Kateryna Shelikhovska, a volunteer from Vinnytsia, a member of the organization "Lapadog training", and a happy owner of a dog named Baileys

The full-scale invasion of russia has damaged the psychological health of many Ukrainians. 4 months ago, canine therapy sessions for children began in Vinnytsia. In this interview, a member of the Lapadog training organization talks about the benefits of this type of therapy, the results and prospects of their team's work.

What is canne therapy, and how is it useful?

Canine therapy, like all other types of therapy, helps people calm down, work through certain problems, and feel better. It is something that raises people's mood, improves their mental state, and encourages them. Canine-assisted therapy is a really cool thing! I will say it again today that dogs are one of the best creatures in the world. This type of therapy with a dog becomes even better, because in ordinary therapy with a psychologist, it is often just a conversation, communication. But canine-assisted therapy is exactly working with a dog, and dogs are the most sincere in this world in expressing their emotions: joy, love. When you see this little miracle wagging its tail and running to you, you just forget about everything that was bothering you.

How did you get into the world of canine therapy, and what encouraged you to work in this field?

I got a dog and immediately wanted to work with him with a cynologist. Even before I got my pet, I knew that a cynologist would work with him. It is really important for me that the dog does not stay at home all his life. A dog is like a child. It needs to be sent to a "school" and taught something, then it will be smart. I enrolled Baileys with a cynologist, Iryna Lapa, and we have a team called "Lapadog training". We started working, and the first results appeared. Honestly, at first I didn't understand at all, I had an out from the first days of work. Because to work with a dog properly, you need to learn to "speak" its language. That is, you need to use your body language and intonation to explain to it what it needs to do. And at first I didn't know how to do this, I said, "No, that's it, I don't want to do this! It's hard, I'll never be able to do it". I was very wrong. I succeeded, and now Baileys and I are working very well together. She and I won first place at an agility competition. And, in fact, when we started to have such good results and the cynologist saw my dog's character, that she loves everyone and is not prone to aggression at all. That's why Iryna offered me this option: "I want to create a canine hospital for children who suffered during the war, to cooperate with the organization "YaMariupol" and organize joint meetings where children will work and play with dogs. And I want to take your Baileys because she is very cool, hardworking and loves children". I agreed without even thinking. And immediately we went to the canine therapy.

What is your role in the organization where dog handlers train dogs/where canine therapy sessions are held?

I am now a member of our team, where there are five of us, including our mentor Ira. I am also an intern, which means that I can come to lessons with dogs and/or explain something to people instead of Ira, or watch Ira do it and gain experience. And in the canine therapy, I can also tell something to the kids, especially Baileys and I like to show them agility, that is, how to pass barriers, how to give the dog commands correctly, and so on.

What is the role of the dog in the process of canine therapy?

My Bailey is very hyperactive and emotional. And when she sees children,  she's losing her mind, she rejoices, jumps. In general, dogs do not do any work. Their task is to execute our commands, show the children their skills, and somehow entertain them. Therefore, in general, the role of a dog is just to be.

How can you encourage a dog to work if it is not hyperactive or sleepy?

In general, there are several types of motivation for dogs: food motivation, i.e. for tasty treats; gaming motivation — you will fulfill some command and we will tug with you or I will throw you a toy; and verbal motivation. It all depends on the dog. I reward my Baileys with goodies. She understands that after she fulfills my specific command, she will get a treat. By the way, it is important to be able to calm down a hyperactive dog. There are also some practices for calming down. For example, waiting. I give her a treat, say "wait," and until I give it to her and say "you can," she has to wait. This practice calms the dog down. The main thing for a hyperactive dog is to be able to calm it down properly, to switch it from children to yourself. Here I am now, I'm working with you, please work with me too.

What are the main advantages of using dogs in canine-assisted therapy compared to other forms of therapy? 

Like I said, while working with your dog, you basically forget about everything that's bothering you. You switch so much, you get involved in this process, you get so involved, especially if the dog is doing well, you have more joy than the dog does, really. I don't think any therapy is worse or better, it all depends on the person. Therapy with a psychologist may not help someone, but canine therapy, working with dogs, will help a lot.

What are the requirements for selecting dogs to participate in canine therapy?

The most important thing is that the dog is not aggressive so we can anticipate his behavior.  There are dogs that have aggression from birth and this is a character trait. Basically, like people, dogs have very different personalities and temperaments.

Does it depend on the breed?

