Chair: Anthony Podberscek
The study of human–animal interactions, anthrozoology, is highly relevant to veterinarians and veterinary nurses, as they deal with people and their animals on a daily basis. This symposium presents information on how an understanding of human–animal interactions is helpful to veterinarians and veterinary nurses in the work they do. The areas to be covered are: how to make a veterinary practice more bond centred; dogmanship, dealing with ethical issues; and the concept of One Welfare.
Shaken not stirred: Making your practice more bond centred
Patrick Flynn, Canisius College, USA
This will be a brief review of some of the available data on pet owner bonds, and not only the ones to their pets. We will discuss current and creative ways to incorporate the Bond more into the culture of your clinic and also spend some time with some of the brand new tools available to increase the veterinary staff's engagement with the clients as well as staff education on the subject.
Using the ‘Ethical Matrix’: A tool for shared moral reflection in veterinary practice
Imke Tammen, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Australia
Veterinarians have many very diverse roles in society with the aim to improve animal and human health and welfare. This results in often conflicting responsibilities to animals, clients, the wider profession and the community. Legal requirements, codes of conduct and veterinary ethics literature provide guidance on how to act, but the complexity of real life ethical dilemmas often requires case-specific considerations. This talk will briefly highlight why the discussion of ethical dilemmas relating to animals is often very heated and will introduce the use of an ethical matrix (Mepham 1996) as a tool for ethical decision making. A key strength of this approach is the acknowledgment of existing uncertainties, recognition of the need to interpret ethical principles in case-specific context, acceptance of validity of pluralistic views and the emphasis on identification of ethical dilemmas for various stakeholders in the system. The outcome is often not a simple answer but a process of “shared moral reflection” that creates awareness of all stakeholders about the underlying ethical issues and increased participation of stakeholders in the decision-making process and therefore a higher chance to reach agreement on how to proceed.
Dogmanship and its application in veterinary contexts
Paul McGreevy, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Australia
Dogmanship is all about an individual’s ability to interact with and train dogs. Good dogmanship involves best practice in dog–human interactions and has a fundamental role in the success of dogs as companions and co-workers. The dog-human partnership is highly relevant to all of us who adore our dogs and depend on them for companionship and work. Despite the ancient nature of this enduring partnership, dysfunctional relationships and their negative consequences (such as unwelcome behaviours and eventual relinquishment) persist. Human behaviour affects dogs’ behaviour and emotional state and can be pivotal to the success or failure of any dog–human team. Our dogmanship research aims to characterise the human attributes that influence dog behaviour and identify optimal ways of interacting with dogs. Additionally, dogmanship examines the psychological underpinnings that can contribute to how humans interact with dogs (McGreevy et al 2017). Dogmanship even helps to explain why many women show better dog handling and training skills than their male counterparts. In this brief talk, Paul will explore how dogmanship reveals itself in veterinary practice (Payne et al., 2015) and how the new doglogbook app may help owners to improve their dogmanship by becoming more aware of shifts in the behaviour of their canine companions.
One welfare: What does it mean, and what does it look like?
Anne Fawcett, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Australia
“One Welfare” is a concept acknowledging the inextricable links between animal welfare, human well-being and environmental sustainability. The related to One Health, which considers the health of humans, animals and their environments as interlinked. It is built into the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) Global Animal Welfare Strategy, which was written with a vision of “a world where the welfare of animals is respected, promoted and advanced, in ways that complement the pursuit of animal health, human well-being, socioeconomic development and environmental sustainability.” (OIE, 2017). Nonetheless, it can be challenging to implement. Some cases may lend themselves more readily to a One Welfare approach than others. One Welfare requires that we have a broad knowledge, or at least basic understanding, of factors often considered beyond the veterinary domain, including human well-being and socioeconomic development, and ecological systems. In this brief talk I will discuss the origins of One Welfare, areas in which it might be helpful, and what the One Welfare veterinary practice might look like.