Is Dog Psychotherapy Just Plain Crazy?

Is dog psychotherapy just plain crazy?

Americans spent more than $100 billion on their anxieties last year. In the past five years there were more prescriptions written for emotional problems than for any other category of medicine. In a culture quick to project human conditions upon animals, and treat them with human cures, I have to wonder whether more and more family dogs will wind up on psychiatrist’s couches and anti-depressant drugs.

A recent survey by the American Psychiatric Association showed 91% of Americans willing to seek counseling for themselves or a close friend following a crisis. This is not a bad thing for humans. It is a bad thing for dogs, however, because dog psychotherapy ignores the very reason humans and animals come together in the first place. It ignores the relationship.