I don't think so. Although there are breeds that are more prone to this, I believe that it depends on the dog itself, and, by the way, it depends on the mother. That is, what kind of mother she was, what kind of puppies she will have. Indeed, dogs do have character. In general, all the dogs that work at the canine therapy center are absolutely calm or overly joyful. That is, there is no such thing as a dog snapping at someone or barking. There are some that bark, but only on command. Mine doesn't even bark on command. For her, barking at a person is something beyond her understanding. And it is these dogs who value people above all else. For them, people are the best thing in life. In general, dogs for canine therapy should be happy, calm, appreciating and loving people and children. There are no strict requirements for dogs. The main thing is that we can predict their behavior. Because often with an aggressive dog, unfortunately, you cannot predict it. It happens that everything seems to be fine, and then suddenly it rushes at you. And, in fact, the dog is not to blame for this. It's just a character trait. You have to work on it with him. We need dogs that we can be sure will never bite a person or hurt them in any way.

Are there any age restrictions for dogs?

No, there are none. My Baileys is not yet a year old, Ira, who has a Cane Corso, is already 8 years old, and she also works with children.

That is, a lot depends on education and discipline?

A lot depends on upbringing. I am convinced that even if the mother was aggressive and the puppy was born the same way, you can work with it. There are no hopeless dogs. There are only really aggressive dogs from whom aggression cannot be taken away, unfortunately, they are rabid. You can't help such a dog. I feel sad about this because they don't really want to hurt people. In fact, it's like people with schizophrenia. They don't understand what is happening to them, and because of that, they can be scared and very aggressive. Otherwise, I think that you can work with any dog and train it well.

Did you encounter any force majeure during the canine therapy or any unpleasant situations?

The only thing that was out of the way was when parents would come in and intimidate the kids that "here's a dog coming out now, it's going to chew you up". We explain to such parents that we have canine therapy here, we are aimed at working with children, having fun and enjoying themselves. As for force majeure, when I was working with the dog, the children were running around the dog field, the dog got distracted and started running with them. Then I say, "Please calm down, because the dog needs to be fully engaged in the work now." And so, in general, our canine therapy sessions are quite calm.

Are there any limitations or circumstances under which canine therapy can be ineffective or even harmful?

Definitely not harmful. But if a person is not interested in it and came for fun, not expecting anything, does not like dogs, then why did he come? To love them? Then work with us and get involved in the work as well. In general, I am sure that canine therapy cannot be harmful at all, only for people with allergies. In my experience, canine therapy brings only good things.

The next question is very timely: how do you work with people who have phobias or allergic reactions to dogs?

We have not yet encountered allergic people, or they did not admit to us, perhaps they took a pill before. As for allergy sufferers, a person should know that he or she is allergic to dogs, consult a doctor, and decide what pills to take. If nothing else helps with the allergy, then, unfortunately, canine therapy is not for this person. As for phobias, we encourage people to work with dogs. We show them that it's not scary, it's cool. Look, the dog is working, it's happy to see you, it's happy, it wants to get to know you. If you are very scared, approach slowly, carefully, it will sit and wait. The dog will allow you to approach, make the first step so that you stop being afraid, feed it from your hand, pet it, give it a command. And so gradually people begin to cope with dog phobia.

Did the participants share their impressions of canine therapy and did it help them?

After canine therapy we usually talk and have tea and sweets, and we have only heard good things. Everyone really enjoyed it, everyone was able to work. It helped a child who was feeling bad, it comforted him.

What are the main tasks of this organization and are there any plans to expand this project?

I hope there will be an expansion, because I want to do canine therapy much more globally, not just with children, but with people of all ages. Many people have various traumas and phobias.

Does it depend on funding?

Honestly, we spend almost no money on canine therapy. The only money we spend is on dog treats. Maybe we need to cooperate with other organizations or invite other people. So far, we only cooperate with the organization "YaMariupol". The main task of the organization is, first of all, to teach people how to work with a dog, give it commands, teach it how to communicate with it, explain to the dog in its language what we want from it, instill in people a love for dogs and produce our cool dog students so that there are more cool working dogs in the world who will be directed to work with people and love people. By the way, we are also training border guard dogs.

How do you see the interaction between the work of a canine therapist and a dog handler? And what are the advantages of cooperation between these two fields?

The interaction is absolutely direct: if you are a dog handler, you can be a canine vet. By the way, there are different types of canine therapy, you can choose the one you like best. There is a kind of assistance therapy when children or adults are sick, dogs are brought to the hospital to help people recover faster. We refused this type of canine therapy, because, unfortunately, such dogs do not live long, up to 8 years maximum. In the kind of canine therapy that we do, we explain to children where to touch the dog so that it is not uncomfortable, and how to work with it so that the dog also enjoys it.

