Andrea Buchholz
University of Guelph professor says dog ownership extends life
Nutritionist Andrea Buchholz is an expert in feeding the body right, but also passionate about feeding the soul with the healing powers of dogs.
The University of Guelph professor speaks Tuesday as part of the Master Class public lecture series. Her topic, Healing with Feeling, is about the human-dog bond and how canines can “profoundly impact people’s health and well-being.”
Her talk is from 5:30-7 p.m. at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre at 100 Main St. W., Room 2032. To register, go to www.tlc-ame.ca/master-class and click on the Eventbrite link.
The lecture series raises funds to “support accessibility to higher education and help bring communities closer together.”
Buchholz has received the prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship and other awards, including the Teaching Award from the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations.
The professor is perhaps also qualified to talk about the therapeutic value of laughter: one of her hobbies is performing with a live improv comedy troupe in Waterloo.
The Spectator spoke to Buchholz. Her answers have been edited for length.
Q: Your expertise teaching at the University of Guelph is nutrition. How did you come to have an interest in the healing power of dogs?
A: When my dog Dylan was about two, I’d notice that out on walks, people would always stop and say hello to him. I don’t pretend he has magical powers, people are drawn to dogs, but I thought if he can have that effect on strangers, what if I took him to people who are frail or elderly or don’t
“In conversation with…” is part of an ongoing series of profiles of interesting local people Spectator photographers and reporters have encountered over the past year.
have an opportunity to visit with people or, who suffer stress or anxiety? I started to research the topic, and took him through the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program and we have been a therapy dog team since 2012.
Q: Dylan?
A: He’s named after Bob Dylan. He has the same crazy curly hair. He is a shih-poo — a poodle-shih tzu cross.
Q: What sort of training is involved for a therapy dog?
A: There is no training. The dog just has to pass a canine assessment that tests the temperament of the dog, how he interacts with people. Therapy dogs are different from service dogs, of course. With a therapy dog, they just need to be friendly companions and be cute and cuddly and patient.
Q: Who can benefit from the healing power of a dog?
A: So many people; a dog can help people in long-term care facilities to reduce a sense of isolation, and increase socialization, decrease anxiety. Dylan and I are also child-assessed for children with autism. There are also teams that visit palliative care facilities and hospitals, and the program has dogs that visit students at universities during exam period to help calm students down.
Q: What will you focus on in your Master Class talk?
A: I’ve tried to blend my personal experiences with the body of literature I’ve researched that supports what I’ve seen ... Dogs can help lower blood pressure; there is evidence showing that, and they have neurophysiological benefits that are also reflected in the literature.
Q: Can other animals be therapeutic? Cats don’t seem ideal, given their standoffish nature. But I’m a dog person.
A: My talk is only about dogs, but I came across a stunning number of animals that lend themselves to it, including cats. And snakes, rats, donkeys, llamas. There is a therapy pig at San Francisco International Airport named LiLou who helps calm nervous travellers. And of course horses; I volunteer at Sunrise Therapeutic Riding and Learning Centre, so I’ve seen the benefits of equine therapy.
Q: Do you think in general that a dog in the house is a healthy thing for kids and adults?
A: Absolutely. Dog ownership extends your life expectancy. Pet owners have less stress, fewer headaches, lower blood pressure — specifically dog owners ... Pet owners are healthier than people who don’t have pets.
Q: I read there are evolutionary roots to the human-dog bond, that dogs adapted to have this ability to connect with humans, including the sad puppy dog eyes thing that inspires such love from a dog owner.
A: I’ve heard that too, anecdotally, that they aligned themselves with humans so they can be fed and cared for.
Q: Other animals may have that to an extent, but there is nothing like a dog.
A: There is something particularly special about the dog-human bond that I don’t know exists to the same degree with other animal connections — but of course now I’ll hear from a cat person and a horse person. The animal therapy literature heavily favours dogs. But then at the retirement home I go to with Dylan, they also bring in baby goats once a week. Their only job is to look cute and be warm and sweet so seniors can interact with them.
Q: The line in your resume that jumped out at me is that one of your hobbies is doing improv comedy. How did you get into that?
A: When I was doing my PhD in 2000, a girlfriend asked if I wanted to take an improv class, and I got hooked and continued with it. I did Second City improv training for a couple years where I just took classes, and joined a troupe called Theatre on the Edge in Waterloo. I’ve been with them 13 years, and I teach improv now, too.
Q: Has it helped your teaching?
A: It has improved it immeasurably. I used to be very lecture-and-notes oriented, a sage from the stage, as I called it. But since improv became an important part of my life, my classes became more engaging, with more dialogue with students.
Q: You have said you try to break down the fourth wall in teaching.
A: Yes, the fourth wall is that invisible wall between audience and actors on stage; everyone buys into that, you don’t cross it, you respect that invisible division. I used to teach with that wall in place, but now I don’t think there is one at all between me and my students.