Can a Facility Dog Improve Inpatient Rehabilitation Engagement? A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial
Authors: Heather Tropiano, Julie Robertson, Alan Rathbun, Brian Yates, Nicole M. Fromm
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2025.2529681
Abstract
Facility dogs offer novel ways to surmount barriers common to inpatient rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to conduct the first investigation of the effects of a facility dog in physical therapy. In this randomized controlled crossover trial, 69 inpatients recovering from diverse acute conditions were introduced to a facility dog and engaged in one of five common rehabilitation tasks in collaboration with the dog. Participants were assigned randomly to interact with the facility dog on the first or second trial of the same task during a rehabilitation session. Linear mixed effects models, accounting for repeated measures within participants and other study design parameters, were used to assess associations between the presence of a facility dog and task persistence, self-rated pain and exertion, and physiological measures. Participants spent approximately 2.6 more minutes (95% CI [1.78, 3.41]; p < 0.001) engaged in goal-directed rehabilitation tasks when interacting with the facility dog, handler, and physical therapist compared with sessions with only the physical therapist and handler. Similarly, participants without a dog at home persisted significantly longer on tasks with the facility dog (2.00 min; 95% CI [−3.61, −0.39]; p = 0.015) compared with those who did not currently own a dog. Pain and heart rate varied by task order and facility dog presence: both were lower during the first task with the dog but significantly higher during the second, suggesting a shared physiological response to cumulative effort or arousal. These findings suggest that the presence of a facility dog may enhance patient participation through cognitive mechanisms such as distraction and increased engagement, likely supported by the positive emotional response elicited during therapy.