You want to connect your life with this field of activity. Share your plans, perspectives and ideas.

Work, work and work again, gain experience, train your dog so that my Baileys can set an example for other dogs. Very often, adult dogs become an example for puppies. They show them how to work properly. Dogs are very good at analytical and critical thinking. So, my main plan now is to work.

A dog is a man's best friend?

Absolutely. In fact, I can say this about absolutely all animals. It depends on which animal is more suitable for a person. Some people like spiders, snakes, parrots, hamsters. As for such animals, I don't know how much they love humans and whether they even understand what it is. But I'm sure that dogs and cats love their owners equally, they just have different ways of expressing this love.

Stray dogs — how acute is this problem in Ukraine, and what are the ways to solve it?

In fact, it is a very acute problem. As for the ways to solve it... I know that in Poland and Germany, there are many shelters for dogs and cats in every city, which are fully funded by the state. Of course, there are volunteers there, but the shelters themselves are opened by the state.

In Turkey, by the way, too.

Yes. But there are more street animals in Turkey, but they are all controlled by the state. That is, any street cat has to be vaccinated and cannot be touched in any way. Unfortunately, we have a lot of cases of animal cruelty in Ukraine, and I am honestly very sickened by it. When I read a story about a cat being shot in Zakarpattia or something else being done to a dog, I really feel very sorry for these little creatures. I just don't understand... for me, people who don't like animals are just immoral people. I can't imagine how someone can be like that. Not only do they not like them, but they hate them to such an extent that they can do them some harm. It's just an animal! It just exists, it doesn't touch you. Why should you touch it? If it is a street animal, then let it live its life or feed it, help it. Unfortunately, there are a lot of such cases in Ukraine, and there is practically no punishment for them, which is sad. In the future, I will create petitions to introduce harsh punishment for bestiality, up to and including imprisonment.

In general, I believe that the prison term for killing an animal should be equal to that for killing a person.

Yes, I also want the rights of animals to be on par with human rights. I want them to have inviolability, to be untouchable. Because people do it because they realize that they will not be punished for it. In Germany or Poland, for example, people have no right to throw their animals out on the street because they will be severely punished for it. Likewise, no one has the right to touch a street animal, and there is a punishment for this as well. By the way, in Germany and Poland, absolutely all animals are vaccinated, sterilized, and live in shelters. And it's very cool! I am absolutely in favor of this trend. Even if there are breeders who rebel against a serious law, they simply cannot harm animals. Because they will be in shelters, not on the street. But shelters must also be protected. You may have heard about the situation when a shelter with cats was recently blown up in Kyiv.

About laws. To what extent are animal rights protected at the legislative level in Ukraine, and are these laws effectively enforced?

In my opinion, the laws are not enforced at all. I don't see it. I have read a lot on the Internet about horrific cases of cannibalism: for the sake of hype, for the sake of popularity, and just for fun. And these people were punished only after the situation had already spread. Many people wrote about it and were outraged. Only then did law enforcement agencies start to do something. I am convinced that if these situations had not spread, but had been silenced, there would have been no action from law enforcement agencies. And how many cases of bestiality we have that are not known at all... Therefore, we need to create shelters where absolutely all animals will be controlled.

It seems to me that nowadays such shelters are created more by volunteers, not by the state.

Yes, it is volunteers. And the state needs to be interested in this issue — the issue of the safety of everyone living in the territory of this state, and obviously, animals as well. All shelters in Vinnytsia were created by volunteers. There are not so many of them in the city because not all people have the opportunity to open them. And they are supported purely by volunteers and donations from people. I also try to help shelters, donate and so on.

Physical readiness and willingness to take responsibility for life.

Yes, yes. In general, my first animal was a hamster, then I decided to get a cat. And how the dog appeared is a separate story. There was a dog on my street who was the future mother of my Baileys. She was very fond of all people, and me especially. She always came to my hands. When she was at the other end of the street and saw me coming, she would press her ears and rocket to me to scratch and pet her. My parents and I wanted to sterilize her, but we didn't have time. She got pregnant and gave birth to 5 puppies. They lived not far from us. But, unfortunately, their mother was poisoned. The puppies were literally 2 weeks old. I cried all night because I loved that dog so much. And I realized that I had to take them to my place. The next day I brought all five of them to my yard. And that's how they lived with me. We gave four of them away to our good friends, whom we are sure of. And I got so attached to one of them that I fell in love with it, I couldn't give it to anyone. And she has been living with us for almost a year now.

For those wishing to visit the canine therapy:
m. Vinnytsia, 39 Vatutina Street (Vinnytsia Khutory)