The effect of human interaction on guinea pig behavior in animal-assisted therapy

Guinea pigs are included in various animal-assisted interventions, but no research has been published to date on behavioral changes in guinea pigs interacting with humans. The goal of this study was to evaluate behavior in guinea pigs during animal assisted therapy and to identify factors that influence their stress and well-being. Five guinea pigs were studied during 50 observations in a randomized controlled within-subject design with repeated measurement. All guinea pigs were tested under all of the following conditions: (1) therapy setting with retreat possibility (n=20), (2) therapy setting without retreat possibility (n=10) and (3) control setting without human interaction (n=20).
Source: Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Source Type: research