Therapy dogs help hospitalised children recover from illness

What the research found

A 2021 review and meta-analysis pooled eight studies with 348 hospitalised children and teenagers. Four were randomised trials and four were quasi-experimental. Children who had animal-assisted therapy reported less pain than those who didn't (standardised mean difference -0.49).

A 2016 systematic review of 36 studies on animal programs for hospital patients found possible benefits such as less stress, pain and anxiety. The studies differed a lot in patients, animals and length of visits, so they were hard to compare.

A 2025 randomised trial tested adding a therapy dog to standard child-life therapy in a children's emergency department. It included children aged 5 to 17 and measured anxiety with a face scale and saliva cortisol. A 2023 review of mental health studies found results ranging from significant improvement to only modest gains.

What it doesn’t mean

• The research looks at comfort, such as pain and anxiety. It does not show that therapy dogs help children get over an illness faster or more fully.
• Most studies are small, use different definitions of animal therapy and often come from single sites. The findings may not apply to every child or hospital.
• A dog visit is an extra, not a replacement for medical care. Ask the hospital team whether a visit suits your child, and talk to your GP or child health nurse if your child is very anxious about medical care.