Men and their dogs : a new understanding of "man's best friend"

The healing power of the bond between men and dogs is explored in this unique book. Three important themes emerge: attachment, loss, and continued bonds with canine companions for males across the life span and from various contextual backgrounds. The contributors replace common assumptions with needed context pertaining to men’s emotions and relationships, starting with the impact of gender norms on attachment, and including robust data on how canine companionship may counter Western culture socialization. The chapters engage readers with details pertaining to ways in which dogs help men develop stable, caring relationships, process feelings, and cope with stress – within a variety of environments including home, school and treatment programs for veterans, prisoners, and youth. The book also address men’s loss of companion animals, and the need for building new ways of sustaining the memory and meaning of the bond in males’ lives, referred to as a “continuing bond.” From these various vantage points, therapeutic insights and relevant findings bring a new depth of understanding to this compelling topic. Included in the coverage: * Masculine gender role conflict theory, research, and practice: implications for understanding the human-animal bond in males’ lives. * At-risk youth and at-risk dogs helping one another. An examination of human-animal interaction as an outlet for healthy masculinity in prison.* Exploring how the human-animal bond affects men’s relational capacity to make and sustain meaningful attachment bonds with both human and animal companions . * Older adults and companion animals: physical and psychological benefits of the bond. * Continuing the bonds with animal companions: implications for men grieving the loss of a dog. Probing the deeper concepts behind “man’s best friend,” __Men and Their Dogs__ provides a rich clinical understanding of this timeless bond, and should be of special interest to health psychologists, clinical psychologists, academicians, social workers, nurses, counselors, life coaches and dog lovers. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii An Introduction to Men and Their Dogs: A New Understanding of “Man’s Best Friend”....Pages 1-10 Gender Role Conflict Theory, Research, and Practice: Implications for Understanding the Human–Animal Bond....Pages 11-45 A New Understanding of Man’s Best Friend: A Proposed Contextual Model for the Exploration of Human–Animal Interaction Among Insecurely Attached Males....Pages 47-71 Street-Involved Youth and Their Animal Companions—Stigma and Survival....Pages 73-96 A Boy’s Best Friend: Using Human–Animal Interaction with At-Risk Teen Boys....Pages 97-112 Healing Bonds: Animal Assisted Interventions with Adjudicated Male Youth....Pages 113-132 Lifetime Bonds: At-Risk Youth and At-Risk Dogs Helping One Another....Pages 133-149 Exploring the Role of Playfulness with Canine Companions in Coping with Stress: How Men Are Impacted by Human–Animal Interaction Through Calling on a Memory of Play....Pages 151-173 Pen Pals: An Examination of Human–Animal Interaction as an Outlet for Healthy Masculinity in Prison....Pages 175-194 Animal Companions and Military Veterans: How Dogs Can Help America’s Heroes....Pages 195-214 The Roles Animal Companions Play in Middle-Aged Males’ Lives: Examining the Psychometric Properties of a Measure Assessing Males’ Human–Animal Interactions....Pages 215-229 Exploring How the Human–Animal Bond Affects Men in a Relational Way: Attachment, Loss, and Gender Role Conflict in Middle-Aged and Young-Men....Pages 231-256 Older Adults and Pets—Physical and Psychological Benefits....Pages 257-280 Older Adults, Pets, and Intergenerational Service Learning....Pages 281-301 Continuing Bonds Research with Animal Companions: Implications for Men Grieving the Loss of a Dog....Pages 303-320 Back Matter....Pages 321-329 Annotation The healing power of the bond between men and dogs is explored in this unique book. Three important themes emerge: attachment, loss, and continued bonds with canine companions for males across the life span and from various contextual backgrounds. The contributors replace common assumptions with needed context pertaining to men's emotions and relationships, starting with the impact of gender norms on attachment, and including robust data on how canine companionship may counter Western culture socialization