Assistance Dogs: Health and Welfare in Animal-Assisted Services
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Companion Animals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 52
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Since the mid-18th century, dogs have been trained to assist humans in overcoming their disabilities. Public appreciation for assistance dogs and the vital roles they play in mitigating the effects of human impairments has steadily grown and has recently culminated in a concomitant concern for the animals’ own welfare and wellbeing. An awareness of the potential aspects of assistance dog ownership that may produce poor animal welfare states has led to higher public expectations of the owners’ duty of care and less lenience toward inadequate dog care. This Special Issue invites recent original research, critical reviews, and expert commentaries regarding the health, welfare, and wellbeing of assistance dogs, including Hearing Dogs, Guide Dogs, Mobility Dogs, Medical Alert Dogs, Autism Dogs, and Psychiatric Assistance Dogs. Articles pertaining to behavioral and training concerns are also of interest, as well as ethical considerations of these human–animal interactions. This edition aims to contribute to appropriate service standards and policies that fulfill the obligation to provide assistance dogs with the optimal conditions for thriving.
Dr. Carlie Driscoll
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- assistance dogs
- autism dogs
- guide dogs
- hearing dogs
- human–animal interactions
- medical alert dogs
- mobility dogs
- psychiatric assistance dog
- service dogs
- welfare
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
