Understanding the Role of Therapy Dogs in Human Health Promotion.

Dogs may provide humans with a range of physical, mental and social benefits. Whilst there is growing scientific evidence of benefits to humans, there has been less focus on the impact to canine health, welfare and ethical considerations for the dogs. The importance of animal welfare is increasingly acknowledged, indicating that the Ottawa Charter should be extended to include the welfare of non-human animals supporting the promotion of human health.

Elevated lead exposure in Australian hunting dogs during a deer hunting season.

There is growing recognition of the threat posed by toxic lead-based ammunition. One group of domestic animals known to be susceptible to harmful lead exposure via this route is hunting dogs. Scent-trailing dogs ('hounds') are used to hunt introduced sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) during a prescribed eight-month (April-November) annual hunting season, during which they are fed fresh venison, in Victoria, south-eastern Australia.

Are children and dogs best friends? A scoping review to explore the positive and negative effects of child-dog interactions.

Personal wellbeing is greatly influenced by our childhood and adolescence, and the relationships formed during those phases of our development. The human-dog bond represents a significant relationship that started thousands of years ago. There is a higher prevalence of dog ownership around the world, especially in households including children.

Sniffing out what Australians know and believe about Drug Detector Dogs.

The ways in which drugs are policed, differs from country to country, with Drug Detector Dogs (DDDs) a commonly used detection strategy in Australia. However, their effectiveness has been scrutinized by Australian media and research. Despite this, their work and lives "on the job" continue to be portrayed in a positive light on popular television shows such as Border Security.

Welfare Through Competence: A Framework for Animal-Centric Technology Design.

Digital technologies offer new ways to ensure that animals can lead a good life in managed settings. As interactive enrichment and smart environments appear in zoos, farms, shelters, kennels and vet facilities, it is essential that the design of such technologies be guided by clear, scientifically-grounded understandings of what animals need and want, to be successful in improving their wellbeing. The field of Animal-Computer Interaction proposes that this can be achieved by centering animals as stakeholders in technology design, but there remains a need for robust methods to support interdisciplinary teams in placing animals' interests at the heart of design projects.

The Animal Welfare Science of Working Dogs: Current Perspectives on Recent Advances and Future Directions.

Working dogs are prevalent throughout our societies, assisting people in diverse contexts, from explosives detection and livestock herding, to therapy partners. Our scientific exploration and understanding of animal welfare have grown dramatically over the last decade. As community attitudes toward the use of animals continue to change, applying this new knowledge of welfare to improve the everyday lives of working dogs will underpin the sustainability of working with dogs in these roles.

The New Era of Canine Science: Reshaping Our Relationships With Dogs.

Canine science is rapidly maturing into an interdisciplinary and highly impactful field with great potential for both basic and translational research. The articles in this Research Topic, , arise from two meetings sponsored by the Wallis Annenberg PetSpace Leadership Institute, which convened experts from diverse areas of canine science to assess the state of the field and challenges and opportunities for its future. In this final paper, we identify a set of overarching themes that will be critical for a productive and sustainable future in canine science.

Corrigendum: Editorial: Working Dogs: Form and Function.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2019.

The advent of canine performance science: offering a sustainable future for working dogs.

Working and sporting dogs provide an essential contribution to many industries worldwide. The common development, maintenance and disposal of working and sporting dogs can be considered in the same way as other animal production systems. The process of 'production' involves genetic selection, puppy rearing, recruitment and assessment, training, housing and handling, handler education, health and working life end-point management.