporary loss of one’s self, being in a “dormant state.” As you can imagine, the world of people with dementia could create for them a sense of vulnerability and fear.
Recently, animal assisted-therapy has been introduced into the care of people with dementia. Research has demonstrated that animal assisted-therapy can produce positive results, such as increased social performance, improved quality of life, reduced aggression and anxiety, and increased physical activity among people with dementia. Animal assisted-therapy evokes memories and provides a sense of physical closeness during the time the person interacts with the animal. However, these results may only apply to people who had prior positive experiences with animals. Animal assisted-therapy may not be appropriate for people who are afraid of dogs, have fur allergies or never had a pet.
A study performed in Sweden attempted to understand the experience of people with Alzheimer’s Disease when providing care for a dog. In this study, dog therapy teams (the handler and the handler’s trained dog) visited people with Alzheimer’s who had experiences with dogs earlier in their lives. The dogs were trained to interact effectively in different situations with people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. They had been thoroughly tested to ensure that they could handle different situations and perform well with older people with dementia.
The investigators found that people with Alzheimer’s Disease acted full of life and confidence. The patients were able to make decisions and behave in ways that they thought benefited the dog. The scientists explained that the dog might have assisted the participants to find personal meaning and may have helped them evoke their memories of caring for their dogs in the past. Interestingly, while interacting with the dogs, the patients behaved as if they had regained their health.
The study demonstrated that caring for the dog makes old people who are experiencing cognitive decline more outgoing, social, and interested in and focused on the dog and its needs. At the same time, the patients are more capable of expressing their sense of self. It is almost like the presence of the dogs empowers people to emerge from the “dormant state” created by dementia and lets them express a piece of his or her “person”.
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