De-stress With Pets: Animal Therapy is for the Dogs, Cats, Horses, & Pigs

Animal therapy is soothing Americans at home, in hospitals, in senior centers and even at the airport

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Jul 14, 2017, 09:17 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- There's no doubt about it: owning a pet is good for your health.

Pet Market Outlook 2017-2018, a recent report by market research firm Packaged Facts, shows that 95% of dog owners and 94% of cat owners agree that their pets have a positive impact on their mental health; similarly, 95% of dog owners and 90% of cat owners agree that their pets have a positive impact on their physical health.

Pet Market Outlook examines the consumer trends reflective of pets' stress-relief capabilities that are helping to shape the U.S. pet market. Among the most important takeaways is that a pet's stress-relief capabilities aren't exclusive to the animal's owner(s), nor is the ability to provide stress-relief exclusive to popular household pets such as dogs and cats. And retailers and marketers are taking notice.

For example, this past May, PetSmart became the first national pet specialty retailer to launch a dog therapy training course. The program is for pet owners interested in giving back to their pets. The training course prepares dogs for their 'Therapy Dog' evaluation, provided by organizations such as Pet Partners and the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, after which registered dogs can support people at senior living facilities, hospitals, funeral homes and other places.

These days you can even find pets trained to help anxious Americans in some rather unexpected locales. For instance, dozens of airports have canine therapy teams helping passengers decompress. Some airports have even added non-canine therapists such as pot-bellied pigs or miniature therapy horses. The increased inclusion of the latter of these two novel therapy animals—horses—has been one of the key saving graces for an otherwise challenged equine industry.

As Packaged Facts discusses in our 2017 report U.S. Equine Market, 3rd Edition, horse therapy (also referred to as equine therapy, equine-assisted therapy, and equine-assisted psychotherapy) is a form of experiential therapy that involves interactions between patients and horses. It is similar to how therapy dogs and cats are used to help humans with emotional and physical ailments to recover more quickly. Equine therapy typically involves activities—such as grooming, feeding, haltering and leading a horse—that are supervised by a health professional, with the support of a horse professional. The goal of equine therapy is to help patients develop needed skills and attributes, including accountability, responsibility, self-confidence, problem-solving skills, and self-control. Equine therapy also provides an innovative environment in which the therapist and the patient can identify and address challenges.

Studies have shown that equine therapy has been successful in helping patients show marked improvements in assertiveness, emotional awareness, problem-solving skills and social responsibility. Many of the benefits of equine therapy are likely due to the nature of the animals with which the patient and equine therapist are interacting. Because of the horse's natural traits, which include a non-judgmental disposition and an ability to mirror attitudes and behaviors of the humans with whom they are working, they are ideal therapy partners. This type of therapy has helped to successfully treat a variety of issues, including substance abuse, mood disorders, autism spectrum disorders, grief/loss and trauma.

About The Reports

With this latest edition of our U.S. Pet Market Outlook, Packaged Facts delivers all the essential insights about the pet industry in one source. This year's edition includes the latest in market sizing and projections, hot new product trends, as well as data from Packaged Facts proprietary Pet Owners Survey. U.S. Pet Market Outlook, 2017-2018 has everything you need to know about mergers and acquisitions, retail channel trends, and pet owner demographics and spending habits.

View additional information about U.S. Pet Market Outlook, 2017-2018, including purchase options, the abstract, table of contents, and related reports at Packaged Facts' website: https://www.packagedfacts.com/Pet-Outlook-10840437/.

Meanwhile, U.S. Equine Market, 3rd Edition, highlights strategic directions for current and prospective marketers within the U.S. equine industry, with a forward-looking focus on high-growth product segments and market drivers. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the market for equine industry services, covering cross-market trends and opportunities in both equine supplies and services. Packaged Facts' report thoroughly reviews the industry's competitive trends, new product and retail trends, as well as trends in equine owner demographics.

For more about U.S. Equine Market, 3rd Edition visit: https://www.packagedfacts.com/Equine-Edition-10706833/.

Additional Packaged Facts reports on pet products and services are available for purchase at: https://www.packagedfacts.com/pet-products-services-c124/.

About Packaged Facts

Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, consumer packaged goods, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services.

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SOURCE Packaged Facts