Disease Detection Dogs

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2024-2025

Topic

Lectures mix the frontal and interactive types of teaching methods, complete with practical presentations. The aim of the course is to present the application of service dogs and how it can be contribute for our fields of science. The ability of sniffing dogs is well-documented in the application area of security, military, forensic science, but not well-known in medical field.

Based on the latest scientific research results, we can gain insight how and why human health and well-being affected by the presence of dogs. Therapy, SAR (Search and Rescue) and other disease detection dogs are the main part of presence scientific and public interest.

The question is: do we recognize their abilities and put them into our service?

Lectures:

1. Historical background of servicing dogs

2. Types of servicing dogs

3. Inside of the dog (behavior, selection process)

4. Biological aspects of sniffing purpose

5. Therapy dogs

6. Effect for neurological and psychiatric diseases

7. Effect for cardiovascular diseases

8. Search and Rescue dogs

9. Cancer detection dogs

10. Other disease sniffer animals

11. Trends, new ways of research, replacement tools

12. Conclusions and student’s presentations

Lectures

• 1. Historical background of service dogs - Horváth Orsolya Melinda
• 2. Types of service dogs - Horváth Orsolya Melinda
• 3. Inside of the dog (behavior, selection process) - Horváth Orsolya Melinda
• 4. Biological aspects of sniffing purpose - Horváth Orsolya Melinda
• 5. Therapy dogs - Horváth Orsolya Melinda
• 6. Effect for neurological and psychiatric diseases - Horváth Orsolya Melinda
• 7. Effect for cardiovascular diseases - Horváth Orsolya Melinda
• 8. Search and Rescue dogs - Horváth Orsolya Melinda
• 9. Cancer detection dogs - Horváth Orsolya Melinda
• 10. Other disease sniffer animals - Horváth Orsolya Melinda
• 11. Trends, new ways of research, replacement tools of animals - Horváth Orsolya Melinda

Practices

Seminars

• 12. Conclusions and student presentations - Horváth Orsolya Melinda

Reading material

Obligatory literature

Literature developed by the Department

Notes

Recommended literature

1.) Jezierski – Ensminger – Papet (eds): Canine Olfaction Science and Law. CRC Press, 2016.

2.) Jill Lenk Schilp: Dogs in Health Care (Pioneering Animal-Human Partnership). McFarland and Company, 2019.

3.) Milena Penkowa: Dogs & Human Health: The New Science of Dog Therapy & Therapy Dogs. Balboa Press, 2015.

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

-

Mid-term exams

10 min Oral presentation and Handout

Making up for missed classes

Can not be replaced

Exam topics/questions

No exam questions

Examiners

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars

• Horváth Orsolya Melinda