An Exploratory Assessment of Service Dog Training for the Treatment of Military Members with Posttraumatic Stress: A Pre-post Interventional Trial

Objective To assess the impact of a Service Dog Training Program (SDTP) on PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms among military beneficiaries experiencing PTSD. Design Nonrandomized, nonblinded, pre-post interventional clinical trial conducted between 2019 and 2022; analysis complete 2023. Setting Recruitment, screening, consent, and enrollment were conducted between March 2019 and August 2022. Active duty military, veterans, and military dependents were recruited from clinics at 2 major military hospitals in the National Capital Region. Participants Received care in the Military Health System, ages 18 and 65 years, clinical diagnosis of PTSD or posttraumatic stress, or 30 or higher on the PTSD Checklist-5 (PCL-5); diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, unspecified trauma, unspecified anxiety, or adjustment disorder. Interventions Participants completed assessments weekly for 4 weeks prior to beginning the intervention, which consisted of twice-weekly SDTP sessions for 6 additional weeks for a total study time of 10 weeks. Main Outcome and Measures Primary: PTSD, anxiety, and depression as measured with the PCL-5 (0-80, higher scores indicate higher symptoms), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7, 0-21, higher scores indicate higher symptoms), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9, 0-27, higher scores indicate higher symptoms). Results The 118 SDTP participants were, on average, 37.8 (±SD, 11.6) years old, male (57.6%), white (56.8%), employed (82.2%), and had a history of military service (97.5%). Post-SDTP intervention, mean score differences were −5.8 (95% CI, −8.4 to −3.1), −1.5 (95% CI, −0.7 to −2.3), and −1.2 (95% CI, −2.0 to −0.4) for the PCL-5, GAD-7, and PHQ-9, respectively. Conclusions Following completion of the SDTP, participants reported significantly lower psychological impairment. The results of this study support the use of a structured SDTP as an engaging adjunct to existing clinical care for military-connected individuals experiencing PTSD and other psychological symptoms.